bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advancements in Hermite–Hadamard inequalities via conformable fractional integrals for subadditive functions
Authors: Haider Wali , Budak Hüseyin , Shehzadi Asia , Hezenci Fatih , Chen Haibo
Published: January 2025

This study advances Hermite–Hadamard inequalities for subadditive functions using conformable fractional integrals. It establishes and explores numerous versions of these inequalities, as well as fractional integral inequalities for the product of two subadditive functions via conformable fractional integrals. The findings indicate that these inequalities improve and extend prior results for convex and subadditive functions, significantly enhancing the theoretical framework of fractional calculus and inequality theory. Moreover, computational analysis is conducted on these inequalities for subadditive functions, and mathematical examples are given to validate the newly established results within the framework of conformable fractional calculus.
Generalized local fractional integral inequalities via generalized (h̃1,h̃2)-preinvexity on fractal sets
Authors: Al-Sa’di Sa’ud , Bibi Maria , Muddassar Muhammad , Budak Hüseyin
Published: January 2025

In this paper, we establish several general local fractional integral inequalities via generalized [Formula: see text] preinvex mapping on fractal sets. By considering different parameter values, we develop particular applications of our result, such as midpoint-type inequality, generalized trapezoidal-type inequality, and generalized Simpson-type inequality. We present applications of the derived inequalities in numerical quadrature formulas, providing error estimates.
Dynamic of solitary wave pulse speed with dual-power law refractive index in homogeneous optical waveguides
Authors: Shehzad Khurrem , Wang Jun , Arshad Muhammad , Attique Muhammad , Seadawy Aly R.
Published: January 2025

This paper explores the nonlinear Shrödinger equation (NLSE) with dual-power law (DPL) nonlinear terms which illustrates how the temporal fluctuations of the system parameters may be used to regulate the solitary wave speed in an in-homogeneous optical waveguide with a DPL refractive index. The main goal is to comprehend the dynamics of these short light pulses propagation in optical media with DPL nonlinearity and temporally controlled dispersion. The generalized exponential rational function (GERF) approach is employed to obtain a variety of traveling wave solutions. This method finds extensive applications in both mathematics and physics. Together with the forming conditions, the attributes for optical bright and multipeak solitons with this media are presented. The derived solutions are also presented graphically to help visualize the model’s physical processes. Many diverse similar models that arise in the applied sciences may be resolved with this method since it is believable, effective, and successful. Beyond the various models encountered in the applied sciences, this robust, strong, and efficient technique can be expanded to handle many kinds of higher-order nonlinear problems that arise in contemporary research fields.
Consistency of a Dependent Calculus of Indistinguishability
Authors: Liu Yiyun , Chan Jonathan , Weirich Stephanie
Published: January 2025

The Dependent Calculus of Indistinguishability (DCOI) uses dependency tracking to identify irrelevant arguments and uses indistinguishability during type conversion to enable proof irrelevance, supporting run-time and compile-time irrelevance with the same uniform mechanism. DCOI also internalizes reasoning about indistinguishability through the use of a propositional equality type indexed by an observer level. As DCOI is a pure type system, prior work establishes only its syntactic type safety, justifying its use as the basis for a programming language with dependent types. However, it was not clear whether any instance of this system would be suitable for use as a type theory for theorem proving. Here, we identify a suitable instance DCOI
ω
, which has an infinite predicative universe hierarchy. We show that DCOI
ω
is logically consistent, normalizing, and that type conversion is decidable. We have mechanized all results using the Coq proof assistant.
Algebras for Deterministic Computation Are Inherently Incomplete
Authors: ten Cate Balder , Kappé Tobias
Published: January 2025

Kleene Algebra with Tests (KAT) provides an elegant algebraic framework for describing non-deterministic finite-state computations. Using a small finite set of non-deterministic programming constructs (sequencing, non-deterministic choice, and iteration) it is able to express all non-deterministic finite state control flow over a finite set of primitives. It is natural to ask whether there exists a similar finite set of constructs that can capture all deterministic computation. We show that this is not the case. More precisely, the deterministic fragment of KAT is not generated by any finite set of regular control flow operations. This generalizes earlier results about the expressivity of the traditional control flow operations, i.e., sequential composition, if-then-else and while.
Pantograph: A Fluid and Typed Structure Editor
Authors: Prinz Jacob , Blanchette Henry , Lampropoulos Leonidas
Published: January 2025

Structure editors operate directly on a program’s syntactic tree structure. At first glance, this allows for the exciting possibility that such an editor could enforce correctness properties: programs could be well-formed and sometimes even well-typed by construction. Unfortunately, traditional approaches to structure editing that attempt to rigidly enforce these properties face a seemingly fundamental problem, known in the literature as
viscosity
. Making changes to existing programs often requires temporarily breaking program structure—but disallowing such changes makes it difficult to edit programs! In this paper, we present a scheme for structure editing which always maintains a valid program structure without sacrificing the fluidity necessary to freely edit programs. Two key pieces help solve this puzzle: first, we develop a novel generalization of
selection
for tree-based structures that properly generalizes text-based selection and editing, allowing users to freely rearrange pieces of code by cutting and pasting one-hole contexts; second, we type these one-hole contexts with a category of
type diffs
and explore the metatheory of the system that arises for maintaining well-typedness systematically. We implement our approach as an editor called
Pantograph
, and we conduct a study in which we successfully taught students to program with Pantograph and compare their performance against a traditional text editor.
Do You Even Lift? Strengthening Compiler Security Guarantees against Spectre Attacks
Authors: Fabian Xaver , Patrignani Marco , Guarnieri Marco , Backes Michael
Published: January 2025

Mainstream compilers implement different countermeasures to prevent specific classes of speculative execution

attacks. Unfortunately, these countermeasures either lack formal guarantees or come with proofs restricted to

speculative semantics capturing only a subset of the speculation mechanisms supported by modern CPUs,

thereby limiting their practical applicability. Ideally, these security proofs should target a speculative semantics

capturing the effects of all speculation mechanisms implemented in modern CPUs. However, this is impractical

and requires new secure compilation proofs to support additional speculation mechanisms.

In this paper, we address this problem by proposing a novel secure compilation framework that allows lifting

the security guarantees provided by Spectre countermeasures from weaker speculative semantics (ignoring

some speculation mechanisms) to stronger ones (accounting for the omitted mechanisms) without requiring

new secure compilation proofs. Using our lifting framework, we performed the most comprehensive security

analysis of Spectre countermeasures implemented in mainstream compilers to date. Our analysis spans 9

different countermeasures against 5 classes of Spectre attacks, which we proved secure against a speculative

semantics accounting for 5 different speculation mechanisms. Our analysis highlights that fence-based and

retpoline-based countermeasures can be securely lifted to the strongest speculative semantics under study.

In contrast, countermeasures based on speculative load hardening cannot be securely lifted to semantics

supporting indirect jump speculation.
Abstract Operational Methods for Call-by-Push-Value
Authors: Goncharov Sergey , Tsampas Stelios , Urbat Henning
Published: January 2025

Levy's call-by-push-value is a comprehensive programming paradigm that combines elements from functional and imperative programming, supports computational effects and subsumes both call-by-value and call-by-name evaluation strategies. In the present work, we develop modular methods to reason about program equivalence in call-by-push-value, and in fine-grain call-by-value, which is a popular lightweight call-by-value sublanguage of the former. Our approach is based on the fundamental observation that presheaf categories of sorted sets are suitable universes to model call-by-(push)-value languages, and that natural, coalgebraic notions of program equivalence such as applicative similarity and logical relations can be developed within. Starting from this observation, we formalize fine-grain call-by-value and call-by-push-value in the higher-order abstract GSOS framework, reduce their key congruence properties to simple syntactic conditions by leveraging existing theory and argue that introducing changes to either language incurs minimal proof overhead.
A Quantitative Probabilistic Relational Hoare Logic
Authors: Avanzini Martin , Barthe Gilles , Davoli Davide , Grégoire Benjamin
Published: January 2025

We introduce eRHL, a program logic for reasoning about relational expectation properties of pairs of probabilistic programs. eRHL is quantitative, i.e., its pre- and post-conditions take values in the extended non-negative reals. Thanks to its quantitative assertions, eRHL overcomes randomness alignment restrictions from prior logics, including pRHL, a popular relational program logic used to reason about security of cryptographic constructions, and apRHL, a variant of pRHL for differential privacy. As a result, eRHL is the first relational probabilistic program logic to be supported by non-trivial soundness and completeness results for all
almost surely terminating
programs. We show that eRHL is sound and complete with respect to program equivalence, statistical distance, and differential privacy. We also show that every pRHL judgment is valid iff it is provable in eRHL. We showcase the practical benefits of eRHL with examples that are beyond reach of pRHL and apRHL.
The Best of Abstract Interpretations
Authors: Giacobazzi Roberto , Ranzato Francesco
Published: January 2025

We study
“the best of abstract interpretations”
, that is, the best possible abstract interpretations of programs. Abstract interpretations are inductively defined by composing abstract transfer functions for the basic commands, such as assignments and Boolean guards. However, abstract interpretation is not compositional: even if the abstract transfer functions of the basic commands are the best possible ones on a given abstract domain 
A
this does not imply that the whole inductive abstract interpretation of a program
p
is still the best in
A
. When this happens we are in the optimal scenario where the abstract interpretation of
p
coincides with the abstraction of the concrete interpretation of
p
. Our main contributions are threefold. Firstly, we investigate the computability properties of the class of programs having the best possible abstract interpretation on a fixed abstract domain
A
. We show that this class is, in general, not straightforward and not recursive. Secondly, we prove the impossibility of achieving the best possible abstract interpretation of any program
p
either by an effective compilation of
p
or by minimally refining or simplifying the abstract domain
A
. These results show that the program property of having the best possible abstract interpretation is not trivial and, in general, hard to achieve. We then show how to prove that the abstract interpretation of a program is indeed the best possible one. To this aim, we put forward a program logic parameterized on an abstract domain
A
which infers triples [
pre
]

A

p
[
post
]

A

. These triples encode that the inductive abstract interpretation of
p
on
A
with abstract input
pre
∈
A
gives
post
∈
A
as abstract output and this is the best possible in
A
.
Flexible Type-Based Resource Estimation in Quantum Circuit Description Languages
Authors: Colledan Andrea , Dal Lago Ugo
Published: January 2025

We introduce a type system for the Quipper language designed to derive upper bounds on the size of the circuits produced by the typed program. This size can be measured according to various metrics, including width, depth and gate count, but also variations thereof obtained by considering only some wire types or some gate kinds. The key ingredients for achieving this level of flexibility are effects and refinement types, both relying on indices, that is, generic arithmetic expressions whose operators are interpreted differently depending on the target metric. The approach is shown to be correct through logical predicates, under reasonable assumptions about the chosen resource metric. This approach is empirically evaluated through the QuRA tool, showing that, in many cases, inferring tight bounds is possible in a fully automatic way.
Reachability Analysis of the Domain Name System
Authors: Nevatia Dhruv , Liu Si , Basin David
Published: January 2025

The high complexity of DNS poses unique challenges for ensuring its security and reliability. Despite continuous advances in DNS testing, monitoring, and verification, protocol-level defects still give rise to numerous bugs and attacks. In this paper, we provide the first decision procedure for the DNS verification problem, establishing its complexity as 2
ExpTime
, which was previously unknown. We begin by formalizing the semantics of DNS as a system of recursive communicating processes extended with timers and an infinite message alphabet. We provide an algebraic abstraction of the alphabet with finitely many equivalence classes, using the subclass of semigroups that recognize positive prefix-testable languages. We then introduce a novel generalization of bisimulation for labelled transition systems, weaker than strong bisimulation, to show that our abstraction is sound and complete. Finally, using this abstraction, we reduce the DNS verification problem to the verification problem for pushdown systems. To show the expressiveness of our framework, we model two of the most prominent attack vectors on DNS, namely amplification attacks and rewrite blackholing.
Bidirectional Higher-Rank Polymorphism with Intersection and Union Types
Authors: Jiang Shengyi , Cui Chen , Oliveira Bruno C. d. S.
Published: January 2025

Modern mainstream programming languages, such as TypeScript, Flow, and Scala, have polymorphic type systems enriched with intersection and union types. These languages implement variants of
bidirectional higher-rank polymorphic
type inference, which was previously studied mostly in the context of functional programming. However, existing type inference implementations lack solid theoretical foundations when dealing with non-structural subtyping and intersection and union types, which were not studied before. In this paper, we study bidirectional higher-rank polymorphic type inference with explicit type applications, and intersection and union types and demonstrate that these features have non-trivial interactions. We first present a type system, described by a bidirectional specification, with good theoretical properties and a sound, complete, and decidable algorithm. This is helpful to identify a class of types that can always be inferred. We also explore variants incorporating practical features, such as handling records and inferring a larger class of types, which align better with real-world implementations. Though some variants no longer have a complete algorithm, they still enhance the expressiveness of the type system. To ensure rigor, all results are formalized in the Coq proof assistant.
Dis/Equality Graphs
Authors: Zakhour George , Weisenburger Pascal , Cesario Jahrim Gabriele , Salvaneschi Guido
Published: January 2025

E-graphs are a data structure to compactly represent a program space and reason about equality of program terms. E-graphs have been successfully applied to a number of domains, including program optimization and automated theorem proving. In many applications, however, it is necessary to reason about disequality of terms as well as equality. While disequality reasoning can be encoded, direct support for disequalities increases performance and simplifies the metatheory.

In this paper, we develop a framework independent of a specific implementation to formally reason about e-graphs. For the first time, we prove the equivalence of e-graphs to the reflexive, symmetric, transitive, and congruent closure of the equivalence relation they are expected to encode. We use these results to present the first formalization of an extension of e-graphs that directly supports disequalities and prove an analytical result about their superior efficiency compared to embedding techniques that are commonly used in SMT solvers and automated verifiers. We further profile an SMT solver and find that it spends a measurable amount of time handling disequalities.

We implement our approach in an extension to egg, a popular e-graph Rust library. We evaluate our solution in an SMT solver and an automated theorem prover using standard benchmarks. The results indicate that direct support for disequalities outperforms other encodings based on equality embedding, confirming the results obtained analytically.
Tail Modulo Cons, OCaml, and Relational Separation Logic
Authors: Allain Clément , Bour Frédéric , Clément Basile , Pottier François , Scherer Gabriel
Published: January 2025

Common functional languages incentivize tail-recursive functions, as opposed to general recursive functions that consume stack space and may not scale to large inputs.

This distinction occasionally requires writing functions in a tail-recursive style that may be more complex and slower than the natural, non-tail-recursive definition.

This work describes our implementation of the
tail modulo constructor
(TMC) transformation in the OCaml compiler, an optimization that provides stack-efficiency for a larger class of functions --- tail-recursive
modulo constructors
--- which includes in particular the natural definition of 'List.map' and many similar recursive data-constructing functions.

We prove the correctness of this program transformation in a simplified setting --- a small untyped calculus --- that captures the salient aspects of the OCaml implementation. Our proof is mechanized in the Coq proof assistant, using the Iris base logic.

An independent contribution of our work is an extension of the Simuliris approach to define simulation relations that support different calling conventions. To our knowledge, this is the first use of Simuliris to prove the correctness of a compiler transformation.
Enhancing Brain Disease Diagnosis with XAI: A Review of Recent Studies
Authors: Bibi Nighat , Courtney Jane , McGuinness Kevin
Published: January 2025

The area of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has shown remarkable progress in the past few years, with the aim of enhancing the transparency and interpretability of the Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) models. This review article presents an in-depth review of the current state-of-the-art XAI techniques applied to the diagnosis of brain diseases. The challenges encountered by traditional ML and DL models within this domain are thoroughly examined, emphasizing the pivotal role of XAI in providing the transparency and interpretability of these models. Furthermore, this article presents a comprehensive survey of the XAI methodologies used for making diagnoses of various brain disorders. Recent studies utilizing XAI for diagnosing a range of brain illnesses, including Alzheimer, brain tumors, dementia, Parkinson, multiple sclerosis, autism, epilepsy, and stroke, are critically reviewed. Finally, the limitations inherent in current XAI techniques are discussed, along with prospective avenues for future research. The key goal of this study is to provide researchers with a roadmap that shows the potential of XAI techniques in improving the interpretability and transparency of DL and ML algorithms for the diagnosis of brain diseases, while also delineating the challenges that require concerted research efforts.
Algorithm-Hardware Co-design for Accelerating Depthwise Separable CNNs
Authors: Li Guoqing , Li Rengang , Li Tuo , Chen Tinghuan , Zhang Meng , Corporaal Henk
Published: January 2025

Depthwise separable convolution (DSC) is a popular method for constructing lightweight neural networks. However, the pointwise convolution (PWC) has a much larger number of parameters than the depthwise convolution (DWC), causing the imbalanced parameter ratio of PWC to DWC. In this article, we propose an efficient and hardware-efficiency convolution (Shared Kernel sliding on channel Convolution, SKC) to replace the redundant PWC in DSC for a balanced parameter ratio, where SKC customizes the sharing kernel in the channel dimension to reduce the number of parameters, and the local connection in the channel dimension reduces the computation. Furthermore, the proposed SKC is suitable for Winograd acceleration, and the large kernel decomposition method is introduced to facilitate its use. We implement the first Winograd-based FPGA hardware accelerator for DSCNets. The shared 1D and 2D Winograd convolution computing engine is proposed to compute the proposed DSC consisting of DWC and SKC efficiently. An alternating loading and reusing storage approach is developed to efficiently load SKC input feature maps. Experimental results show our DSC-based accelerator can achieve 20× higher power efficiency at the cost of a small loss of accuracy by algorithm-hardware co-design compared with traditional accelerators.
Automatic Hardware Pragma Insertion in High-Level Synthesis: A Non-Linear Programming Approach
Authors: Pouget Stéphane , Pouchet Louis-Noël , Cong Jason
Published: January 2025

High-Level Synthesis enables the rapid prototyping of hardware accelerators, by combining a high-level description of the functional behavior of a kernel with a set of micro-architecture optimizations as inputs. Such optimizations can be described by inserting pragmas e.g., pipelining and replication of units, or even higher level transformations for HLS such as automatic data caching using the AMD/Xilinx Merlin compiler. Selecting the best combination of pragmas, even within a restricted set, remains particularly challenging and the typical state-of-practice uses design-space exploration to navigate this space. But due to the highly irregular performance distribution of pragma configurations, typical DSE approaches are either extremely time consuming, or operating on a severely restricted search space.

This work proposes a framework to automatically insert HLS pragmas in regular loop-based programs, supporting pipelining, unit replication, and data caching. We develop an analytical performance and resource model as a function of the input program properties and pragmas inserted, using non-linear constraints and objectives. We prove this model provides a lower bound on the actual performance after HLS. We then encode this model as a Non-Linear Program, by making the pragma configuration unknowns of the system, which is computed optimally by solving this NLP. This approach can also be used during DSE, to quickly prune points with a (possibly partial) pragma configuration, driven by lower bounds on achievable latency. We extensively evaluate our end-to-end, fully implemented system, showing it can effectively manipulate spaces of billions of designs in seconds to minutes for the kernels evaluated.
Non-Preemptive Scheduling of Periodic Tasks with Data Dependencies in Heterogeneous Multiprocessor Embedded Systems
Authors: Chen Jinchao , Wang Yang , Zhang Ying , Lu Yantao , Li Qing , Shu Qiuhao
Published: January 2025

Heterogeneous multiprocessor architecture is frequently employed as an economical and efficient means of providing excellent parallel processing capabilities while keeping production cost and power consumption under control. Although this architecture achieves significant performance enhancement and cost reduction, it results in a serious task allocation and scheduling problem, especially for periodic tasks with data dependencies, all of which should be reasonably scheduled and executed in a timely manner such that their deadlines and dependence requirements could be satisfied even if the worst happens. In this article, we concentrate on the non-preemptive scheduling problem of periodic tasks with data dependencies upon heterogeneous multiprocessor platforms. First, with models of data-dependent tasks and heterogeneous processors, we analyze the time, space, precedence, and data dependence constraints of tasks and design an exact formulation based on the mixed integer linear programming to completely explore the solution space and produce the optimal solutions. Then, by constructing a directed acyclic graph to depict the dependence relationship of jobs generated by tasks, we propose an efficient off-line list-based scheduling algorithm to provide a reasonable time and processor allocation for each job, with a view to minimizing the completion time of jobs. Experiments with randomly generated tasks are performed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm, and the experimental results show that our algorithm can averagely enhance the scheduling success ratio by 28.5%, and, respectively, reduce the task completion time and the deviation ratio by 23.3% and 17.2%, on average.
Skeleton-Boundary–Guided Network for Camouflaged Object Detection
Authors: Niu Yuzhen , Xu Yeyuan , Li Yuezhou , Zhang Jiabang , Chen Yuzhong
Published: January 2025

Camouflaged object detection (COD) aims to resolve the tough issue of accurately segmenting objects hidden in the surroundings. However, the existing methods suffer from two major problems: the incomplete interior and the inaccurate boundary of the object. To address these difficulties, we propose a three-stage skeleton-boundary–guided network (SBGNet) for the COD task. Specifically, we design a novel skeleton-boundary label to be complementary to the typical pixel-wise mask annotation, emphasizing the interior skeleton and the boundary of the camouflaged object. Furthermore, the proposed feature guidance module (FGM) leverages the skeleton-boundary feature to guide the model to focus on both the interior and the boundary of the camouflaged object. Besides, we design a bidirectional feature flow path with the information interaction module (IIM) to propagate and integrate the semantic and texture information. Finally, we propose the dual feature distillation module (DFDM) to progressively refine the segmentation results in a fine-grained manner. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate that our SBGNet outperforms 20 state-of-the-art methods on three benchmarks in both qualitative and quantitative comparisons.
EITHOT: Efficient In-place Transposition of High Order Tensors on GPUs
Authors: Wu Chun-Yu , Tu Chih-Chieh , Cheng Kai-Jung , Lee Che-Rung
Published: January 2025

Tensor transposition is a fundamental operation in tensor calculations with various applications. However, a naive implementation that copies each element from the source tensor to the transposed position in the target tensor requires double space, making it unsuitable for large-scale tensors on memory-limited accelerators, like Graphic Processing Units (GPUs). In this article, we propose an algorithm and its implementation, called EITHOT, for In-place Transposition of High Order Tensors on GPUs, which requires only 5% additional memory at most for large high order tensors. To achieve this, EITHOT uses a newly proposed method, called permutation decomposition, to factorize a transposition of a high-order tensor into a sequence of low-order tensor transpositions. Then, based on the estimated extra memory requirements, EITHOT divides a large tensor into smaller tensors and transposes each smaller tensor separately. Finally, the transposed smaller tensors are combined to form the desired result. The GPU implementation optimizes memory access performance using the cooperative groups programming model. Our experiments demonstrate that EITHOT delivers competitive performance compared to the state-of-the-art out-of-place GPU implementations. Furthermore, EITHOT can handle nearly double the size of tensors compared to out-of-place methods, making it suitable for various transpositions of N-order tensors.
“Sign in with ...
Privacy
”: Timely Disclosure of Privacy Differences among Web SSO Login Options
Authors: Morkonda Srivathsan G. , Chiasson S. , van Oorschot P. C.
Published: January 2025

The number of login options on websites has increased since the introduction of web single sign-on (SSO) protocols. Web SSO services allow users to grant websites or
relying parties
(RPs) access to their personal profile information from
identity provider
(IdP) accounts. Many RP sites fail to provide sufficient privacy-related information to allow users to make informed login decisions. Moreover, privacy differences in permission requests across login options are largely hidden from users and are time-consuming to manually extract and compare. In this article, we present an empirical analysis of popular RP implementations supporting three major IdP login options (Facebook, Google, and Apple) and categorize RPs in the top 500 sites into four client-side code patterns. Informed by these RP patterns, we design and implement SSOPrivateEye (SPEye), a browser extension prototype that extracts and displays to users permission request information from SSO login options in RPs covering the three IdPs.
A Survey on Packet Filtering
Authors: Sultana Nik , Bang Hyunsuk , Yulaeva Elena , Mok Ricky K. P. , Claffy Kc , Mortier Richard
Published: January 2025

Packet filtering has remained a key network monitoring primitive over decades, even as networking has continuously evolved. In this article we present the results of a survey we ran to collect data from the networking community, including researchers and practitioners, about how packet filtering is used. In doing so, we identify pain points related to packet filtering, and unmet needs of survey participants. Based on analysis of this survey data, we propose future research and development goals that would support the networking community.
Anatomic Approach to Fetal Hydrocephalus
Authors: Griffith April M. , Dalton Susan E. , Woodward Paula J. , Cull Jennison N. , Kennedy Anne M.
Published: January 2025

Use of an algorithmic approach to evaluate the posterior fossa and midline structures and assess for cortical developmental or destructive lesions allows radiologists to distinguish among the different causes of fetal hydrocephalus.
Cold Co-Sintering Studies of Composite Cathode for All Solid-State Li Batteries
Authors: Nur Khushnuda , Roitzheim Christoph , Lobe Sandra , Ma Qianli , Finsterbusch Martin , Bram Martin , Guillon Olivier
Published: January 2025

In the present work, we applied cold sintering for the processing of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP) and then LiMn2O4/LATP/Carbon black composite cathode. Their high-temperature processing is challenging due to Li evaporation and undesirable diffusion between electrode and electrolyte, leading to high interfacial resistance between these components. Cold sintering can be an option to address these problems. For cold sintered LATP, X-ray diffraction analysis displayed only a minor amount of secondary phases, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed slight reduction of Ti+4 to Ti+3 and Arrhenius plot presented higher activation energy for Li+ conduction. Transferring this knowledge to our composite cathode, we got ∼85% relative density at merely 400 °C, 400 MPa using 1 molar aqueous solution of LiOH in a 1 min dwell time. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time a cold co-sintered composite cathode of this type has been prepared. It was wetted with polymer electrolyte and characterized electrochemically against a Li-metal anode. While the cell could be reversible cycled several times, proving the concept, impurity phases after cold sintering limited the extractable capacity. This detailed investigation contributes a deep insight of cold co-sintering application for composite cathodes.
Method for measuring cervical vagal nerve activity in conscious rats
Authors: Miki Kenju , Miyaura Wakana , Ikegame Shizuka , Yoshimoto Misa
Published: January 2025

This study proposed a method for directly measuring cervical vagal nerve activity and reversibly blocking afferent cVNA in conscious rats. It demonstrated that CCK-8, when administered intraperitoneally, distinctly influences peripheral afferent vagal nerve activity without affecting renal sympathetic nerve activity, arterial pressure, or heart rate.
Neuroimmunometabolism: how metabolism orchestrates immune response in healthy and diseased brain
Authors: Rana Anil Kumar , Bhatt Babita , Gusain Chitralekha , Biswal Surya Narayan , Das Debashree , Kumar Mohit
Published: January 2025

Neuroimmunometabolism describes how neuroimmune cells, such as microglia, adapt their intracellular metabolic pathways to alter their immune functions in the central nervous system (CNS). Emerging evidence indicates that neurons also orchestrate the microglia-mediated immune response through neuro-immune cross talk, perhaps through metabolic signaling. However, little is known about how the brain’s metabolic microenvironment and microglial intracellular metabolism orchestrate the neuroimmune response in healthy and diseased brains. This review addresses the balance of immunometabolic substrates in healthy and diseased brains, their metabolism by brain-resident microglia, and the potential impact of metabolic dysregulation of these substrates on the neuroimmune response and pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. This review also suggests metabolic reprogramming of microglia as a preventive strategy for the management of neuroinflammation-related brain disorders, including psychiatric diseases.
Vitamin D as an add-on therapy to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor in experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Adão Rui , Barreira Bianca , Paternoster Elena , Morales-Cano Daniel , Olivencia Miguel A. , Quintana-Villamandos Begoña , Rodríguez-Chiaradía Diego A. , Cogolludo Angel , Perez-Vizcaino Francisco
Published: January 2025

Severe vitamin D deficiency is very prevalent in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. We show that addition of vitamin D to the standard PDE5 inhibitor tadalafil increases its therapeutic efficacy in pulmonary hypertensive rats that were deficient in vitamin D.
Compliance With Iron–Folic Acid Supplementation and Iron‐Deficiency Anemia Among Pregnant Women in Kathmandu
Authors: Karki Rajesh , Khanal Sudipa , Joshi Deepak Raj , Kaphle Maheshor
Published: January 2025

Background: Iron‐deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy is a major public health concern, leading to adverse maternal and fetal health outcomes such as premature birth and low birth weight. This study aimed to identify factors associated with compliance with iron–folic acid supplementation (IFAS) and the prevalence of IDA among pregnant.

Methods: A cross‐sectional study using face‐to‐face interviews with structured questionnaires was conducted among 270 pregnant women attending a private hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2023. Respondents were selected consecutively. Descriptive analysis was performed for categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with compliance and anemia (p < 0.05).

Results: Most respondents were young adults (mean age: 30.09 ± 4.40 years) with secondary level education (57.8%) and homemaker occupations (57.4%). Over half (56.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of anemia, and slightly more than half (50.0%) had good knowledge of iron–folic acid (IFA). Compliance with IFAS was 63.0%, while 28.5% of women had IDA. Compliance was positively associated with occupation (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.6 and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1–6.0), receiving IFA in the 2nd trimester (AOR = 2.2 and 95% CI = 1.1–5.0), and knowledge of IFA (AOR = 2.4 and 95% CI = 1.2–4.8). Higher education level (AOR = 5.1 and 95% CI = 1.7–15.2) and being employed (AOR = 0.3 and 95% CI = 0.1–0.8) were associated with lower IDA prevalence, while a history of medical illness was associated with higher IDA prevalence (AOR = 4.0 and 95% CI = 1.5–10.6).

Conclusion: Despite IFA compliance rates within the national coverage range, forgetfulness, side effects, and inadequate counseling remain barriers. The persistence of anemia, even at a slightly lower rate than national data, remains a significant public health concern. Public health interventions are needed to improve IFA adherence, reduce anemia, and optimize maternal and fetal health outcomes in this population.
Walnut Leaf Extract: A Natural Antioxidant to Improve Sperm Parameters and Testicular Dysfunction in Rats Under In Vitro Heat Stress
Authors: Salehimanesh Farid , Taravat Morteza , Khordadmehr Monireh , Asadpour Reza
Published: January 2025

Heat stress causes damage to testicular tissue and spermatogenesis in males. Walnut leaf extract (WLE) has antioxidant properties. This study aimed to investigate the effect of WLE on testicular tissue and sperm quality in rats under in vitro heat stress. For this purpose, 60 male albino rats were divided into five groups: healthy control group (T1), heated‐control group (T2), and treatments with 40, 60, and 150 mg/kg of the extract (T3, T4, and T5, respectively). The WLE was administered orally for 55 days after inducing heat stress for 45 days. The rats were then dissected and their testis tissues were evaluated for pathological changes, sperm parameters, antioxidant status, and gene expression of heat shock protein‐70 (HSP70), heat shock factor‐1 (HSF1), nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (NRF2), and silent information regulator 1 (SITR1) by real‐time PCR (RT‐PCR). Complete tissue destruction and the lowest sperm motility and antioxidant activity were observed in T2. Rats in the group T3 exhibited slightly improved motility, malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. The T4 and T5 groups showed notable improvements in sperm quality and antioxidant status (p < 0.05). In the T4 and T5 groups, the expression levels of HSP70, HSF1, STR1, and NRF2 were significantly higher than those in the T2 group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, WLE has antioxidant activity that controls testis dysfunction and sperm quality under heat stress conditions.
First Report of Calceostoma glandulosum (Monogenea) in Argyrosomus regius: Morphological and Molecular Characterization and Temperature Effects on Life Cycle
Authors: Ribeiro Maria Carolina , Lourenço-Marques Cátia , Baptista Teresa , Pousão-Ferreira Pedro , Soares Florbela
Published: January 2025

The increase in fish production in aquaculture reflects the growth of the world population. However, this expansion is accompanied by challenges, such as the intensification of production systems through increased stocking density, which induces stress in fish, weakening their immune system and making them more susceptible to disease outbreaks, particularly those caused by parasites. Monogeneans are ectoparasites that attach to the external surfaces of fish and are characterised by their host‐specificity. One of the emerging species in aquaculture, much appreciated in the Mediterranean region, is the meagre (Argyrosomus regius), whose production has been increasing due to its high‐quality meat and excellent growth rates. However, the information available on the parasites that affect this species is limited, which makes it difficult to prevent and control disease outbreaks in aquaculture systems effectively. This study presents the first morphological and molecular characterisation of Calceostoma glandulosum, an ectoparasite of the Monopisthocotylea subclass, characterised by its lapel (L) in the cephalic area and an anchor‐shaped haptor (Hp). The parasite’s life cycle, including eggs, larvae (oncomiracidium), and adults, has also been described. It was demonstrated that water temperature could influence the development of the eggs; at more favourable temperatures for the parasite, there was a higher percentage of developed and hatched eggs. The occurrence of the parasite in the farming tanks was higher when the temperature reached 20°C, and in vitro experiments have shown a hatching rate of 100% at 23°C. C. glandulosum reaches sexual maturity between 11 and 14 days and has a fertility period of 10 days. To assess the host‐specificity of C. glandulosum for A. regius, eggs were investigated in other species (Sparus aurata, Diplodus sargus, and Seriola rivoliana). This work provides valuable insights into the behavior of monogeneans concerning environmental conditions and host interactions, offering critical information for implementing preventive measures in aquaculture.
Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C and HIV Infections and Associated Risk Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Unit at Simada Hospital, South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Tesfaye Solomon , Abebaw Tirngo , Bizualem Endalkachew , Mehabie Daniel , Alelign Amir
Published: January 2025

Hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are major public health issues in developing countries, including Ethiopia. These viruses can be transmitted from mother to child during birth or through contact with contaminated blood. In many areas of Ethiopia, viral hepatitis and HIV infections are significant health concerns for pregnant women. However, there is limited information about these issues in various parts of the country, particularly in the Amhara Region. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV infections and identifies the associated risk factors among pregnant women attending an antenatal care (ANC) unit at Simada Hospital, Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia. A hospital‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted on 248 pregnant women from January 2021 to March 2021. Five milliliters of venous blood was collected from each study participant, and serum was tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti‐HCV, and anti‐HIV antibodies using commercially available rapid test kits. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify possible risk factors for the occurrence of hepatitis and HIV infections. The overall seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV infections was 10 (4%), 5 (2%), and 5 (2%), respectively. Prevalence of coinfection was 1.2% (3/248), 0.4% (1/248), and 0.4% (1/248) for HBV/HCV, HBV/HIV, and HCV/HIV, respectively. History of abortion (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 11.028, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.671–72.776, p value = 0.013) and a history of blood transfusions (AOR = 11.298, 95%CI = 1.066–119.777, p value = 0.044) were observed to be significantly associated with an increased risk of HBV infections. However, having multiple sexual partners (AOR = 18.819, 95%CI = 1.074–329.680, p value = 0.045) and history of abortion (AOR = 12.550, 95%CI = 1.174–134.202, p value = 0.036) were the only significant predictors of HCV and HIV infection, respectively. In the current study, we found an intermediate prevalence of HBV and HCV in pregnant women. Therefore, continuous screening of pregnant women for the stated viral infections should be performed to minimize the transmission of the viruses to their children.
Novel Endovascular Technique for Thrombus Removal: The “Super Grab a Clot and Hold ON (Super GACHON)” Technique
Authors: Tokuda Takahiro , Takimura Hideyuki , Oba Yasuhiro , Hirano Keisuke
Published: January 2025

We present a case of a 60‐year‐old man with claudication in his right foot; the patient had received stent‐graft implantation for the right superficial femoral artery (SFA) 1 year ago. Computed tomography angiography suggested stent occlusion of the right SFA, and a thrombus was considered to cause occlusion. To avoid distal embolization, we performed lesion recanalization via a trans‐ankle intervention. First, we performed aspiration for the lesion; however, the thrombus persisted. Second, we performed the “Super Grab a Clot and Hold ON” technique and removed several thrombi. Finally, we used drug‐coated balloons as a final device for the lesion. Two years later, the right SFA was found open upon an ultrasonography.
A Large Thoracolumbosacral Meningomyelocele From Northern Tanzania: A Case Report
Authors: Suleman Mujaheed , Rabiel Happiness , Vaughan Kerry , Shadrack Mathayo , Ndibalema Goodluck , Lodhia Raghav , Lodhia Jay
Published: January 2025

Meningomyelocele and meningocele are types of neural tube defects, which are congenital abnormalities of the spine and spinal cord. These conditions are frequently encountered by pediatric neurosurgeons worldwide and represent a significant public health concern due to their association with a range of collateral conditions, other malformations, and increased morbidity. While many cases can be identified during prenatal ultrasound screenings, this is often challenging in resource‐limited settings with poor health‐seeking behaviors. Surgical intervention is the primary treatment for these defects, and while various methods are described in the literature, larger defects require complex flaps and techniques, with limited options available. Beyond early surgical intervention, patients require lifelong care involving multidisciplinary medical teams.
Risk Factors for Symptoms in Patients With Heterotopic Gastric Mucosa in the Upper Esophagus
Authors: Wang Zhenxiang , Chen Ying , Sun Huihui , Xiong Jie , Zeng Yu , Chen Ye , Zhang Yan , Dong Zhiyu , Wang Junwen , Duan Guangbing , Li Bo , Qian Xue , Sun Kejing , Zhan Tingting , Jiang Yuanxi , Xu Shuchang
Published: January 2025

Goal: This study is aimed at comparing the clinical characteristics and histological types of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus (HGMUE) and exploring the factors influencing the occurrence and severity of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) symptoms in these patients.

Background: HGMUE is a potential cause of LPR symptoms.

Study: This retrospective analysis evaluated 70 patients with HGMUE using a detailed questionnaire. Clinical, histological, high‐resolution manometry, and 24‐h pH impedance monitoring data were compared between symptomatic (n = 49) and asymptomatic (n = 21) patients.

Results: The diameter of HGMUE was significantly larger in the symptomatic group (p < 0.05), and the incidence of LPR symptoms increased with larger diameter grades; male patients were more likely to have LPR symptoms. The incidence of LPR symptoms varied significantly across histological classifications, being highest in patients with the fundic type (χ2 = 6.64, p < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis identified sex and histological type as risk factors for LPR symptoms, with odds ratios of 8.996 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.350–59.962) and 8.493 (95% CI: 1.486–48.522), respectively. The mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) in the upper esophagus was significantly lower in the symptomatic group (1676.82 ± 739.09 Ω vs. 2441.01 ± 604.11 Ω; p < 0.05). Clinical and demographic characteristics did not significantly affect the severity of LPR symptoms.

Conclusion: The diameter, histological type, and sex of patients are risk factors for the occurrence of LPR symptoms in patients with HGMUE. More attention should be paid to patients with these factors. The MNBI is an effective indicator of the symptoms and treatment.