bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
DNA‐Based Conductors: From Materials Design to Ultra‐Scaled Electronics
Authors: Wang Kexin , Deng Pu , Lin Huili , Sun Wei , Shen Jie 
Published: July 2024

AbstractPhotolithography has been the foundational fabrication paradigm in current high‐performance electronics. However, due to the limitation in fabrication resolution, scaling beyond a 20‐nm critical dimension for metal conductors presents a significant challenge for photolithography. Structural DNA nanotechnology emerges as a promising alternative to photolithography, allowing for the site‐specific assembly of nano‐materials at single‐molecule resolution. Substantial progresses have been achieved in the ultra‐scaled DNA‐based conductors, exhibiting novel transport characteristics and small critical dimensions. This review highlights the structure‐transport property relationship for various DNA‐based conductors and their potential applications in quantum /semiconductor electronics, going beyond the conventional scope focusing mainly on the shape diversity of DNA‐templated metals. Different material synthesis methods and their morphological impacts on the conductivities are discussed in detail, with particular emphasis on the conducting mechanisms, such as insulating, metallic conducting, quantum tunneling, and superconducting. Furthermore, the ionic gating effect of self‐assembled DNA structures in electrolyte solutions is examined. This review also suggests potential solutions to address current challenges in DNA‐based conductors, encouraging multi‐disciplinary collaborations for the future development of this exciting area.
Experimental behavior of prestressed concrete beams under simultaneous sustained loading and corrosion
Authors: Di Carlo Fabio , Rinaldi Zila , Meda Alberto , Molaioni Filippo 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe paper presents an experimental study for the evaluation of the flexural response and failure mode of a prestressed concrete (PC) beam subjected to simultaneous sustained loads and corrosion. The obtained results are judged and discussed also through a comparison with the experimental outcomes on a reference sound PC beam, and a companion specimen subjected to artificial corrosion first, and then tested in bending. The three specimens are characterized by a 200 × 300 mm rectangular cross section, a total length of 3700 mm, and a clear span of 2700 mm. The value of the sustained load, applied with a simultaneous accelerated corrosion process of the strands, was chosen, based on the result of the uncorroded reference beam, to achieve a scenario that can occur in a real structure in situ. The flexural response of the tested element was monitored over a period of 70 days, up to failure, and showed to be highly dependent on the localization of the corrosion phenomena affecting the strands, especially when coinciding with the maximum bending moment position. The obtained results are finally compared with the ones obtained on a PC beam with the same geometry and material properties, first subjected to corrosion and then tested in bending. The differences in corrosion morphology and location and in the failure mode of the strand confirm the importance of accounting for the combined effect of reinforcement corrosion and loading when assessing the structural performance of PC beams.
Keep Your Memory Dump Shut: Unveiling Data Leaks in Password Managers
Authors: Chatzoglou Efstratios , Kampourakis Vyron , Tsiatsikas Zisis , Karopoulos Georgios , Kambourakis Georgios 
Published: July 2024

AbstractPassword management has long been a persistently challenging task. This led to the introduction of password management software, which has been around for at least 25 years in various forms, including desktop and browser-based applications. This work assesses the ability of two dozen password managers, 12 desktop applications, and 12 browser plugins, to effectively protect the confidentiality of secret credentials in six representative scenarios. Our analysis focuses on the period during which a Password Manager (PM) resides in the RAM. Despite the sensitive nature of these applications, our results show that across all scenarios, only three desktop PM applications and two browser plugins do not store plaintext passwords in the system memory. Oddly enough, at the time of writing, only two vendors recognized the exploit as a vulnerability, reserving CVE-2023-23349, while the rest chose to disregard or underrate the issue.
Split Gröbner Bases for Satisfiability Modulo Finite Fields
Authors: Ozdemir Alex , Pailoor Shankara , Bassa Alp , Ferles Kostas , Barrett Clark , Dillig Işil 
Published: July 2024

AbstractSatisfiability modulo finite fields enables automated verification for cryptosystems. Unfortunately, previous solvers scale poorly for even some simple systems of field equations, in part because they build a full Gröbner basis (GB) for the system. We propose a new solver that uses multiple, simpler GBs instead of one full GB. Our solver, implemented within the cvc5 SMT solver, admits specialized propagation algorithms, e.g., for understanding bitsums. Experiments show that it solves important bitsum-heavy determinism benchmarks far faster than prior solvers, without introducing much overhead for other benchmarks.
Strided Difference Bound Matrices
Authors: Pitchanathan Arjun , Cohen Albert , Zinenko Oleksandr , Grosser Tobias 
Published: July 2024

AbstractA wide range of symbolic analysis and optimization problems can be formalized using polyhedra. Sub-classes of polyhedra, also known as sub-polyhedral domains, are sought for their lower space and time complexity. We introduce the Strided Difference Bound Matrix (SDBM) domain, which represents a sweet spot in the context of optimizing compilers. Its expressiveness and efficient algorithms are particularly well suited to the construction of machine learning compilers. We present decision algorithms, abstract domain operators and computational complexity proofs for SDBM. We also conduct an empirical study with the MLIR compiler framework to validate the domain’s practical applicability. We characterize a sub-class of SDBMs that frequently occurs in practice, and demonstrate even faster algorithms on this sub-class.
Verification Algorithms for Automated Separation Logic Verifiers
Authors: Eilers Marco , Schwerhoff Malte , Müller Peter 
Published: July 2024

AbstractMost automated program verifiers for separation logic use either symbolic execution or verification condition generation to extract proof obligations, which are then handed over to an SMT solver. Existing verification algorithms are designed to be sound, but differ in performance and completeness. These characteristics may also depend on the programs and properties to be verified. Consequently, developers and users of program verifiers have to select a verification algorithm carefully for their application domain. Taking an informed decision requires a systematic comparison of the performance and completeness characteristics of the verification algorithms used by modern separation logic verifiers, but such a comparison does not exist.This paper describes five verification algorithms for separation logic, three that are used in existing tools and two novel algorithms that combine characteristics of existing symbolic execution and verification condition generation algorithms. A detailed evaluation of implementations of these five algorithms in the Viper infrastructure assesses their performance and completeness for different classes of input programs. Based on the experimental results, we identify candidate portfolios of algorithms that maximize completeness and performance.
Lexicographic Ranking Supermartingales with Lazy Lower Bounds
Authors: Takisaka Toru , Zhang Libo , Wang Changjiang , Liu Jiamou 
Published: July 2024

AbstractLexicographic Ranking SuperMartingale (LexRSM) is a probabilistic extension of Lexicographic Ranking Function (LexRF), which is a widely accepted technique for verifying program termination. In this paper, we are the first to propose sound probabilistic extensions of LexRF with a weaker non-negativity condition, called single-component (SC) non-negativity. It is known that such an extension, if it exists, will be nontrivial due to the intricacies of the probabilistic circumstances.Toward the goal, we first devise the notion of fixability, which offers a systematic approach for analyzing the soundness of possibly negative LexRSM. This notion yields a desired extension of LexRF that is sound for general stochastic processes. We next propose another extension, called Lazy LexRSM, toward the application to automated verification; it is sound over probabilistic programs with linear arithmetics, while its subclass is amenable to automated synthesis via linear programming. We finally propose a LexRSM synthesis algorithm for this subclass, and perform experiments.
Approximate Relational Reasoning for Quantum Programs
Authors: Yan Peng , Jiang Hanru , Yu Nengkun 
Published: July 2024

AbstractQuantum computation is inevitably subject to imperfections in its implementation. These imperfections arise from various sources, including environmental noise at the hardware level and the introduction of approximate implementations by quantum algorithm designers, such as lower-depth computations. Given the significant advantage of relational logic in program reasoning and the importance of assessing the robustness of quantum programs between their ideal specifications and imperfect implementations, we design a proof system to verify the approximate relational properties of quantum programs. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by providing the first formal verification of the renowned low-depth approximation of the quantum Fourier transform. Furthermore, we validate the approximate correctness of the repeat-until-success algorithm. From the technical point of view, we develop approximate quantum coupling as a fundamental tool to study approximate relational reasoning for quantum programs, a novel generalization of the widely used approximate probabilistic coupling in probabilistic programs, answering a previously posed open question for projective predicates.
Measurement-Based Verification of Quantum Markov Chains
Authors: Guan Ji , Feng Yuan , Turrini Andrea , Ying Mingsheng 
Published: July 2024

AbstractModel-checking techniques have been extended to analyze quantum programs and communication protocols represented as quantum Markov chains, an extension of classical Markov chains. To specify qualitative temporal properties, a subspace-based quantum temporal logic is used, which is built on Birkhoff-von Neumann atomic propositions. These propositions determine whether a quantum state is within a subspace of the entire state space. In this paper, we propose the measurement-based linear-time temporal logic MLTL to check quantitative properties. MLTL builds upon classical linear-time temporal logic (LTL) but introduces quantum atomic propositions that reason about the probability distribution after measuring a quantum state. To facilitate verification, we extend the symbolic dynamics-based techniques for stochastic matrices described by Agrawal et al. (JACM 2015) to handle more general quantum linear operators (super-operators) through eigenvalue analysis. This extension enables the development of an efficient algorithm for approximately model checking a quantum Markov chain against an MLTL formula. To demonstrate the utility of our model-checking algorithm, we use it to simultaneously verify linear-time properties of both quantum and classical random walks. Through this verification, we confirm the previously established advantages discovered by Ambainis et al. (STOC 2001) of quantum walks over classical random walks and discover new phenomena unique to quantum walks.
Self gravitating spinning string condensates
Authors: Santos Jorge E. , Zigdon Yoav 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
In the context of the black hole/string transition, it is useful to produce Euclidean string backgrounds representing hot and self-gravitating strings. We utilise analytical and numerical methods to find a smooth, stationary rotating solution in the heterotic string theory at high temperatures. The solution describes a spinning winding-momentum condensate living in three non-compact dimensions, and its backreaction on the thermal cycle. At low temperatures, we expect a transition between our solution to an analytical continuation of an axionic Kerr black hole.
Components of curvature-squared invariants of minimal supergravity in five dimensions
Authors: Gold Gregory , Hutomo Jessica , Khandelwal Saurish , Tartaglino-Mazzucchelli Gabriele 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
We present for the first time the component structure of the supersymmetric completions for all curvature-squared invariants of five-dimensional, off-shell (gauged) minimal supergravity, including all fermions. This is achieved by using an interplay between superspace and superconformal tensor calculus techniques, and by employing results from arXiv:1410.8682 and arXiv:2302.14295. Our analysis is based on using a standard Weyl multiplet of conformal supergravity coupled to a vector and a linear multiplet compensator to engineer off-shell Poincaré supergravity. We compute all the descendants of the composite linear multiplets that describe gauged supergravity together with the three independent four-derivative invariants. These are the building blocks of the locally superconformal invariant actions. A derivation of the primary equations of motion for minimal gauged off-shell supergravity deformed by an arbitrary combination of these three locally superconformal invariants, is then provided. Finally, all the covariant descendants in the multiplets of equations of motion are obtained by applying a series of Q-supersymmetry transformations, equivalent to successively applying superspace spinor derivatives to the primary equations of motion.
Particle shells from relativistic bubble walls
Authors: Baldes Iason , Dichtl Maximilian , Gouttenoire Yann , Sala Filippo 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Relativistic bubble walls from cosmological phase transitions (PT) necessarily accumulate expanding shells of particles. We systematically characterize shell properties, and identify and calculate the processes that prevent them from free streaming: phase-space saturation effects, out-of-equilibrium 2 → 2 and 3 → 2 shell-shell and shell-bath interactions, and shell interactions with bubble walls. We find that shells do not free stream in scenarios widely studied in the literature, where standard predictions will need to be reevaluated, including those of bubble wall velocities, gravitational waves (GW) and particle production. Our results support the use of bulk-flow GW predictions in all regions where shells free stream, irrespectively of whether or not the latent heat is mostly converted in the scalar field gradient.
Judging the algorithm
Authors: Valdivia Ana , Hyde-Vaamonde Cari , García Marcos Julián 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis paper discusses an algorithmic tool introduced in the Basque Country (Spain) to assess the risk of intimate partner violence. The algorithm was introduced to address the lack of human experts by automatically calculating the level of violence based on psychometric features such as controlling or violent behaviour. Given that critical literature on risk assessment tools for domestic violence mainly focuses on English-speaking countries, this paper offers an algorithmic accountability analysis in a non-English speaking region. It investigates the algorithmic risks, harms, and limitations associated with the Basque tool. We propose a transdisciplinary approach from a critical statistical and legal perspective. This approach unveils issues and limitations that could lead to unexpected consequences for individuals suffering from partner violence. Moreover, our analysis suggests that the algorithmic tool has a high error rate on severe cases, i.e., cases where the aggressor could murder his partner—5 out of 10 high-risk cases are misclassified as low risk—and that there is a lack of appropriate legal guidelines for judges, the end users of this tool. The paper concludes that this risk assessment tool needs to be urgently evaluated by independent and transdisciplinary experts to better mitigate algorithmic harms in the context of intimate partner violence.
The effect of rotationality on nonlinear shear flow of polymer melts and solutions
Authors: Wagner Manfred H. , Liu Shuang , Huang Qian 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBy considering the rotationality of shear flow, we distinguish between tube segments created by reptation before the inception of shear flow and those created during flow. Tube segments created before inception of shear flow experience both stretch and orientation, while tube segments created after inception of flow are not stretched, but are only aligned in the flow direction. Based on this idea, the Rotation Zero Stretch (RZS) model allows for a quantitative description of the start-up of shear flow and stress relaxation after step-shear strain experiments, in agreement with data of polystyrene long/short blends and corresponding polystyrene 3-arm star polymers investigated by Liu et al. (Polymer 2023, 281:126125), as well as the shear viscosity data of poly(propylene carbonate) melts reported by Yang et al. (Nihon Reoroji Gakkaishi 2022, 50:127–135). In the limit of steady-state shear flow, the RZS model converges to the Doi-Edwards IA model, which quantitatively describes the steady-state shear viscosity of linear polymer melts and long/short blends. The assumption of “non-stretching” of tube segments created during rotational flow is therefore in agreement with the available experimental evidence. Three-arm star polymers behave in a similar way as corresponding blends of long and short polymers confirming the solution effect of the short arm in asymmetric stars. The analysis of step-shear strain experiments reveals that stress relaxation is at first dominated by stretch relaxation, followed at times larger than the Rouse stretch relaxation time by relaxation of orientation as described by the damping function of the Doi-Edwards IA model. The RZS model does not require any nonlinear-viscoelastic parameter, but relies solely on the linear-viscoelastic relaxation modulus and the Rouse stretch relaxation time.
Graphical Abstract
On finding one’s way: a comment on Bock et al. (2024)
Authors: Woods Carl T. , Araújo Duarte , Davids Keith 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIn a recent issue of Psychological Research, Bock, O., Huang, J-Y., Onur, O. A., & Memmert, D. (2024). The structure of cognitive strategies for wayfinding decisions. Psychological Research Psychologische Forschung, 88, 476–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-023-01863-3.) investigated cognitive strategies purported to guide wayfinding decisions at intersections. Following experimentation in a virtualised maze, it was concluded that intersectional wayfinding decisions were based on a ‘generalized cognitive process’, in addition to ‘strategy-specific’ processes. The aim of our comment is not to challenge these findings or their methodological rigour. Rather, we note how the study of human wayfinding has been undertaken from entirely different metatheoretical perspectives in psychological science. Leaning on the seminal work of James Gibson and Harry Heft, we consider wayfinding as a continuous, integrated perception-action process, distributed across the entire organism-environment system. Such a systems-oriented, ecological approach to wayfinding remediates the organismic asymmetry pervasive to extant theories of human behaviours, foregrounding the possibility for empirical investigation that takes seriously the socio-cultural contexts in which inhabitants dwell.
Mitigation of privilege escalation attack using kernel data relocation mechanism
Authors: Kuzuno Hiroki , Yamauchi Toshihiro 
Published: July 2024

AbstractKernel memory corruption, which leads to a privilege escalation attack, has been reported as a security threat to operating systems. To mitigate privilege escalation attacks, several security mechanisms are proposed. Kernel address space layout randomization randomizes kernel code and data virtual address layout on the kernel memory. Privileged information protection methods monitor and restore illegal privilege modifications. Therefore, if an adversary identifies the kernel data containing privileged information, an adversary can achieve the privilege escalation in a running kernel. This paper proposes a kernel data relocation mechanism (KDRM) that dynamically relocates privileged information in the running kernel to mitigate privilege escalation attacks. The KDRM introduces the relocation-only page into the kernel. The relocation-only page allows the virtual address of the privileged information to change by dynamically relocating for the user process. One of the relocation-only pages is randomly selected to store the privileged information at the system call invocations. The evaluation results indicate the possibility of mitigating privilege escalation attacks through direct memory overwriting by user processes on Linux with KDRM. The KDRM showed an acceptable performance cost. The overhead of a system call was up to 11.52%, and the kernel performance score was 0.11%.
Deciphering the prognostic role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in lung adenocarcinoma: integrating prognostic prediction and immunotherapy strategies
Authors: Wen Bing , Zhang Pengpeng , Xie Jiping , Zhou Zhaokai , Zhang Ge , Zhang Lianmin , Zhang Zhenfa 
Published: July 2024

AbstractEndoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is a critical factor influencing lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression and patient outcomes. In this study, we analyzed gene expression data from LUAD samples sourced from The Cancer Genomic Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. Utilizing advanced statistical methods including LASSO and Cox regression, we developed a ERS-associated signature (ERAS) based on ten ERS-related genes. This model stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups, with the high-risk group exhibiting decreased survival rates, elevated tumor mutational burden, and heightened chemotherapy sensitivity. Additionally, we observed lower immune and ESTIMATE scores in the high-ERAS group, indicating a potentially compromised immune response. Experimental validation through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed the utility of our model. Furthermore, we constructed a nomogram to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates, providing clinicians with a valuable tool for personalized patient management. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the efficacy of the ERAS in identifying high-ERAS LUAD patients, offering promising implications for improved prognostication and treatment strategies.
A mixed approach to the heterogeneity of the short-term rentals’ regulation in Spain
Authors: Viana-Lora Alba , Sánchez-Cubo Francisco 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis paper aims to analyse the current situation of STRs and their regulation in Spain in order to determine whether the restrictions applied contributed to alleviating the volume of STRs. For this purpose, a database from the experimental statistics on tourist accommodation on houses provided by the National Institute of Statistics of Spain and the regional and municipal regulations on STRs have been used. The upward or downward trends of STRs have been examined and linked to the existing regulation. Then, the municipalities were classified according to the type of regulatory measure: laissez-faire, limitation or prohibition. The trend and the problems linked to STRs lead us to believe that more and more municipalities will opt to regulate the activity, seeking a balance between the economic benefit and the social impact of tourism.