bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sub hyca chityn asucunynga (“La voz de Suba en nuestro canto vivirá”): canto, territorio, comunidad y cuerpo en la Suba Muysca
Authors: Durán Velasco Alejandro , Talero Martínez Wilmer David , Mendoza Niviayo Iván Francisco
Published: July 2022

A partir de una investigación colaborativa dirigida por el Colectivo de Investigación Musical Intercultural Subana Chibtysqua en la comunidad indígena Muysca de Suba, exploramos la manera en que las prácticas musicales y sonoras son accionadas como formas de restablecer y fortalecer la relación de las personas Muyscas de Suba con el territorio ancestral, el cual se comprende como un organismo vivo que integra la comunidad y la cultura. Dentro de un proceso de revitalización musical basado en el diálogo de saberes intercultural, observamos diferentes formas en que el “hacer música” se convierte en ejercicio de territorialización. En primer lugar, abordamos cómo las prácticas musicales son situadas en el espacio, lo cual nos lleva a entender “hacer música” como una forma de resistencia y defensa del territorio frente a problemas ambientales. A su vez, exploramos las maneras en que este “cantar en el territorio” se da en diferentes escalas de continuidad entre el cuerpo, la comunidad y el territorio. Encontramos también que las prácticas musicales que resultan de este proceso de revitalización son formas de “darle voz al territorio” o “cantar del territorio”, a través de la creación colectiva de textos en muysc cubun (lengua Muysca) y de la revitalización de instrumentos musicales propios de la comunidad (capadores). Este proceso nos reafirma la particularidad de las prácticas musicales Muyscas de Suba como ejercicios de territorialización y posiciona el desarrollo de metodologías colaborativas como posibilidad privilegiada para la emergencia del pensamiento propio, dentro de la línea de las etnomusicologías aplicadas.
De cuando el presidente se bañaba en el río Tunjuelito
Authors: Escobar González Juan Camilo
Published: July 2022

Esta investigación es la reunión de una serie de procesos que llevo trabajando y reflexionando desde hace años acerca de la cuenca del río Tunjuelito, al sur de Bogotá, en la localidad de Bosa. La premisa surge desde mi interés por saber más del entorno donde pasé mi infancia; una historia que alguna vez oí sobre el Tunjuelito cuando estudiaba en el colegio, de alguna forma, despertó una visión diferente de como estuve acostumbrado. Todo lo que se sabe del Tunjuelito, antes que empezara a ser registrado en documentos oficiales para realizar obras en la ciudad, con el objetivo de suplir de agua a una creciente población, es precaria, y quienes atestiguaron su esplendor se fueron sin poder heredar sus relatos, voces perdidas entre un olvido que ha sido por siglos un programa político local y del mundo contemporáneo. En Colombia, el problema más grande que aflige las posibilidades de algún día lograr ese proyecto de nación equitativa pasa por las crisis ambientales que atravesamos actualmente, consecuencia de políticas explotativas abusivas y una cultura forjada durante décadas de violencia que ha normalizado la muerte, el hiperindividualismo y que no se siente responsable del estado de su ambiente. Un desarraigo que lo han sufrido de la peor forma los ríos y otros cuerpos de agua. El objetivo principal es hablar del Tunjuelito tal y como lo recuerdo, indagar cómo pudo ser antes que se convirtiera en el vertedero que es ahora, ver en una escala nacional cómo es con otras fuentes hídricas y lo que podrían volver a ser y significar
Implementation of the Elrod Algorithm in Practical Design of an Axial Lubricant Supply Groove in Journal Bearings
Authors: Wei Shanshan , Groper Morel
Published: July 2022

The Elrod algorithm was implemented to study the effects of axial lubricant supply groove parameters, i.e., groove length, width, and location, on the performance of a one-axial groove journal bearing, taking into consideration thermal effects. The results and presented recommendations will assist bearing designers in determining the groove’s preferred angular location and main dimensions to achieve a solution in terms of low total power loss and high minimum film thickness. It is suggested that with regard to low total power loss and high minimum film thickness, for a lighter loaded bearing, the axial groove should be located in the angular range of 100–140 deg to the load line with a groove length ratio Lg/L over 0.6 or the angular range of 300–350 deg with an Lg/L over 0.75. For a heavier loaded bearing, it is suggested that the groove be placed at the angular range of 80–115 deg with an Lg/L over 0.6.
Internal absorbing boundary conditions for closed-aperture wavefield decomposition in solid media with unknown interiors
Authors: Li Xun , Robertsson Johan , Curtis Andrew , van Manen Dirk-Jan
Published: July 2022

We present a method to create an internal numerical absorbing boundary within elastic solid media whose properties are largely unknown and use it to create the first wavefield separation method that retrieves all orders of outgoing elastic wavefield constituents for real data recorded on a closed free surface. The recorded data are injected into a numerical finite-difference (FD) simulation along a closed, transparent surface, and the new internal numerical absorbing boundary condition achieves high attenuation of the ingoing waves radiated from the injection surface. This internal wave absorption enables the data injection to radiate all outgoing waves for experimental domains that include arbitrary unknown scatterers in the interior. The injection-absorption-based separation scheme is validated using three-dimensional (3D) synthetic modeling and a real data experiment acquired using a 3D laser Doppler vibrometer on a granite rock. The wavefield separation method forms a key component of an elastic immersive wave experimentation laboratory, and the ability to numerically absorb ingoing scattered energy in an uncharacterized medium while still radiating the true outgoing energy is intriguing and may lead to other development and applications in the future.
Interrogating glioma-M2 macrophage interactions identifies Gal-9/Tim-3 as a viable target against
PTEN
-null glioblastoma
Authors: Ni Xiangrong , Wu Weichi , Sun Xiaoqiang , Ma Junxiao , Yu Zhihui , He Xinwei , Cheng Jinyu , Xu Pengfei , Liu Haoxian , Shang Tengze , Xi Shaoyan , Wang Jing , Zhang Ji , Chen Zhongping
Published: July 2022

Genomic alteration can reshape tumor microenvironment to drive tumor malignancy. However, how
PTEN
deficiency influences microenvironment-mediated cell-cell interactions in glioblastoma (GBM) remains unclear. Here, we show that
PTEN
deficiency induces a symbiotic glioma-M2 macrophage interaction to support glioma progression. Mechanistically,
PTEN
-deficient GBM cells secrete high levels of galectin-9 (Gal-9) via the AKT-GSK3β-IRF1 pathway. The secreted Gal-9 drives macrophage M2 polarization by activating its receptor Tim-3 and downstream pathways in macrophages. These macrophages, in turn, secrete VEGFA to stimulate angiogenesis and support glioma growth. Furthermore, enhanced Gal-9/Tim-3 expression predicts poor outcome in glioma patients. In GBM models, blockade of Gal-9/Tim-3 signaling inhibits macrophage M2 polarization and suppresses tumor growth. Moreover, α-lactose attenuates glioma angiogenesis by down-regulating macrophage-derived VEGFA, providing a novel antivascularization strategy. Therefore, our study suggests that blockade of Gal-9/Tim-3 signaling is effective to impair glioma progression by inhibiting macrophage M2 polarization, specifically for
PTEN
-null GBM.
Deep ocean microbial communities produce more stable dissolved organic matter through the succession of rare prokaryotes
Authors: LaBrie Richard , Péquin Bérangère , Fortin St-Gelais Nicolas , Yashayaev Igor , Cherrier Jennifer , Gélinas Yves , Guillemette François , Podgorski David C. , Spencer Robert G. M. , Tremblay Luc , Maranger Roxane
Published: July 2022

The microbial carbon pump (MCP) hypothesis suggests that successive transformation of labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by prokaryotes produces refractory DOC (RDOC) and contributes to the long-term stability of the deep ocean DOC reservoir. We tested the MCP by exposing surface water from a deep convective region of the ocean to epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic prokaryotic communities and tracked changes in dissolved organic matter concentration, composition, and prokaryotic taxa over time. Prokaryotic taxa from the deep ocean were more efficient at consuming DOC and producing RDOC as evidenced by greater abundance of highly oxygenated molecules and fluorescent components associated with recalcitrant molecules. This first empirical evidence of the MCP in natural waters shows that carbon sequestration is more efficient in deeper waters and suggests that the higher diversity of prokaryotes from the rare biosphere holds a greater metabolic potential in creating these stable dissolved organic compounds.
Strong mode coupling-enabled hybrid photon-plasmon laser with a microfiber-coupled nanorod
Authors: Zhou Ning , Yang Yuxin , Guo Xin , Gong Jue , Shi Zhangxing , Yang Zongyin , Wu Hao , Gao Yixiao , Yao Ni , Fang Wei , Wang Pan , Tong Limin
Published: July 2022

Laser based on single plasmonic nanoparticle can provide optical frequency radiation far beyond the diffraction limit and is one of the ultimate goals of nanolasers, yet it remains a challenge to be realized because of the inherently high Ohmic loss. Here, we report the direct observation of lasing in microfiber-coupled single plasmonic nanoparticles enabled by strong mode coupling. We show that, by strongly coupling a gold nanorod (GNR) with the whispering gallery cavity of a dye-doped polymer microfiber (with diameter down to 2.0 μm), the substantially enhanced optical coherence of the hybrid photon-plasmon mode and effective gain accumulated from the active microfiber cavity enable single-mode laser emission from the GNR at room temperature with a threshold as low as 2.71 MW/cm
2
and a linewidth narrower than 2 nm.
Progerin modulates the IGF-1R/Akt signaling involved in aging
Authors: Jiang Bo , Wu Xuan , Meng Fang , Si Limiao , Cao Sunrun , Dong Yuqing , Sun Huayi , Lv Mengzhu , Xu Hongde , Bai Ning , Guo Qiqiang , Song Xiaoyu , Yu Yang , Guo Wendong , Yi Fei , Zhou Tingting , Li Xiaoman , Feng Yanling , Wang Zhuo , Zhang Dan , Guan Yi , Ma Mengtao , Liu Jingwei , Li Xining , Zhao Weidong , Liu Baohua , Finkel Toren , Cao Liu
Published: July 2022

Progerin, a product of
LMNA
mutation, leads to multiple nuclear abnormalities in patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a devastating premature aging disorder. Progerin also accumulates during physiological aging. Here, we demonstrate that impaired insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R)/Akt signaling pathway results in severe growth retardation and premature aging in
Zmpste24
−/−
mice, a mouse model of progeria. Mechanistically, progerin mislocalizes outside of the nucleus, interacts with the IGF-1R, and down-regulates its expression, leading to inhibited mitochondrial respiration, retarded cell growth, and accelerated cellular senescence. Pharmacological treatment with the PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) inhibitor bpV (HOpic) increases Akt activity and improves multiple abnormalities in Zmpste24-deficient mice. These findings provide previously unidentified insights into the role of progerin in regulating the IGF-1R/Akt signaling in HGPS and might be useful for treating
LMNA
-associated progeroid disorders.
Metal-carbide eutectics with multiprincipal elements make superrefractory alloys
Authors: Wei Qinqin , Xu Xiandong , Shen Qiang , Luo Guoqiang , Zhang Jian , Li Jia , Fang Qihong , Liu Chain-Tsuan , Chen Mingwei , Nieh Tai-Gang , Chen Jianghua
Published: July 2022

Materials with excellent high-temperature strength are now sought for applications in hypersonics, fusion reactors, and aerospace technologies. Conventional alloys and eutectic multiprincipal-element alloys (MPEAs) exhibit insufficient strengths at high temperatures due to low melting points and microstructural instabilities. Here, we report a strategy to achieve exceptional high-temperature microstructural stability and strength by introducing eutectic carbide in a refractory MPEA. The synergistic strengthening effects from the multiprincipal-element mixing and strong dislocation blocking at the interwoven metal-carbide interface make the eutectic MPEA not only have outstanding high-temperature strength (>2 GPa at 1473 K) but also alleviate the room-temperature brittleness through microcrack tip blunting by layered metallic phase. This strategy offers a paradigm for the design of the next-generation high-temperature materials to bypass the low–melting point limitation of eutectic alloys and diffusion-dominated softening in conventional superalloys.
Metamorphic diamond from the northeastern margin of Gondwana: Paradigm shifting implications for one of Earth’s largest orogens
Authors: Edgar Alexander , Sanislav Ioan V. , Dirks Paul H. G. M. , Spandler Carl
Published: July 2022

We describe the first occurrence of diamond-facies ultrahigh pressure metamorphism along the Gondwana-Pacific margin of the Terra Australis Orogen. Metamorphic garnet grains from Ordovician metasediments along the Clarke River Fault in northeastern Queensland contain inclusions of diamond and quartz after coesite, as well as exsolution lamellae of rutile, apatite, amphibole, and silica. These features constrain minimum pressure-temperature conditions to >3.5 gigapascals and ~860°C, although peak pressure conditions may have exceeded 5 gigapascals. On the basis of these data, we interpret the Clarke River Fault to represent a Paleozoic suture zone and at least parts of the Terra Australis Orogen to have formed through classic Wilson cycle processes. The growth of the Terra Australis Orogen during the Paleozoic is largely attributed to accretionary style tectonics. These previously unknown findings indicate that the Terra Australis Orogen was not just a simple accretionary style orogen but rather a complex system with multiple tectonic styles operating in tandem including collisional tectonics.
Hinge disulfides in human IgG2 CD40 antibodies modulate receptor signaling by regulation of conformation and flexibility
Authors: Orr Christian M. , Fisher Hayden , Yu Xiaojie , Chan Claude H.-T. , Gao Yunyun , Duriez Patrick J. , Booth Steven G. , Elliott Isabel , Inzhelevskaya Tatyana , Mockridge Ian , Penfold Christine A. , Wagner Armin , Glennie Martin J. , White Ann L. , Essex Jonathan W. , Pearson Arwen R. , Cragg Mark S. , Tews Ivo
Published: July 2022

Antibodies protect from infection, underpin successful vaccines and elicit therapeutic responses in otherwise untreatable cancers and autoimmune conditions. The human IgG2 isotype displays a unique capacity to undergo disulfide shuffling in the hinge region, leading to modulation of its ability to drive target receptor signaling (agonism) in a variety of important immune receptors, through hitherto unexplained molecular mechanisms. To address the underlying process and reveal how hinge disulfide orientation affects agonistic activity, we generated a series of cysteine to serine exchange variants in the hinge region of the clinically relevant monoclonal antibody ChiLob7/4, directed against the key immune receptor CD40. We report how agonistic activity varies with disulfide pattern and is afforded by the presence of a disulfide crossover between F(ab) arms in the agonistic forms, independently of epitope, as observed in the determined crystallographic structures. This structural “switch” affects directly on antibody conformation and flexibility. Small-angle x-ray scattering and ensemble modeling demonstrated that the least flexible variants adopt the fewest conformations and evoke the highest levels of receptor agonism. This covalent change may be amenable for broad implementation to modulate receptor signaling in an epitope-independent manner in future therapeutics.
Immune determinants of chronic sequelae after respiratory viral infection
Authors: Narasimhan Harish , Wu Yue , Goplen Nick P. , Sun Jie
Published: July 2022

The acute effects of various respiratory viral infections have been well studied, with extensive characterization of the clinical presentation as well as viral pathogenesis and host responses. However, over the course of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence and prevalence of chronic sequelae after acute viral infections have become increasingly appreciated as a serious health concern. Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, alternatively described as “long COVID-19,” are characterized by symptoms that persist for longer than 28 days after recovery from acute illness. Although there exists substantial heterogeneity in the nature of the observed sequelae, this phenomenon has also been observed in the context of other respiratory viral infections including influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus. In this Review, we discuss the various sequelae observed following important human respiratory viral pathogens and our current understanding of the immunological mechanisms underlying the failure of restoration of homeostasis in the lung.
Methionine deficiency facilitates antitumour immunity by altering m6A methylation of immune checkpoint transcripts
Authors: Li Ting , Tan Yue-Tao , Chen Yan-Xing , Zheng Xiao-Jun , Wang Wen , Liao Kun , Mo Hai-Yu , Lin Junzhong , Yang Wei , Piao Hai-Long , Xu Rui-Hua , Ju Huai-Qiang
Published: July 2022

Objective

Methionine metabolism is involved in a myriad of cellular functions, including methylation reactions and redox maintenance. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether methionine metabolism, RNA methylation and antitumour immunity are molecularly intertwined.

Design

The antitumour immunity effect of methionine-restricted diet (MRD) feeding was assessed in murine models. The mechanisms of methionine and YTH domain-containing family protein 1 (YTHDF1) in tumour immune escape were determined in vitro and in vivo. The synergistic effects of MRD or YTHDF1 depletion with PD-1 blockade were also investigated.

Results

We found that dietary methionine restriction reduced tumour growth and enhanced antitumour immunity by increasing the number and cytotoxicity of tumour-infiltrating CD8+T cells in different mouse models. Mechanistically, the S-adenosylmethionine derived from methionine metabolism promoted the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation and translation of immune checkpoints, including PD-L1 and V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA), in tumour cells. Furthermore, MRD or m6A-specific binding protein YTHDF1 depletion inhibited tumour growth by restoring the infiltration of CD8+T cells, and synergised with PD-1 blockade for better tumour control. Clinically, YTHDF1 expression correlated with poor prognosis and immunotherapy outcomes for cancer patients.

Conclusions

Methionine and YTHDF1 play a critical role in anticancer immunity through regulating the functions of T cells. Targeting methionine metabolism or YTHDF1 could be a potential new strategy for cancer immunotherapy.
Governance and injury prevention
Authors: Híjar Martha
Published: July 2022

Urban governance implies that state authorities and other actors (including private and social sectors) work together with authentic community participation as needed to meet the challenges to achieve urban health. In this context, addressing the problem of injury is critical. In urban space, injuries can occur for various external causes (falls, burns, even interpersonal violence, etc). This paper includes a discussion and analysis of governance mechanisms on urban areas, in terms of the implementation of the safe system approach which has been proposed as the best preventive strategy, to assure road safety, mostly at urban spaces, for injury prevention. The existence of governance mechanisms needs to be considered as a primary issue to be included on injury research to evaluate the implementation for preventive programmes on the injury field in general, especially those occurred at urban spaces.
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells targeting IL-1RAP: a promising new cellular immunotherapy to treat acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Trad Rim , Warda Walid , Alcazer Vincent , Neto da Rocha Mathieu , Berceanu Ana , Nicod Clémentine , Haderbache Rafik , Roussel Xavier , Desbrosses Yohan , Daguindau Etienne , Renosi Florain , Roumier Christophe , Bouquet Lucie , Biichle Sabeha , Guiot Melanie , Seffar Evan , Caillot Denis , Depil Stephane , Robinet Eric , Salma Yahya , Deconinck Eric , Deschamps Marina , Ferrand Christophe
Published: July 2022

Background

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a very difficult disease to cure due to the persistence of leukemic stem cells (LSCs), which are resistant to different lines of chemotherapy and are the basis of refractory/relapsed (R/R) disease in 80% of patients with AML not receiving allogeneic transplantation.

Methods

In this study, we showed that the interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAP) protein is overexpressed on the cell surface of LSCs in all subtypes of AML and confirmed it as an interesting and promising target in AML compared with the most common potential AML targets, since it is not expressed by the normal hematopoietic stem cell. After establishing the proof of concept for the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells targeting IL-1RAP in chronic myeloid leukemia, we hypothesized that third-generation IL-1RAP CAR T-cells could eliminate AML LSCs, where the medical need is not covered.

Results

We first demonstrated that IL-1RAP CAR T-cells can be produced from AML T-cells at the time of diagnosis and at relapse. In vitro and in vivo, we showed the effectiveness of IL-1RAP CAR T-cells against AML cell lines expressing different levels of IL-1RAP and the cytotoxicity of autologous IL-1RAP CAR T-cells against primary cells from patients with AML at diagnosis or at relapse. In patient-derived relapsed AML xenograft models, we confirmed that IL-1RAP CAR T-cells are able to circulate in peripheral blood and to migrate in the bone marrow and spleen, are cytotoxic against primary AML cells and increased overall survival.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our preclinical results suggest that IL-1RAP CAR T-based adoptive therapy could be a promising strategy in AML treatment and it warrants the clinical investigation of this CAR T-cell therapy.
Aneurysm treatment with the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device in the combined population of two prospective, multicenter series: 5-year follow-up
Authors: Pierot Laurent , Szikora Istvan , Barreau Xavier , Holtmannspoetter Markus , Spelle Laurent , Klisch Joachim , Herbreteau Denis , Costalat Vincent , Fiehler Jens , Januel Anne-Christine , Liebig Thomas , Stockx Luc , Weber Werner , Berkefeld Joachim , Moret Jacques , Molyneux Andy , Byrne James
Published: July 2022

Background

Evaluating a new endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms must not only demonstrate short-term safety and efficacy, but also evaluate longer-term outcomes (eg, delayed complications, anatomical results, retreatment). The current analysis reports the 5-year clinical and anatomical results of Woven EndoBridge (WEB) treatment in two European combined trial populations (WEBCAST (WEB Clinical Assessment of Intrasaccular Aneurysm Therapy) and WEBCAST-2).

Methods

All adverse events occurring between the procedure and 5-year follow-up were independently evaluated by an expert. Aneurysm occlusion was evaluated by an independent core laboratory using a three-grade scale: complete occlusion, neck remnant, and aneurysm remnant. In cases where data were not available at 5-year follow-up, the last observation carry forward (LOCF) method was used.

Results

The safety and efficacy populations comprised 100 patients and 95 aneurysms, respectively. No adverse event related to the device occurred after the procedure during the 5-year follow-up period. Mortality at 5 years was 7.0% (7/100 patients) including mortality related to the WEB (0/100, 0.0%), the procedure (1/100, 1.0%), and another condition (6/100, 6.0%). At 5 years, complete aneurysm occlusion was observed in 49/95 (51.6%) aneurysms, neck remnant in 25/95 (26.3%), and aneurysm remnant in 21/95 (22.1%). Retreatment rate at 5 years was 11.6% (11/95 aneurysms).

Conclusions

This analysis conducted in a population of patients with wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms confirms WEB’s safety profile. Additional evidence demonstrates good stability of aneurysm occlusion with adequate occlusion (complete occlusion or neck remnant) at 5 years in 77.9% of aneurysms with a low retreatment rate (11.6%).

Clinical trial registration

WEBCAST and WEBCAST-2: Unique identifier:NCT01778322.
Preoperative tumor embolization prolongs time to recurrence of meningiomas: a retrospective propensity-matched analysis
Authors: Akimoto Taisuke , Ohtake Makoto , Miyake Shigeta , Suzuki Ryosuke , Iida Yu , Shimohigoshi Wataru , Higashijima Takefumi , Nakamura Taishi , Shimizu Nobuyuki , Kawasaki Takashi , Sakata Katumi , Yamamoto Tetsuya
Published: July 2022

Background

Meningiomas are often embolized preoperatively to reduce intraoperative blood loss and facilitate tumor resection. However, the procedure is controversial and its effects have not yet been reported. We evaluated preoperative embolization for meningiomas and its effect on postoperative outcome and recurrence.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 186 patients with WHO grade I meningiomas who underwent surgical treatment at our hospital between January 2010 and December 2020. We used propensity score matching to generate embolization and no-embolization groups (42 patients each) to examine embolization effects.

Results

Preoperative embolization was performed in 71 patients (38.2%). In the propensity-matched analysis, the embolization group showed favorable recurrence-free survival (RFS) (mean 49.4 vs 24.1 months; Wilcoxon p=0.049). The embolization group had significantly less intraoperative blood loss (178±203 mL vs 221±165 mL; p=0.009) and shorter operation time (5.6±2.0 hours vs 6.8±2.8 hours; p=0.036). There were no significant differences in Simpson grade IV resection (33.3% vs 28.6%; p=0.637) or overall perioperative complications (21.4% vs 11.9%; p=0.241). Tumor embolization prolonged RFS in a subanalysis of cases who experienced recurrence (n=39) among the overall cases before variable control (mean RFS 33.2 vs 16.0 months; log-rank p=0.003).

Conclusions

After controlling for variables, preoperative embolization for meningioma did not improve the Simpson grade or patient outcomes. However, it might have effects outside of surgical outcomes by prolonging RFS without increasing complications.
Role of vertebral corner inflammation and fat deposition on MRI on syndesmophyte development detected on whole spine low-dose CT scan in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis
Authors: Stal Rosalinde , Baraliakos Xenofon , van der Heijde Désirée , van Gaalen Floris , Ramiro Sofia , van den Berg Rosaline , Reijnierse Monique , Braun Juergen , Landewé Robert , Sepriano Alexandre
Published: July 2022

Objectives

To investigate the associations between MRI detected vertebral corner inflammation (VCI) and vertebral corner fat deposition (VCFD) on whole spine low-dose CT scan (ldCT) detected syndesmophyte formation and growth.

Methods

Patients from the Sensitive Imaging in Ankylosing Spondylitis cohort underwent MRI (baseline, 1 year and 2 years) and ldCT (baseline and 2 years). MR images were scored by three readers for VCI and VCFD, MRI patterns were defined by presence of VCI and/or VCFD over 2 years. LdCT images were scored by two central readers for presence and size of syndesmophytes and change was calculated for new or new/grown syndesmophytes. Multilevel generalised estimated equations were used to test the associations between VCI and VCFD and syndesmophyte development.

Results

Fifty radiographic patients with axial spondyloarthritis were included (mean age 49 years, 86% male, 78% HLA-B27+). Absence of both VCI and VCFD protected against syndesmophyte development (ORs 0.36–0.37). Presence of VCI and/or VCFD increased the risk of syndesmophyte development (ORs 1.73–2.60). Out of all corners with a new or new/grown syndesmophyte, 47% of corners according to reader 1 and 44% according to reader 2 had neither VCI nor VCFD preceding the bone formation.

Conclusions

VCI and VCFD were positively associated with syndesmophyte development. This has been shown for the first time for syndesmophytes detected on ldCT and also in the thoracic spine. However, almost half of all bone formation occurred in corners without VCI or VCFD, suggesting the presence of these lesions in yearly MRIs does not fully clarify the development of syndesmophytes.
Evaluating the thermal performance of unsaturated bentonite–sand–graphite as buffer material for waste repository using an improved prediction model
Authors: Liu Xiaoyan , Congress Surya Sarat Chandra , Cai Guojun , Liu Lulu , Puppala Anand J.
Published: July 2022

Buffer materials that are used to isolate heat-emitting waste canisters must bear a strong thermal load and have good thermal conductivity and stability. This study investigated the strengthening of internal thermal conduction via bentonite sealing. An admixture of quartz and graphite accelerated the heat transfer into the host rock. Samples containing different bentonite–sand–graphite (BSG) mixtures were prepared. The influence of the volumetric water content, degree of saturation, dry density, porosity, sand content, and particle size on the thermal conductivity of the BSG mixtures was analyzed by conducting a series of thermal needle tests. Electrical resistivity tests were conducted to examine the electrical resistivity of the BSG mixtures, and the dependency of soil thermal conductivity on the volumetric water content based on electrical resistivity data. The results indicated that the dependency of thermal conductivity on the volumetric water content was closely related to electrical resistivity. Based on the thermal conductivity inflection point as determined by the volumetric water content corresponding to the electrical resistivity inflection point, an improved series–parallel thermal conductivity prediction model and the method to determine model parameters for the unsaturated BSG mixtures were proposed. The precision of the proposed prediction model was verified based on laboratory data.
Predicting and calibrating height to crown base: a case for Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) in Northeastern China
Authors: Wang Junjie , Jiang Lichun , Gaire Damodar , He Pei , Yan Yunfei , Xin Shidong
Published: July 2022

The applicability of height to crown base (HCB) appears to be particularly broad given the important impact on explaining tree growth dynamics. Given the high cost of measuring HCB, accurate prediction with a few trees is popular in forestry practice. In this study, a fixed-effects model (FEM), a mixed-effects model (MEM), and quantile regressions (QR) were adopted to predict HCB using data from natural secondary forests of Dahurian larch ( Larix gmelinii Rupr.) in Northeastern China. Corresponding calibration techniques were applied to trees with different sample designs (random selection, the thickest tree selection, the intermediate tree selection, and the thinnest tree selection) and sample sizes (1–10 trees per plot). The results showed that all models achieved accurate HCB predictions. The QR calibration technique of 3-quantiles achieved simple and accurate consequences compared to 5-quantiles and 9-quantiles. MEM displayed the most robust and superior statistics. The selection of the two thickest trees was recommended for the MEM. For FEM and QR, the sample size should be exceeded by 5. Generally, a combination of MEM and sampling two thickest trees per plot to predict HCB is recommended as a win–win solution that neither sacrifices model prediction accuracy nor minimizes the required measurement cost.
Insight from the elliptic flow of identified hadrons measured in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
Authors: Dixit Prabhupada , Nasim Md.
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we have discussed the transverse momentum dependence of elliptic flow measured in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Under the assumption of quark recombination model, [Formula: see text] of light and strange quarks is obtained from the measured [Formula: see text] of identified hadrons. The [Formula: see text] of strange quarks obtained from [Formula: see text]-meson [Formula: see text] is found to be similar to that of from [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] in Au+Au collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV. This may indicate that both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are produced through quark recombination at top RHIC energy. However, we find that the [Formula: see text] of light quarks is consistently higher than that of strange quarks at the low transverse momentum. We have shown that [Formula: see text] of light and strange quarks is consistent with each other when plotted as a function of its transverse kinetic energy. The observed scaling of [Formula: see text] works at both RHIC and LHC energies. It is also shown that the observed scaling holds for other flow harmonics, e.g., [Formula: see text]. The new observed scaling is purely empirical and needs more theoretical input to understand the physics behind it.
MAGNESIUM BASED ALLOYS FOR BIODEGRADABLE IMPLANTS APPLICATIONS USING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUE: A REVIEW
Authors: TIPAN NILESH , PANDEY AJAY , MISHRA PUSHYAMITRA
Published: July 2022

Biodegradable materials have various advantages compared to nonbiodegradable materials. Developing implants using biodegradable materials eliminates the need for secondary surgery, improves mechanical and biological properties, and improves biocompatibility. Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are frequently used in orthopedic applications nowadays. However, the rapid degradation of Mg poses a substantial challenge. As a result, for the bone to heal properly, a proper balance between implant degeneration rate and bone healing must be obtained. Mg has certain other drawbacks, such as the need for an inert atmosphere when employing powder metallurgy and casting procedures to manufacture it because of its reactive nature. In this paper, Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques for manufacturing orthopedic biodegradable implants made of Mg and its alloys are discussed which helps in obtaining improved biological and mechanical properties of the implants. These orthopedic implants should have a controlled rate of degradation and antibacterial functional surfaces. There is also a description of the use of several AM processes utilized to enhance the mechanical and biological characteristics of implants employing Mg. This paper also seeks to present the concept of integrating established techniques into a production process to obtain the needed biodegradable implant material for orthopedic applications.
China–US Economic and Trade Relations: Trump and Beyond
Authors: Song Guoyou
Published: July 2022

In the final year of Trump’s tenure, China and the US put the trade war on hold by signing their phase-one economic and trade agreement, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges to the China–US economic and trade relations. The US trade and economic policies toward China advocated by Trump had to be suspended due to his failure to win the re-election, demonstrating that his economic and trade strategy for China has ended in failure. However, the succeeding Biden administration has not totally abandoned the overall design of Trump’s economic and trade policies toward China, and has continued the core policies of imposing additional tariffs on China and maintaining the US economic competitive advantage. After the collision during the Trump administration, the China–US economic and trade relations still show the fundamental characteristics of complementarity and mutual benefit. Under the Biden administration, the renewal of the phase-one economic and trade agreement, the transformation of the economic alliance, the security of the supply chain, the coordination of global economic issues in the post-pandemic era, etc. will become the new focuses of China–US economic and trade relations.
A Coverage-based Approach to Nondiscrimination-aware Data Transformation
Authors: Accinelli Chiara , Catania Barbara , Guerrini Giovanna , Minisi Simone
Published: July 2022

The development of technological solutions satisfying nondiscriminatory requirements is one of the main current challenges for data processing. Back-end operators for preparing, i.e., extracting and transforming, data play a relevant role w.r.t. nondiscrimination, since they can introduce bias with an impact on the entire data life-cycle. In this article, we focus on
back-end transformations
, defined in terms of Select-Project-Join queries, and on
coverage
. Coverage aims at guaranteeing that the input, or training, dataset includes enough examples for each (protected) category of interest, thus increasing diversity with the aim of limiting the introduction of bias during the next analytical steps. The article proposes an approach to automatically rewrite a transformation with a result that violates coverage constraints, into the “closest” query satisfying the constraints. The approach is approximate and relies on a sample-based cardinality estimation, thus it introduces a trade-off between accuracy and efficiency. The efficiency and the effectiveness of the approach are experimentally validated on synthetic and real data.
Offline and Online Algorithms for SSD Management
Authors: Lange Tomer , Naor Joseph (Seffi) , Yadgar Gala
Published: July 2022

The abundance of system-level optimizations for reducing SSD write amplification, which are usually based on experimental evaluation, stands in contrast to the lack of theoretical algorithmic results in this problem domain. To bridge this gap, we explore the problem of reducing write amplification from an algorithmic perspective, considering it in both offline and online settings. In the offline setting, we present a near-optimal algorithm. In the online setting, we first consider algorithms that have no prior knowledge about the input. We present a worst case lower bound and show that the greedy algorithm is optimal in this setting. Then we design an online algorithm that uses predictions about the input. We show that when predictions are pretty accurate, our algorithm circumvents the above lower bound. We complement our theoretical findings with an empirical evaluation of our algorithms, comparing them with the state-of-the-art scheme. The results confirm that our algorithms exhibit an improved performance for a wide range of input traces.
Online Caching Networks with Adversarial Guarantees
Authors: Li Yuanyuan , Si Salem Tareq , Neglia Giovanni , Ioannidis Stratis
Published: July 2022

We study a cache network under arbitrary adversarial request arrivals. We propose a distributed online policy based on the online tabular greedy algorithm. Our distributed policy achieves sublinear (1-1/e)-regret, also in the case when update costs cannot be neglected. Numerical evaluation over several topologies supports our theoretical results and demonstrates that our algorithm outperforms state-of-art online cache algorithms.
Understanding the Performance Guarantee of Physical Topology Design for Optical Circuit Switched Data Centers
Authors: Zhao Shizhen , Cao Peirui , Wang Xinbing
Published: July 2022

As a first step of designing O ptical-circuit-switched D ata C enters (ODC), physical topology design is critical as it determines the scalability and the performance limit of the entire ODC. However, prior works on ODC have not yet paid much attention to physical topology design, and the adopted physical topologies either scale poorly, or lack performance guarantee. We offer a mathematical foundation for the design and performance analysis of ODC physical topologies in this paper. We introduce a new performance metric β(\mathcalG )$ to evaluate the gap between a physical topology $\mathcalG $ and the ideal physical topology. We develop a coupling technique that bypasses a significant amount of computational complexity of calculating β(\mathcalG )$. Using β(\mathcalG )$ and the coupling technique, we study four physical topologies that are representative of those in literature, analyze their scalabilities and prove their performance guarantees. Our analysis may provide new guidance for network operators to design better physical topologies for ODCs.
Automatic Inference of BGP Location Communities
Authors: Silva Jr. Brivaldo A. da , Mol Paulo , Fonseca Osvaldo , Cunha Ítalo , Ferreira Ronaldo A. , Katz-Bassett Ethan
Published: July 2022

We present a set of techniques to infer the semantics of BGP communities from public BGP data. Our techniques infer communities related to the entities or locations traversed by a route by correlating communities with AS paths. We also propose a set of heuristics to filter incorrect inferences introduced by misbehaving networks, sharing of BGP communities among sibling autonomous systems, and inconsistent BGP dumps. We apply our techniques to billions of routing records from public BGP collectors and make available a public database with more than 15 thousand location communities. Our comparison with manually-built databases shows our techniques provide high precision (up to 93%), better coverage (up to 81% recall), and dynamic updates, complementing operators' and researchers' abilities to reason about BGP community semantics.
End-to-end Characterization of Game Streaming Applications on Mobile Platforms
Authors: Bhuyan Sandeepa , Zhao Shulin , Ying Ziyu , Kandemir Mahmut T. , Das Chita R.
Published: July 2022

With the advent of 5G, hosting high-quality game streaming applications on mobile devices has become a reality. To our knowledge, no prior study systematically investigates the < QoS, Energy > tuple on the end-to-end game streaming pipeline across the cloud, network, and edge devices to understand the individual contributions of the different pipeline stages. In this paper, we present a comprehensive performance and power analysis of the entire game streaming pipeline through extensive measurements with a high-end workstation mimicking the cloud end, an open-source platform (Moonlight-GameStreaming) emulating the edge device/mobile platform, and two network settings (WiFi and 5G). Our study shows that the rendering stage and the encoding stage at the cloud end are the bottlenecks for 4K streaming. While 5G is certainly more suitable for supporting enhanced video quality with 4K streaming, it is more expensive in terms of power consumption compared to WiFi. Further, the network interface and the decoder units in mobile devices need more energy-efficient design to support high quality games at a lower cost. These observations should help in designing more cost-effective future cloud gaming platforms.
Free2Shard
Authors: Rana Ranvir , Kannan Sreeram , Tse David , Viswanath Pramod
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we formulate and study a new, but basic, distributed resource allocation problem arising in scaling blockchain performance. While distributed resource allocation is a well-studied problem in networking, the blockchain setting additionally requires the solution to be resilient to adversarial behavior from a fraction of nodes. Scaling blockchain performance is a basic research topic; a plethora of solutions (under the umbrella of sharding) have been proposed in recent years. Although the various sharding solutions share a common thread (they cryptographically stitch together multiple parallel chains), architectural differences lead to differing resource allocation problems. In this paper we make three main contributions: (a) we categorize the different sharding proposals under a common architectural framework, allowing for the emergence of a new, uniformly improved, uni-consensus sharding architecture. (b) We formulate and exactly solve a core resource allocation problem in the uni-consensus sharding architecture -- our solution, Free2shard, is adversary-resistant and achieves optimal throughput. The key technical contribution is a mathematical connection to the classical work of Blackwell approachability in dynamic game theory. (c) We implement the sharding architecture atop a full-stack blockchain in 3000 lines of code in Rust -- we achieve a throughput of more than 250,000 transactions per second with 6 shards, a vast improvement over state-of-the-art.
Stationary Behavior of Constant Stepsize SGD Type Algorithms
Authors: Chen Zaiwei , Mou Shancong , Maguluri Siva Theja
Published: July 2022

Stochastic approximation (SA) and stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithms are work-horses for modern machine learning algorithms. Their constant stepsize variants are preferred in practice due to fast convergence behavior. However, constant stepsize SA algorithms do not converge to the optimal solution, but instead have a stationary distribution, which in general cannot be analytically characterized. In this work, we study the asymptotic behavior of the appropriately scaled stationary distribution, in the limit when the constant stepsize goes to zero. Specifically, we consider the following three settings: (1) SGD algorithm with a smooth and strongly convex objective, (2) linear SA algorithm involving a Hurwitz matrix, and (3) nonlinear SA algorithm involving a contractive operator. When the iterate is scaled by 1/√α, where α is the constant stepsize, we show that the limiting scaled stationary distribution is a solution of an implicit equation. Under a uniqueness assumption (which can be removed in certain settings) on this equation, we further characterize the limiting distribution as a Gaussian distribution whose covariance matrix is the unique solution of an appropriate Lyapunov equation. For SA algorithms beyond these cases, our numerical experiments suggest that unlike central limit theorem type results: (1) the scaling factor need not be 1/√α, and (2) the limiting distribution need not be Gaussian. Based on the numerical study, we come up with a heuristic formula to determine the right scaling factor, and make a connection to the Euler-Maruyama discretization scheme for approximating stochastic differential equations.
Understanding I/O Direct Cache Access Performance for End Host Networking
Authors: Wang Minhu , Xu Mingwei , Wu Jianping
Published: July 2022

Direct Cache Access (DCA) enables a network interface card (NIC) to load and store data directly on the processor cache, as conventional Direct Memory Access (DMA) is no longer suitable as the bridge between NIC and CPU in the era of 100 Gigabit Ethernet. As numerous I/O devices and cores compete for scarce cache resources, making the most of DCA for networking applications with varied objectives and constraints is a challenge, especially given the increasing complexity of modern cache hardware and I/O stacks. In this paper, we reverse engineer details of one commercial implementation of DCA, Intel's Data Direct I/O (DDIO), to explicate the importance of hardware-level investigation into DCA. Based on the learned knowledge of DCA and network I/O stacks, we (1) develop an analytical framework to predict the effectiveness of DCA (i.e., its hit rate) under certain hardware specifications, system configurations, and application properties; (2) measure penalties of the ineffective use of DCA (i.e., its miss penalty) to characterize its benefits; and (3) show that our reverse engineering, measurement, and model contribute to a deeper understanding of DCA, which in turn helps diagnose, optimize, and design end-host networking.