bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
VesiX cetylpyridinium chloride is rapidly bactericidal and reduces uropathogenic
Escherichia coli
bladder epithelial cell invasion
in vitro
Authors: Sawant Namrata V. , Chang Samuel S. , Pandit Krutika A. , Khekare Prachi , Warner W. Randolph , Zimmern Philippe E. , De Nisco Nicole J.
Published: January 2024

Management of urinary tract infection (UTI) in postmenopausal women can be challenging. The recent rise in resistance to most of the available oral antibiotic options together with high recurrence rate in postmenopausal women has further complicated treatment of UTI. As such, intravesical instillations of antibiotics like gentamicin are being investigated as an alternative to oral antibiotic therapies. This study evaluates the efficacy of the candidate intravesical therapeutic VesiX, a solution containing the cationic detergent Cetylpyridinium chloride, against a broad range of uropathogenic bacterial species clinically isolated from postmenopausal women with recurrent UTI (rUTI). We also evaluate the cytotoxicity of VesiX against cultured bladder epithelial cells and find that low concentrations of 0.0063% and 0.0125% provide significant bactericidal effect toward diverse bacterial species including uropathogenic
Escherichia coli
(UPEC),
Klebsiella pneumoniae
,
Enterococcus faecalis
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, and
Proteus mirabilis
while minimizing cytotoxic effects against cultured 5637 bladder epithelial cells. Lastly, to begin to evaluate the potential utility of using VesiX in combination therapy with existing intravesical therapies for rUTI, we investigate the combined effects of VesiX and the intravesical antibiotic gentamicin. We find that VesiX and gentamicin are not antagonistic and are able to reduce levels of intracellular UPEC in cultured bladder epithelial cells.

IMPORTANCE

When urinary tract infections (UTIs), which affect over 50% of women, become resistant to available antibiotic therapies dangerous complications like kidney infection and lethal sepsis can occur. New therapeutic paradigms are needed to expand our arsenal against these difficult to manage infections. Our study investigates VesiX, a Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)-based therapeutic, as a candidate broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent for use in bladder instillation therapy for antibiotic-resistant UTI. CPC is a cationic surfactant that is FDA-approved for use in mouthwashes and is used as a food additive but has not been extensively evaluated as a UTI therapeutic. Our study is the first to investigate its rapid bactericidal kinetics against diverse uropathogenic bacterial species isolated from postmenopausal women with recurrent UTI and host cytotoxicity. We also report that together with the FDA-approved bladder-instillation agent gentamicin, VesiX was able to significantly reduce intracellular populations of uropathogenic bacteria in cultured bladder epithelial cells.
L-Serine enables reducing the virulence of
Acinetobacter baumannii
and modulating the SIRT1 pathway to eliminate the pathogen
Authors: Zhou Jianxia , Feng Dingyun , Li Xia , Chen Yuetao , Zhang Min , Wu Wenbin , Zhu Jiaxin , Li Hui , Peng Xuanxian , Zhang Tiantuo
Published: January 2024

The emergence of high-virulent
Acinetobacter baumannii
strains increases the mortality of patients and seriously affects their prognosis, which motivates us to explore novel ways to control such infections. In this study, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was adopted to explore the metabolic difference between high- and low-virulent
A. baumannii
strains, and the decreased L-serine levels were identified as the most crucial biomarker in low-virulent
A. baumannii
strains.
In vitro
, L-serine reduced the virulence of
A. baumannii
to Beas 2B cells and inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome via decreasing the generation of ROS and mtROS and the release of inflammatory cytokines (IL-18 and IL-1β) through upregulating SIRT1.
In vivo
, the
Galleria mellonella
model was adopted. L-serine downregulated the levels of virulence genes (
ompA
,
carO
, and
omp
33-36), reduced the mortality of
A. baumannii
to
G. mellonella
, and decreased the blacking speed as well as the degree of
G. mellonella
after infection. Taken together, we found that L-serine can reduce the virulence of
A. baumannii
and enhance the host’s defense against the pathogen, providing a novel strategy for the treatment of infections caused by
A. baumannii
.

IMPORTANCE

Acinetobacter baumannii
has become one of the most common and severe opportunistic pathogens in hospitals. The high-virulent
A. baumannii
strains pose a great threat to patients and increase the risk of nosocomial infection. However, the mechanism of virulence in
A. baumannii
is still not well understood. In the present study, we identified potential biomarkers in low-virulent
A. baumannii
strains. Our analysis revealed the effect of L-serine on reducing the virulence of
A.baumannii
. This discovery suggests that targeting L-serine could be a promising strategy for the treatment or adjunctive treatment of
A. baumannii
infections. The development of treatments targeting virulence may provide a substitute for the increasingly failed traditional antibacterial treatment.
Rare earth element transport and mineralization linked to fluids from carbonatite systems
Authors: Mororó E.A.A. , Berkesi M. , Zajacz Z. , Guzmics T.
Published: January 2024

Rare earth elements are critical constituents for modern technologies, and some of their largest natural resource deposits are related to carbonatite systems. However, the mechanisms leading to rare earth element mineralization and the role of magmatic fluids in carbonatite systems remain poorly understood. Here, we present the first in situ characterization of fluids and their trace-element compositions in natural carbonatite systems by studying secondary quartz-hosted fluid inclusions from Oldoinyo Lengai volcano. By comparing our data to other fluids and melts from various carbonatite systems, we constructed a model for fluid-mediated rare earth element transport and mineralization. We show that carbonatite-related fluids are rich in alkali-carbonate + sulfate + chloride and CO2, but poor in H2O, and they can be significant carriers of rare earth elements (>1600 ppm). We argue that fluid CO2 contents are essential to preclude or slow down the interaction with wall rock during migration and that fluid-mediated rare earth element mineralization occurs when partial pressure of CO2 decreases in the fluid (i.e., during degassing).
Successful management of massive postpartum haemorrhage in a woman with acquired haemophilia A
Authors: Lim Santi Wei Che , Li Mingyue , Ng Heng Joo , Kanagalingam Devendra
Published: January 2024

Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is an obstetric emergency and a leading cause of severe maternal morbidity and mortality. Timely and accurate diagnosis of the underlying cause of PPH is critical in achieving optimal care for the patient as any potential delays may result in severe morbidity and even mortality. We present a rare case of a patient presenting with PPH secondary to acquired haemophilia. This case highlights the importance of early diagnosis and multidisciplinary management in achieving optimal management of this complex condition.
Change in eating habits after 2 years of pandemic restrictions among adolescents living in a city in northern Italy: results of the COALESCENT Observational Study (Change amOng ItAlian adoLESCENTs)
Authors: Zanini Barbara , Covolo Loredana , Marconi Silvia , Marullo Monica , Viola Gaia Claudia Viviana , Gelatti Umberto , Maroldi Roberto , Latronico Nicola , Castellano Maurizio
Published: January 2024

Background

Lockdown measures during the recent pandemic, due to the novel COVID-19, affected several other aspects of lifestyle, but little is known about their long-term impact, especially among adolescents. Our study aimed to assess the long-term consequences of changes in diet, exercise and screen activity levels, sleep quality, smoke, smartphone addiction and emotional distress among a sample of Italian adolescents, 2 years after the beginning of the pandemic.

Methods

We submitted an online survey to high-school students in the province of Brescia, a city in Northern Italy, investigating changes in food consumption and in physical and screen activities, cooking skills, sleep duration and quality, emotional distress, smartphone addiction and nutrition knowledge. We assigned an Eating Habit Index (EHI) score from 0 to 54, reflecting a current worsening (lower score) or improvement (higher score) in overall diet quality, compared with the pre-pandemic period. The χ
2
test or Fisher’s exact probability test and Mann-Whitney test were used as appropriate; a binary logistic regression model was carried out, with EHI score≥33 as the dependent variable.

Results

We collected 1686 questionnaires. Consumption of healthy foods increased, as it was for ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). EHI score>33 (75° percentile value) was associated with female gender (OR 1.81, p<0.0001), better nutrition knowledge (OR 1.54, p=0.001), better cooking skills (OR 1.43, p=0.01), lower consumption of UPFs before the pandemic (OR 2.19, p<0.0001), self-perception of healthier diet quality (OR: 4.05, p<0.0001) and no smartphone addiction (OR: 1.35, p=0.02).

Conclusions

Considering the profound impact of lifestyle on both physical and mental health, our results could be relevant to understand how to promote healthy eating practices among young people.
Inequity of healthcare access for patients with diabetic foot disease: a retrospective study in south-east Queensland
Authors: Soonarane Yudish Kumar , Pollard Gayle , Knack Brent , Hope Matthew , Clark Darren , Naidu Sanjeev , Anuradha Satyamurthy , Puri Gaurav
Published: January 2024

Objectives

Logan local government area (LGA) in Queensland has the highest diabetes prevalence (6.5%) within Metro South Health (MSH). The study aimed to determine the burden of, and equity of access to secondary healthcare, for diabetic foot disease (DFD) for Logan residents to better inform healthcare services planning.

Design

A retrospective analysis of hospital admissions data between January 2018 and December 2021.

Setting, participants

All episodes of care for DFD provided by MSH hospitals to patients with a residential address in the three LGAs serving the region were included.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcome was number of episodes of care for DFD by LGA of residence and hospital of presentation. Secondary outcomes were DFD-related hospital occupied bed days and number of lower extremity amputations.

Results

Among residents in the MSH region, almost half of all episodes of care (47%) and bed days (48%) for DFD were for patients residing in Logan LGA. 40% of episodes of care, 57% of bed days and 73% of lower extremity amputations for DFD for these patients occurred outside of Logan LGA. These findings led to the planning of an integrated model of care for DFD at Logan hospital to improve and make care available locally.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that Logan residents with DFD had poor access to care despite the highest burden. Analysing epidemiology of care for DFD with an equity lens and highlighting gaps in service delivery is paramount to addressing the inequity paradigm.
Efficacy and safety of the modified Zhiwang decoction combined with methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Zhang Nan , Zhang Liu-bo , Wang Zihan , Lan Tian-yi , Wang Jin-ping , Xiao Cheng , Tao Qing-Wen , Xu Yuan
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease characterised by chronic systemic inflammation, which can cause swelling, stiffening and destruction of articular cartilage and bone. Early diagnosis and treatment of RA can improve outcomes and slow the progression of joint damage. Preliminary exploratory research had hinted an expected effect of modified Zhiwang decoction (MZWD) in treating early RA. However, few randomised clinical trials have evaluated the effectiveness of MZWD in early RA. Therefore, a parallel-group randomised controlled trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MZWD combined with methotrexate (MTX) on early RA.

Methods and analysis

This is a prospective, parallel-group, single-centre randomised controlled clinical study. A total of 150 patients will be randomly assigned to either the treatment (n=75) or control group (n=75). The treatment group will receive MZWD and MTX, and the control group will receive MTX for 12 weeks. The primary outcome of this study is Disease Activity Score-28, and the secondary outcomes are Fatigue Scale-14, Visual Analogue Scale pain scores and traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores. Safety outcomes, including adverse events and results of ECG and laboratory tests, will be monitored.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital (no. 2022-KY-124) on 8 July 2022. The findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications.

Trial registration number

ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT05508815).
Effectiveness of an On-Field Rehabilitation framework for return to sports in injured male professional football players: a single-blinded, prospective, randomised controlled trial
Authors: Stathas Ioannis , Kalliakmanis Alkiviadis , Kekelekis Afxentios , Danassi Afentaki Despoina , Tsepis Elias , Fousekis Konstantinos
Published: January 2024

Objectives

In football, on-field rehabilitation (OFR) is critical during injury recovery for a player’s safe return to sports (RTS). The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an OFR framework for RTS in injured male professional football players.

Trial design

A prospective block-randomised controlled-parallel trial was conducted (level of evidence 1b).

Methods

Male professional football players (mean age, 26.3±3.6 years) from Greece diagnosed with an acute, lower limb musculoskeletal (MSK) injury (confirmed clinically and through imaging) participated in the study. During rehabilitation, the participants’ OFR was guided by either the On-Field Rehabilitation (On FI.RE.) accelerated framework (experimental group) or a traditional OFR framework for a late injury recovery phase (comparison group). Between July 2021 and January 2022, 76 players were randomly allocated to the experimental group (n=38) and the comparison group (n=38). Participants were blinded during the study regarding intervention therapeutic protocols. The primary outcome measure was the effect of On FI.RE. framework on the time needed to return to team training (RTT) participation. The correlation between the time needed to return to on-field activity and RTT was calculated. Subsequent injuries were registered for a 12-month follow-up period.

Results

The intervention protocol, On FI.RE. framework, had a statistically significant effect on the time needed to RTT (F(1) = 49 626, p<0.001) with a large effect size (ES; η2=0.422) and fewer days (mean=23.8±9.1 days) needed than the comparison group (mean=30.3±9.8 days). There was a strong correlation between return to on-field activity and the time needed to RTT (r(76)= 0.901, p<0001) with a large ES (r>0.5). Six subsequent injuries were registered in the traditional OFR framework group, and one subsequent injury in the On FI.RE. framework group after a follow-up period of 12 months.

Conclusion

The On FI.RE., an accelerated OFR framework during injury recovery, is more effective than a traditional OFR framework, reducing the time a player needs to RTS. It entails a very low risk of reinjury.

Trial registration number

NCT05163470.
Racial and ethnic trends in mental health service utilisation and perceived unmet need in the USA
Authors: Sheehan Ana , Walsh Rachel , Liu Richard
Published: January 2024

Background

Two decades ago, the Surgeon General issued a report highlighting concerning disparities in mental healthcare among racial and ethnic minority populations. The present study characterised national trends in mental health treatment utilisation by race and ethnicity across a 13-year period.

Methods

Nationally representative data were drawn from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008 through 2020 (unweighted n=4 41 993). Trends in mental health treatment utilisation and perceived unmet treatment need among individuals with and without psychiatric illness were stratified by race and ethnicity.

Results

Logistic regression analyses revealed most racial/ethnic minority groups were less likely to receive treatment than white individuals, regardless of mental health status. Treatment utilisation increased among those with (annual per cent change (APC)=0.83, 95% CI=0.41 to 1.26) and without psychiatric illness (APC=1.39, 95% CI=0.53 to 2.26). Among individuals with psychiatric illness, treatment use increased among white (APC=0.88, 95% CI=0.51 to 1.24), Hispanic (APC=2.12, 95% CI=0.70 to 3.57) and black adults (APC=1.07, 95% CI=0.11 to 2.04). White (APC=1.88, 95% CI=0.86 to 2.91) and Hispanic (APC=2.45, 95% CI=0.02 to 4.93) individuals without psychiatric illness also saw increased treatment use. Although increases in perceived unmet treatment need were observed for all racial and ethnic groups except blacks and Native Americans with psychiatric illness, rates remained low across all groups.

Conclusions

Although national rates of mental health treatment utilisation have risen, this was almost entirely observed among white and Hispanic individuals with and without psychiatric illness, highlighting the limited progress made towards eliminating disparities in care.
Functional parcellation of the cingulate gyrus by electrical cortical stimulation: a synthetic literature review and future directions
Authors: Mahgoub Rawan , Bayram Ayse Kacar , Spencer Dennis D , Alkawadri Rafeed
Published: January 2024

Background

The cingulate gyrus (CG), a brain structure above the corpus callosum, is recognised as part of the limbic system and plays numerous vital roles. However, its full functional capacity is yet to be understood. In recent years, emerging evidence from imaging modalities, supported by electrical cortical stimulation (ECS) findings, has improved our understanding. To our knowledge, there is a limited number of systematic reviews of the cingulate function studied by ECS. We aim to parcellate the CG by reviewing ECS studies.

Design/methods

We searched PubMed and Embase for studies investigating CG using ECS. A total of 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. We evaluated the ECS responses across the cingulate subregions and summarised the reported findings.

Results

We included 30 studies (totalling 887 patients, with a mean age of 31.8±9.8 years). The total number of electrodes implanted within the cingulate was 3028 electrode contacts; positive responses were obtained in 941 (31.1%, median percentages, 32.3%, IQR 22.2%–64.3%). The responses elicited from the CG were as follows. Simple motor (8 studies, 26.7 %), complex motor (10 studies, 33.3%), gelastic with and without mirth (7 studies, 23.3%), somatosensory (9 studies, 30%), autonomic (11 studies, 36.7 %), psychic (8 studies, 26.7%) and vestibular (3 studies, 10%). Visual and speech responses were also reported. Despite some overlap, the results indicate that the anterior cingulate cortex is responsible for most emotional, laughter and autonomic responses, while the middle cingulate cortex controls most complex motor behaviours, and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) regulates visual, among various other responses. Consistent null responses have been observed across different regions, emphasising PCC.

Conclusions

Our results provide a segmental mapping of the functional properties of CG, helping to improve precision in the surgical planning of epilepsy.
Emergence of xylazine as a public health threat: what does the anesthesiologist need to know for perioperative care?
Authors: Solanki Pawan K , Yellapragada Samir , Lynch Brendan , Eibel Maria , Viscusi Eugene R , Emerick Trent
Published: January 2024

This paper explores the rapid emergence of xylazine exposure in the USA and its implications for anesthesiologists. Xylazine, a non-opioid sedative and analgesic often used in veterinary medicine, has increasingly been found as an adulterant in the illicit substance supply, leading to serious health implications. The pharmacological properties of xylazine, its clinical effects, and the challenges it poses for clinicans will be discussed. Perioperative strategies for anesthesiologists to manage these potential cases are provided. Furthermore, this paper necessitates an epidemiological understanding for detection and multidisciplinary collaboration in addressing this emerging public health threat. The manuscript concludes by emphasizing the role anesthesiologists will have to play in managing the clinical implications of xylazine and contributing to public health strategies aimed at curbing its misuse.
Increased prevalence of hearing loss, tinnitus and sudden deafness among patients with Sjögren’s syndrome
Authors: Yang Tzong-Hann , Xirasagar Sudha , Cheng Yen-Fu , Chen Chin-Shyan , Lin Herng-Ching
Published: January 2024

Background

This study aimed to provide an updated prevalence of hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo and sudden deafness on patients with Sjögren’s syndrome and matched comparison patients.

Methods

Data for this study were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database and Taiwan’s registered catastrophic illness dataset. This study included 20 266 patients with Sjögren’s syndrome as the study group and 60 798 propensity score-matched comparison patients as the comparison group. We used multivariable logistic regressions to estimate the ORs and 95% CI for tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo and sudden deafness among Sjögren’s syndrome patients versus comparison patients.

Results

χ2tests showed there were statistically significant differences between the study group and comparison group in the prevalence of tinnitus (10.1% vs 6.3%, p<0.001), hearing loss (5.6% vs 3.3%, p<0.001), vertigo (4.6% vs 3.2%, p<0.001) and sudden deafness (0.8% vs 0.6%, p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression revealed that patients with Sjögren’s syndrome had a greater tendency to have tinnitus (OR=1.690, 95% CI 1.596–1.788), sudden deafness (OR=1.368, 95% CI 1.137–1.647), hearing loss (OR=1.724, 95% CI 1.598–1.859) and vertigo (OR=1.473, 95% CI 1.360–1.597) relative to comparison patients after adjusting for age, income, geographic location, residential urbanisation level, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Conclusions

We found higher prevalence of hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus and sudden deafness among patients with Sjögren’s syndrome relative to comparison patients. Findings may provide guidance to physicians in counselling patients with Sjögren’s syndrome regarding a higher risk of hearing loss, tinnitus, sudden deafness and vertigo.
Transbronchial cryoablation in peripheral lung parenchyma with a novel thin cryoprobe and initial clinical testing
Authors: Gu Chuanjia , Yuan Haibin , Yang Chi , Xie Fangfang , Chen Junxiang , Zhu Lei , Jiang Yifeng , Sun Jiayuan
Published: January 2024

Background

Transbronchial cryoablation shows potential as a local therapy for inoperable peripheral lung cancer. However, its clinical application for peripheral pulmonary lesions has not been reported yet.

Methods

An improved cryoprobe with an 8-mm-long, 1.9-mm-wide cryotip was used. Initially, the safety and effectiveness of this cryoprobe were assessed in an in vivo porcine model. Transbronchial cryoablation with 2 or 3 freeze-thaw cycles (10 min or 15 min in each freezing time) was performed in 18 pigs under CT monitoring. Radiological and pathological examinations were performed to evaluate the extent of cryoablation. Subsequently, nine patients with stage IA peripheral lung cancer or metastases underwent transbronchial cryoablation with this cryoprobe under the guidance of navigation bronchoscopy and cone-beam CT. Technical success, safety and outcomes were assessed.

Results

36 cryoablation procedures were performed successfully without any major complications in the porcine model. The extent of cryoablation increased with freezing time and the number of freeze-thaw cycles, which peaked at 24 hours and then gradually decreased. Pathological results showed a change from massive haemorrhage at 24 hours to fibrous hyperplasia with chronic inflammation after 4 weeks. In the clinical trial, 10 cryoablations were performed on 9 tumours with a technical success rate of 100%. One mild treatment-related complication occurred. Of the nine tumours, seven achieved complete ablation, while two exhibited incomplete ablation and subsequent local progression at 6 months.

Conclusion

Our initial experience indicated that transbronchial cryoablation was a safe and feasible procedure for non-surgical peripheral stage IA lung cancer or pulmonary metastases.

Trial registration number

ChiCTR2200061544.
Exact massless scalar quasibound states of the Ernst black hole
Authors: Senjaya David
Published: January 2024

In this work, we present a detailed derivation of novel exact massless scalar quasibound state a static magnetized Ernst black hole background. We successfully solve the governing covariant Klein–Gordon equation and discover the exact radial solutions in terms of the Confluent Heun functions. With the exact radial wave solution in hand, applying its polynomial condition leads to the discovery of the quantized energy levels expression that depends on the black hole’s mass M, magnetic field strength $$B_0$$

B
0

and also the magnetic and main quantum number $$(m_\ell , n).$$

(

m
ℓ

,
n
)
.

A massive scalar field around the black hole has complex valued energy levels while massless particle has purely imaginary energy levels. Further investigation in small black hole limit and zero magnetic field, the massless scalar’s purely imaginary energy expression is recovered. We also discover the equivalence between massless scalar field around an Ernst black hole with massive scalar field around a Schwarzschild black hole. In the last section, the Hawking radiation in investigated and applying the Damour–Ruffini method, the Hawking temperature is obtained out of the radiation distribution function.
Novel nanostructural features of heat and mass transfer of radiative Carreau nanoliquid above an extendable rotating disk
Authors: Raza Rabeeah , Naz Rahila , Murtaza Sehrish , Abdelsalam Sara I.
Published: January 2024

The objective of this paper is to investigate the heat transfer mechanism while considering the attributes of viscous dissipation, Joule heating, and nonlinear thermal radiations in the three-dimensional steady incompressible flow of Carreau liquid on an extendable rotating disk. By using the similarity transformation, the governed equations were converted into the nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations. The essential characteristics of various variables like Prandtl number, Lewis number, Carreau liquid parameter, Brownian motion, thermophoresis parameter, radiation parameter, Eckert number and Hartmann number on velocity, thermal, and concentration are discussed through graphs and tables. The presented investigation divulges that the thermal and mass transfer rates enhance when Brownian motion and thermophoresis processes extended and manifest as opposing features on the concentration field.
Images of Gaussian and other stochastic processes under closed, densely-defined, unbounded linear operators
Authors: Matsumoto Tadashi , Sullivan T. J.
Published: January 2024

Gaussian Processes (GPs) are widely-used tools in spatial statistics and machine learning and the formulae for the mean function and covariance kernel of a GP [Formula: see text] that is the image of another GP [Formula: see text] under a linear transformation [Formula: see text] acting on the sample paths of [Formula: see text] are well known, almost to the point of being folklore. However, these formulae are often used without rigorous attention to technical details, particularly when [Formula: see text] is an unbounded operator such as a differential operator, which is common in many modern applications. This note provides a self-contained proof of the claimed formulae for the case of a closed, densely-defined operator [Formula: see text] acting on the sample paths of a square-integrable (not necessarily Gaussian) stochastic process. Our proof technique relies upon Hille’s theorem for the Bochner integral of a Banach-valued random variable.
DIGITAL BUSINESS MODELS A LITERATURE-BASED TAXONOMY AND RESEARCH AVENUES
Authors: WIRTZ BERND W. , MÜLLER WILHELM M. , LANGER PAUL F.
Published: January 2024

Digital technologies and connectivity offer unprecedented opportunities for businesses to adapt and reinvent themselves to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Digital transformation and business model innovation have generated a large body of research in recent years due to their great practical importance. This study critically evaluates this extensive literature and aims to capture different understandings of digital business models (DBMs), identify knowledge gaps and highlight perspectives for further research. To achieve this, the literature review deductively filters out the most relevant 626 studies. For this purpose, the literature is clustered into the areas of “definition and terminology”, “classification and taxonomy”, “technology”, “configuration, structures and processes”, “drivers and determinants” and “results and impacts”. The most important scientific results and approaches are discussed and corresponding implications are derived from previous research in order to summarise the most important findings and perspectives for science and practice.
Modeling the effects of media information and saturated treatment on malaria disease with NSFD method
Authors: Sarkar Tapan , Biswas Pankaj , Srivastava Prashant K.
Published: January 2024

Whenever a disease spreads in the population, people have a tendency to alter their behavior due to the availability of knowledge concerning disease prevalence. Therefore, the incidence term of the model must be suitably changed to reflect the impact of information. Furthermore, a lack of medical resources affects the dynamics of disease. In this paper, a mathematical model of malaria of type [Formula: see text] with media information and saturated treatment is considered. The analysis of the model is performed and it is established that when the basic reproduction number, [Formula: see text], is less than unity, the disease may or may not die out due to saturated treatment. Furthermore, it is pointed out that if medical resources are accessible to everyone, disease elimination in this situation is achievable. The global asymptotic stability of the unique endemic equilibrium point (EEP) is established using the geometric approach under parametric restriction. The sensitivity analysis is also carried out using the normalized forward sensitivity index (NFSI). It is difficult to derive the analytical solution for the governing model due to it being a system of highly nonlinear ordinary differential equations. To overcome this challenge, a specialized numerical scheme known as the non-standard finite difference (NSFD) approach has been applied. The suggested numerical method is subjected to an elaborate theoretical analysis and it is determined that the NSFD scheme maintains the positivity and conservation principles of the solutions. It is also established that the disease-free equilibrium (DFE) point has the same local stability criteria as that of continuous model. Our proposed NSFD scheme also captures the backward bifurcation phenomena. The outcomes of the NSFD scheme are compared to two well-known standard numerical techniques, namely the fourth-order Runge–Kutta (RK4) method and the forward Euler method.
Dynamics of a stage-structured insect–vegetable crop interaction model with maturation delay
Authors: Misra A. K. , Yadav Akash
Published: January 2024

Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers. Insects attack vegetable crops and to control them, farmers spray chemical insecticides. However, the continuous insecticide spray leads to residues in vegetables and harms the beneficial insects. In this research work, we formulate a novel stage-structured insect–vegetable crop interaction model to investigate the effects of a one-time insecticide spray and external efforts on vegetable production and insect population. This study determines the threshold values of the maturation period and immature insect abatement rate above which the insect-free equilibrium becomes stable, while the feasibility of the interior equilibrium ceases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that insects with a short maturation period can also be controlled by increasing the abatement rates of both immature and mature insects. The global stability of the insect-free equilibrium is discussed, and the effects of key parameters on vegetable production are analyzed. Numerical simulation is also presented to substantiate the theoretical results. Our research indicates that attaining the targeted vegetable yield necessitates a critical emphasis on managing insecticide abatement rates, along with the effective implementation of external efforts.
Global stability analysis of an epidemic model with feedback control and general incidence rate
Authors: Wang Lin-Lin , Fan Yong-Hong
Published: January 2024

In this paper, SIR model with feedback control has been considered. By constructing the Lyapunov function, using the Routh–Hurwitz criterion and the positive definite quadratic form theory, some sufficient conditions have been obtained, and some well-known results have been generalized. It is worth mentioning that if the feedback control variables have an inhibitory effect on the susceptible population and the infected population, the number of basic regeneration of the disease will be reduced. The reduction depends only on the control of the susceptible population, but not on the control of the infected population. This is a very interesting conclusion.
The Early Devonian Xitun Vertebrate Fauna in South China inhabited a shallow marine environment with changing salinity
Authors: Cai Jiachen , Sun Haoran , Zhao Wenjin , Wang Jianhua , Zhu Min
Published: January 2024

The Early Devonian Xitun Vertebrate Fauna, represented by early members of crown sarcopterygians, such as
Youngolepis
,
Diabolepis
,
Psarolepis
,
Achoania
and
Styloichthys
, is mainly hosted in the Xitun Formation in the Qujing area, East Yunnan of China. Despite numerous research articles describing taxa from this famous Lochkovian fauna and its sedimentary and tectonic environments, there is no objective and coherent interpretation of the palaeoenvironment in which these early vertebrates lived. Based on detailed field geological investigation in recent years in the surrounding areas of Qujing City and measurements from the Xitun Formation section, this paper focuses on the analysis of some geochemistry indices of major, trace and rare earth elements to accurately elucidate the sedimentary environment of the Xitun Formation and deepen our understanding of the relationship between Early Devonian fishes and the environment. The analyses of the sensitive geochemistry indices of depositional and tectonic settings, sedimentary provenance, weathering, palaeoclimate, palaeosalinity and palaeoredox conditions indicate that the Lower Devonian Xitun Formation in East Yunnan was mainly deposited in a shallow marine setting with three phases of seawater–freshwater influx under a warm and humid climate, and a stable, oxygen-rich condition, which promoted the flourishing of Early Devonian marine fishes.

Supplementary material:
Data on the major (Table A), trace (Table B) and rare earth (Table C) elements are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7020642

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Chemical Evolution of the Mid-Paleozoic Earth System and Biotic Response collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/chemical-evolution-of-the-mid-paleozoic-earth-system
Batched Neural Bandits
Authors: Gu Quanquan , Karbasi Amin , Khosravi Khashayar , Mirrokni Vahab , Zhou Dongruo
Published: January 2024

In many sequential decision-making problems, the individuals are split into several batches and the decision-maker is only allowed to change her policy at the end of batches. These batch problems have a large number of applications, ranging from clinical trials to crowdsourcing. Motivated by this, we study the stochastic contextual bandit problem for general reward distributions under the batched setting. We propose the BatchNeuralUCB algorithm which combines neural networks with optimism to address the exploration-exploitation tradeoff while keeping the total number of batches limited. We study BatchNeuralUCB under both fixed and adaptive batch size settings and prove that it achieves the same regret as the fully sequential version while reducing the number of policy updates considerably. We confirm our theoretical results via simulations on both synthetic and real-world datasets.
DNBP: Differentiable Nonparametric Belief Propagation
Authors: Opipari Anthony , Pavlasek Jana , Chen Chao , Wang Shoutian , Desingh Karthik , Jenkins Odest Chadwicke
Published: January 2024

We present a differentiable approach to learn the probabilistic factors used for inference by a nonparametric belief propagation algorithm. Existing nonparametric belief propagation methods rely on domain-specific features encoded in the probabilistic factors of a graphical model. In this work, we replace each crafted factor with a differentiable neural network, enabling the factors to be learned using an efficient optimization routine from labeled data. By combining differentiable neural networks with an efficient belief propagation algorithm, our method learns to maintain a set of marginal posterior samples using end-to-end training. We evaluate our differentiable nonparametric belief propagation (DNBP) method on a set of articulated pose tracking tasks and compare performance with learned baselines. Results from these experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of using learned factors for tracking and suggest the practical advantage over hand-crafted approaches. The project webpage is available at:
https://progress.eecs.umich.edu/projects/dnbp/
.
Rcmp: Reconstructing RDMA-Based Memory Disaggregation via CXL
Authors: Wang Zhonghua , Guo Yixing , Lu Kai , Wan Jiguang , Wang Daohui , Yao Ting , Wu Huatao
Published: January 2024

Memory disaggregation is a promising architecture for modern datacenters that separates compute and memory resources into independent pools connected by ultra-fast networks, which can improve memory utilization, reduce cost, and enable elastic scaling of compute and memory resources. However, existing memory disaggregation solutions based on remote direct memory access (RDMA) suffer from high latency and additional overheads including page faults and code refactoring. Emerging cache-coherent interconnects such as CXL offer opportunities to reconstruct high-performance memory disaggregation. However, existing CXL-based approaches have physical distance limitation and cannot be deployed across racks.

In this article, we propose Rcmp, a novel low-latency and highly scalable memory disaggregation system based on RDMA and CXL. The significant feature is that Rcmp improves the performance of RDMA-based systems via CXL, and leverages RDMA to overcome CXL’s distance limitation. To address the challenges of the mismatch between RDMA and CXL in terms of granularity, communication, and performance, Rcmp (1) provides a global page-based memory space management and enables fine-grained data access, (2) designs an efficient communication mechanism to avoid communication blocking issues, (3) proposes a hot-page identification and swapping strategy to reduce RDMA communications, and (4) designs an RDMA-optimized RPC framework to accelerate RDMA transfers. We implement a prototype of Rcmp and evaluate its performance by using micro-benchmarks and running a key-value store with YCSB benchmarks. The results show that Rcmp can achieve 5.2× lower latency and 3.8× higher throughput than RDMA-based systems. We also demonstrate that Rcmp can scale well with the increasing number of nodes without compromising performance.
PAMR: Persian Abstract Meaning Representation Corpus
Authors: Tohidi Nasim , Dadkhah Chitra , Ganji Reza Nouralizadeh , Sadr Ehsan Ghaffari , Elmi Hoda
Published: January 2024

One of the most used and well-known semantic representation models is Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR). This representation has had numerous applications in natural language processing tasks in recent years. Currently, for English and Chinese languages, large annotated corpora are available. In addition, in some low-resource languages, related corpora have been generated with less size; although, until now, to the best of our knowledge, there is not any AMR corpus for the Persian/Farsi language. Therefore, the aim of this article is to create a Persian AMR (PAMR) corpus via translating English sentences and adjusting AMR guidelines and to solve the various challenges that are faced in this regard. The result of this research is a corpus, containing 1,020 Persian sentences and their related AMR that can be used in various natural language processing tasks. In this article, to investigate the feasibility of using the corpus, we have applied it to two natural language processing tasks: Sentiment Analysis and Text Summarization.
A LAPACK Implementation of the Dynamic Mode Decomposition
Authors: Drmač Zlatko
Published: January 2024

The Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) is a method for computational analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems in data driven scenarios. Based on high fidelity numerical simulations or experimental data, the DMD can be used to reveal the latent structures in the dynamics or as a forecasting or a model order reduction tool. The theoretical underpinning of the DMD is the Koopman operator on a Hilbert space of observables of the dynamics under study. This paper describes a numerically robust and versatile variant of the DMD and its implementation using the state-of-the-art dense numerical linear algebra software package
LAPACK
. The features of the proposed software solution include residual bounds for the computed eigenpairs of the DMD matrix, eigenvectors refinements and computation of the eigenvectors of the Exact DMD, compressed DMD for efficient analysis of high dimensional problems that can be easily adapted for fast updates in a streaming DMD. Numerical analysis is the bedrock of numerical robustness and reliability of the software, that is tested following the highest standards and practices of
LAPACK
. Important numerical topics are discussed in detail and illustrated using numerous numerical examples.
Group Validation in Recommender Systems: Framework for Multi-layer Performance Evaluation
Authors: Al Jurdi Wissam , Abdo Jacques Bou , Demerjian Jacques , Makhoul Abdallah
Published: January 2024

Evaluation of recommendation systems continues evolving, especially in recent years. There have been several attempts to standardize the assessment processes and propose replacement metrics better oriented toward measuring effective personalization. However, standard evaluation tools merely possess the capacity to provide a general overview of a system’s performance; they lack consistency and effectiveness in their use, as evidenced by most recent studies on the topic. Furthermore, traditional evaluation techniques fail to detect potentially harmful data on small subsets. Moreover, they generally lack explainable features to interpret how such minor variations could affect the system’s performance. This proposal focuses on data clustering for recommender evaluation and applies a cluster assessment technique to locate such performance issues. Our new approach, namedgroup validation, aids in spotting critical performance variability in compact subsets of the system’s data and unravels hidden weaknesses in predictions where such unfavorable variations generally go unnoticed with typical assessment methods. Group validation for recommenders is a modular evaluation layer that complements regular evaluation and includes a new unique perspective to the evaluation process. Additionally, it allows several applications to the recommender ecosystem, such as model evolution tests, fraud/attack detection, and the capacity for hosting a hybrid model setup.
Flow-augmentation II: Undirected Graphs
Authors: Kim Eun Jung , Kratsch Stefan , Pilipczuk Marcin , Wahlström Magnus
Published: January 2024

We present an undirected version of the recently introduced
flow-augmentation
technique: Given an undirected multigraph
G
with distinguished vertices
s,t ∈ V(G)
and an integer
k
, one can in randomized
k
𝒪(1)
⋅
(|V(G)| + |E(G)|)
time sample a set
A
⊆

\(\binom{V(G)}{2}\)

such that the following holds: for every inclusion-wise minimal
st
-cut
Z
in
G
of cardinality at most
k
,
Z
becomes a
minimum-cardinality
cut between
s
and
t
in
G+A
(i.e., in the multigraph
G
with all edges of
A
added) with probability 2

-𝒪(
k
log
k

).

Compared to the version for directed graphs [STOC 2022], the version presented here has improved success probability (2

-𝒪(
k
log
k

) instead of 2

-𝒪(

k
4

log
k
)

), linear dependency on the graph size in the running time bound, and an arguably simpler proof.

An immediate corollary is that the

Bi-objective
st
-Cut

problem can be solved in randomized FPT time 2

𝒪(
k
log
k
)

(|V(G)|+|E(G)|)
on undirected graphs.
Co-Sharding: A Sharding Scheme for Large-Scale Internet of Things Application
Authors: Yang Haotian , Zhang Xiaoyu , Wu Zihan , Wang Liangmin , Chen Xiao , Liu Lu
Published: January 2024

Blockchain technology finds widespread application in the management of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In response to the challenges posed by performance scalability and the convergence of multiple ledgers stemming from an expanding network, this study introduces the concept of
Co-Sharding
. Within this framework, the ledger maintained by sub-chains overseeing IoT operations in distinct geographic regions is conceptualized as a shard within the Large-scale Internet of Things (LIoT) ledger. Meanwhile, elected nodes within each region assume responsibility for maintaining a coordinating shard, facilitating cross-regional communication and data interaction. Furthermore, our work presents a multi-objective optimization algorithm grounded in the multi-shard paradigm to enact a scheduling strategy that spans various regions. We undertake a series of pertinent experiments and conduct a comparative analysis of scheduling algorithms within the context of a real-world cross-regional agricultural IoT system, utilizing actual operational data. The comparative results demonstrate that, in comparison to intra-sub-region scheduling, the Co-Sharding approach enhances machine utilization rates by approximately 30% and reduces scheduling time by around 18% when confronted with a task count of 12. In terms of performance, Co-Sharding also exhibits the capability to reduce the storage requirements of lightweight nodes within each region by approximately 39% while concurrently improving throughput by approximately 1.5 times when contrasted with a single-chain architecture.