bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SecretFlow-SCQL: A Secure Collaborative Query Platform
Authors: Fang Wenjing , Cao Shunde , Hua Guojin , Ma Junming , Yu Yongqiang , Huang Qunshan , Feng Jun , Tan Jin , Zan Xiaopeng , Duan Pu , Yang Yang , Wang Li , Zhang Ke , Wang Lei
Published: November 2024

In the business scenarios at Ant Group, there is a rising demand for collaborative data analysis among multiple institutions, which can promote health insurance, financial services, risk control, and others. However, the increasing concern about privacy issues has led to data silos. Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC) provides an effective solution for collaborative data analysis, which can utilize data value while ensuring data security. Nevertheless, the performance bottlenecks of MPC and the strong demand for scalability pose great challenges to secure collaborative data analysis frameworks.

In this paper, we build a secure collaborative data analysis system SCQL with a general purpose. We design more efficient MPC protocols and relational operators to meet the demand for scalability. In terms of system design, we aim to implement a system with security, usability, and efficiency.

We conduct extensive experiments on SCQL to validate our optimization improvements: (1) Our optimized secure sort protocol sorts one million 64-bit data in only 4.5 minutes, 126× faster than EMP (9.4 hours). (2) The end-to-end execution time of the typical vertical scenario query is reduced by 1991× from the state-of-the-art semi-honest collaborative analysis framework Secrecy (rewritten with Additive Secret Sharing protocol), with appropriate security tradeoffs. (3) We test the system in the WAN setting with
input size
= 10
7
to demonstrate the scalability. We have successfully deployed SCQL to address problems in real-world business scenarios at Ant Group.
Towards Millions of Database Transmission Services in the Cloud
Authors: Fan Hua , Fu Dachao , Wang Xu , Zhang Jiachi , Zuo Chaoji , Wu Zhengyi , Zhang Miao , Yuan Kang , Ni Xizi , Huo Guocheng , Zhou Wenchao , Li Feifei , Zhou Jingren
Published: November 2024

Alibaba relies on its robust database infrastructure to facilitate realtime data access and ensure business continuity despite regional disruptions. To address these operational imperatives, Alibaba developed the Data Transmission Service (DTS), which has become critical for internal applications and public cloud services alike. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the architectural innovations, resource scheduling mechanisms, and performance optimization strategies that have been implemented within DTS to tackle the significant challenges of cross-network, heterogeneous data transmission in a cost-effective manner. We explore the novel Any-to-Any (A2A) architecture, which simplifies the complexity of data paths between diverse databases and mitigates network connectivity issues, thereby significantly reducing development overhead. Additionally, we examine a dynamic network bandwidth scheduling algorithm that effectively maintains Service-Level Objectives (SLOs), complemented by a serverless mechanism that ensures efficient resource utilization. Furthermore, DTS utilizes advanced strategies such as transaction dependency tracking, hot data consolidation, and batching to enhance synchronization performance and efficiency. DTS has distilled the lessons learned from years of serving our customer base and currently supports nearly 1 million public cloud instances annually. Our evaluation results show that DTS can effectively and efficiently handle real-time data transmission in both experimental and production environments.
spade: Synthesizing Data Quality Assertions for Large Language Model Pipelines
Authors: Shankar Shreya , Li Haotian , Asawa Parth , Hulsebos Madelon , Lin Yiming , Zamfirescu-Pereira J. D. , Chase Harrison , Fu-Hinthorn Will , Parameswaran Aditya G. , Wu Eugene
Published: November 2024

Large language models (LLMs) are being increasingly deployed as part of pipelines that repeatedly process or generate data of some sort. However, a common barrier to deployment are the frequent and often unpredictable errors that plague LLMs. Acknowledging the inevitability of these errors, we propose
data quality assertions
to identify when LLMs may be making mistakes. We present spade, a method for automatically synthesizing data quality assertions that identify bad LLM outputs. We make the observation that developers often identify data quality issues during prototyping prior to deployment, and attempt to address them by adding instructions to the LLM prompt over time. spade therefore analyzes histories of prompt versions over time to create candidate assertion functions and then selects a minimal set that fulfills both coverage and accuracy requirements. In testing across nine different real-world LLM pipelines, spade efficiently reduces the number of assertions by 14% and decreases false failures by 21% when compared to simpler baselines. spade has been deployed as an offering within LangSmith, LangChain's LLM pipeline hub, and has been used to generate data quality assertions for over 2000 pipelines across a spectrum of industries.
Fairness in Preference Queries: Social Choice Theories Meet Data Management
Authors: Roy Senjuti Basu , Schieber Baruch , Talmon Nimrod
Published: November 2024

Given a large number (notationally
m
) of users' (members or voters) preferences as inputs over a large number of items or candidates (notationally
n
), preference queries leverage different preference aggregation methods to aggregate individual preferences in a systematic manner and come up with a single output (either a complete order or top-
k
, ordered or unordered) that is most representative of the users' preferences. The goal of this
1.5 hour lecture style tutorial
is to adapt different preference aggregation methods from social choice theories, summarize how existing research has handled fairness over these methods, identify their limitations, and outline new research directions.
Efficient Training of Graph Neural Networks on Large Graphs
Authors: Shen Yanyan , Chen Lei , Fang Jingzhi , Zhang Xin , Gao Shihong , Yin Hongbo
Published: November 2024

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have gained significant popularity for learning representations of graph-structured data. Mainstream GNNs employ the message passing scheme that iteratively propagates information between connected nodes through edges. However, this scheme incurs high training costs, hindering the applicability of GNNs on large graphs. Recently, the database community has extensively researched effective solutions to facilitate efficient GNN training on massive graphs. In this tutorial, we provide a comprehensive overview of the GNN training process based on the graph data lifecycle, covering graph preprocessing, batch generation, data transfer, and model training stages. We discuss recent data management efforts aiming at accelerating individual stages or improving the overall training efficiency. Recognizing the distinct training issues associated with static and dynamic graphs, we first focus on efficient GNN training on static graphs, followed by an exploration of training GNNs on dynamic graphs. Finally, we suggest some potential research directions in this area. We believe this tutorial is valuable for researchers and practitioners to understand the bottleneck of GNN training and the advanced data management techniques to accelerate the training of different GNNs on massive graphs in diverse hardware settings.
TSGAssist: An Interactive Assistant Harnessing LLMs and RAG for Time Series Generation Recommendations and Benchmarking
Authors: Ang Yihao , Bao Yifan , Huang Qiang , Tung Anthony K. H. , Huang Zhiyong
Published: November 2024

Time Series Generation (TSG) is essential in many industries for generating synthetic data that mirrors real-world characteristics. TSGBench has advanced the field by offering comprehensive evaluations and unique insights for selecting suitable TSG methods. However, translating these advancements to industry applications is hindered by a cognitive gap among professionals and the absence of a dynamic platform for method comparison and evaluation. To address these issues, we introduce TSGAssist, an interactive assistant that integrates the strengths of TSGBench and harnesses Large Language Models (LLMs) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for TSG recommendations and benchmarking. Our demonstration highlights its effectiveness in (1) enhancing TSG understanding, (2) providing industry-specific recommendations, and (3) offering a comprehensive benchmarking platform, illustrating its potential to ease industry professionals' navigation through the TSG landscape and encourage broader application across industries.
ImputeVIS: An Interactive Evaluator to Benchmark Imputation Techniques for Time Series Data
Authors: Khayati Mourad , Nater Quentin , Pasquier Jacques
Published: November 2024

With the emergence of The Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors have become abundant in our daily lives. Failures are very common in those devices, leaving the recorded time series with missing blocks of consecutive values. A cottage industry of imputation algorithms exists, each with different performance tradeoffs. The diversity in time series features, missingness patterns, and algorithms' categories makes it challenging to select the best algorithm.

In this demonstration, we showcase ImputeVIS, an analytical tool for benchmarking imputation algorithms. ImputeVIS provides an optimal configuration of those algorithms by implementing various AutoML parameterization strategies. Moreover, it uncovers the behavior of imputation algorithms by explaining the interplay between time series features and the imputation results. Its interactive web browser interface allows users to simulate real-world sensor malfunctions by contaminating time series with different missing block scenarios, deploy their imputation algorithms, and compare them against various popular imputation families.
DBG-PT: A Large Language Model Assisted Query Performance Regression Debugger
Authors: Giannakouris Victor , Trummer Immanuel
Published: November 2024

In this paper we explore the ability of Large Language Models (LLMs) in analyzing and comparing query plans, and resolving query performance regressions. We present DBG-PT, a query regression debugging framework powered by LLMs. DBG-PT keeps track of query execution instances, and detects slowdowns according to a user-defined regression factor. Once a regression is detected, DBG-PT leverages the capabilities of the underlying LLM in order to compare the regressed plan with a previously effective one, and comes up with tuning knob configurations in order to alleviate the regression. By exploiting textual information of the executed query plans, DBG-PT is able to integrate with close-to-zero implementation effort with any database system that supports the
EXPLAIN
clause. During the demonstration, we will showcase DBG-PT's ability to resolve query regressions using several real-world inspired scenarios, including plan changes because of index creations/deletions, or configuration changes. Furthermore, users will be able to experiment using ad-hoc, or predefined queries from the Join Order Benchmark (JOB) and TPC-H, and over MySQL and Postgres.
SEER: An End-to-End Toolkit for Benchmarking Time Series Database Systems in Monitoring Applications
Authors: Althaus Luca , Khayati Mourad , Khelifati Abdelouahab , Dignös Anton , Difallah Djellel , Cudré-Mauroux Philippe
Published: November 2024

Time series database systems (TSDBs) are prevalent in many applications ranging from monitoring and IoT devices to scientific research. Those systems are specifically designed to efficiently manage data indexed by time. Because of the variety of workloads, the diversity of time series features, and the sophistication of existing TSDBs, there is no clear way to pick the most suitable system.

In this demo, we introduce SEER, an automated, configurable, and interactive toolkit to evaluate TSDBs. SEER is based on TSM-Bench, a benchmark tailored for time series database systems used in monitoring applications. It implements an end-to-end pipeline for database benchmarking from data generation and feature contamination to workload evaluation. Users can define their portfolios by configuring and parameterizing custom queries, specifying their frequencies, controlling the type and level of data features, and indicating the type of workloads. Moreover, they can deploy new systems and/or reconfigure the pre-installed ones. SEER would process users' requests and gracefully recommend the best system on a use-case basis.
DeepSketch: A Query Sketching Interface for Deep Time Series Similarity Search
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Shao Zhuhan , Crotty Andrew
Published: November 2024

By empowering domain experts to perform interactive exploration of large time series datasets, sketch-based query interfaces have revitalized interest in the well-studied problem of time series similarity search. In this new interaction paradigm, recent similarity algorithms (e.g., Qetch, Peax, LineNet) that attempt to capture perceptually relevant features have supplanted older, more straightforward distance measures (e.g., Euclidean, DTW). However, the downside of these algorithms is the resulting difficulty in designing corresponding index structures to support efficient similarity search over large datasets, thus necessitating brute-force search.

This demo will showcase
Deep Time Series Similarity Search
(DTS3), our pluggable indexing pipeline for arbitrary distance measures. DTS3 can automatically train a foundation model for any custom, user-supplied distance measure with no strict constraints (e.g., differentiability), thus enabling fast retrieval via an off-the-shelf vector DBMS. Using our DeepSketch web interface, participants can compare DTS3 to the baseline brute-force versions of several similarity algorithms to see that our approach can achieve much lower latency without sacrificing accuracy when searching over large, real-world time series datasets.
Clean4TSDB: A Data Cleaning Tool for Time Series Databases
Authors: Ding Xiaoou , Song Yichen , Wang Hongzhi , Yang Donghua , Wang Chen , Wang Jianmin
Published: November 2024

Billions of data points are generated by devices equipped with thousands of sensors, leading to significant data quality issues in time series data. These errors not only complicate time series data management but also compromise the accuracy and reliability of analysis based on such data. Given the noteworthy characteristics of time series data, existing cleaning methods struggle to provide adequate repairs, and tools supporting expressive constraints for time series remain scarce. To address this, we develop Clean4TSDB, a specialized data cleaning system for time series databases. This system integrates three key modules: expressive data quality constraint discovery, violation detection, and multivariate time series repairing, forming a comprehensive "profiling-detection-repair" workflow. Technically, we introduce TSDD, a data quality constraint that effectively captures contextual relationships within multivariate time series, and implement an efficient algorithm for its automated mining. Leveraging both row- and column-based constraints, we propose an effective time series cleaning algorithm. From a system standpoint, Clean4TSDB is pre-configured for seamless integration with time series databases like Apache IoTDB. Using user-provided and algorithmically-mined constraints, it effectively identifies various error patterns and offers reliable cleaning solutions. Furthermore, we establish a comprehensive library of state-of-the-art time series repair algorithms to meet the diverse needs of different management scenarios.
Catcher: A Cache Analysis System for Top-
k
Pub/Sub Service
Authors: Mei Baolong , Li Yafei , Chen Wei , Luan Linshen , Zhu Guanglei , Jin Yuanyuan , Xu Jianliang
Published: November 2024

Top-
k
Publish/Subscribe (TkPS) service is widely studied in spatial database, with various cache-based methods proposed to address its efficiency challenge in top-
k
result maintenance. These methods require in-depth exploration of relationships between cache updates and different factors (e.g., data distribution) to optimize cache performance. However, there is currently no system available that assists developers in conducting comprehensive cache analyses within TkPS services. We therefore introduce
Catcher
, a multi-functional cache analysis system designed for TkPS services. It not only enables users to intuitively analyze the entire maintenance process of top-
k
results but also aids in identifying bottlenecks and potential optimization spaces of caches. Catcher provides two user-friendly interfaces that allow users to employ simple and easy-to-use consoles to perform statistical analysis. Furthermore, Catcher offers the real-time evaluation of cache-based methods, providing users with instant analysis. We have demonstrated the usability of Catcher on real-world datasets. A short video of our demonstration can be found at https://youtu.be/qI81HoypB0w.
VQFT: A Visual Query Approach Based on Full-Text Search for Knowledge Graphs
Authors: Li Zhaozhuo , Wang Xin , Wang Meng , Yang Yajun , Li Bohan , Han Dong
Published: November 2024

Existing knowledge graph query approaches, whether traditional textual query languages or visual query languages, have steep learning curves that are unfriendly for non-expert users. This demonstration presents a Visual Query approach based on Full-Text search for knowledge graphs, called VQFT, which simplifies the process of querying knowledge graphs for users. Inspired by
full-text search
techniques, VQFT aims to combine the user-friendliness of
visual query
with the intuitiveness of
full-text search
, enabling users to query knowledge graphs as straightforward as using a search engine.
Faceted full-text indexes, visual query constructor
, and an
interactive user interface
are designed to achieve this goal. User tests and surveys have demonstrated that VQFT is more user-friendly and easier to learn than existing methods, which simplifies the construction of knowledge graph queries for non-expert users.
EncChain: Enhancing Large Language Model Applications with Advanced Privacy Preservation Techniques
Authors: Fu Zhe , Sha Mo , Li Yiran , Li Huorong , Ma Yubing , Wang Sheng , Li Feifei
Published: November 2024

In response to escalating concerns about data privacy in the Large Language Model (LLM) domain, we demonstrate
EncChain
, a pioneering solution designed to bolster data security in LLM applications.
EncChain
presents an all-encompassing approach to data protection, encrypting both the knowledge bases and user interactions. It empowers confidential computing and implements stringent access controls, offering a significant leap in securing LLM usage. Designed as an accessible Python package,
EncChain
ensures straightforward integration into existing systems, bolstered by its operation within secure environments and the utilization of remote attestation technologies to verify its security measures. The effectiveness of
EncChain
in fortifying data privacy and security in LLM technologies underscores its importance, positioning it as a critical advancement for the secure and private utilization of LLMs.
FairEM360: A Suite for Responsible Entity Matching
Authors: Shahbazi Nima , Erfanian Mahdi , Asudeh Abolfazl , Nargesian Fatemeh , Srivastava Divesh
Published: November 2024

Entity matching is one of the earliest tasks that occur in the big data pipeline and is alarmingly exposed to unintentional biases that affect the quality of data. Identifying and mitigating the biases that exist in the data or are introduced by the matcher at this stage can contribute to promoting fairness in downstream tasks. This demonstration showcases FairEM360, a framework for 1) auditing the output of entity matchers across a wide range of fairness measures and paradigms, 2) providing potential explanations for the underlying reasons for unfairness, and 3) providing resolutions for the unfairness issues through an exploratory process with human-in-the-loop feedback, utilizing an ensemble of matchers. We aspire for FairEM360 to contribute to the prioritization of fairness as a key consideration in the evaluation of EM pipelines.
OFL-W3: A One-Shot Federated Learning System on Web 3.0
Authors: Jiang Linshan , Duan Moming , He Bingsheng , Sun Yulin , Yan Peishen , Hua Yang , Song Tao
Published: November 2024

Federated Learning (FL) addresses the challenges posed by data silos, which arise from privacy, security regulations, and ownership concerns. Despite these barriers, FL enables these isolated data repositories to participate in collaborative learning without compromising privacy or security. Concurrently, the advancement of blockchain technology and decentralized applications (DApps) within Web 3.0 heralds a new era of transformative possibilities in web development. As such, incorporating FL into Web 3.0 paves the path for overcoming the limitations of data silos through collaborative learning. However, given the transaction speed constraints of core blockchains such as Ethereum (ETH) and the latency in smart contracts, employing one-shot FL, which minimizes client-server interactions in traditional FL to a single exchange, is considered more apt for Web 3.0 environments. This paper presents a practical one-shot FL system for Web 3.0, termed OFL-W3. OFL-W3 capitalizes on blockchain technology by utilizing smart contracts for managing transactions. Meanwhile, OFL-W3 utilizes the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS) coupled with Flask communication, to facilitate backend server operations to use existing one-shot FL algorithms. With the integration of the incentive mechanism, OFL-W3 showcases an effective implementation of one-shot FL on Web 3.0, offering valuable insights and future directions for AI combined with Web 3.0 studies.
Reimagining Deep Learning Systems through the Lens of Data Systems
Authors: Kumar Arun
Published: November 2024

The high-profile success of Deep Learning (DL) at Big Tech companies, including recent Large Language Models (LLMs) such as the GPT and Llama families, has led to high demand among Web companies, consumer app companies, enterprises, healthcare, domain sciences, and even digital humanities and arts to adopt modern DL for their applications. The scale of DL workloads, domain-specific datasets, and publicly available pre-trained base models keeps growing. Naturally, tackling issues of
scalability, usability
, and
resource/cost efficiency
of DL systems are critical to democratizing modern DL-powered AI. We find that some key lessons from the decades of work on data system design, implementation, and optimization-when adapted prudently-can go a long way toward that goal. Specifically, our work shows that new analogues of
multi-query optimization
for DL systems can substantially reduce runtimes and costs, while improving ease of use. This article lays out how we reimagine DL workloads that way and summarizes the technical contributions powering this transformation.
Sharing Information with Differential Privacy: A Database Perspective (VLDB 2024 Keynote)
Authors: Xiao Xiaokui
Published: November 2024

In the digital age, the widespread collection and analysis of data pose significant privacy challenges. Differential privacy (DP) has emerged as a leading framework for ensuring that information release does not compromise individual privacy. In this talk, we will delve into the theoretical and practical aspects of achieving DP from a database perspective. We will start by examining database reconstruction attacks and their implications. We will then explore the design of DP query processing techniques, as well as the generation of synthetic databases under DP. Finally, we will discuss future directions for research in DP data management.
Das Pflichtexemplar in Hessen
Authors: Hammer Angela , Kirschberger Timo , Mayer Martin
Published: November 2024

Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die historische Entwicklung, die aktuellen gesetzlichen Grundlagen, die Rolle der Pflicht für die Bestandserhaltung sowie die Struktur der E-Pflicht in Hessen.
Das Pflichtexemplar in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Authors: Unterberger Barbara , Brosowski Gritt
Published: November 2024

Der Beitrag schildert das Sammlungsprofil der Landesbibliothek Mecklenburg-Vorpommern im Hinblick auf analoge Pflichtexemplare und die entsprechenden gesetzlichen Regelungen und praktischen Erfordernisse. Darüber hinaus beschäftigt er sich mit den erforderlichen Prozessen und Entwicklungen, um in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern eine gesetzliche Regelung zur Sammlung von unkörperlichen Medienwerken zu ermöglichen und nimmt dabei dezidiert die Überlegungen und Bemühungen der vergangenen zehn Jahre in den Blick.
Das Pflichtexemplar in Sachsen-Anhalt
Authors: Andres Nico , Özüyaman Susann
Published: November 2024

Das elektronische Pflichtexemplar in Sachsen-Anhalt wird bereits seit einigen Jahren in einem etablierten Geschäftsgang gesammelt, archiviert und präsentiert. Verändert wird aktuell die Betriebsarchitektur dahingehend, dass die Repositoriumssoftware DSpace eingesetzt und eine Migration der bereits archivierten Medien erfolgen soll. Nach Abschluss der Umstellung sollen weitere Anpassungen in Bezug auf Automatisierung und das Sammelprofil diskutiert werden.
Biological evaluation of CH3OH and C2H5OH of Berberis vulgaris for in vivo antileishmanial potential against Leishmania tropica in murine models
Authors: Ali Qasim , Haleem Sumbal , Ahmad Salman , Jamal Qaisar , Ahmad Tariq , Khan Afshan , Ali Shehzad , Alotaibi Amal , Singh Jyoti , Khan Adil
Published: November 2024

Leishmaniasis is one of the global health issues and is still being handled with costly and sometimes unsuccessful compounds having serious side effects, highlighting the importance of seeking new potent antileishmanial compounds. Herbal medicines have been considered as the main source of prevention and treatment for a wide variety of diseases as well as other photogenetic diseases over the last few centuries. The current study was designed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial efficacy of ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Berberis vulgaris root collected from Kurez region of District Orakzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Stationary growth-phase metacyclic promastigotes form of Leishmania tropica was incubated in vitro in methanolic and ethanolic extracts using amphotericin B as a positive control. The antileishmanial activity of B. vulgaris extracts was measured after the incubation period using methoxynitrosulfophenyl-tetrazolium carboxanilide assay. For the in vivo study, BALB/c mice were infected with metacyclic L. tropica promastigotes, and lesions appeared after 28 days of inoculum. The results of study research showed that B. vulgaris extract had a powerful antileishmanial activity on promastigotes of L. tropica at different concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, and 75 μg/mL). The inhibition concentration 50 values for ethanolic and methanolic extracts of B. vulgaris were determined to be 15.37 and 17.55 μg/mL, respectively. In the in vivo activity, it was observed that B. vulgaris ethanolic extract at the concentration of 1.5 mg/kg decreased the lesion diameter in BALB/c infected mice. The ethanolic extract topically and orally reduced the lesion size 0.51 ± 0.023 and 0.56 ± 0.008 mm, while methanolic extract both topically and orally decrease the lesion diameter of 0.63 ± 0.008 and 0.68 ± 0.009 mm relatively, in comparison with negative control (1.45 ± 0.016 mm). Hematological parameters of mice including blood red blood cells, hematocrit, and hemoglobin in mice groups (infected non-treated) were found to be decreased, while the mice group treated with extract demonstrated nearly similar results to non-infected group. It is concluded from the current study that antileishmanial activity of B. vulgaris from Pakistan against L. tropica in both in vitro and in vivo showed a promising antileishmanial activity. This study might be helpful in the control strategies of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. tropica.
The Graphic Anne: Anne Frank Comics as Transnational Lieu de Mémoire
Authors: Gundermann Christine
Published: November 2024

In this essay, I discuss the transformation of Anne Frank’s diary into various forms of media, particularly focusing on comics and graphic novels as transnational lieu de mémoire. The research is based on a private Anne Frank comic collection of more than 40 publications collected from all around the world. I describe how the adaptation of Anne Frank’s story in comics has contributed to shaping the memory culture of the Holocaust and the Second World War on a global scale. I emphasize the significance of Anne Frank as a historical figure and the widespread dissemination of her diary, which has been translated into numerous languages and recognized as a UNESCO world heritage. By following the comic productions of the diary around the world, I explore the role of popular history in gendering victimhood and sacrifice, particularly in the context of the 1950s narrative surrounding Anne Frank and the national memory of the Netherlands. Although the diary was widely present, the comic productions as exemplary access to pop culture reveal an underrepresentation of the Jewish heritage of the Franks and the persecution of Jews as a crime beyond national borders. Furthermore, the comics represent the international success of Anne Frank’s diary, portraying themes of hope, freedom, and optimism, as well as its portrayal as a coming-of-age and first-love story. The comics show how these topics, and Anne’s life and suffering, play out in different popular and memory cultures.
When Comics Become Part of a Thesis Project
Authors: Gandanger Aliénor
Published: November 2024

This article outlines my doctoral thesis project that began in October 2021. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this hybrid doctoral project, the challenge is twofold. First, bridging the gap between a historical analysis of an object of study, using archival research and, second, a self-reflection on the production of a comic strip, its communication and accessibility, both requiring constant adaptation of the methodology. The first part of the thesis is concerned with answering the research questions relating to wartime godmothers during the First World War in France. Numerous sources have been identified to answer these questions. The second part of the thesis is the creation of a fictional comic strip in collaboration with a female cartoonist. Given that this is a work in progress, the article sets out the initial results and highlights the benefits and challenges of this interdisciplinary practice that have been discovered so far.
Cultivating Trees: Lewis Carroll’s Method of Solving (and Creating) Multi-literal Branching Sorites Problems
Authors: Beisecker Dave
Published: November 2024

Lewis Carroll has been credited for developing a “Method of Trees” for solving multi-literal sorites problems, which anticipates several aspects of contemporary “tableau” or tree systems of logical proof. In particular, Carroll’s method pioneers the use of branching paths as a means of displaying or illustrating inclusive disjunction. However, rather than focusing on the respects in which Carroll’s tree diagrams resemble contemporary tree systems, I propose to focus instead on significant aspects in which they differ. In particular, I will show how the sorts of multi-literal sorites problems that Carroll’s method of trees is designed to solve are particularly ill-suited for resolution by more contemporary tree methods. I will also show how Carroll likely used something like this method, not only to solve but also to craft some of the trickier logical puzzles for which he is also famous.
Distinct Inhibitory Neurons Differently Shape Neuronal Codes for Sound Intensity in the Auditory Cortex
Authors: Tobin Melanie , Sheth Janaki , Wood Katherine C. , Michel Erin K. , Geffen Maria N.
Published: November 2024

Cortical circuits contain multiple types of inhibitory neurons which shape how information is processed within neuronal networks. Here, we asked whether somatostatin-expressing (SST) and vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) inhibitory neurons have distinct effects on population neuronal responses to noise bursts of varying intensities. We optogenetically stimulated SST or VIP neurons while simultaneously measuring the calcium responses of populations of hundreds of neurons in the auditory cortex (AC) of male and female awake, head-fixed mice to sounds. Upon SST neuronal activation, noise burst representations became more discrete for different intensity levels, relying on cell identity rather than strength. By contrast, upon VIP neuronal activation, noise bursts of different intensity levels activated overlapping neuronal populations, albeit at different response strengths. At the single-cell level, SST and VIP neuronal activation differentially modulated the response-level curves of monotonic and nonmonotonic neurons. SST neuronal activation effects were consistent with a shift of the neuronal population responses toward a more localist code with different cells responding to sounds of different intensities. By contrast, VIP neuronal activation shifted responses toward a more distributed code, in which sounds of different intensity levels are encoded in the relative response of similar populations of cells. These results delineate how distinct inhibitory neurons in the AC dynamically control cortical population codes. Different inhibitory neuronal populations may be recruited under different behavioral demands, depending on whether categorical or invariant representations are advantageous for the task.
The cemented stem in hip arthroplasty – state of the art technique and recommendations
Authors: Giebel Gregor , Hardt Sebastian , Perka Carsten , Ascherl Rudolf
Published: November 2024

The indication for femoral stem cementation should be made on a patient-specific basis, taking physical activity, femoral geometry, and bone tissue quality into account. Age alone should not be the sole justification for cementation. The Dorr classification can serve as decision support for whether a cemented fixation should be used. Femoral neck fractures should generally be cemented.

Familiarize yourself with the applied stem philosophy. Force-closed stems typically have a polished surface that allows for subsidence, especially in the first 2 years postoperatively. Stems following the shape-closed philosophy have rougher surfaces and do not allow subsidence.

There are various types of cement that differ in viscosity and can be categorized accordingly. These cement types go through four temperature-dependent phases: mixing phase, waiting phase, working phase, and curing phase. Rough implants should be implanted quickly, using wetter cement. For a polished stem, the cement should be slightly firmer.

To avoid complications like bone cement implantation syndrome, it is essential to adhere to the state-of-the-art retrograde cementation technique, which recommends pulsatile lavage and vacuum mixing of the cement. Additionally, cement restrictors and pressurizers are used.

A thorough understanding of cementation techniques is crucial to ensure a favorable outcome with a uniformly thick cement mantle that encompasses the entire stem. Incorrect cementing can lead to the premature failure of the endoprosthesis.
Adipose tissue-derived injectable products combined with platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of osteoarthritis: the promising preclinical results are not confirmed by the clinical evidence
Authors: Orazi Simone , Boffa Angelo , Salerno Manuela , Angelelli Lucia , Zaffagnini Stefano , Filardo Giuseppe
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The association of adipose tissue-derived injectable products with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been promoted for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the preclinical and clinical evidence supporting the potential of this combined approach to treat OA.

Methods

A systematic review was performed in January 2024 on five databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web-of-Science) to identify preclinical in vivo and clinical studies. Safety, OA biomarker changes, and outcomes in terms of clinical and imaging results were analyzed. The quality of studies was assessed with the SYRCLE’s tool for preclinical studies and the Downs and Black checklist for clinical studies.

Results

Ten preclinical studies (223 animals) and 14 clinical studies (594 patients) were included. Preclinical results documented improvements at the cartilage histological and immunohistochemical evaluation and at the biomarkers level. Clinical studies confirmed the procedure’s safety, and the case series suggested satisfactory results in different joints in terms of symptoms and function improvement, with positive findings at the biomarker level. However, the randomized controlled trials did not document any clinical benefit, nor any changes in the imaging analysis. A large heterogeneity and overall poor quality were documented in both preclinical and clinical studies.

Conclusions

There is an increasing interest in the use of adipose tissue-derived injectable products associated with PRP for the treatment of OA joints, with preclinical studies showing promising results with this combined approach. However, clinical studies did not confirm the benefits offered by PRP augmentation to adipose tissue-derived injectable products in patients affected by OA.
Revoluciones tecnológicas, capitalismo y prácticas contables: contexto para el desarrollo del modelo de Contabilidad Integral y de la Contametría
Authors: Franco Ruíz Rafael , Mora Álvarez José Manuel , Betancur Jaramillo Liliam , León Paime Edison Fredy
Published: November 2024

The purpose of this article is to examine the historical relationship between accounting practices and the technological revolutions that, according to Carlota Pérez (2004), have given way to the economic, political and technological development of the last 200 years. Through a hermeneutic and sociohistorical approach, it analyzes how the industrial and energy revolutions have driven the evolution of accounting from a legal-patrimonial function to a functional-financial model. The findings highlight how accounting practices have been shaped by economic and technological transformations, evidencing a transition towards integrated accounting and contametría, proposed by Latin American accounting theory. The originality of this work lies in the introduction of a new epistemological framework, which positions nature as the central system to which accounting must respond, overcoming the traditional vision centered on the economy.
Candida species isolated in female patients of reproductive age with vaginal candidiasis in Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos, Argentina
Authors: Rodrigo Pérez Duarte Iván , Georgina Razetto , Érica Leiva Silvina , Luciano Torres , Josefina Juárez María
Published: November 2024

Objective: To identify the Candida species isolated in female patients of reproductive age with vaginal candidiasis. To determine the antifungal (ATF) sensitivity profile of the isolated Candida species. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study, in which 124 Candida spp strains from vaginal discharge samples were isolated in Sabouraud medium supplemented with glucose. CHRO Magar Candida was used for species identification and complementary tests such as germ tube, chlamydoconidia development and investigation of trehalose assimilation were performed. In vitro sensitivity was investigated by diffusion method with ATF discs fluconazole (FLU), itraconazole (ITRA) and amphotericin B (AMB). Results: C. albicans was observed in 85.5% of the isolates followed by C. glabrata with 7.3%, C. krusei 4%, C. tropicalis 2.4% and other Candida species. For FLU, 0.9% of C. albicans, 11.1% of C. glabrata and 100% of C. krusei isolates showed resistance. For ITRA, 17% of C. albicans isolates, 55.6% of C. glabrata and 100% of C. krusei were resistant. There were no isolates resistant to AMB. Conclusion: Vaginal candidiasis continues to present Candida albicans as the main etiological agent, which is widely sensitive to ATFs. C. glabrata and C. krusei species show increased resistance to azoles. The results obtained ratify the growing need for Candida species identification tests and determination of in vitro sensitivity to ATFs in order to guide the treatment of vaginal candidiasis towards therapeutic success.
ПРАВА ТА ОБОВ’ЯЗКИ АРБІТРАЖНОГО КЕРУЮЧОГО В ПРЕВЕНТИВНІЙ РЕСТРУКТУРИЗАЦІЇ
Authors: ДЕРЛЮК Василь
Published: November 2024

Проаналізовано функції арбітражного керуючого у справах про банкрутство з акцентом на процедуру превентивної реструктуризації, а також відмінності підходів до ролі арбітражного керуючого у процедурах санації та превентивноїреструктуризації з урахуванням законопроєкту від 12.10.2023 № 10143 щодо імплементації Директиви Європейського парламенту та Ради Європейського Союзу 2019/1023 і запровадження процедур превентивної реструктуризації. Розглянуто повноваження арбітражного керуючого, порядок призначення, припинення повноважень, гарантування виплати винагороди, умови залучення в превентивній реструктуризації відповідно до законопроєкту. Окремо розглянуто зарубіжний досвід визначення адміністратора превентивної реструктуризації.  Дослідження дало підстави сформулювати висновки щодо прав та обов’язків арбітражного керуючого (адміністратора) у превентивній реструктуризації.
Methodology for photogrammetric measurement of backlashes and elastic compliances in hinge joints of transport manipulators and spacecraft booms
Authors:   Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, Beitsun V.S. , Tarasov S.V. ,   Institute of Transport Systems and Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Published: November 2024

The experimental study on multi-link structures and their components is of extreme relevance and importance to modern science and technology. These structures are widely used in various fields, including the aerospace and the automotive industry, robotics, and construction. The presence of numerous interconnected components makes their behavior complex and nonlinear. The accuracy and reliability of such systems depend on their dynamic characteristics, which are difficult to predict theoretically due to numerous factors, such as the material compliance, hinge backlashes, and intercomponent interaction. This study presents the authors’ verified methodology for experimentally determining backlashes and elastic compliances in hinges of transport manipulators and spacecraft booms, which is based on the photogrammetric method. The versatility of the method as applied to different types of mechanical experiments was analyzed. The obtained measurement accuracy and applicability to various structures under heterogeneous conditions make the methodology substantially universal. The methodology was tried out using a two-link fragment of a transport manipulator designed by the authors. A computational scheme was constructed to determine the effect of a hinge backlash. The scheme was used to obtain rotation trajectories of the manipulator section for different backlash values. It was found that photogrammetry can be used to determine the trajectories of each control marker on the hinge throughout its operational time. This allows one to refine computational schemes with calculated backlash values. The proposed methodology can easily be adapted to studying the elastic compliance of multi-link structure components in local stiffness reduction zones, such as flange connections and auxiliaries-to-link attachment points. The measurement methodology may be used in studying the dynamics of multi-link and ultralong structures by synchronizing several digital cameras. This enables remote monitoring of moving structures in space.
Prolonged Fever After the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis in an Adolescent
Authors: Silverberg Sarah L. , Levy Deborah M. , Yama Brie A. , Church Peter C. , Sereti Irini , Kitai Ian
Published: November 2024

A 17-year-old female was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and started on infliximab. A few weeks after starting infliximab, she developed a recurrence of daily fevers associated with an intermittent dry cough, which worsened over the course of a month. A chest radiograph, abdominal ultrasound, and computed tomography scan of the chest and abdomen revealed a heterogeneous spleen with multiple hyperechoic areas, tiny splenic micronodules, and diffuse micronodularity throughout the lungs. She was transferred to a tertiary care hospital because of hypotension, new oxygen requirements, and ongoing fever. Her bloodwork on presentation to tertiary care revealed pancytopenia and elevated inflammatory markers; she had splenomegaly on MRI. As her clinical picture evolved, she continued to have persistent fevers and anorexia despite ongoing management. Infectious diseases, rheumatology, and gastroenterology were consulted to guide the evaluation and management of this patient’s complex clinical course.
New Perspectives on Hispanic Cultures: La traducción entre el español y el inglés en los Estados Unidos / English-Spanish Translation in the US Context
Authors: Garabaya-Casado Erik
Published: November 2024

Este volumen recopila una selección de seis ponencias del simposio celebrado para clausurar el curso académico 2023-2024 en el Observatorio de la lengua española y las culturas hispánicas en los Estados Unidos. Se trata de la novena edición de las actas de este simposio anual, titulado en esta ocasión New Perspectives on Hispanic Cultures: La traducción entre el español y el inglés en los Estados Unidos / English-Spanish Translation in the US Context. Durante este encuentro académico, celebrado los días 30 y 31 de mayo, investigadores y profesionales de la traducción exploraron tanto aspectos teóricos como prácticos de la traducción entre ambos idiomas. Los textos en este número 93 de Estudios del Observatorio/Observatorio Studies cubren temáticas variadas, desde enfoques abstractos y literarios —incluyendo exploraciones sobre el traductor como intermediario dialógico entre el autor y la obra traducida— hasta aplicaciones prácticas en inteligencia artificial. Cada trabajo se presenta en su lengua original y los resúmenes se ofrecen en ambos idiomas.