bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tight Lower Bounds for Directed Cut Sparsification and Distributed Min-Cut
Authors: Cheng Yu , Li Max , Lin Honghao , Tai Zi-Yi , Woodruff David P. , Zhang Jason
Published: May 2024

In this paper, we consider two fundamental cut approximation problems on large graphs. We prove new lower bounds for both problems that are optimal up to logarithmic factors.

The first problem is approximating cuts in balanced directed graphs. In this problem, we want to build a data structure that can provide (1 ± ε)-approximation of cut values on a graph with n vertices. For arbitrary directed graphs, such a data structure requires Ω(n
2
) bits even for constant ε. To circumvent this, recent works study β-balanced graphs, meaning that for every directed cut, the total weight of edges in one direction is at most β times the total weight in the other direction. We consider the for-each model, where the goal is to approximate each cut with constant probability, and the for-all model, where all cuts must be preserved simultaneously. We improve the previous Ømega(n √β/ε) lower bound in the for-each model to ~Ω (n √β /ε) and we improve the previous Ω(n β/ε) lower bound in the for-all model to Ω(n β/ε
2
). This resolves the main open questions of (Cen et al., ICALP, 2021).

The second problem is approximating the global minimum cut in a local query model, where we can only access the graph via degree, edge, and adjacency queries. We prove an ΩL(min m, m/ε
2
k R) lower bound for this problem, which improves the previous ΩL(m/k R) lower bound, where m is the number of edges, k is the minimum cut size, and we seek a (1+ε)-approximation. In addition, we show that existing upper bounds with minor modifications match our lower bound up to logarithmic factors.
The Weisfeiler-Leman Dimension of Conjunctive Queries
Authors: Göbel Andreas , Goldberg Leslie A. , Roth Marc
Published: May 2024

A graph parameter is a function f on graphs with the property that, for any pair of isomorphic graphs G
1
and G
2
, f(G
1
)=f(G
2
). The Weisfeiler--Leman (WL) dimension of f is the minimum k such that, if G
1
and G
2
are indistinguishable by the k-dimensional WL-algorithm then f(G
1
)=f(G
2
). The WL-dimension of f is ∞ if no such k exists. We study the WL-dimension of graph parameters characterised by the number of answers from a fixed conjunctive query to the graph. Given a conjunctive query φ, we quantify the WL-dimension of the function that maps every graph G to the number of answers of φ in G.

The works of Dvorak (J. Graph Theory 2010), Dell, Grohe, and Rattan (ICALP 2018), and Neuen (ArXiv 2023) have answered this question for full conjunctive queries, which are conjunctive queries without existentially quantified variables. For such queries φ, the WL-dimension is equal to the treewidth of the Gaifman graph of φ.

In this work, we give a characterisation that applies to all conjunctive queries. Given any conjunctive query φ, we prove that its WL-dimension is equal to the semantic extension width sew(φ), a novel width measure that can be thought of as a combination of the treewidth of φ and its quantified star size, an invariant introduced by Durand and Mengel (ICDT 2013) describing how the existentially quantified variables of φ are connected with the free variables. Using the recently established equivalence between the WL-algorithm and higher-order Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) due to Morris et al. (AAAI 2019), we obtain as a consequence that the function counting answers to a conjunctive query φ cannot be computed by GNNs of order smaller than sew(φ).

The majority of the paper is concerned with establishing a lower bound of the WL-dimension of a query. Given any conjunctive query φ with semantic extension width k, we consider a graph F of treewidth k obtained from the Gaifman graph of φ by repeatedly cloning the vertices corresponding to existentially quantified variables. Using a modification due to Furer (ICALP 2001) of the Cai-Fürer-Immerman construction (Combinatorica 1992), we then obtain a pair of graphs χ(F) and ^χ(F) that are indistinguishable by the (k-1)-dimensional WL-algorithm since F has treewidth k. Finally, in the technical heart of the paper, we show that φ has a different number of answers in χ(F) and ^χ(F). Thus, φ can distinguish two graphs that cannot be distinguished by the (k-1)-dimensional WL-algorithm, so the WL-dimension of φ is at least k.
Minimally Factorizing the Provenance of Self-join Free Conjunctive Queries
Authors: Makhija Neha , Gatterbauer Wolfgang
Published: May 2024

We consider the problem of finding the minimal-size factorization of the provenance of self-join-free conjunctive queries, i.e.,we want to find a formula that minimizes the number of variable repetitions. This problem is equivalent to solving the fundamental Boolean formula factorization problem for the restricted setting of the provenance formulas of self-join free queries. While general Boolean formula minimization is Σ
p
2
-complete, we show that the problem is NP-Complete in our case. Additionally, we identify a large class of queries that can be solved in PTIME, expanding beyond the previously known tractable cases of read-once formulas and hierarchical queries.

We describe connections between factorizations, Variable Elimination Orders (VEOs), and minimal query plans. We leverage these insights to create an Integer Linear Program (ILP) that can solve the minimal factorization problem exactly. We also propose a Max-Flow Min-Cut (MFMC) based algorithm that gives an efficient approximate solution. Importantly, we show that both the Linear Programming (LP) relaxation of our ILP, and our MFMC-based algorithm are always correct for all currently known PTIME cases. Thus, we present two unified algorithms (ILP and MFMC) that can both recover all known PTIME cases in PTIME, yet also solve NP-Complete cases either exactly (ILP) or approximately (MFMC), as desired.
Query Optimization by Quantifier Elimination
Authors: Koch Christoph , Lindner Peter
Published: May 2024

Query optimizers have a limited arsenal of techniques for optimizing nested queries. In this paper, we develop a new approach for query optimization based on quantifier elimination. Quantifier elimination is a well-established tool for proving the decidability of logical theories. Here, however, we show that it can be turned into an effective query optimization technique that may yield asymptotic improvements in query processing efficiency. In addition, the technique establishes a foundation for certain well-known but previously little-understood aggregation based techniques for optimizing nested queries.
Simple & Optimal Quantile Sketch: Combining Greenwald-Khanna with Khanna-Greenwald
Authors: Gribelyuk Elena , Sawettamalya Pachara , Wu Hongxun , Yu Huacheng
Published: May 2024

Estimating the ε-approximate quantiles or ranks of a stream is a fundamental task in data monitoring. Given a stream x_1,..., x_n from a universe \mathcalU with total order, an additive-error quantile sketch \mathcalM allows us to approximate the rank of any query y\in \mathcalU up to additive ε n error. In 2001, Greenwald and Khanna gave a deterministic algorithm (GK sketch) that solves the ε-approximate quantiles estimation problem using O(ε^-1 łog(ε n)) space \citegreenwald2001space ; recently, this algorithm was shown to be optimal by Cormode and Vesleý in 2020 \citecormode2020tight. However, due to the intricacy of the GK sketch and its analysis, over-simplified versions of the algorithm are implemented in practical applications, often without any known theoretical guarantees. In fact, it has remained an open question whether the GK sketch can be simplified while maintaining the optimal space bound. In this paper, we resolve this open question by giving a simplified deterministic algorithm that stores at most (2 + o(1))ε^-1 łog (ε n) elements and solves the additive-error quantile estimation problem; as a side benefit, our algorithm achieves a smaller constant factor than the \frac11 2 ε^-1 łog(ε n) space bound in the original GK sketch~\citegreenwald2001space. Our algorithm features an easier analysis and still achieves the same optimal asymptotic space complexity as the original GK sketch. Lastly, our simplification enables an efficient data structure implementation, with a worst-case runtime of O(łog(1/ε) + łog łog (ε n)) per-element for the ordinary ε-approximate quantile estimation problem. Also, for the related "weighted'' quantile estimation problem, we give efficient data structures for our simplified algorithm which guarantee a worst-case per-element runtime of O(łog(1/ε) + łog łog (ε W_n/w_\textrmmin )), achieving an improvement over the previous upper bound of \citeassadi2023generalizing.
A faster FPRAS for #NFA
Authors: Meel Kuldeep S. , Chakraborty Sourav , Mathur Umang
Published: May 2024

Given a non-deterministic finite automaton (NFA) A with m states, and a natural number n (presented in unary), the #NFA problem asks to determine the size of the set L(A,n) of words of length n accepted by A. While the corresponding decision problem of checking the emptiness of L(A,n) is solvable in polynomial time, the #NFA problem is known to be #P-hard. Recently, the long-standing open question --- whether there is an FPRAS (fully polynomial time randomized approximation scheme) for #NFA --- was resolved by Arenas, Croquevielle, Jayaram, and Riveros in [ACJR19]. The authors demonstrated the existence of a fully polynomial randomized approximation scheme with a time complexity of ~O(m
17
n
17
• 1/ε
14
• log (1/δ)), for a given tolerance ε and confidence parameter δ.

Given the prohibitively high time complexity in terms of each of the input parameters, and considering the widespread application of approximate counting (and sampling) in various tasks in Computer Science, a natural question arises: is there a faster FPRAS for #NFA that can pave the way for the practical implementation of approximate #NFA tools? In this work, we answer this question in the positive. We demonstrate that significant improvements in time complexity are achievable, and propose an FPRAS for #NFA that is more efficient in terms of both time and sample complexity.

A key ingredient in the FPRAS due to Arenas, Croquevielle, Jayaram, and Riveros [ACJR19] is inter-reducibility of sampling and counting, which necessitates a closer look at the more informative measure --- the number of samples maintained for each pair of state q and length i <= n. In particular, the scheme of [ACJR19] maintains O(m
7
/n
7
ε
7
) samples per pair of state and length. In the FPRAS we propose, we systematically reduce the number of samples required for each state to be only poly-logarithmically dependent on m, with significantly less dependence on n and ε, maintaining only ~O(n
4
/ε
2
) samples per state. Consequently, our FPRAS runs in time ~O((m
2
n
10
+ m
3
n
6
) • 1/ε
4
• log
2
(1/δ)). The FPRAS and its analysis use several novel insights. First, our FPRAS maintains a weaker invariant about the quality of the estimate of the number of samples for each state q and length i <= n. Second, our FPRAS only requires that the distribution of the samples maintained is close to uniform distribution only in total variation distance (instead of maximum norm). We believe our insights may lead to further reductions in time complexity and thus open up a promising avenue for future work towards the practical implementation of tools for approximate #NFA.
An Overview of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in Biometric Recognition
Authors: Melzi Pietro , Rathgeb Christian , Tolosana Ruben , Vera-Rodriguez Ruben , Busch Christoph
Published: May 2024

Privacy-enhancing technologies are technologies that implement fundamental data protection principles. With respect to biometric recognition, different types of privacy-enhancing technologies have been introduced for protecting stored biometric data, which are generally classified as sensitive. In this regard, various taxonomies and conceptual categorizations have been proposed and standardisation activities have been carried out. However, these efforts have mainly been devoted to certain sub-categories of privacy-enhancing technologies and therefore lack generalization. This work provides an overview of concepts of privacy-enhancing technologies for biometric recognition in a unified framework. Key properties and differences between existing concepts are highlighted in detail at each processing step. Fundamental characteristics and limitations of existing technologies are discussed and related to data protection techniques and principles. Moreover, scenarios and methods for the assessment of privacy-enhancing technologies for biometric recognition are presented. This article is meant as a point of entry to the field of data protection for biometric recognition applications and is directed toward experienced researchers as well as non-experts.
Mobile Application Online Cross-Project Just-in-Time Software Defect Prediction Framework
Authors: Jiang Siyu , He Zhenhang , Chen Yuwen , Zhang Mingrong , Ma Le
Published: May 2024

As mobile applications evolve rapidly, their fast iterative update nature leads to an increase in software defects. Just-In-Time Software Defect Prediction (JIT-SDP) offers immediate feedback on code changes. For new applications without historical data, researchers have proposed Cross-Project JIT-SDP (CP JIT-SDP). Existing CP JIT-SDP approaches are designed for offline scenarios where target data is available in advance. However, target data in real-world applications usually arrives online in a streaming manner, making online CP JIT-SDP face cross-project distribution differences and target project data concept drift challenges in online scenarios. These challenges often co-exist during application development, and their interactions cause model performance to degrade. To address these issues, we propose an online CP JIT-SDP framework called COTL. Specifically, COTL consists of two stages: offline and online. In the offline stage, the cross-domain structure preserving projection algorithm is used to reduce the cross-project distribution differences. In the online stage, target data arrives sequentially over time. By reducing the differences in marginal and conditional distributions between offline and online data for target project, concept drift is mitigated and classifier weights are updated online. Experimental results on 15 mobile application benchmark datasets show that COTL outperforms 13 benchmark methods on four performance metrics.
A Formal Explainer for Just-In-Time Defect Predictions
Authors: Yu Jinqiang , Fu Michael , Ignatiev Alexey , Tantithamthavorn Chakkrit , Stuckey Peter
Published: May 2024

Just-in-Tim e (JIT) defect prediction has been proposed to help teams prioritize the limited resources on the most risky commits (or pull requests), yet it remains largely a black box, whose predictions are not explainable or actionable to practitioners. Thus, prior studies have applied various model-agnostic techniques to explain the predictions of JIT models. Yet, explanations generated from existing model-agnostic techniques are still not formally sound, robust, and actionable. In this article, we propose
FoX
, a
Fo
rmal e
X
plainer for JIT Defect Prediction, which builds on formal reasoning about the behavior of JIT defect prediction models and hence is able to provide provably correct explanations, which are additionally guaranteed to be minimal. Our experimental results show that
FoX
 is able to efficiently generate provably correct, robust, and actionable explanations, while existing model-agnostic techniques cannot. Our survey study with 54 software practitioners provides valuable insights into the usefulness and trustworthiness of our
FoX
 approach; 86% of participants agreed that our approach is useful, while 74% of participants found it trustworthy. Thus, this article serves as an important stepping stone towards trustable explanations for JIT models to help domain experts and practitioners better understand why a commit is predicted as defective and what to do to mitigate the risk.
Intent and Extent: Computer Science Concepts and Practices in Integrated Computing
Authors: Margulieux Lauren E. , Liao Yin-Chan , Anderson Erin , Parker Miranda C. , Calandra Brendan D.
Published: May 2024

Integrated computing curricula combine learning objectives in computing with those in another discipline, like literacy, math, or science, to give all students experience with computing, typically before they must decide whether to take standalone CS courses. One goal of integrated computing curricula is to provide an accessible path to an introductory computing course by introducing computing concepts and practices in required courses. This study analyzed integrated computing curricula to determine which CS practices and concepts are taught, how extensively the curricula are taught, and, by extension, how they might prepare students for later computing courses. The authors conducted a content analysis to examine primary and lower secondary (i.e., K-8) curricula that are taught in non-CS classrooms, have explicit CS learning objectives (i.e., CS+X), and that took 5+ hours to complete. Lesson plans, descriptions, and resources were scored based on frameworks developed from the K-12 CS Framework, including programming concepts, non-programming CS concepts, and CS practices. The results found that curricula most extensively taught introductory concepts and practices, such as sequences, and rarely taught more advanced content, such as conditionals. Students who engage with most of these curricula would have no experience working with fundamental concepts, like variables, operators, data collection or storage, or abstraction in the context of a program. While this focus might be appropriate for integrated curricula, it has implications for the prior knowledge that students should be expected to have when starting standalone computing courses.
HDM-GNN: A Heterogeneous Dynamic Multi-view Graph Neural Network for Crime Prediction
Authors: Zhou Binbin , Zhou Hang , Wang Weikun , Chen Liming , Ma Jianhua , Zheng Zengwei
Published: May 2024

Smart cities have drawn a lot of interest in recent years, which employ Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled sensors to gather data from various sources and help enhance the quality of residents’ life in multiple areas, e.g. public safety. Accurate crime prediction is significant for public safety promotion. However, the complicated spatial-temporal dependencies make the task challenging, due to two aspects: 1) spatial dependency of crime includes correlations with spatially adjacent regions and underlying correlations with distant regions, e.g. mobility connectivity and functional similarity; 2) there are near-repeat and long-range temporal correlations between crime occurrences across time. Most existing studies fall short in tackling with multi-view correlations, since they usually treat them equally without consideration of different weights for these correlations. In this paper, we propose a novel model for region-level crime prediction named as Heterogeneous Dynamic Multi-view Graph Neural Network (HDM-GNN). The model can represent the dynamic spatial-temporal dependencies of crime with heterogeneous urban data, and fuse various types of region-wise correlations from multiple views. Global spatial dependencies and long-range temporal dependencies can be derived by integrating the multiple GAT modules and Gated CNN modules. Extensive experiments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of our method using several real-world datasets. Results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art baselines. All the code are available at https://github.com/ZJUDataIntelligence/HDM-GNN.
Epistemic Parity: Reproducibility as an Evaluation Metric for Differential Privacy
Authors: Rosenblatt Lucas , Herman Bernease , Holovenko Anastasia , Lee Wonkwon , Loftus Joshua , McKinnie Elizabeth , Rumezhak Taras , Stadnik Andrii , Howe Bill , Stoyanovich Julia
Published: May 2024

Differential privacy (DP) data synthesizers are increasingly proposed to afford public release of sensitive information, offering theoretical guarantees for privacy (and, in some cases, utility), but limited empirical evidence of utility in practical settings. Utility is typically measured as the error on representative proxy tasks, such as descriptive statistics, multivariate correlations, the accuracy of trained classifiers, or performance over a query workload. The ability for these results to generalize to practitioners' experience has been questioned in a number of settings, including the U.S. Census. In this paper, we propose an evaluation methodology for synthetic data that avoids assumptions about the representativeness of proxy tasks, instead measuring the likelihood that published conclusions would change had the authors used synthetic data, a condition we call epistemic parity. Our methodology consists of reproducing empirical conclusions of peer-reviewed papers on real, publicly available data, then re-running these experiments a second time on DP synthetic data and comparing the results.
Precision and Test-Retest Repeatability of Stiffness Measurement with MR Elastography: A Multicenter Phantom Study
Authors: Ozkaya Efe , Kennedy Paul , Chen Jun , Bane Octavia , Dillman Jonathan R. , Jhaveri Kartik S. , Ohliger Michael A. , Rossman Phillip J. , Tkach Jean A. , Doucette John T. , Venkatesh Sudhakar K. , Ehman Richard L. , Taouli Bachir
Published: May 2024

MR elastography demonstrated excellent stiffness measurement precision and test-retest repeatability across five study centers, 10 scanners, three manufacturers, two field strengths, two MR elastography sequences, and three phantoms mimicking different degrees of liver stiffness.
Isotropic Structure and Polymer Interface Intensified Lithium-Ion Transmission in Spherical Graphite Tailings/Coke Composite Anode
Authors: Bian Kaixuan , Meng Yue , Fu Yulong , Feng Lili , Wang Zhi , Liu Junhao , Gong Xuzhong
Published: May 2024

Spherical graphite tailings (SGT) as the anode electrode for a lithium-ion battery not only improves the utilization value of SGT as solid waste, but also demonstrates the cleaner production of natural flake graphite (NG) compared with artificial graphite. However, SGT anodes present issues regarding rate performance and cycle stability due to the anisotropy structure and the instability of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI). In this work, a composite anode with isotropic structure was prepared by granulation of high-sulfur coal (HSC) and SGT, while an artificial SEI was prepared utilizing polyether amine/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PEA/PVP) crosslinked polymer. Results showed that the coke from HSC pyrolysis enhanced the isotropy of the composite anode and improved its rate performance. Compared with SGT, the capacity retention rate of the sample (OSGT-50%OHSC) after oxidation - pyrolysis at a high current density of 5.0 A g−1 increased from 7.2% to 25.8%. Additionally, the PEA/PVP artificial SEI strengthened the cycle stability of the anode. After 1000 cycles, the capacity retention rate increased from 22.5% to 70.3%. The artificial SEI effectively avoided direct contact between the anode and the electrolyte, increasing the initial coulombic efficiency from 70.3% to 77.1%.
Rod-Like MnMoO4 with Excellent Electrochemical Performance as Sensing Material to Detect Triethylamine
Authors: Lv Shuai-Shuai , Liu Yu-Feng , Jiao Si-Qi , Jiang Chu-Ning , Zhang Cheng , Zheng Xiao-Hong
Published: May 2024

MnMoO4 has excellent electrochemical properties and is widely used in the field of electrochemistry. In this study, MnMoO4 with rod-like structure was successfully prepared by simple solvothermal method and used as sensitive material for gas sensors. The gas sensing performance shows that the response of MnMoO4-based sensor to 50 ppm triethylamine is 224.2, which is 2.3 times higher than that of pure MoO3. That reason why MnMoO4 exhibits better sensitivity is that the increase of oxygen vacancy content gives the surface of MnMoO4 material abundant active sites. In addition, its large baseline resistance is also conducive to the improvement of gas sensitivity. These factors make the MnMoO4-based sensor exhibit high response to triethylamine. What’s more, the sensor also has excellent selectivity, satisfactory repeatability, and long-term stability to triethylamine under chemical sensitization and synergistic action. This work provides a new thinking for the application of MnMoO4 in gas sensors.
Comparison between Endoscopic Ultrasound‐Guided Antegrade and Transluminal Stent Implantation in Distal Malignant Biliary Obstruction after Failed ERCP
Authors: Shen Yonghua , Lv Ying , Zheng Xiaojiao , Zhan Wei , Hou Senlin , Zhou Lin , Cao Jun , Zhang Bin , Wang Lei , Zhu Hao , Zhang Lichao
Published: May 2024

Background. Distal malignant biliary obstruction (DMBO) can result in obstructive jaundice. Endoscopic ultrasound‐ (EUS‐) guided biliary drainage (EUS‐BD) has been an alternative for DMBO after failed ERCP. Aim. To compare the efficacy and safety between antegrade and transluminal approaches in patients with unresectable DMBO when ERCP failed. Methods. Patients with DMBO leading to obstructive jaundice after failed ERCP were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy between EUS‐guided transluminal stenting (TLS group) and antegrade stenting (AGS group). Results. 82 patients were enrolled, of which 45 patients were in TLS group and 37 in AGS group. There were no statistical differences in the malignancy type, baseline common bile duct diameter, total bilirubin level, reason for EUS‐BD, and history of biliary drainage between TLS and AGS groups. The technical success rate was statistically higher in TLS group than in AGS group (97.8 vs. 81.1%, P = 0.031). There were no statistical differences in clinical success rate, procedure‐related adverse events, stent migration rate, stent dysfunction rate, reintervention rate, and overall patient survival time between TLS and AGS groups. The median time to stent dysfunction or patient death in TLS and AGS groups was 53 and 81 days, respectively (P = 0.017). Conclusions. Although AGS had a lower technical success rate than TLS, it was superior to TLS in stent patency in patients with DMBO.
Ophthalmomyiasis Case Caused by Two Blow Fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Species in North America
Authors: Parker Taylor B. , Meiklejohn Kelly A. , Dahlem Gregory A. , Eagle Ralph C. , Heersink Marius J.
Published: May 2024

Ophthalmomyiasis is the result of fly larvae feeding on the tissues of the eye. Commonly associated with poor hygiene and open wounds, this condition is rare and often stigmatized. Treatment can be straightforward, and full recovery is common. Identifying the species responsible for ophthalmomyiasis is important for the medical, forensic, and entomological communities. Here, we present a case of ophthalmomyiasis where 30–40 blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae were removed from the eye of a human male. A representative subsample of five larvae was used for taxonomic identification via two approaches (a) DNA analysis, via sequencing of the complete mitochondrial genome (mtGenome) and comparison of the mtGenome and mitochondrial COI barcode region to GenBank, and (b) morphology, examination of the posterior spiracles using microscopy, and comparison to published larval descriptions of blow flies. Two species of blow flies were identified from the DNA analysis: Lucilia coeruleiviridis and Phormia regina. Morphological examination could only confirm L. coeruleiviridis as being present. To our knowledge, finding two blow fly species causing ophthalmomyiasis in a single individual has not been previously reported in the scientific literature. Neither P. regina nor L. coeruleiviridis prefers living tissue for larva development, but since they fill similar ecological niches, perhaps this was a show of competition rather than a normal feeding habit. Knowing these blow fly species can resort to this behavior, and that it can affect human populations, is valuable to the education of patients and providers.
β‐Glucan Subverts the Function of Myeloid Cells in Neonates
Authors: Chen Yingying , Li Hui , Zhu Lin , Yang Quan , Zhou Jie
Published: May 2024

β‐Glucan is the main component of the cell wall of pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) including various yeast, fungi, or certain bacteria. Previous reports demonstrated that β‐glucan was widely investigated as a potent immunomodulators to stimulate innate and adaptive immune responses, which indicated that it could be recommended as an effective adjuvant in immunotherapy. However, the detailed effects of β‐glucan on neonatal immunity are still largely unknown. Here, we found that β‐glucan did not affect the frequencies and numbers of myeloid cells in the spleen and bone marrow from neonates. Functional assay revealed that β‐glucan from neonates compromised the immunosuppressive function of immature myeloid cells, which were myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Flow cytometry or gene expression analysis revealed that β‐glucan‐derived polymorphonuclear (PMN)‐MDSCs produced lower level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and arginase‐1 (Arg1) in neonatal mice. Furthermore, β‐glucan administration significantly decreased the frequency and ROS level of PMN‐MDSCs in vitro. These observations suggest that β‐glucan facilitates the maturation of myeloid cells in early life, which may contribute to its beneficial effects against immune disorders later in life.
The Nociceptive and Inflammatory Responses Induced by the Ehrlich Solid Tumor Are Changed in Mice Healed of Plasmodium berghei Strain ANKA Infection after Chloroquine Treatment
Authors: Rodrigues Aguiar Maria de Fatima , Guterres Meiriane Mendes , Benarrosh Eduarda Magalhães , Verri Waldiceu Aparecido , Calixto-Campos Cássia , Dias Quintino Moura
Published: May 2024

Comorbidities that involve infectious and noninfectious diseases, such as malaria and cancer, have been described. Cancer and malaria induce changes in the nociceptive and inflammatory responses through similar pathophysiological mechanisms. However, it is unclear whether malaria and antimalarial treatment can change the inflammatory and nociceptive responses induced by solid cancer. Therefore, the present study experimentally evaluated the effect of infection by Plasmodium berghei strain ANKA and chloroquine treatment on the nociceptive and inflammatory responses induced by the solid Ehrlich tumor in male BALB/c mice. On the 1st experimental day, mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei and injected with tumor cells in the left hind paw. From the 7th to the 9th experimental day, mice were treated daily with chloroquine. The parasitemia was evaluated on the 7th and 10th days after infection. On the 11th experimental day, mice were evaluated on the von Frey filament test, the hot plate test, and the paw volume test. At the end of the experimental tests on the 11th day, the peripheral blood of all mice was collected for dosing of IL-1β and TNF-α. The blood parasitemia significantly increased from the 7th to the 10th day. The chloroquine treatment significantly decreased the parasitemia on the 10th day. The presence of the tumor did not significantly change the parasitemia on the 7th and 10th days in mice treated and nontreated with chloroquine. On the 11th day, the mechanical and thermal nociceptive responses significantly increased in mice with tumors. The treatment with antimalarial significantly reduced the mechanical nociceptive response induced by tumors. The hyperalgesia induced by tumors did not change with malaria. The mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia induced by the tumor was significantly reduced in mice treated and healed from malaria. On the 11th day, the volume of the paw injected by the tumor was significantly increased. The mice treated with chloroquine, infected with malaria, or healed of malaria showed reduced paw edema induced by the tumor. Mice with tumors did not show a change in IL-β and TNF-α serum levels. Mice with tumors showed a significant increase in serum levels of IL-1β but not TNF-α when treated with chloroquine, infected with malaria, or healed of malaria. In conclusion, the results show that malaria infection and chloroquine treatment can influence, in synergic form, the nociceptive and inflammatory responses induced by the solid tumor. Moreover, the mechanical antinociception, the thermal hyperalgesia, and the antiedema effect observed in mice treated with chloroquine and healed from malaria can be related to the increase in the serum level of IL-1β.
Dynamics and Control Strategies for SLBRS Model of Computer Viruses Based on Complex Networks
Authors: Tang Wei , Yang Hui , Pi Jinxiu
Published: May 2024

The proliferation of computer viruses has escalated in recent years, posing threats not only to individuals’ safety and property but also to societal well-being. Consequently, effectively curtailing virus spread has become an urgent imperative. To address this issue, our paper introduces a new virus propagation model and associated control strategy. First, diverging from conventional approaches in network virus literature, we propose a susceptible-latent-breaking-out-recovered-susceptible (SLBRS) virus propagation model tailored to the topological characteristics of scale-free networks, thus comprehensively incorporating network structure’s impact on virus propagation. Second, we analyze the model’s foundational properties, derive the basic reproduction number, and demonstrate the existence and global asymptotic stability of disease-free equilibrium. Finally, leveraging global stability of the model at the disease-free equilibrium, we integrate the target immunization strategy (TIS) and the acquaintance immunization strategy (AIS) to devise an optimal control strategy. The paper’s findings offer fresh insights into disease-free equilibrium existence and stability, furnishing a more dependable approach to curbing network virus dissemination. The simulation results demonstrate the persistent presence of network viruses in the absence of control measures and the instability of the disease-free equilibrium. However, effective control is achieved after implementing immunization measures.
In Vivo and In Vitro Study on the Mechanism of Anticervical Cancer Effects of Corilagin in Mice
Authors: Wang Li-Mei , Jiang Yu-Han , Li Xing-Yu , Wu Min-Rui , Xu Zi-Yang , Li Long-Jie , Yi Yang , Wang Hong-Xun
Published: May 2024

Background. Corilagin has several pharmacological effects such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular disease treatment. Our previous studies have shown that the Corilagin can significantly inhibit proliferation of HeLa cells. However, there are no scientific data on the anticervical cancer effect of Corilagin in vivo. Methods. Network pharmacology was used to predict the mechanism, followed by in vitro experiments to detect cell proliferation, cycle, and apoptosis, and in vivo experiments to verify the mechanism. Results. It was speculated that the mechanism of action for the anticervical cancer of Corilagin could be related to PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways through network pharmacology. Results of cell assays in the present study showed that the Corilagin has significant effect on the proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of murine cervical cancer U14 cells in vitro. In addition, Corilagin can significantly inhibit the growth of U14 tumor-bearing mice with insignificant toxic effect on the liver and kidney of the transplanted mice. The current study found that Corilagin can delay development of cervical cancer by boosting antitumor immune responses of the body. RT-PCR and Western blotting were applied in the current study to evident that Corilagin can achieve anticervical cancer property by inducing apoptosis of tumor tissues through both PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways. Conclusion. Therefore, this study provided theoretical reference for research of Corilagin as a bioresource for development of an anticervical cancer drug and functional food.
Correlations of Cancer‐Related Fatigue with Clinicopathological Features and Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Liu Dong , Xia A-Dong , Xing Yue-Long , Zhang Kai , Chen Dan
Published: May 2024

Objective. To explore the correlations of cancer‐related fatigue (CRF) with clinicopathological features and quality of life in gastric cancer. Methods. Using a convenient sampling method, 230 patients with gastric cancer admitted to our hospital from March 2020 to July 2022 were collected. They were divided into the fatigue group (n = 152) and the nonfatigue group (n = 78) according to the presence/absence of CRF. Relevant data were collected and compared. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in age ratio (χ2 = 41.671, P < 0.001), T stage ratio (χ2 = 9.973, P = 0.019), N stage ratio (P < 0.001), PS score (P < 0.001), and the degree of gastric cancer thickening (14.21 ± 3.32 vs. 12.12 ± 3.81 mm, t = 4.572, P < 0.001). Patients with gastric cancer had the lowest CRF Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) score for general activities (2.26 ± 0.37) and high scores for work activities (6.23 ± 0.24) and enjoyment of life (7.11 ± 1.34). Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between patient emotions and the CRF BFI score (r = 0.443, P = 0.001). Patients with mild, moderate, and severe CRF showed statistically significant differences in physical functioning (83.34 ± 21.12 vs. 65.23 ± 21.14 vs. 32.25 ± 17.29, F = 15.382, P < 0.001), role emotional (72.53 ± 21.21 vs. 67.33 ± 27.56 vs. 54.37 ± 26.45, F = 14.483, P < 0.001), fatigue (49.12 ± 18.44 vs. 54.61 ± 26.64 vs. 67.51 ± 14.27, F = 13.581, P < 0.001), bodily pain (56.56 ± 25.12 vs. 76.43 ± 21.71 vs. 80.32 ± 12.39, F = 14.582, P < 0.001), appetite reduction (57.45 ± 25.47 vs. 69.51 ± 16.21 vs. 76.23 ± 27.58, F = 14.592, P < 0.001), and overall health status and quality of life (67.21 ± 19.45 vs. 53.43 ± 22.32 vs. 43.43 ± 12.52, F = 16.494, P < 0.001). After chemotherapy, the average CRF BFI scores of the partial remission (PR), disease stability (SD), and disease progression (PD) groups all reduced than those before chemotherapy (all P < 0.05). At 3 months of follow‐up, a comparison of the average CRF BFI scores with those before chemotherapy revealed a decrease in the SD and PR groups and an increase in the PD group. Conclusion. In conclusion, CRF is correlated with age, T stage, and N stage in gastric cancer. The later the T and N stages, the more significant the effect on fatigue. Moreover, CRF can also affect the quality of life in gastric cancer, and the severer the CRF, the poorer the quality of life.
A Review on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology: An Efficient Energy Conversion System
Authors: Talukdar Amit , Chakrovorty Amrit , Sarmah Pranjal , Paramasivam Prabhu , Kumar Virendra , Yadav Surendra Kumar , Manickkam Sathiyamoorthy
Published: May 2024

The increasing global dependence on fossil fuels for energy has prompted researchers to explore alternative power generation sources that offer higher efficiency, cost‐effectiveness, and low environmental impact. Developed countries have been making continuous efforts to reduce their reliance on depleting fossil fuel sources to curb carbon emissions. As a result, hydrogen has gained significant attention among researchers as a potential future fuel that meets all the necessary criteria. Many countries aiming for a hydrogen economy have invested in research on fuel cells. Among various fuel cells, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has emerged as a commercially viable power source at a small scale. This paper provides an extensive review of the components, materials, design, operation, and integration strategies of SOFCs with existing thermal‐based power plants. The performance and prospects of various SOFCs in standalone and hybrid modes are summarized, along with the limitations. Additionally, the research and commercialization efforts that can enhance the potential applications of SOFCs as a sustainable and reliable system in the long term are outlined.
Protective Effect of Deer Heart Peptide on Cardiac Injury in Mice
Authors: Zhang Qun , Li Hongjin , Jia Dongshu , Chen Wei , Jia Xinao , Lin Qi , Zhang Jiyi , Tang Yujiao
Published: May 2024

Peptides are widely used as natural bio-small molecules because of their various pharmacological activities such as enhancing immunity, promoting wound healing, and improving inflammation. Alcoholic heart injury has become one of the major health problems worldwide, and alcohol consumption is now the main cause of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. In this study, deer heart peptides were extracted from deer hearts by enzymatic digestion and the antioxidant activity of deer heart peptides extracted at different times was evaluated by three in vitro antioxidant methods, and the active peptide with the best enzymatic effect has been selected for in vivo animal experiments. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of deer heart enzymatic extracts were evaluated in in vivo experiments in mice. In this study, mice were orally gavaged with white wine (12 mL/kg body weight) to induce a mouse model of cardiac injury, while mice were orally administered a single dose of 100 mg/kg/bw and 200 mg/kg/bw of deer heart enzyme digest and were examined for body weight, dietary intake, water intake, and coat gloss, as well as for general behaviors, adverse effects, and mortality. Histology, serum, anti-inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress parameters were subsequently assessed. In all modeled mice, no four-way or any significant behavioral changes were observed in all groups, but in the modeled group, mice showed weight loss, decreased diet and water intake, and decreased cardiac index. For in vivo tests, the extract inhibited the anti-inflammatory activity with a significant decrease in inflammatory factors of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in cardiac tissues, a significant increase in serum levels of both CAT and SOD, an increase in MDA content, and a remarkable increase in the level of the marker CK in the cardiac myocardial enzyme profile. Significant improvement in myocardial disorders by deer heart peptide could be observed from heart tissue sections. The present study emphasizes the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of deer heart peptide, an enzymatic digest of deer heart, which provides empirical as well as supportive role for the anti-inflammatory properties of traditional medicine.
The Structure of Lexical-Semantic Networks at Global and Local Levels: A Comparison between L1 and L2
Authors: Feng Xuefang , Liu Jie
Published: May 2024

This article applies quantitative methods from complex network analysis to investigate and compare the organization of L1 and L2 lexical-semantic networks. Forty-eight English learners with Chinese as their native language completed a semantic fluency task, first in English and then in Chinese, based on which two lexical-semantic networks were constructed. Comparison at the global level found that the L1 lexical-semantic network displays more prominent small-world and scale-free features and a clearer modular structure in comparison with its L2 counterpart. Locally, although the two lexical-semantic networks share most of their central words, they differ remarkably in their composition and the connection pattern of their peripheral words. Specifically, L1 peripheral words are likely to connect with each other to form local modules while L2 peripheral words tend to connect with central words. Moreover, word centrality was found to be closely related to time of generation, generation frequency, and accuracy in fluency tasks, and such tendency is more obvious in L1 than in L2. The findings demonstrate the advantages of quantitative analysis granted by network science in the investigation of mental lexicon and provide insights for lexical representation research and classroom vocabulary instructions.
Pathogenesis, Transmission, and Within‐Host Evolution of Bovine‐Origin Influenza D Virus in Pigs
Authors: Gorin Stéphane , Richard Gautier , Quéguiner Stéphane , Chastagner Amélie , Barbier Nicolas , Deblanc Céline , Hervé Séverine , Blanchard Yannick , Paboeuf Frédéric , Simon Gaëlle
Published: May 2024

Whereas bovine has been demonstrated as the main reservoir of influenza D virus (IDV), this virus was first isolated in a pig and is regularly detected in some swine populations. However, the role of swine in IDV ecology, as well as the outcomes of IDV infection in pigs, is still unclear. This study aimed to provide additional information on pathogenesis, transmission, and adaptation of a bovine‐origin IDV in swine. An infection and transmission study, using an IDV strain isolated following a first passage on pig of a bovine IDV, was conducted on specific pathogen‐free pigs, including inoculated and direct contact pigs. Two routes of inoculation were tested, i.e., nasal and tracheal. None of the inoculated or their contact pigs showed clinical signs, but all of them shed the virus in nasal secretions and seroconverted. Virus shedding started earlier in pigs inoculated intranasally as well as in their contact pigs, compared to pigs inoculated intratracheally and associated contacts, suggesting that the viral replication occurred preferentially in the upper respiratory tract. Sequencing data brought to light a mutation on hemagglutinin‐esterase‐fusion protein (L118F) in the bovine IDV‐derived isolate obtained after the first passage on pig. This mutation was fixed in all viral strains obtained in this study, either from inoculated or contact pigs, and was maintained over the second and third passages on swine. The L118F mutation could be linked to the adaptation of the parental bovine IDV to the swine host and might have contributed to an efficient viral multiplication and subsequent pig‐to‐pig transmission.
Cognitive Impairment and Fatigue in Intensive Care Patients Three Months after the Acute Phase of COVID‐19 Infection: Follow‐Up with Focus on Differences between the First and Later Waves of the Pandemic
Authors: Möller M. C. , Godbolt A. K. , Ingvarsson Å. , Borg K. , Markovic G. , Melin E. , Löfgren M. , Deboussard C. Nygren
Published: May 2024

Background. Cognitive symptoms and fatigue may persist after intensive care unit (ICU) care. It remains unclear whether post‐COVID‐19 symptoms are related to ICU care itself or the infection. Objective. The primary aim was to investigate the prevalence of residual cognitive impairment and fatigue after ICU care for COVID‐19 and to evaluate the importance of demographic factors. A secondary aim was to investigate whether differences in ICU treatment between the first wave (March 2020 to July 2020) and later waves (August 2020 to January 2021) of COVID‐19 were associated with differences in cognitive outcomes. Design. Prospective follow‐up study. Subjects/Patients. Swedish cohort of COVID‐19 patients referred from ICU. Methods. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory‐20 (MFI‐20), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Insomnia Severity Scale, and RAND‐36 were administered approximately three months after admission to ICU. Mann–Whitney tests were used to investigate group differences, and multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between fatigue and covarying factors. Results. 71 patients completed follow‐up, and 60 patients underwent a cognitive screening of which 30% had MoCA scores indicative of cognitive impairment (<26 points). Higher age was related to poorer cognitive performance. Patients scored above the normal range on all subscales on the MFI‐20. There was a significant difference in length of ICU stay between wave one and following waves, but no statistically significant differences emerged on cognitive screening. Intubated patients’ fatigue ratings were lower compared to those not intubated—despite longer ICU stay. No difference in MoCA scores emerged between patients who were, or were not, intubated. Conclusion. Cognitive impairment and fatigue were evident in patients three months after a severe COVID‐19 infection, but global cognitive functioning was not related to ICU length of stay. Less fatigue among patients who had been intubated merits further investigation.