bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Robustness improvements of scale-free networks against cascading breakdown
Authors: Lei Wen , Ma Shan , Ma Junfeng 
Published: October 2021

Abstract
In this paper, we propose several strategies for improving the robustness of scale-free networks against cascading breakdown. Firstly, we introduce a damage-based measure of complete breakdown ratio. Then we propose a customized analytic algorithm to characterize the robustness against cascading breakdown in scale-free networks, and apply the robustness analysis algorithm to scale-free networks with different network structures. In order to improve the robustness of scale-free networks, some strategies are suggested, such as protection of network critical components, rewiring the preferential neighboring edges and absorbing partial load from overloaded edges. Finally, numerical experiments are performed to illustrate the effectiveness of these strategies for improving the robustness against cascading breakdown in scale-free networks.
Evolutionary conservation of systemic and reversible amyloid aggregation
Authors: Lacroix Emma , Pereira Lionel , Yoo Byoungjoo , Coyle Krysta M. , Chandhok Sahil , Zapf Richard , Marijan Dane , Morin Ryan D. , Vlachos Stephanie , Harden Nicholas , Audas Timothy E. 
Published: October 2021

ABSTRACT
In response to environmental stress, human cells have been shown to form reversible amyloid aggregates within the nucleus, termed amyloid bodies (A-bodies). These protective physiological structures share many of the biophysical characteristics associated with the pathological amyloids found in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Here, we show that A-bodies are evolutionarily conserved across the eukaryotic domain, with their detection in Drosophila melanogaster and Saccharomyces cerevisiae marking the first examples of these functional amyloids being induced outside of a cultured cell setting. The conditions triggering amyloidogenesis varied significantly among the species tested, with results indicating that A-body formation is a severe, but sublethal, stress response pathway that is tailored to the environmental norms of an organism. RNA-sequencing analyses demonstrate that the regulatory low-complexity long non-coding RNAs that drive A-body aggregation are both conserved and essential in human, mouse and chicken cells. Thus, the identification of these natural and reversible functional amyloids in a variety of evolutionarily diverse species highlights the physiological significance of this protein conformation, and will be informative in advancing our understanding of both functional and pathological amyloid aggregation events.
This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Evoked auditory potentials from African mole-rats and coruros reveal disparity in subterranean rodent hearing
Authors: Caspar Kai R. , Heinrich Alexandra , Mellinghaus Lea , Gerhardt Patricia , Begall Sabine 
Published: October 2021

ABSTRACT
Hearing in subterranean rodents exhibits numerous peculiarities, including low sensitivity and restriction to a narrow range of comparatively low frequencies. Past studies provided two conflicting hypotheses explaining how these derived traits evolved: structural degeneration and adaptive specialization. To further elucidate this issue, we recorded auditory brainstem responses from three species of social subterranean rodents that differ in the degree of specialization to the underground habitat: the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) and the Mashona mole-rat (Fukomys darlingi), which represent the ancient lineage of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae), and the coruro (Spalacopus cyanus), a South American rodent (Octodontidae) that adopted a subterranean lifestyle in more recent geological time. Additionally, we measured call amplitudes of social vocalizations to study auditory vocal coupling. We found elevated auditory thresholds and severe hearing range restrictions in the African mole-rats, with hearing in naked mole-rats tending to be more sensitive than in Mashona mole-rats, in which hearing notably deteriorated with increasing age. In contrast, hearing in coruros was similar to that of epigeic rodents, with its range extending into ultrasonic frequencies. However, as in the mole-rats, the coruros’ region of best hearing was located at low frequencies close to 1 kHz. We argue that the auditory sensitivity of African mole-rats, although remarkably poor, has been underestimated by recent studies, whereas data on coruros conform to previous results. Considering the available evidence, we propose to be open to both degenerative and adaptive interpretations of hearing physiology in subterranean mammals, as each may provide convincing explanations for specific auditory traits observed.
Effect of metformin on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and positron emission tomographic imaging
Authors: Zhang Xieyi , Ogihara Takuo , Zhu Min , Gantumur Dolgormaa , Li Yang , Mizoi Kenta , Kamioka Hiroki , Tsushima Yoshito 
Published: October 2021

Metformin is widely used to treat diabetes, but induces changes in glucose uptake in both normal organs and tumors. Here, we review the effects of metformin on the uptake of 1 8F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in tissues and tumors, and its influence on 18F-FDG positron emission tomographic imaging (18F-FDG PET), as well as the mechanisms involved. This is an important issue, because metformin has diverse effects on tissue uptake of 18F-FDG, and this can affect the quality and interpretation of PET images. Metformin increases glucose uptake in the gastrointestinal tract, cerebral white matter, and the kidney, while regions of the cerebrum associated with memory show decreased glucose uptake, and the myocardium shows no change. Hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer show increased glucose uptake after metformin administration, while thyroid cancer shows decreased uptake, and colon and pancreatic cancers show no change. A high-energy diet increases 18F-FDG uptake, but this effect is blocked by metformin. Withdrawal of metformin 48 h before PET image acquisition is widely recommended. However, based on our review of the literature, we propose that the differentiation of metformin discontinuation could be reasonable. But future clinical trials are still needed to support our viewpoint.
Genome-wide association study of susceptibility to hospitalised respiratory infections
Authors: Williams Alexander T. , Shrine Nick , Naghra-van Gijzel Hardeep , Betts Joanna C. , Hessel Edith M. , John Catherine , Packer Richard , Reeve Nicola F. , Yeo Astrid J. , Abner Erik , Åsvold Bjørn Olav , Auvinen Juha , Bartz Traci M. , Bradford Yuki , Brumpton Ben , Campbell Archie , Cho Michael H. , Chu Su , Crosslin David R. , Feng QiPing , Esko Tõnu , Gharib Sina A. , Hayward Caroline , Hebbring Scott , Hveem Kristian , Jarvelin Marjo-Riitta , Jarvik Gail P. , Landis Sarah H. , Larson Eric B. , Liu Jiangyuan , Loos Ruth J.F. , Luo Yuan , Moscati Arden , Mullerova Hana , Namjou Bahram , Porteous David J. , Quint Jennifer K. ,   Regeneron Genomics Center, Ritchie Marylyn D. , Sliz Eeva , Stanaway Ian B. , Thomas Laurent , Wilson James F. , Hall Ian P. , Wain Louise V. , Michalovich David , Tobin Martin D. 
Published: October 2021

Background: Globally, respiratory infections contribute to significant morbidity and mortality. However, genetic determinants of respiratory infections are understudied and remain poorly understood. Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study in 19,459 hospitalised respiratory infection cases and 101,438 controls from UK Biobank. We followed-up well-imputed top signals from the UK Biobank discovery analysis in 50,912 respiratory infection cases and 150,442 controls from 11 cohorts. We aggregated effect estimates across studies using inverse variance-weighted meta-analyses. Additionally, we investigated the function of the top signals in order to gain understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms. Results: In the discovery analysis, we report 56 signals at P<5×10-6, one of which was genome-wide significant (P<5×10-8). The genome-wide significant signal was in an intron of PBX3, a gene that encodes pre-B-cell leukaemia transcription factor 3, a homeodomain-containing transcription factor. Further, the genome-wide significant signal was found to colocalise with gene-specific expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) affecting expression of PBX3 in lung tissue, where the respiratory infection risk alleles were associated with decreased PBX3 expression in lung tissue, highlighting a possible biological mechanism. Of the 56 signals, 40 were well-imputed in UK Biobank and were investigated in the 11 follow-up cohorts. None of the 40 signals replicated, with effect estimates attenuated. Conclusions: Our discovery analysis implicated PBX3 as a candidate causal gene and suggests a possible role of transcription factor binding activity in respiratory infection susceptibility. However, the PBX3 signal, and the other well-imputed signals, did not replicate when aggregating effect estimates across 11 independent cohorts. Significant phenotypic heterogeneity and differences in study ascertainment may have contributed to this lack of statistical replication. Overall, our study highlighted putative associations and possible biological mechanisms that may provide insight into respiratory infection susceptibility.
ЭКОЛОГО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ ЗАЩИТНОГО ЛЕСОРАЗВЕДЕНИЯ В АРИДНОЙ ЗОНЕ
Authors: Suchkov Dmitry K. 
Published: October 2021

Статья посвящена актуализации проблемы развития и повышения экономической эффективности работ по защитному лесоразведению.
Цель исследования – разработать предложения к технологии повышения эффективности защитного лесоразведения в засушливых районах России.
Материалы и методы. Для описания видового состава, их состояния и экономической эффективности, использовались методы оценки и прогнозирования состояния насаждений по Е.Г. Мозолевской и методы лесной таксации О.И. Бабошко. Основой для расчета затрат на 1 га ветроломных и стокорегулирующих лесных полос служили действующие расчетно-технологические карты на работы по защитному лесоразведению. Для перехода в современные цены использовали индексы изменения сметной стоимости строительно-монтажных работ.
Результаты. В работе приводятся оптимальные биоинженерные параметры систем ветроломных и стокорегулирующих лесных полос применительно к разным природным зонам Юга России, уровню эрозионной опасности и состоянию почвенного покрова склоновых земель, размеры и биогеографические закономерности динамики затрат на их создание. Представлен ассортимент деревьев и кустарников, используемых для защитного лесоразведения в засушливых регионах на основе анализа гидрофизических и гидрохимических свойств древесных пород позволяющий повысить биологическую устойчивость насаждений, увеличить срок их жизни, а значит и более полно выполнять свои защитные функции.
Заключение. Установлено, что в дефляционно-опасных районах капиталоемкость обустройства пашни системой ветроломных лесных полос находится в строгой зависимости от качества почвенно-климатических условий (природной зоны), выбранного уровня защитной лесистости и биоинженерных особенностей насаждений. В эрозионно-опасных районах капиталовложения в создание систем стокорегулирующих лесных полос на пашне обусловлены главным образом уклоном местности и степенью смытости почв.
Использование приведенных расчетов и закономерностей позволит повысить экономическую обоснованность капитальных вложений при планировании и проектировании лесомелиоративных мероприятий на пахотных землях проблемных регионов юга России.
ВЛИЯНИЕ ПИЩЕВОГО ПОВЕДЕНИЯ, РАСПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ ЖИРА И ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ НА СИМПТОМЫ ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ ГАСТРОИНТЕСТИНАЛЬНЫХ РАССТРОЙСТВ
Authors: Shklyaev Aleksey E. , Grigorieva Olga A. , Merzlyakova Yulia S. , Maksimov Kirill V. , Kazarin Daniil D. 
Published: October 2021

Обоснование. Функциональные заболевания желудочно-кишечного тракта являются актуальной проблемой современной гастроэнтерологии в связи с ростом их частоты и значительным влиянием на качество жизни пациентов. В числе факторов, способствующих их манифестации, рассматриваются особенности образа жизни и питания. Однако, влияние нарушений пищевого поведения и распределения жировой ткани на выраженность гастроэнтерологической симптоматики у лиц с разным уровнем физической активности требует уточнения.
Цель: уточнить влияние пищевого поведения, распределения жира и физической активности на симптомы функциональных гастроинтестинальных расстройств.
Материалы и методы. Обследовано 60 человек без органических заболеваний желудочно-кишечного тракта в возрасте 22,7±0,19 года. Сформированы 2 группы по 30 человек: регулярно занимающиеся физическими упражнениями и не занимающиеся физическими упражнениями. Проведено анкетирование по опросникам GSRS, DEBQ, определены антропометрические данные. Статистическая обработка включала вычисление средних величин, их ошибок, t-критерий Стьюдента, критерий корреляции Пирсона, факторный анализ.
Результаты. Регулярно занимающиеся физическими упражнениями имеют более низкие показатели количества подкожной и висцеральной жировой ткани, чем не занимающиеся. В группе физически активных выявлено наличие обратной зависимости между синдромом запоров и количеством висцерального жира. У не занимающихся физическими упражнениями обнаружена прямая зависимость между количеством висцерального жира и рефлюкс-синдромом, экстернальным типом пищевого поведения. В фактор «риск гастроэнтерологической патологии» вошли: общий балл по опроснику GSRS, эмоциогенный и экстернальный типы пищевого поведения, окружность бедер и соотношение объем талии/объем бедер.
Заключение. Для минимизации симптомов функциональных гастроинтестинальных расстройств необходимо оптимальное количество висцерального жира, его уменьшение усугубляет синдром запоров, а увеличение – рефлюкс-синдром. Регулярные физические упражнения позволяют сбалансировать особенности пищевого поведения и оптимизировать количество жировой ткани в организме.
Prevalence, intensity and associated risk factors of Schistosoma mansoni infections among schoolchildren around Lake Tana, northwestern Ethiopia
Authors: Hailegebriel Tamirat , Nibret Endalkachew , Munshea Abaineh , Ameha Zena 
Published: October 2021

Background
Schistosomiasis is one of the widely distributed neglected tropical diseases. It is a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is highly prevalent and widely distributed in Ethiopia due to suitable environmental factors and human activities. The prevalence and infection intensity varied from locality to locality in the country. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and intensity of S. mansoni infection and associated risk factors among schoolchildren around Lake Tana.

Methods
A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 710 schoolchildren from February to April 2021 in eight selected primary schools around Lake Tana. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic information and potential risk factors of S. mansoni infection. After collecting socio-demographic information, students were requested to bring about 2grams of stool specimens for parasitological examination. The collected stool samples were processed using a single Kato-Katz and Ritchie’s concentration techniques. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23 and factors with a p-value < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

Results
The overall prevalence of S. mansoni was 34.9% (95% CI: 31.4–38.7) among schoolchildren in the study area. The eggs per gram (EPG) of stool ranged from 24 to 1659 with arithmetic and geometric mean values of 138.1 EPG and 85.1 EPG, respectively. The majority of S. mansoni infections (61.4%) were classified as low infection intensity. Among the different determinant factors being male (AOR = 1.74; 95%CI = 1.233–2.457; P-value = 0.002), bathing habits (AOR = 1.494; 95%CI = 1.013–2.199; P-value = 0.043) and students attending at Qunzela primary school (AOR = 10.545; 95%CI = 3.264–34.067; P-value = 0.001), Alabo primary school (AOR = 3.386; 95%CI = 1.084–10.572; P-value = 0.036) were significantly associated with S. mansoni infection.

Conclusion
This study revealed that more than one-third of schoolchildren were infected by S. mansoni in the study area. The majority of the infections were classified as low infection intensity. Being male, bathing habits and schools in which students attended were independent explanatory factors for S. mansoni infection. Therefore, integrated control strategies are needed to improve the health conditions of schoolchildren in the study area.
Accelerating approximate aggregation queries with expensive predicates
Authors: Kang Daniel , Guibas John , Bailis Peter , Hashimoto Tatsunori , Sun Yi , Zaharia Matei 
Published: October 2021

Researchers and industry analysts are increasingly interested in computing aggregation queries over large, unstructured datasets with selective predicates that are computed using expensive deep neural networks (DNNs). As these DNNs are expensive and because many applications can tolerate approximate answers, analysts are interested in accelerating these queries via approximations. Unfortunately, standard approximate query processing techniques to accelerate such queries are not applicable because they assume the result of the predicates are available ahead of time. Furthermore, recent work using cheap approximations (i.e., proxies) do not support aggregation queries with predicates.
To accelerate aggregation queries with expensive predicates, we develop and analyze a query processing algorithm that leverages proxies (ABAE). ABAE must account for the key challenge that it may sample records that do not satisfy the predicate. To address this challenge, we first use the proxy to group records into strata so that records satisfying the predicate are ideally grouped into few strata. Given these strata, ABAE uses pilot sampling and plugin estimates to sample according to the optimal allocation. We show that ABAE converges at an optimal rate in a novel analysis of stratified sampling with draws that may not satisfy the predicate. We further show that ABAE outperforms on baselines on six real-world datasets, reducing labeling costs by up to 2.3X.
A four-dimensional analysis of partitioned approximate filters
Authors: Schmidt Tobias , Bandle Maximilian , Giceva Jana 
Published: October 2021

With today's data deluge, approximate filters are particularly attractive to avoid expensive operations like remote data/disk accesses. Among the many filter variants available, it is non-trivial to find the most suitable one and its optimal configuration for a specific use-case. We provide open-source implementations for the most relevant filters (Bloom, Cuckoo, Morton, and Xor filters) and compare them in four key dimensions: the false-positive rate, space consumption, build, and lookup throughput.
We improve upon existing state-of-the-art implementations with a new optimization, radix partitioning, which boosts the build and lookup throughput for large filters by up to 9x and 5x. Our in-depth evaluation first studies the impact of all available optimizations separately before combining them to determine the optimal filter for specific use-cases. While register-blocked Bloom filters offer the highest throughput, the new Xor filters are best suited when optimizing for small filter sizes or low false-positive rates.
Phoebe
Authors: Zhu Yiwen , Interlandi Matteo , Roy Abhishek , Das Krishnadhan , Patel Hiren , Bag Malay , Sharma Hitesh , Jindal Alekh 
Published: October 2021

Easy-to-use programming interfaces paired with cloud-scale processing engines have enabled big data system users to author arbitrarily complex analytical jobs over massive volumes of data. However, as the complexity and scale of analytical jobs increase, they encounter a number of unforeseen problems, hotspots with large intermediate data on temporary storage, longer job recovery time after failures, and worse query optimizer estimates being examples of issues that we are facing at Microsoft.
To address these issues, we propose Phoebe, an efficient learning-based checkpoint optimizer. Given a set of constraints and an objective function at compile-time, Phoebe is able to determine the decomposition of job plans, and the optimal set of checkpoints to preserve their outputs to durable global storage. Phoebe consists of three machine learning predictors and one optimization module. For each stage of a job, Phoebe makes accurate predictions for: (1) the execution time, (2) the output size, and (3) the start/end time taking into account the inter-stage dependencies. Using these predictions, we formulate checkpoint optimization as an integer programming problem and propose a scalable heuristic algorithm that meets the latency requirement of the production environment.
We demonstrate the effectiveness of Phoebe in production workloads, and show that we can free the temporary storage on hotspots by more than 70% and restart failed jobs 68% faster on average with minimum performance impact. Phoebe also illustrates that adding multiple sets of checkpoints is not cost-efficient, which dramatically reduces the complexity of the optimization.
Hopf-type theorem for self-shrinkers
Authors: Alencar Hilário , Silva Neto Gregório , Zhou Detang 
Published: October 2021

Abstract
In this paper, we prove that a two-dimensional self-shrinker, homeomorphic to the sphere, immersed in the three-dimensional Euclidean space

ℝ
3

{{\mathbb{R}}^{3}}

is a round sphere, provided its mean curvature and the norm of the its position vector have an upper bound in terms of the norm of its traceless second fundamental form. The example constructed by Drugan justifies that the hypothesis on the second fundamental form is necessary. We can also prove the same kind of rigidity results for surfaces with parallel weighted mean curvature vector in

ℝ
n

{{\mathbb{R}}^{n}}

with radial weight. These results are applications of a new generalization of Cauchy’s Theorem in complex analysis which concludes that a complex function is identically zero or its zeroes are isolated if it satisfies some weak holomorphy.
The Good Governance Quandary: The Elusive Search for Role Models
Authors: Trebilcock Michael 
Published: October 2021

Abstract
A substantial consensus has emerged in development circles that the reason why some countries are rich and others poor is largely a reflection of the quality of their institutions – political, bureaucratic, and legal – and that countries with seriously dysfunctional institutions cannot expect to pursue a successful long-term trajectory of economic and social development. Many studies support this consensus, but institutional reform efforts for developed countries have resulted in mixed to weak results; many of these efforts have failed, for example, to establish a robust rule of law to protect the rights of citizens, publicly accountable political regimes, a meritocratic, noncorrupt, and efficient bureaucracy, and an independent media. Reportedly up to 60% of donor-assisted reforms have yielded no measurable increase in government effectiveness. It is inferred from this disappointing result that institutional transplants are often ineffective, and the path dependence, caused by accretions of the particularities of given countries’ histories, cultures, politics, ethnic and religious make-up, and geography leaves each country, for the most part, “to write its own history”.