bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Policy Diffusion Through Multiple Streams: The (Non‐)Adoption of Energy Conservation Building Code in India
Authors: Goyal Nihit
Published: January 2021

Although the diffusion of policy innovations can promote sustainability, how this process can be accelerated remains unclear. I address this gap by conceptualizing policy transfer and policy diffusion using the multiple streams framework (MSF) and developing hypotheses to connect them. I apply this theorization to explain the limited spread of the energy conservation building code (ECBC) in India by combining a process trace of policy adoption in the embedded case of Andhra Pradesh with a dyadic event history analysis of state‐level diffusion during 2012‐18. The data for this study are collated from official statistics, elite interviews, news reports, policy documents, and secondary literature. The qualitative analysis shows that policy transfer to Andhra Pradesh occurred when external influence and prior adoption elsewhere were used by a policy entrepreneur to exploit a window of opportunity and couple problem, policy, and politics in the state; the dyadic analysis demonstrates that policy diffusion was influenced by the interaction among the structural characteristics of the problem, policy, and politics streams. I conclude with the implications for research on policy diffusion and the MSF as well as the relevance of the findings for promoting policy innovation for a sustainable energy transition.
Fine‐tuning of antigen‐specific immune responses by regulatory T cells activated via antigen recognition–independent and humoral factor–dependent mechanisms
Authors: Kojima Hidefumi , Kashiwakura Yuji , Kanno Yumiko , Hashiguchi Masaaki , Kobata Tetsuji
Published: January 2021

CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are highly sensitive to IL‐2, one of the many cytokines produced during immune responses, for their development, survival and functions. Although the effects of IL‐2 administration on Tregs in vivo are well characterized, the effects on Tregs elicited by IL‐2 produced during an immune response have not been elucidated. Hence, in this study, Treg behaviour during IL‐2–producing immune responses was explored using in vivo and in vitro murine systems. The use of murine mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) revealed that a large proportion of Tregs increased in size, accompanied by both cell death and proliferation status. Further, these large Tregs, which were found to not recognize specific antigens, were observed in MLCs as being functionally activated by various cytokines, including IL‐2, produced by antigen‐specific T cells. This ‘bystander Treg activation’ was also observed in mice with graft‐versus‐host reactions (GvHRs). Alternatively, effector cells from Treg‐depleted MLCs exhibited lower antigen‐specific responses or higher cross‐reactivity as compared to control MLCs with Tregs. Taken together, these results suggest that Tregs are activated by cytokines, mainly IL‐2, released from T cells that are activated by a specific antigen. Subsequently, these activated bystander Tregs contribute to the fine‐tuning of highly antigen‐specific immune responses.
The hamletic dilemma of patients waiting for kidney transplantation during the COVID‐19 pandemic: To accept or not to accept (an organ offer)?
Authors: Manzia Tommaso M. , Angelico Roberta , Toti Luca , Pisani Gennaro , Vita Giuseppe , Romano Francesca , Pirozzi Brunella M. , Vinci Danilo , Cacciola Roberto , Iaria Giuseppe , Tisone Giuseppe
Published: January 2021

The outbreak of COVID‐19 led to a reduction in the number of organ transplant interventions in most Countries. In April 2020, at the Tor Vergata University in Rome, Italy, two patients on the waiting list for kidney transplantation (KT) declined a deceased donor's kidney offer. Therefore, between April 20 and 25, 2020, we conducted a telephone survey among our 247 KT waitlist patients. Our aim was to explore: (a) the COVID‐19 diffusion among them and (b) their current willingness to be transplanted in case of a kidney offer from a deceased donor. Two hundred and forty‐three patients participated in a phone interview. One patient had died from COVID‐19. Eighty‐five (35%) KT candidates would decline any kidney offer, in most cases until the end of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Upon a multivariate analysis, female gender (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.26‐4.03,P = .006), high cardiovascular risk (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.06‐5.08,P = .034), a waiting list time <3 years (OR = 0.375, 95% CI = 0.15‐0.95,P = .04), and the need to be transferred to another hospital for HD (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.10‐5.9,P = .03) were associated with such refusal. The COVID‐19 pandemic led to a fear of transplantation in a third of the KT candidates. Proactive educational webinars could be a useful tool to remove, or at least lessen, any doubts on the part of KT candidates and to avoid losing the opportunity to quit dialysis.
The First Global Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Guidelines for People Living With Disability
Authors: Carty Catherine , van der Ploeg Hidde P. , Biddle Stuart J.H. , Bull Fiona , Willumsen Juana , Lee Lindsay , Kamenov Kaloyan , Milton Karen
Published: January 2021

Background: The World Health Organization has released the first global public health guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior for people living with disability. This paper presents the guidelines, related processes, and evidence, and elaborates upon how the guidelines can support inclusive policy, practice, and research. Methods: Methods were consistent with the World Health Organization protocols for developing guidelines. Systematic reviews of the evidence on physical activity for health for people living with disability were appraised, along with a consideration of the evidence used to inform the general 2020 World Health Organization guidelines. Results: Evidence supported the development of recommendations for people living with disability, stressing that there are no major risks to engaging in physical activity appropriate to an individual’s current activity level, health status, and physical function, and that the health benefits accrued generally outweigh the risks. They also emphasize the benefits of limiting sedentary behavior. Conclusions: The guidelines mark a positive step forward for disability inclusion, but considerable effort is needed to advance the agenda. This paper highlights key considerations for the implementation of the new recommendations for people living with disability, in line with the human rights agenda underpinning the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030 and allied policies.
Competitive Exclusion and Metabolic Dependency among Microorganisms Structure the Cellulose Economy of an Agricultural Soil
Authors: Wilhelm Roland C. , Pepe-Ranney Charles , Weisenhorn Pamela , Lipton Mary , Buckley Daniel H.
Published: January 2021

Our study reveals the ecogenomic traits of microorganisms participating in the cellulose economy of soil. We identified three major categories of participants in this economy: (i) independent primary degraders, (ii) interdependent primary degraders, and (iii) secondary consumers (mutualists, opportunists, and parasites).
Secretion, Maturation, and Activity of a Quorum Sensing Peptide (GSP) Inducing Bacteriocin Transcription in Streptococcus gallolyticus
Authors: Harrington Anthony , Proutière Alexis , Mull Ryan W. , du Merle Laurence , Dramsi Shaynoor , Tal-Gan Yftah
Published: January 2021

Streptococcus gallolyticus
subsp.
gallolyticus
is an opportunistic pathogen associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and endocarditis.
S. gallolyticus
subsp.
gallolyticus
utilizes quorum sensing (QS) to regulate the production of a bacteriocin (gallocin) and gain a selective advantage in colonizing the colon. In this article, we report (i) the first structure-activity relationship study of the
S. gallolyticus
subsp.
gallolyticus
QS pheromone that regulates gallocin production, (ii) evidence that the active QS pheromone is processed to its mature form by a unique ABC transporter and not processed by an extracellular protease, and (iii) supporting evidence of interspecies interactions between streptococcal pheromones.
Structural geometry and kinematics of thrust belts between the Dabashan and eastern Sichuan Basin, South China block: Constraints from (U-Th)/He dating and seismic data
Authors: Lu Guo , Li Chuanxin , Li Wenzheng , Deng Shang , Zhang Jianyong
Published: January 2021

The relationship between the North and South China blocks, particularly their spatial-temporal framework and evolutionary history, has been widely debated. We conducted a comprehensive study of the structural geometry and kinematics of the thrust belts in the intersection zone between the Dabashan and eastern Sichuan Basin based on seismic data, drilling data, field investigation data, and zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology data. These data sets provide important insights into the relationship between the North and South China blocks during the post-orogenic process. Due to the detachments, the strata of the eastern Sichuan Basin can be divided into four structural intervals characterized by duplex structures and fault-related fold structures. Balanced restoration indicates the vertical differences are represented by the shortening ratio of the upper structural interval of ∼6%, that of the middle ∼10%, and that of the lower ∼7%. Besides, the shortening ratios indicate an increasing tendency of the deformation intensity from the west to the east. The (U-Th)/He dating results suggest two age ranges, i.e., from 180 Ma to 130 Ma and from 50 Ma to 20 Ma, respectively. These age data sets also imply a younger tendency westward. The intersection zone may have experienced the following stages since the late Mesozoic era: (1) the stable continental sedimentation stage from the Late Triassic to the Late Jurassic epochs; (2) the continuous thrust stage from the Late Jurassic to the early Paleogene epochs, which is associated with the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean; and (3) the uplift and denudation stage as a whole caused by the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau since the Paleogene period.
Thulium laser to endoscopically manage a rectal erosion and intraluminal mesh migration after ventral rectopexy
Authors: Dioscoridi Lorenzo , Pugliese Francesco , Bertoglio Camillo Leonardo , Mutignani Massimiliano
Published: January 2021

Rectal erosions after ventral rectopexy (VR) is an uncommon but challenging adverse event and can be associated with partial migration of the mesh into the intestinal cavity. Re-do surgery is difficult and often provides colostomy and/or anterior rectal resections. However, no alternative solutions are described in the available literature. An 82-year-old woman presented to our hospital for rectal erosion and intraluminal migration of the mesh placed at a 1-year laparoscopic VR. We performed an innovative totally endoscopic approach, using thulium laser and two endoscopes, that led to a successful removal of the mesh. The described mini-invasive technique can be an effective alternative to surgery in tertiary referral centres.
Prevalence and incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications over 15 years among patients with incident type 2 diabetes
Authors: An Jaejin , Nichols Gregory A , Qian Lei , Munis Mercedes A , Harrison Teresa N , Li Zhuoxin , Wei Rong , Weiss Tracey , Rajpathak Swapnil , Reynolds Kristi
Published: January 2021

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common condition that, if left untreated or poorly managed, can lead to adverse microvascular and macrovascular complications. We estimated the prevalence and incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications among patients newly diagnosed with T2D within a US integrated healthcare system.

Research design and methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study among patients newly diagnosed with T2D between 2003 and 2014. We evaluated 13 complications, including chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and all-cause mortality through 2018. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to study factors associated with complications.

Results

We identified 135 199 patients with incident T2D. The mean age was 58 years, and 48% were women. The prevalence of CKD was the highest of the complications at the time of T2D diagnosis (prevalence=12.3%, 95% CI 12.2% to 12.5%), while the prevalence of CVD was among the lowest at 3.3% (95% CI 3.2% to 3.3%). The median time to incidence of a T2D complication ranged from 3.0 to 5.2 years. High incidence rates (95% CI) of T2D complications included peripheral neuropathy (26.9, 95% CI 26.5 to 27.3 per 1000 person-years (PY)), CKD (21.2, 95% CI 20.9 to 21.6 per 1000 PY), and CVD (11.9, 95% CI 11.7 to 12.2 per 1000 PY). The trend of 5-year incidence rates of T2D complications by diagnosis year decreased over time (p value<0.001). Older age, non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity, sex, higher A1C, smoking, and hypertension were associated with increased CKD and CVD incidence.

Conclusion

Though incidence rates of T2D complications were lower in more recent years (2010–2014), a significant proportion of patients had complications at T2D diagnosis. Earlier preventive therapies as well as managing modifiable factors may help delay the development and progression of T2D complications.
Assessment of vitamin B12deficiency and B12screening trends for patients on metformin: a retrospective cohort case review
Authors: Martin Darby , Thaker Jeet , Shreve Maria , Lamerato Lois , Budzynska Kartazyna
Published: January 2021

Objectives

Our study investigated the use of vitamin B12testing in a large cohort of patients on metformin and assesses appropriateness and benefits of screening recommendations for vitamin B12deficiency.

Design

This retrospective cohort study included insured adult patients who had more than 1 year of metformin use between 1 January 2010 and 1 October 2016 and who filled at least two consecutive prescriptions of metformin to establish compliance. The comparison group was not exposed to metformin. Primary outcome was incidence of B12deficiency diagnosed in patients on metformin. Secondary outcome was occurrence of B12testing in the patient population on metformin. Records dated through 31 December 2018 were analysed.

Setting

Large hospital system consisting of inpatient and outpatient data base.

Participants

A diverse, adult, insured population of patients who had more than 1 year of metformin use between 1 January 2010 and 1 October 2016 and who filled at least two consecutive prescriptions of metformin.

Results

Of 13 489 patients on metformin, 6051 (44.9%) were tested for vitamin B12deficiency, of which 202 (3.3%) tested positive (vs 2.2% of comparisons). Average time to test was 990 days. Average time to test positive for deficiency was 1926 days. Factors associated with testing were linked to sex (female, 47.8%), older age (62.79% in patients over 80 years old), race (48.98% white) and causes of malabsorption (7.11%). Multivariable logistic regression showed older age as the only factor associated with vitamin B12deficiency, whereas African-American ethnicity approached significance as a protective factor.

Conclusions

Based on our study’s findings of vitamin B12deficiency in patients on metformin who are greater than 65 years old and have been using it for over 5 years, we recommend that physicians consider screening in these populations.
Chest radiography for simplified evaluation of central venous catheter tip positioning for safe and accurate haemodynamic monitoring: a retrospective observational study
Authors: Kang Minwoo , Bae Jinkun , Moon Sujin , Chung Tae Nyoung
Published: January 2021

Objectives

The tip-to-carina (TC) distance on a simple chest X-ray (CXR) has proven value in the determination of correct central venous catheter (CVC) positioning. However, previous studies have mostly focused on preventing the atrial insertion of the CVC tip, and not on appropriate positioning for accurate haemodynamic monitoring. We aimed to assess whether the TC distance could detect the passage of the CVC tip into the superior vena cava (SVC) and the right atrium (RA), and to accordingly suggest cut-off reference values for these two aspects.

Design

Retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting

Single urban tertiary level academic hospital.

Participants

479 patients who underwent CXR and chest CT scan after the insertion of a CVC with a 24-hour interval during the study period.

Intervention

The TC distance was measured on CXR, and the position of the CVC tip was assessed on the chest CT images. The TC distance was described as a negative or positive number if the CVC tip was above or below the carina, respectively. Receiver-operating characteristics curve analyses were conducted to ascertain the TC distance to detect SVC entrance and RA insertion of CVC tip.

Results

The TC distance could significantly detect both SVC entrance and RA insertion (p<0.001 for both; area under curve 0.987 and 0.965, respectively), with a reference range of −6.69 to 15.61 mm.

Conclusion

The TC distance in CXR is a simple and precise method to confirm not only the safe placement of the CVC tip but also its optimal positioning for accurate haemodynamic monitoring.
Magnitude and associated factors of suicidal ideation and attempt among people with epilepsy attending outpatient treatment at primary public hospitals in northwest Ethiopia: a multicentre cross-sectional study
Authors: Nigussie Kabtamu , Tesfaye Bizuneh , Lemma Alemu , Kerebih Habtamu
Published: January 2021

Objective

This study aimed to assess magnitude and associated factors of suicidal ideation and attempt among people with epilepsy attending outpatient treatment at primary public hospitals, northwest Ethiopia using suicide module of World Mental Health Survey initiative version of the WHO, composite international diagnostic interview.

Design

Multicentre-based cross-sectional study was used.

Setting

Data were collected using face to face interview from patients with epilepsy who attended outpatient treatment at primary public hospitals at northwest Ethiopia.

Participants

Adult patients with epilepsy (n=563) who came to attend outpatient treatment during the study period were included in the study using systematic random sampling technique.

Outcome measures

Suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt and factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempt.

Results

The overall magnitude of suicidal ideation and attempt was 26.5% and 12.6%, respectively. Being woman adjusted OR ((AOR)=1.68, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.23), living alone (AOR=2.4, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.92), divorced/widowed/(AOR=2.2, 95% CI 1.09 to 7.8), family history of suicidal attempt (AOR=2.53, 95% CI 1.34 to 4.79), depression (AOR=3.18, 95% CI 1.85 to 5.45), anxiety (AOR=2.92, 95% CI 1.68 to 5.09), comorbid medical illness (AOR=2.60, 95% CI 1.17 to 5.82) and poor social support (AOR=2.35, 95% CI 1.26 to 4.40) were statistically associated with suicidal ideation. Depression (AOR=4.87, 95% CI 2.56 to 9.28) living alone (AOR=2.66, 95% CI 1.62 to 5.41), family history of committed suicide (AOR=2.80, 95% CI 1.24 to 6.39), taking medication for mental illness (AOR=2.17, 95% CI 1.06 to 4.46), hazardous alcohol use (AOR=2.10, 95% CI 1.05 to 4.23) were statistically associated with suicidal attempts at a p value <0.05.

Conclusion

This study showed that the magnitude of suicidal ideation and attempt was high among people with epilepsy. Being woman, living alone, having depression and anxiety, single, divorced/widowed in marital status, family history of suicidal attempt and poor social support were statistically associated with suicidal ideation. Having depression, living alone, family history of suicide attempt, hazardous alcohol use and drug taking for mental illness were statistically associated with suicidal attempt. Based on the findings of this study early screening, detection and management of suicide were recommended in people with epilepsy.
Amblyopia screening effectiveness at 3–4 years old: a cohort study
Authors: Guimaraes Sandra , Soares Andreia , Freitas Cristina , Barros Pedro , Leite Ricardo Dourado , Costa Patrício Soares , Silva Eduardo D
Published: January 2021

Objective

To study the effectiveness of amblyopia screening at ages 3–4.

Methods and Analysis

From a population with no previous screening, a cohort of 2300 children with 3–4 years old attending school (91% of children this age attend school in Portugal), were submitted to a complete ophthalmological evaluation. Amblyopia was diagnosed, treated and followed. Amblyopia prevalence, treatment effectiveness, absolute risk reduction (ARR), number needed to screen (NNS) and relative risk reduction (RRR) were estimated.

Results

Past/present history of amblyopia was higher than 3.1%–4.2%, depending on amblyopia definition normatives. Screening at age 3–4, had estimated ARR=2.09% (95% CI 1.50% to 2.68%) with a reduced risk of amblyopia in adulthood of 87% (RRR). NNS was 47.8 (95% CI 37.3 to 66.7). Treatment effectiveness of new diagnosis was 88% (83% if we include children already followed). 91% of new amblyopia diagnoses were refractive (of which 100% surpassed amblyopia Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study criteria after treatment), while most strabismic amblyopias were already treated or undertreatment. Only 30% of children with refractive amblyopia risk factors that were not followed by an ophthalmologist, ended up having amblyopia at age 3–4. Eye patch was needed equally in new-diagnosis versus treated-earlier refractive amblyopia.

Conclusions

Screening amblyopia in a whole-population setting at age 3–4 is highly effective. For each 48 children screened at age 3–4, one amblyopia is estimated to be prevented in the future (NNS). Screening earlier may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatments: Treating all new diagnosis before age 3–4 would have a maximal difference in ARR of 0.3%, with the possible burden of as much as 70% children being unnecessary treated before age 3–4.

Involving primary care, with policies for timely referral of suspicious/high-risk preverbal children, plus whole screening at age 3–4 seems a rational/effective way of controlling amblyopia.
Inadequate completion of advance care directives by individuals with dementia: national audit of health and aged care facilities
Authors: Bryant Jamie , Sellars Marcus , Sinclair Craig , Detering Karen , Buck Kimberly , Waller Amy , White Ben , Nolte Linda
Published: January 2021

Objectives

(i) Describe the prevalence and type of advance care directives (ACDs) and other advance care planning (ACP) documentation completed by persons with dementia, healthcare providers and others on behalf of a person with dementia; (ii) identify the personal and ACP programme characteristics associated with having ACP documentation in the health record; (iii) identify the personal and ACP programme characteristics associated with having a self-completed ACD.

Methods

A multicentre audit was undertaken in Australian hospitals, general practices and residential aged care facilities. Auditors extracted demographic and ACP data from the records of eligible patients. ACP programme characteristics were provided by a site representative. Logistic and multinomial regression were used respectively to examine the factors associated with completion of any ACP documentation, and self-completion of an ACD by persons with dementia.

Results

A total of 1388 people with dementia (33.2%) from 96 sites were included. Overall, 60.8% (n=844) had ACP documentation; 31.6% (n=438) had a self-completed ACD and 29.3% (n=406) had an ACP document completed by a health professional or someone else on their behalf. Older participants were more likely to have ACP documented. Multivariate analyses indicated the odds of having self-completed ACP documents, compared with no advance care plan or ACP completed by someone else, were significantly influenced by age, country of birth, setting and whether the site had ACP training, policies or guidelines.

Discussion

While 60% of people with dementia had some form of ACP documentation, only half of the cases in which ACP was documented included an ACD completed by the person themselves.
Preventive cancer vaccination with P5 HER-2/neo-derived peptide‐pulsed peripheral blood mononuclear cells in a mouse model of breast cancer
Authors: Dehghan-Manshadi Mahdi , Nikpoor Amin Reza , Hadinedoushan Hossein , Zare Fateme , Sankian Mojtaba , Fesahat Farzaneh , Tahoori Mohammad Taher , Jaafari Mahmoud Reza , Rafatpanah Houshang
Published: January 2021

This study compared the prophylactic effects from vaccines based on dendritic cells (DCs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by pulsing the cells in-vitro with p5 peptide. The different test groups of mice were injected with free peptide or with peptide pulsed with DCs or PBMCs. Two weeks after the last booster dose, immunological tests were performed on splenocyte suspensions from three mice in each group and the remaining mice (5/each group) were evaluated for tumor growth and survival time. The levels of IFN-γ, granzyme B, and IL-10 were detected in T cells. Additionally, IFN-γ and perforin as well as mRNA levels of some genes associated with immune responses were assessed after challenging the splenocytes with TUBO cells. A significant increase was observed in frequency of CD4+IFN-γ+, CD8+IFN-γ+, and CD8+granzyme B+T cells, and the perforin of supernatants from mice in the DC and PBMC treatment groups. Significant expression levels of Fas ligand (FasL) and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) were observed in the DC and PBMC groups. These responses led to smaller tumors and longer survival time in our mouse model of breast cancer. The efficacy of the PBMC-based vaccine in improving the protective immune response makes it a simpler and less expensive candidate vaccine compared with DC-based vaccines.
In vitro transduction of antimicrobial resistance genes into Escherichia coli isolates from backyard poultry in Mexico
Authors: Talavera-González Juan Martín , Talavera-Rojas Martín , Soriano-Vargas Edgardo , Vázquez-Navarrete Jesús , Salgado-Miranda Celene
Published: January 2021

The transmission of multidrug-resistant pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes is an emerging problem involving multiple factors (humans, domestic animals, wildlife). The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Escherichia coli isolates with different antimicrobial resistance genes from backyard poultry and to demonstrate the in vitro transduction phenomenon of these genes between phages from migratory wild birds and poultry E. coli isolates. We collected 197 E. coli isolates from chickens, turkeys, and ducks in backyard production units (northern region of the State of Mexico). Isolates were resistant to ampicillin (80.7%), tetracycline (64.4%), carbenicillin (56.3%), and nalidixic acid and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (both, 26.9%). Moreover, the genes blaTEM (56.3%), tetB (20.8%), tetA (19.2%), sulI (7.6%), sulII (10.1%), qnrA (9.6%), and qnrB (5.5%) were found. In vitro transduction using phages from migratory wild birds sampled in the wetland Chimaliapan (State of Mexico) was successfully achieved. It was possible to transduce qnrA, tetB, blaTEM, and sulII genes to E. coli isolates from poultry. This is the first report that describes the transduction of antimicrobial resistance genes from phages of migratory wild birds to poultry and suggests the possible transmission in backyard production units.
Unipotent factorization of vector bundle automorphisms
Authors: Hultgren Jakob , Wold Erlend F.
Published: January 2021

We provide unipotent factorizations of vector bundle automorphisms of real and complex vector bundles over finite dimensional locally finite CW-complexes. This generalizes work of Thurston–Vaserstein and Vaserstein for trivial vector bundles. We also address two symplectic cases and propose a complex geometric analog of the problem in the setting of holomorphic vector bundles over Stein manifolds.
Hölder estimates for the ∂̄ problem for (p,q) forms on product domains
Authors: Pan Yifei , Zhang Yuan
Published: January 2021

The purpose of this paper is to study Hölder estimates for the [Formula: see text] problem for [Formula: see text] forms on products of general planar domains. As indicated by an example of Stein and Kerzman, solutions to the [Formula: see text] problem on product domains in [Formula: see text] does not gain regularity in Hölder spaces. Making use of an integral representation of Nijenhuis and Woolf, we show that given a [Formula: see text]-closed [Formula: see text] form with [Formula: see text] components, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], there is a [Formula: see text] solution to the [Formula: see text] problem on product domains for any [Formula: see text] with the desired Hölder estimate.
LINKAGES BETWEEN STOCK AND CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKETS DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK: AN INTRADAY ANALYSIS
Authors: YOUSAF IMRAN , ALI SHOAIB
Published: January 2021

This study explores the return and volatility spillovers between S&P 500 and cryptocurrencies [Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)] during the pre-COVID-19 period and COVID-19 period using the VAR–BEKK–AGARCH model on hourly data. Furthermore, this study also quantifies the optimal portfolio weights and hedge ratios during both sample periods. The findings of study show that the return and volatility spillovers between the US stock and cryptocurrency markets are not significant during the pre-COVID-19 period. However, the study finds unidirectional return transmission from S&P 500 to all the cryptocurrencies during the COVID-19 period. During the COVID-19 period, the volatility spillover is unidirectional from S&P 500 to Litecoin, whereas the volatility transmissions are not significant for the pairs of S&P 500–Bitcoin and S&P 500–Ethereum. Based on optimal weights, the portfolio managers are recommended to slightly decrease their investments in S&P 500 for the portfolios of S&P 500/BTC, S&P 500/ETH and S&P 500/LTC during the COVID-19 period. Finally, during the COVID-19 period, all hedge ratios were found to be higher, implying higher hedging costs during the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. Our research offers valuable insights to the fund managers, investors and policymakers regarding diversification opportunities, hedging, optimal asset allocation and risk management.
New Tests for Richness and Poorness: A Stochastic Dominance Analysis of Income Distributions in Hong Kong
Authors: Chow Nikolai Sheung-Chi , Valenzuela Maria Rebecca , Wong Wing-Keung
Published: January 2021

This paper applies stochastic dominance techniques for income distribution analysis and develops tests of richness and poorness to achieve more accurate characterizations of relative welfare in populations than was previously possible. Results from our empirical application, using Hong Kong data, are consistent with predictions of the life-cycle theory of income and savings. Among other things, we find high concentrations of poor individuals among the younger cohorts, and at the same time, there are high concentrations of rich individuals amongst the oldest cohorts. Our results help to explain Hong Kong’s persistently high levels of income inequality in the population.
Triangulating dimension of skew generalized power series rings
Authors: Paykan Kamal
Published: January 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be a ring, [Formula: see text] a strictly ordered monoid and [Formula: see text] a monoid homomorphism. In this paper, we investigate the problem when a skew generalized power series ring [Formula: see text] has the same triangulating dimension as the ring [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, for a piecewise prime ring we determine a large class of the skew generalized power series ring which have a generalized triangular matrix representation for which the diagonal rings are prime. Our results extend and unify many existing results.
New Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin for quasi normal magnetic flows with geometric phase
Authors: Korpinar Talat
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we present a new geometric interpretation of the notion of the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin for quasi flows of normal magnetic particles with quasi frame in 3D space. Moreover, we investigate integrability conditions for quasi new frame fields. Therefore, we determine necessary and sufficient condition for given normal magnetic particles with flow in space. Additionally, we present some new constructions for evolution of particle by Heisenberg antiferromagnetic model and we give total magnetic phase for new quasi vector fields in 3D space.
Recent Progress in Anodic Oxidation of TiO2 Nanotubes and Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance: A Short Review
Authors: Nie Xiaojiang , Yin Siqi , Duan Wenchao , Zhao Zilong , Li Liang , Zhang Zhiqiang
Published: January 2021

By adjusting the oxidation voltage, electrolyte, anodizing time and other parameters, TiO2 nanotubes with high aspect ratio can be prepared by oxidation in organic system because anodic oxidation method has the advantage of simple preparation process, low material cost and controllable morphology. This review focusses on the influence of anodizing parameters on the morphology of TiO2 nanotube arrays prepared by anodizing. In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes under visible light and to prolong the life of photo-generated carriers, the research status of improving the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes in recent years is reviewed. This review focusses on the preparation and modification of TiO2 nanotubes by anodic oxidation, which is helpful to understand the best structure of TiO2 nanotubes and the appropriate modification methods, thus guiding the application of TiO2 nanotubes in practical photocatalysis. Finally, the development of TiO2 nanotubes is prospected.
ACM SIGAI activities fund 2020
Authors: SIGAI Executive Committee
Published: January 2021

ACM SIGAI invites funding proposals for artificial intelligence (AI) activities that can take place entirely virtually and that have a strong outreach component to students, researchers, practitioners not working on AI technologies, or to the public in general.
Control Communication Co-Design for Wide Area Cyber-Physical Systems
Authors: Bhatia Laksh , Tomić Ivana , Fu Anqi , Breza Michael , Mccann Julie A.
Published: January 2021

Wide Area Cyber-Physical Systems (WA-CPSs) are a class of control systems that integrate low-powered sensors, heterogeneous actuators, and computer controllers into large infrastructure that span multi-kilometre distances. Current wireless communication technologies are incapable of meeting the communication requirements of range and bounded delays needed for the control of WA-CPSs. To solve this problem, we use a Control Communication Co-design approach for WA-CPSs, that we refer to as the
C
3
approach, to design a novel Low-Power Wide Area (LPWA) MAC protocol called
Ctrl-MAC
and its associated event-triggered controller that can guarantee the closed-loop stability of a WA-CPS. This is the first article to show that LPWA wireless communication technologies can support the control of WA-CPSs. LPWA technologies are designed to support one-way communication for monitoring and are not appropriate for control. We present this work using an example of a water distribution network application, which we evaluate both through a co-simulator (modeling both physical and cyber subsystems) and testbed deployments. Our evaluation demonstrates full control stability, with up to 50% better packet delivery ratios and 80% less average end-to-end delays when compared to a state-of-the-art LPWA technology. We also evaluate our scheme against an idealised, wired, centralised, control architecture, and show that the controller maintains stability and the overshoots remain within bounds.
Analytical Program Power Characterization for Battery Depletion-time Estimation
Authors: Fard Mahdi Mohammadpour , Hasanloo Mahmood , Kargahi Mehdi
Published: January 2021

Appropriate battery selection is a major design decision regarding the fast growth of battery-operated devices like space rovers, wireless sensor network nodes, rescue robots, and so on. Many such systems are mission critical, where estimation of the battery depletion time has an important role in the design efficiency with regard to the mission time. Accurate characterization of the system power usage pattern is essential for such an estimation. The following complexities exist: (1) The system behavior changes during interaction with the physical world, (2) the power consumption varies as the runtime progresses, (3) the total delivered battery charge has non-linear dependency on the power variability, and (4) design-time exhaustive study about runtime execution paths is almost impossible. This article presents an analytical method to first characterize the power variability of a given embedded program modeled by a directed acyclic graph, concerning the first and the second complexities. To include the third complexity, however, the concept of Worst-case Power Consumption Trace (WPCT) is proposed toward the worst-case scenario in terms of charge depletion for a given battery. A polynomial algorithm is also presented to construct WPCT and use it to estimate a tight lower bound for the system energy depletion time, i.e., its failure time, avoiding an exhaustive study. Comparisons between the analytical and simulation results reveal less than 3.4% of error in the bound estimations for the considered setups.
Recommending Statutes
Authors: Feng Yi , Li Chuanyi , Ge Jidong , Luo Bin , Ng Vincent
Published: January 2021

Legal judgment prediction, which aims at predicting judgment results such as penalty, charges, and statutes for cases, has attracted much attention recently. In this article, we focus on building a recommender system to predict the associated statutes for a case given the facts of the case as input. For this purpose, we propose a two-step neural network-based machine learning framework to assist judges as well as ordinary people to reduce their effort in finding applicable statutes. The proposed model takes advantage of recurrent neural networks with a max-pooling layer to obtain contextual representations of documents, i.e., the facts associated with the cases. Moreover, an attention mechanism is used to automatically focus on the important words contributing to the prediction of statutes. In addition, we apply an encoder--decoder ranking approach to extract correlations between statutes to achieve more accurate recommendation results. We evaluate our model on a real-world dataset. Experimental results show that, compared with existing baseline methods, our method can predict statutes that are more likely to appear in real judgments.
Knowledge Graph Embedding for Link Prediction
Authors: Rossi Andrea , Barbosa Denilson , Firmani Donatella , Matinata Antonio , Merialdo Paolo
Published: January 2021

Knowledge Graphs (KGs) have found many applications in industrial and in academic settings, which in turn, have motivated considerable research efforts towards large-scale information extraction from a variety of sources. Despite such efforts, it is well known that even the largest KGs suffer from incompleteness; Link Prediction (LP) techniques address this issue by identifying missing facts among entities already in the KG. Among the recent LP techniques, those based on
KG embeddings
have achieved very promising performance in some benchmarks. Despite the fast-growing literature on the subject, insufficient attention has been paid to the effect of the design choices in those methods. Moreover, the standard practice in this area is to report accuracy by aggregating over a large number of test facts in which some entities are vastly more represented than others; this allows LP methods to exhibit good results by just attending to structural properties that include such entities, while ignoring the remaining majority of the KG. This analysis provides a comprehensive comparison of embedding-based LP methods, extending the dimensions of analysis beyond what is commonly available in the literature. We experimentally compare the effectiveness and efficiency of 18 state-of-the-art methods, consider a rule-based baseline, and report detailed analysis over the most popular benchmarks in the literature.
Welcome to AI matters 6(2)
Authors: Leite Iolanda , Karpatne Anuj
Published: January 2021

Welcome to the second issue of the sixth volume of the AI Matters Newsletter.

We open with the annual report of SIGAI by our new leaership team. We then bring you a brief report on upcoming SIGAI Events and Conference Reports by Louise Dennis, our new conference coordination officer. In our regular Education column, Todd Neller presents a retrospective of an initiative for mentoring undergraduate research in AI that has been going on since 2014. In the Policy column, Larry Medsker covers ongoing discussions on AI policy issues, for example with respect to ethical implications on Facial Recognition software and surveillance technologies to track the coronavirus pandemic. We end the issue with our regular column on AI generated crosswords from Adi Botea.
Diamonds are not forever: liveness in reactive programming with guarded recursion
Authors: Bahr Patrick , Graulund Christian Uldal , Møgelberg Rasmus Ejlers
Published: January 2021

When designing languages for functional reactive programming (FRP) the main challenge is to provide the user with a simple, flexible interface for writing programs on a high level of abstraction while ensuring that all programs can be implemented efficiently in a low-level language. To meet this challenge, a new family of modal FRP languages has been proposed, in which variants of Nakano's guarded fixed point operator are used for writing recursive programs guaranteeing properties such as causality and productivity. As an apparent extension to this it has also been suggested to use Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) as a language for reactive programming through the Curry-Howard isomorphism, allowing properties such as termination, liveness and fairness to be encoded in types. However, these two ideas are in conflict with each other, since the fixed point operator introduces non-termination into the inductive types that are supposed to provide termination guarantees.

In this paper we show that by regarding the modal time step operator of LTL a submodality of the one used for guarded recursion (rather than equating them), one can obtain a modal type system capable of expressing liveness properties while retaining the power of the guarded fixed point operator. We introduce the language Lively RaTT, a modal FRP language with a guarded fixed point operator and an `until' type constructor as in LTL, and show how to program with events and fair streams. Using a step-indexed Kripke logical relation we prove operational properties of Lively RaTT including productivity and causality as well as the termination and liveness properties expected of types from LTL. Finally, we prove that the type system of Lively RaTT guarantees the absence of implicit space leaks.
Verifying observational robustness against a c11-style memory model
Authors: Margalit Roy , Lahav Ori
Published: January 2021

We study the problem of verifying the robustness of concurrent programs against a C11-style memory model that includes relaxed accesses and release/acquire accesses and fences, and show that this verification problem can be reduced to a standard reachability problem under sequential consistency. We further observe that existing robustness notions do not allow the verification of programs that use speculative reads as in the sequence lock mechanism, and introduce a novel "observational robustness" property that fills this gap. In turn, we show how to soundly check for observational robustness. We have implemented our method and applied it to several challenging concurrent algorithms, demonstrating the applicability of our approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first method for verifying robustness against a programming language concurrency model that includes relaxed accesses and release/acquire fences.
Fully abstract from static to gradual
Authors: Jacobs Koen , Timany Amin , Devriese Dominique
Published: January 2021

What is a good gradual language? Siek et al. have previously proposed the refined criteria, a set of formal ideas that characterize a range of guarantees typically expected from a gradual language. While these go a long way, they are mostly focused on syntactic and type safety properties and fail to characterize how richer semantic properties and reasoning principles that hold in the static language, like non-interference or parametricity for instance, should be upheld in the gradualization.

In this paper, we investigate and argue for a new criterion previously hinted at by Devriese et al.: the embedding from the static to the gradual language should be fully abstract. Rather than preserving an arbitrarily chosen interpretation of source language types, this criterion requires that
all
source language equivalences are preserved. We demonstrate that the criterion weeds out erroneous gradualizations that nevertheless satisfy the refined criteria. At the same time, we demonstrate that the criterion is realistic by reporting on a mechanized proof that the property holds for a standard example: GTLC
µ
, the natural gradualization of STLC
µ
, the simply typed lambda-calculus with equirecursive types. We argue thus that the criterion is useful for understanding, evaluating, and guiding the design of gradual languages, particularly those which are intended to preserve source language guarantees in a rich way.
Deciding accuracy of differential privacy schemes
Authors: Barthe Gilles , Chadha Rohit , Krogmeier Paul , Sistla A. Prasad , Viswanathan Mahesh
Published: January 2021

Differential privacy is a mathematical framework for developing statistical computations with provable guarantees of privacy and accuracy. In contrast to the privacy component of differential privacy, which has a clear mathematical and intuitive meaning, the accuracy component of differential privacy does not have a generally accepted definition; accuracy claims of differential privacy algorithms vary from algorithm to algorithm and are not instantiations of a general definition. We identify program discontinuity as a common theme in existing
ad hoc
definitions and introduce an alternative notion of accuracy parametrized by, what we call, — the of an input
x
w.r.t.  a deterministic computation
f
and a distance
d
, is the minimal distance
d
(
x
,
y
) over all
y
such that
f
(
y
)≠
f
(
x
). We show that our notion of accuracy subsumes the definition used in theoretical computer science, and captures known accuracy claims for differential privacy algorithms. In fact, our general notion of accuracy helps us prove better claims in some cases. Next, we study the decidability of accuracy. We first show that accuracy is in general undecidable. Then, we define a non-trivial class of probabilistic computations for which accuracy is decidable (unconditionally, or assuming Schanuel’s conjecture). We implement our decision procedure and experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of our approach for generating proofs or counterexamples of accuracy for common algorithms from the literature.