bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning in the Presence of Multiple Agents
Authors: Ramponi Giorgia 
Published: November 2022

AbstractReinforcement Learning (RL) has emerged as a powerful tool to solve sequential decision-making problems, where a learning agent interacts with an unknown environment in order to maximize its rewards. Although most RL real-world applications involve multiple agents, the Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) framework is still poorly understood from a theoretical point of view. In this manuscript, we take a step toward solving this problem, providing theoretically sound algorithms for three RL sub-problems with multiple agents: Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL), online learning in MARL, and policy optimization in MARL. We start by considering the IRL problem, providing novel algorithms in two different settings: the first considers how to recover and cluster the intentions of a set of agents given demonstrations of near-optimal behavior; the second aims at inferring the reward function optimized by an agent while observing its actual learning process. Then, we consider online learning in MARL. We showed how the presence of other agents can increase the hardness of the problem while proposing statistically efficient algorithms in two settings: Non-cooperative Configurable Markov Decision Processes and Turn-based Markov Games. As the third sub-problem, we study MARL from an optimization viewpoint, showing the difficulties that arise from multiple function optimization problems and providing a novel algorithm for this scenario.
Rediscovering Ancient China’s Sword-Making Techniques: Insights from Reconstructing a Han-Dynasty Ring-Pommel Dao
Authors: Xiaojun Hu 
Published: November 2022

AbstractSunzi said, “Warfare is pivotal to the state. [It is] a milieu where life and death are decided, [it holds] the path to survival or extermination and cannot be neglected.” In like manner, the Commentary of Zuo (Zuozhuan) states, “Rituals and warfare are of vital importance to the state.” From this we see that besides ritual matters, such as ancestor worship and maintaining the temples, rulers in ancient China considered warfare and military training to be of utmost importance. Consequently, much attention was paid to sacrificial implements and weapons of war. The production and maintenance of arms was an integral part of this effort as it impacted state security as a whole. The study of ancient arms therefore not only teaches us about ancient weaponry and methods of combat but also yields unique insights into the technology and organization of war. The principal short-range weapons during the Han dynasty were jian (double-edged sword)and dao (single-edged sword), while the latter gradually replaced the jian in military use as the dynasty wore on, partly as a result of the rise of cavalry. This paper contains three parts: iron smelting and weapon production in the Han dynasty; the ancient techniques of iron smelting in shaft furnace; and reconstructing the Han ring-pommel dao with ancient methods.
Combining thermal resummation and gauge invariance for electroweak phase transition
Authors: Schicho Philipp , Tenkanen Tuomas V. I. , White Graham 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
For computing thermodynamics of the electroweak phase transition, we discuss a minimal approach that reconciles both gauge invariance and thermal resummation. Such a minimal setup consists of a two-loop dimensional reduction to three-dimensional effective theory, a one-loop computation of the effective potential and its expansion around the leading-order minima within the effective theory. This approach is tractable and provides formulae for resummation that are arguably no more complicated than those that appear in standard techniques ubiquitous in the literature. In particular, we implement renormalisation group improvement related to the hard thermal scale. Despite its generic nature, we present this approach for the complex singlet extension of the Standard Model which has interesting prospects for high energy collider phenomenology and dark matter predictions. The presented expressions can be used in future studies of phase transition thermodynamics and gravitational wave production in this model.
Defect-based analysis of the laser powder bed fusion process using X-ray data
Authors: Nudelis Natan , Mayr Peter 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Due to high production costs and a limited reproducibility of quality, the high potential of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has not been fully exploited yet. In fact, internal defects can have a detrimental effect on the fatigue behaviour and cause final component failure. Therefore, process-induced defects must be localized and evaluated at a higher level of detail. The present study deals with the correlation amongst pores and LPBF process parameters in AlSi10Mg components. Computed tomography (CT) allows an extensive examination of internal defects. Within this work, a total number of 2,939,830 pores detected in 96 cylindrical samples were analysed using CT. The formation of pores can be adjusted by varying the modified volume energy density, for example, by using various laser scanning speeds. Furthermore, the effect of powder preparation scan strategies (pre-heating and pre-sintering) on the formation of different pore types as well as the general reproducibility was examined. For instance, the shielding gas flow, contaminated protective windows of the lasers as well as prior powder preparation influence the formation of pores. Using prior laser powder preparation reduced the total number of pores at high scanning speeds up to 45%. When the scanning speed is increased, the number of spherical pores decreases and large and irregularly shaped pores appear. Interestingly, only the pre-heating process resulted in a reduced formation of spherical pores at low scanning speeds (1000 mm/s).
Smoothening of the down-skin regions of copper components produced via Laser Powder Bed Fusion technology
Authors: Candela Valentina , Pozzi Matteo , Chyhyrynets Eduard , Garcia Diaz Vanessa , Candela Silvia , Dima Razvan , Favero Giacomo , Pira Cristian , Pepato Adriano , Sonato Piergiorgio 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAdditive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing the industrial scenario. Four copper samples have been printed via Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) at DIAM Laboratory (INFN—Sezione di Padova, Padova, Italy). Samples had different geometrical characteristics, to test the feasibility of the AM as a productive technique for the creation of unsupported copper structures that are characterized by surfaces with a very small inclination angle, where supports cannot be placed. Parts have been printed successfully even in case of 18° of inclination of unsupported walls with respect to the horizontal plane, and on the same samples, surface finishing treatments (performed by Rösler Italiana S.r.l. and INFN-LNL) have been performed to reduce the roughness of the down-facing surfaces. Indeed, the down-skin regions are the most critical areas of AM parts. Several surface treatments are under investigation: mass-finishing treatments (mechanical and chemically assisted mechanical processes), chemical polishing, and electropolishing, and for some of them, the results are extremely positive: from an initial roughness (Ra) of 30–35 µm, the treatments allowed us to achieve a Ra value lower than 1 µm. The study here exposed presents a good way to rapidly reduce the roughness of 3D-printed parts, reaching a mirror-like aspect.
Ensemble Equivalence for Mean Field Models and Plurisubharmonicity
Authors: Berman Robert J. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractWe show that entropy is globally concave with respect to energy for a rich class of mean field interactions, including regularizations of the point vortex model in the plane, plasmas and self-gravitating matter in 2D, as well as the higher-dimensional logarithmic interactions appearing in conformal geometry and power laws. The proofs are based on a corresponding “microscopic” concavity result at finite N, shown by leveraging an unexpected link to Kähler geometry and plurisubharmonic functions. Under more restrictive homogeneity assumptions, strict concavity is obtained using a uniqueness result for free energy minimizers, established in a companion paper. The results imply that thermodynamic equivalence of ensembles holds for this class of mean field models. As an application, it is shown that the critical inverse negative temperatures—in the macroscopic as well as the microscopic setting—coincide with the asymptotic slope of the corresponding microcanonical entropies. Along the way, we also extend previous results on the thermodynamic equivalence of ensembles for continuous weakly positive definite interactions, concerning positive temperature states, to the general non-continuous case. In particular, singular situations are exhibited where, somewhat surprisingly, thermodynamic equivalence of ensembles fails at energy levels sufficiently close to the minimum energy level.
Universality for Multiplicative Statistics of Hermitian Random Matrices and the Integro-Differential Painlevé II Equation
Authors: Ghosal Promit , Silva Guilherme L. F. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractWe study multiplicative statistics for the eigenvalues of unitarily-invariant Hermitian random matrix models. We consider one-cut regular polynomial potentials and a large class of multiplicative statistics. We show that in the large matrix limit several associated quantities converge to limits which are universal in both the polynomial potential and the family of multiplicative statistics considered. In turn, such universal limits are described by the integro-differential Painlevé II equation, and in particular they connect the random matrix models considered with the narrow wedge solution to the KPZ equation at any finite time.
Conformally Prescribed Scalar Curvature on Orbifolds
Authors: Ju Tao , Viaclovsky Jeff 
Published: November 2022

AbstractWe study the prescribed scalar curvature problem in a conformal class on orbifolds with isolated singularities. We prove a compactness theorem in dimension 4, and an existence theorem which holds in dimensions $$n \ge 4$$

n
≥
4

. This problem is more subtle than the manifold case since the positive mass theorem does not hold for ALE metrics in general. We also determine the $$\textrm{U}(2)$$

U
(
2
)

-invariant Leray–Schauder degree for a family of negative-mass orbifolds found by LeBrun.
Combined pembrolizumab and bevacizumab therapy effectively inhibits non-small-cell lung cancer growth and prevents postoperative recurrence and metastasis in humanized mouse model
Authors: Qiao Tianyun , Zhao Jinbo , Xin Xiangbing , Xiong Yanlu , Guo Wenwen , Meng Fancheng , Li Hui , Feng Yangbo , Xu Hui , Shi Changhong , Han Yong 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAntibodies targeting the programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway have dramatically changed the treatment landscape of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, combination approaches are required to extend this benefit beyond a subset of patients. In addition, it is of equal interest whether these combination therapy can be applied to neoadjuvant therapy of early-stage NSCLC. In this study, we hypothesized that combining immunotherapy with anti-angiogenic therapy may have a synergistic effect in local tumor control and neoadjuvant therapy. To this end, the effect of combination of bevacizumab and pembrolizumab in humanized mouse models was evaluated. Furthermore, we innovatively constructed a neoadjuvant mouse model that can simulate postoperative recurrence and metastasis of NSCLC to perform neoadjuvant study. Tumor growth and changes in the tumor vasculature, along with the frequency and phenotype of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, were examined. Additionally, in vivo imaging system (IVIS) was used to observe the effect of neoadjuvant therapy. Results showed that combination therapy could inhibited tumor growth by transforming tumor with low immunoreactivity into inflamed (‘hot’) tumor, as demonstrated by increased CD8+granzyme B+ cytotoxic T cell infiltration. Subsequent studies revealed that this process is mediated by vascular normalization and endothelial cell activation. IVIS results showed that neoadjuvant therapy can effectively prevent postoperative recurrence and metastasis. Taken together, these preclinical studies demonstrated that the combination of bevacizumab and pembrolizumab had a synergistic effect in both advanced tumor therapy and neoadjuvant setting and therefore provide a theoretical basis for translating this basic research into clinical applications.
Can Targeting Sphincter Spasm Reduce Post‐Haemorrhoidectomy Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Jin James , Unasa Hanson , Bahl Praharsh , Mauiliu‐Wallis Melbourne , Svirskis Darren , Hill Andrew 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBackgroundHaemorrhoidectomy is often complicated by significant post‐operative pain, to which spasm of the internal anal sphincter is thought to be a contributing factor. This study appraises the evidence behind interventions aimed at lowering sphincter spasm to relieve post‐haemorrhoidectomy pain.MethodsA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses compliant systematic review was conducted. Medline, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were systematically searched. All RCTs which compared interventions targeting the internal anal sphincter to relieve pain post excisional haemorrhoidectomy were included. The primary outcome measure was pain on the visual analogue scale.ResultsOf the initial 10,221 search results, 39 articles were included in a qualitative synthesis, and 33 studies were included in a meta‐analysis. Topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) reduced pain on day 7 (7 studies, 485 participants), with a mean difference and 95% confidence interval (MD, 95% CI) of −1.34 (−2.31; −0.37), I2 = 91%. Diltiazem reduced pain on day 3 on the VAS, and the MD was −2.75 (−398; −1.51) shown in five studies (n = 227). Botulinum toxin reduced pain on day 7, in four studies with 178 participants, MD −1.43 (−2.50; −0.35) I2 = 62%. The addition of Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy to haemorrhoidectomy reduced pain on day 2 in three studies with 275 participants, MD of −2.13 (−3.49; −0.77) I2 = 92%. The results were limited by high heterogeneity and risk of bias.ConclusionEvidence suggests that lateral sphincterotomy, administration of botulinum toxin and the application of topical diltiazem or GTN can reduce post‐operative pain after haemorrhoidectomy. Lateral sphincterotomy should not be routinely used due to the risk of incontinence.
Prognostic Impact of Positive Peritoneal Lavage Cytology on Resectable Pancreatic Body and Tail Cancer: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Mashiko Taro , Ogasawara Toshihito , Masuoka Yoshihito , Ei Shigenori , Takahashi Shinichiro , Hirabayashi Kenichi , Mori Masaki , Koyanagi Kazuo , Yamamoto Seiichiro , Nakagohri Toshio 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBackgroundThe prognostic impact of positive peritoneal lavage cytology on pancreatic cancer is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate its impact in resectable pancreatic body and tail cancer.MethodsBetween January 2006 and December 2019, 97 patients with pancreatic body and tail cancer underwent peritoneal lavage cytology and curative resection at our institution. We analyzed the impact of positive peritoneal lavage cytology on clinicopathological factors and on the prognosis of pancreatic body and tail cancer.ResultsMalignant cells were detected in 14 patients (14.4%) using peritoneal lavage cytology. In these patients, the tumor diameter was significantly larger (p < 0.001) and anterior serosal invasion (p = 0.034), splenic artery invasion (p = 0.013), lympho‐vessel invasion (p = 0.025), and perineural invasion (p = 0.008) were significantly more frequent. The R1 resection rate was also significantly higher in patients with positive peritoneal lavage cytology than in negative patients (p = 0.015). Positive peritoneal lavage cytology had a significantly poor impact on overall survival (p = 0.001) and recurrence‐free survival (p < 0.001). This cytology was also an independent poor prognostic factor for recurrence (p = 0.022) and was associated with peritoneal dissemination and liver metastasis.ConclusionsPositive peritoneal lavage cytology is considered to be indicative of more systemic disease in patients with resectable pancreatic body and tail cancer than in patients with negative peritoneal lavage cytology. Early detection of pancreatic cancer before it develops micrometastases is important to improve prognosis, and CY+ patients require more intensive multimodality treatment than standard treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer.
Time-series image denoising of pressure-sensitive paint data by projected multivariate singular spectrum analysis
Authors: Ohmichi Yuya , Takahashi Kohmi , Nakakita Kazuyuki 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Time-series data, such as unsteady pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) measurement data, may contain a significant amount of random noise. Thus, in this study, we investigated a noise-reduction method that combines multivariate singular spectrum analysis (MSSA) with low-dimensional data representation. MSSA is a state-space reconstruction technique that utilizes time-delay embedding, and the low-dimensional representation is achieved by projecting data onto the singular value decomposition (SVD) basis. The noise-reduction performance of the proposed method for unsteady PSP data, i.e., the projected MSSA, is compared with that of the truncated SVD method, one of the most employed noise-reduction methods. The result shows that the projected MSSA exhibits better performance in reducing random noise than the truncated SVD method. Additionally, in contrast to that of the truncated SVD method, the performance of the projected MSSA is less sensitive to the truncation rank. The projected MSSA achieves denoising effectively by extracting smooth trajectories in a state space from noisy input data. Expectedly, the projected MSSA will be effective for reducing random noise in not only PSP measurement data, but also various high-dimensional time-series data.

Graphic abstract
Clonal hematopoiesis and cardiovascular disease: deciphering interconnections
Authors: Stein Anna , Metzeler Klaus , Kubasch Anne Sophie , Rommel Karl-Philipp , Desch Steffen , Buettner Petra , Rosolowski Maciej , Cross Michael , Platzbecker Uwe , Thiele Holger 
Published: November 2022

AbstractCardiovascular and oncological diseases represent the global major causes of death. For both, a novel and far-reaching risk factor has been identified: clonal hematopoiesis (CH). CH is defined as clonal expansion of peripheral blood cells on the basis of somatic mutations, without overt hematological malignancy. The most commonly affected genes are TET2, DNMT3A, ASXL1 and JAK2. By the age of 70, at least 20–50% of all individuals carry a CH clone, conveying a striking clinical impact by increasing all-cause mortality by 40%. This is due predominantly to a nearly two-fold increase of cardiovascular risk, but also to an elevated risk of malignant transformation. Individuals with CH show not only increased risk for, but also worse outcomes after arteriosclerotic events, such as stroke or myocardial infarction, decompensated heart failure and cardiogenic shock. Elevated cytokine levels, dysfunctional macrophage activity and activation of the inflammasome suggest that a vicious cycle of chronic inflammation and clonal expansion represents the major functional link. Despite the apparently high impact of this entity, awareness, functional understanding and especially clinical implications still require further research. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of CH and its relation to cardiovascular and hematological diseases. It focuses on the basic functional mechanisms in the interplay between atherosclerosis, inflammation and CH, identifies issues for further research and considers potential clinical implications.
RNA methyltransferase NSun2 deficiency promotes neurodegeneration through epitranscriptomic regulation of tau phosphorylation
Authors: Kim Yoon A. , Siddiqui Tohid , Blaze Jennifer , Cosacak Mehmet Ilyas , Winters Tristan , Kumar Atul , Tein Ellen , Sproul Andrew A. , Teich Andrew F. , Bartolini Francesca , Akbarian Schahram , Kizil Caghan , Hargus Gunnar , Santa-Maria Ismael 
Published: November 2022

AbstractEpitranscriptomic regulation adds a layer of post-transcriptional control to brain function during development and adulthood. The identification of RNA-modifying enzymes has opened the possibility of investigating the role epitranscriptomic changes play in the disease process. NOP2/Sun RNA methyltransferase 2 (NSun2) is one of the few known brain-enriched methyltransferases able to methylate mammalian non-coding RNAs. NSun2 loss of function due to autosomal-recessive mutations has been associated with neurological abnormalities in humans. Here, we show NSun2 is expressed in adult human neurons in the hippocampal formation and prefrontal cortex. Strikingly, we unravel decreased NSun2 protein expression and an increased ratio of pTau/NSun2 in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as demonstrated by Western blotting and immunostaining, respectively. In a well-established Drosophila melanogaster model of tau-induced toxicity, reduction of NSun2 exacerbated tau toxicity, while overexpression of NSun2 partially abrogated the toxic effects. Conditional ablation of NSun2 in the mouse brain promoted a decrease in the miR-125b m6A levels and tau hyperphosphorylation. Utilizing human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuronal cultures, we confirmed NSun2 deficiency results in tau hyperphosphorylation. We also found that neuronal NSun2 levels decrease in response to amyloid-beta oligomers (AβO). Notably, AβO-induced tau phosphorylation and cell toxicity in human neurons could be rescued by overexpression of NSun2. Altogether, these results indicate that neuronal NSun2 deficiency promotes dysregulation of miR-125b and tau phosphorylation in AD and highlights a novel avenue for therapeutic targeting.