bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impacts of artificial intelligence techniques in augmentation of cybersecurity: a comprehensive review
Authors: Naik Binny , Mehta Ashir , Yagnik Hiteshri , Shah Manan 
Published: August 2021

AbstractGiven the prevailing state of cybersecurity, it is reasonable to understand why cybersecurity experts are seriously considering artificial intelligence as a potential field that can aid improvements in conventional cybersecurity techniques. Various progressions in the field of technology have helped to mitigate some of the issues relating to cybersecurity. These advancements can be manifested by Big Data, Blockchain technology, Behavioral Analytics, to name but a few. The paper overviews the effects of applications of these technologies in cybersecurity. The central purpose of the paper is to review the application of AI techniques in analyzing, detecting, and fighting various cyberattacks. The effects of the implementation of conditionally classified “distributed” AI methods and conveniently classified “compact” AI methods on different cyber threats have been reviewed. Furthermore, the future scope and challenges of using such techniques in cybersecurity, are discussed. Finally, conclusions have been drawn in terms of evaluating the employment of different AI advancements in improving cybersecurity.
A microfluidic approach to studying the injection flow of concentrated albumin solutions
Authors: Lanzaro Alfredo 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Subcutaneous injection by means of prefilled syringes allows patients to self-administrate high-concentration (100 g/L or more) protein-based drugs. Although the shear flow of concentrated globulins or monoclonal antibodies has been intensively studied and related to the injection force proper of SC processes, very small attention has been paid to the extensional behavior of this category of complex fluids. This work focuses on the flow of concentrated bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions through a microfluidic “syringe-on-chip” contraction device which shares some similarities with the geometry of syringes used in SC self-injection. By comparing the velocity and pressure measurements in complex flow with rheometric shear measurements obtained by means of the “Rheo-chip” device, it is shown that the extensional viscosity plays an important role in the injection process of protinaceous drugs.

Article Highlights

A microfluidic “syringe on chip” device mimicking the injection flow of protinaceous drugs has been developed.

The velocity field of concentrated BSA solutions through the “syringe on chip” is Newtonian-like.

The extensional viscosity of concentrated protein solutions should also be considered when computing injection forces through needles.
A Computational Tool for the Design of Hybrid Rockets
Authors: Zolla Paolo Maria , Migliorino Mario Tindaro , Bianchi Daniele , Nasuti Francesco , Pellegrini Rocco Carmine , Cavallini Enrico 
Published: August 2021

AbstractA computational tool able to perform a fast analysis of hybrid rocket engines is presented, describing briefly the mathematical and physical models used. Validation of the code is also shown: 16 different static firing tests available in the open literature are used to compare measured operational parameters such as chamber pressure, thrust, and specific impulse with the code’s output. The purpose of the program is to perform rapid evaluation and assessment on a possible first design of hybrid rockets, without relying on computationally expensive simulations or onerous experimental tests. The validated program considers as benchmark and study case the design of a liquid-oxygen/paraffin hybrid rocket engine to be used as the upper stage of a small launcher derived from VEGA building blocks. A full-factorial parametric analysis is performed for both pressure-fed and pump-fed systems to find a configuration that delivers the equivalent total impulse of a VEGA-like launcher third and fourth stage as a first evaluation. This parametric analysis is also useful to highlight how the oxidizer injection system, the fuel grain design, and the nozzle features affect the performance of the rocket.
The coming together of allosteric and phosphorylation mechanisms in the molecular integration of A2A heteroreceptor complexes in the dorsal and ventral striatal-pallidal GABA neurons
Authors: Borroto-Escuela Dasiel O. , Ferraro Luca , Beggiato Sarah , Narváez Manuel , Fores-Pons Ramon , Alvarez-Contino Jose E. , Wydra Karolina , Frankowska Małgorzata , Bader Michael , Filip Małgorzata , Fuxe Kjell 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe role of adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) and striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) interactions in the striatal-pallidal GABA neurons was recently discussed in relation to A2AR overexpression and cocaine-induced increases of brain adenosine levels. As to phosphorylation, combined activation of A2AR and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in the striatal-pallidal GABA neurons appears necessary for phosphorylation of the GluA1 unit of the AMPA receptor to take place. Robert Yasuda (J Neurochem 152: 270–272, 2020) focused on finding a general mechanism by which STEP activation is enhanced by increased A2AR transmission in striatal-pallidal GABA neurons expressing A2AR and dopamine D2 receptor. In his Editorial, he summarized in a clear way the significant effects of A2AR activation on STEP in the dorsal striatal-pallidal GABA neurons which involves a rise of intracellular levels of calcium causing STEP activation through its dephosphorylation. However, the presence of the A2AR in an A2AR-fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) heteroreceptor complex can be required in the dorsal striatal-pallidal GABA neurons for the STEP activation. Furthermore, Won et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 116: 8028–8037, 2019) found in mass spectrometry experiments that the STEP splice variant STEP61 can bind to mGluR5 and inactivate it. In addition, A2AR overexpression can lead to increased formation of A2AR-mGluR5 heterocomplexes in ventral striatal-pallidal GABA neurons. It involves enhanced facilitatory allosteric interactions leading to increased Gq-mediated mGluR5 signaling activating STEP. The involvement of both A2AR and STEP in the actions of cocaine on synaptic downregulation was also demonstrated. The enhancement of mGluR5 protomer activity by the A2AR protomer in A2AR-mGluR5 heterocomplexes in the nucleus accumbens shell appears to have a novel significant role in STEP mechanisms by both enhancing the activation of STEP and being a target for STEP61.
Factors affecting 30-day postoperative complications after emergency surgery during the COVID-19 outbreak: A multicentre cohort study
Authors: de Bock Ellen , Filipe Mando D. , Pronk Apollo , Boerma Djamila , Heikens Joost T. , Verheijen Paul M. , Vriens Menno R. , Richir Milan C. 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has influenced (surgical) care worldwide. Measures were taken to prioritize surgical care in order to maintain capacity for COVID-19 healthcare. However, the influence of these measures on emergency surgery is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe the trends in emergency surgery and determine the factors influencing the risk of postoperative complications during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:
This multicentre retrospective cohort study investigated all emergency patients operated on from March 9th to June 30th, 2020. The primary endpoint was identifying the number of emergency surgical procedures performed. Secondary endpoints were determining the number of postoperative complications and factors determining the risk of postoperative complications, which were calculated by multivariate analysis with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence (CI) intervals.

Results:
In total, 1399 patients who underwent an emergency surgical procedure were included. An increase in the number of emergency vascular and trauma surgical procedures occurred during the study period. In contrast, the number of emergency general and oncological surgical procedures performed remained stable. An increased age (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.02; p = 0.024), American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.09–1.64; p = 0.005), and surgical discipline were independent predictors for an increased risk of postoperative complications.

Conclusion:
The performance of emergency vascular and trauma surgical procedures increased. The performance of emergency general and oncological surgical procedures remained stable. In addition, increased age, ASA, and surgical discipline were independent predictors for an increased risk of postoperative complications.

Highlights
Effect of starvation on the cold tolerance of adultDrosophila suzukii(Diptera: Drosophilidae)
Authors: De Ro Madelena , Enriquez Thomas , Bonte Jochem , Ebrahimi Negin , Casteels Hans , De Clercq Patrick , Colinet Hervé 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe spotted wing drosophila,Drosophila suzukii, is an invasive pest in Europe and North America. Access to resources may be challenging in late fall, winter and early spring and flies may suffer from food deprivation along with cold stress in these periods. Whereas a plethora of studies have been performed on the overwintering capacity ofD. suzukii, the effects of starvation on the fly's cold tolerance have not been addressed. In the present study, youngD. suzukiiadults (reared at 25°C, LD 12:12 h) were deprived of food for various periods (0, 12, 24 and 36 h), after which chill coma recovery time, critical thermal minimum, as well as acute and chronic cold tolerance were assessed. Additionally, the body composition of adults (body mass, water content, total lipid, glycerol, triglycerides, glucose and proteins) before and after starvation periods was analysed to confirm that starvation had detectable effects. Starved adults had a lower body mass, and both lipid and carbohydrate levels decreased with starvation time. Starvation slightly increased critical thermal minimum and affected chill coma recovery time; however, these changes were not gradual with starvation duration. Starvation promoted acute cold tolerance in both sexes. This effect appeared faster in males than in females. Food deprivation also led to enhanced survival to chronic cold stress. Short-term starvation was thus associated with significant changes in body composition inD. suzukii, and these alterations could alter some ecologically relevant traits related to cold tolerance, particularly in females. Our results suggest that food deprivation during short time (<36 h) can promote cold tolerance (especially survival after a cold stress) ofD. suzukiiflies. Future studies should address the ecological significance of these findings as short food deprivation may occur in the fields on many occasions and seasons.
Aristocratic Insolenzia and the Role of Senates in Machiavelli's Mixed Republic
Authors: McCormick John P. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThis essay offers an alternative to influential interpretations of elites, peoples, and senates in Niccolò Machiavelli's theory of mixed republics. It analyzes in greater depth both Machiavelli's ascription of the morally objectionable and politically dangerous trait of insolenzia to the nobles as a social class; and his justifications for the establishment of senates as institutions that partially remedy the problem of aristocratic insolence—justifications that depart from traditional Ciceronian and Polybian standards. Machiavelli demonstrates in The Prince, the Discourses, and the Florentine Histories that republics with senates, such as ancient Rome, manage to mollify aristocratic insolence, while those lacking them, like modern Florence, permit such insolence to proliferate unchecked. Moreover, Machiavelli intimates, republics that collectively gather nobles within senate chambers are afforded the opportunity to entirely eliminate aristocratic insolence. The essay concludes with an analysis of senatorial institutions in Machiavelli's “Discursus on Florentine Matters.”
On the Magnitude of the Gods in Materialist Theology and Greek Art
Authors: Hedreen Guy 
Published: August 2021

AbstractIn this paper, I address one characteristic of Classical Greek votive reliefs that has troubled scholars: the size of the gods. The reliefs depict mortal worshippers approaching gods and goddesses who are, almost invariably, larger in stature than the mortals. Scholars have generally explained the difference in scale to be art historical, rather than theological, in significance. Either the larger scale is a visual expression of the hierarchical superiority of the gods or the images of the gods represent over-life-size statues. In addition, it is widely accepted that votive reliefs are products of unsophisticated religious belief, ignorant of the conceptualization of an imperceptible, non-corporeal deity in Classical philosophy. In this paper, I accept the artistic proposition of votive reliefs at face value: in this genre, the gods are living, visible, material bodies, most often anthropomorphic in form and always larger in magnitude than mortals. I identify one significant parallel for this interpretation within Greek and Roman thought, namely, the conception of gods within the materialist theology developed by the late Classical writer Epicurus and, in part at least, by the fifth-century BC writer Demokritos. In the writings of the Epicureans and, it appears, the atomists, as in the votive reliefs, gods are human in form, very beautiful, self-sufficient, larger than humans in size and known by mortals through visual perception.
Co-integration with score-driven models: an application to US real GDP growth, US inflation rate, and effective federal funds rate
Authors: Blazsek Szabolcs , Escribano Alvaro , Licht Adrian 
Published: August 2021

AbstractNonlinear co-integration is studied for score-driven models, using a new multivariate dynamic conditional score/generalized autoregressive score model. The model is namedt-QVARMA (quasi-vector autoregressive moving average model), which is a location model for the multivariatet-distribution. Int-QVARMA,I(0) and co-integratedI(1) components of the dependent variables are included. Fort-QVARMA, the conditions of the maximum likelihood estimator and impulse response functions (IRFs) are presented. A limiting special case oft-QVARMA, named Gaussian-QVARMA, is a Gaussian-VARMA specification withI(0) andI(1) components. As an empirical application, the US real gross domestic product growth, US inflation rate, and effective federal funds rate are studied for the period of 1954 Q3 to 2020 Q2. Statistical performance and predictive accuracy oft-QVARMA are superior to those of Gaussian-VAR. Estimates of the short-run IRF, long-run IRF, and total IRF impacts for the US data are reported.
Agriculture Subsidies: Unravelling the Linkages between the Amber Box and the Blue Box Support
Authors: Nedumpara James J. , Janardhan Sparsha , Bhattacharya Aparna 
Published: August 2021

AbstractDomestic support disciplines under the Agreement on Agriculture are controversial, to say the least. The aggregate measurement of support (AMS) restricts Members’ policy space to provide product-specific support. The structural flaws in the determination of AMS further compel Members to explore alternatives. In contrast to the Amber Box, the Blue Box offers certain flexibilities for Members to exempt product-specific support from AMS calculation. The Blue Box reflects several elements which are seemingly typical to the Amber Box, except that it has certain production-limiting features. This article explores the legal bounds of the Blue Box measures, and its similarities and dissimilarities with the Amber Box. Towards this end, the article builds on a fresh legal understanding of the Blue Box based on its negotiating history and interpretative bounds, and also offers a fuller appreciation of market price support (MPS) and non-exempt direct payments under the Amber Box. While the calculation methodology for non-exempt direct payments bears a close resemblance to the calculation of MPS, the article argues that direct payment and MPS measures are fundamentally distinct types of product-specific support which makes the interchangeability of Blue and Amber Boxes seemingly difficult.
Extracellular vesicle associated and soluble immune marker profiles of psychoneurological symptom clusters in men with prostate cancer: an exploratory study
Authors: Sass Dilorom , Saligan Leorey , Fitzgerald Wendy , Berger Ann M. , Torres Isaias , Barb Jennifer J. , Kupzyk Kevin , Margolis Leonid 
Published: August 2021

AbstractPsychoneurological symptom clusters are co-occurring and interrelated physiological symptoms that may include cancer-related fatigue, pain, depressive symptoms, cognitive disturbances, and sleep disturbances. These symptoms are hypothesized to share a common systemic proinflammatory etiology. Thus, an investigation of systemic immune biomarkers is an important approach to test this hypothesis. Here, we investigated the associations between extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated and soluble cytokines with immune markers and symptom clusters in men with non-metastatic prostate cancer. This observational study included 40 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer at the start (T1) of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and 3 months post treatment (T2), as well as 20 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer on active surveillance (AS) seen at one time point. Collected questionnaires assessed patient-reported fatigue, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and cognitive fatigue. In total, 45 soluble and EV-associated biomarkers in plasma were determined by multiplex assays. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify psychoneurological symptom clusters for each study group and their time points. Bivariate correlation analysis was run for each identified PCA cluster with the concentrations of EV-associated and soluble cytokines and immune markers. Both EV-associated and soluble forms of RANTES significantly correlated with the symptom cluster for EBRT at T1, whereas, at T2, soluble IFNα2, IL-9, and IL-17 correlated with the corresponding symptom cluster. For the AS group, soluble survivin correlated with psychoneurological symptoms. Linking specific inflammatory cytokines with psychoneurological symptom clusters in men receiving prostate cancer treatment can enhance understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon and aid in developing targeted interventions.
LncRNA SNHG17 regulates cell proliferation and invasion by targeting miR-338-3p/SOX4 axis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Chen Wenhu , Wang Lifang , Li Xiaoyan , Zhao Changan , Shi Liang , Zhao Hongguang , Huang Chen 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSmall nucleolar RNA host gene 17 (SNHG17), a novel functional long noncoding RNA, has been demonstrated to play an essential role in the oncogenesis of several tumors. However, for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) the expression pattern and detailed function of SNHG17 are largely unknown. Hence, we conducted this study to explore potential roles and underlying oncogenic mechanisms for SNHG17 in ESCC progression. Results demonstrated SNHG17 to be markedly upregulated in ESCC. Knockdown of SNHG17 significantly suppressed ESCC cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Online database software analysis found miR-338-3p to interact with SNHG17 with the level of miR-338-3p negatively correlated with SNHG17 levels in ESCC samples. Further, miR-338-3p was found to directly target SRY-box transcription factor 4 (SOX4) in ESCC cells. Mechanistic analysis suggested that SNHG17 acts as an endogenous “sponge” competing with miR-338-3p to regulate SOX4, thereby promoting tumor progression. These results suggest that these molecular interactions may be potential therapeutic targets for ESCC.
Undecidability in quantum thermalization
Authors: Shiraishi Naoto , Matsumoto Keiji 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe investigation of thermalization in isolated quantum many-body systems has a long history, dating back to the time of developing statistical mechanics. Most quantum many-body systems in nature are considered to thermalize, while some never achieve thermal equilibrium. The central problem is to clarify whether a given system thermalizes, which has been addressed previously, but not resolved. Here, we show that this problem is undecidable. The resulting undecidability even applies when the system is restricted to one-dimensional shift-invariant systems with nearest-neighbour interaction, and the initial state is a fixed product state. We construct a family of Hamiltonians encoding dynamics of a reversible universal Turing machine, where the fate of a relaxation process changes considerably depending on whether the Turing machine halts. Our result indicates that there is no general theorem, algorithm, or systematic procedure determining the presence or absence of thermalization in any given Hamiltonian.
Nonlinear shifts in infectious rust disease due to climate change
Authors: Dudney Joan , Willing Claire E. , Das Adrian J. , Latimer Andrew M. , Nesmith Jonathan C. B. , Battles John J. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractRange shifts of infectious plant disease are expected under climate change. As plant diseases move, emergent abiotic-biotic interactions are predicted to modify their distributions, leading to unexpected changes in disease risk. Evidence of these complex range shifts due to climate change, however, remains largely speculative. Here, we combine a long-term study of the infectious tree disease, white pine blister rust, with a six-year field assessment of drought-disease interactions in the southern Sierra Nevada. We find that climate change between 1996 and 2016 moved the climate optimum of the disease into higher elevations. The nonlinear climate change-disease relationship contributed to an estimated 5.5 (4.4–6.6) percentage points (p.p.) decline in disease prevalence in arid regions and an estimated 6.8 (5.8–7.9) p.p. increase in colder regions. Though climate change likely expanded the suitable area for blister rust by 777.9 (1.0–1392.9) km2into previously inhospitable regions, the combination of host-pathogen and drought-disease interactions contributed to a substantial decrease (32.79%) in mean disease prevalence between surveys. Specifically, declining alternate host abundance suppressed infection probabilities at high elevations, even as climatic conditions became more suitable. Further, drought-disease interactions varied in strength and direction across an aridity gradient—likely decreasing infection risk at low elevations while simultaneously increasing infection risk at high elevations. These results highlight the critical role of aridity in modifying host-pathogen-drought interactions. Variation in aridity across topographic gradients can strongly mediate plant disease range shifts in response to climate change.