Generative AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), is increasingly integrating graph-based representations to enhance reasoning, retrieval, and structured decision-making. Despite rapid progress, there remains limited clarity on when, why, and how different graph-LLM integration strategies are most effective across applications. This survey provides a concise and structured overview of the key design choices underlying graph-LLM systems, with a particular focus on information fusion across heterogeneous data sources and modalities. We categorize existing approaches based on their purpose (e.g., reasoning, retrieval, generation, recommendation), graph modalities (e.g., knowledge graphs, scene graphs, interaction graphs, causal graphs, and dependency graphs), and integration strategies (e.g., prompting, augmentation, training, and agent-based frameworks). From a fusion perspective, we analyze how these methods integrate structured and unstructured information to enable more robust, context-aware intelligence. By examining representative works across domains such as cybersecurity, healthcare, materials science, finance, robotics, and multimodal systems, we highlight the strengths, limitations, and best-use scenarios of each approach. This survey serves as a practical guide for selecting approno priate graph-LLM techniques based on task requirements, data characteristics, reasoning complexity, and fusion needs.
Circular external difference families (CEDFs) are a recently-introduced variation of external difference families (EDFs) with applications to non-malleable threshold schemes: a (v,m,ℓ,1)-CEDF is an m-sequence (A0,…,Am−1) of ℓ-subsets of an additive group G of order v such that G∖{0} equals the multiset of all differences a−a′, with (a,a′)∈Ai+1×Ai for some i∈Zm. When G is the cyclic group, we speak of a cyclic CEDF. The existence of cyclic (v,m,ℓ,1)-CEDFs is well understood when m is even, while nonexistence is known when both m and ℓ are odd. However, the case where m is odd and ℓ is even has only been resolved in a few special cases.In this paper, we address this gap by constructing cyclic (v,m,ℓ,1)-CEDFs for any odd m>1 when ℓ=2, and for any even ℓ≥2 when m=3. Notably, the latter result relies on the existence of a suitable tiling of the multiplicative semigroup of Zv∖{0}. Moreover, noting that every (v,3,ℓ,1)-CEDF produces a (v,3,ℓ,2)-EDF, we completely solve the existence problem for (3ℓ2+1,3,ℓ,2)-EDFs over an abelian group.Our approach is based on representing the blocks as arithmetic progressions and analyzing their step patterns. We present two different ways to construct cyclic (v,m,2,1)-CEDFs for every odd m>1; their step patterns show that the resulting CEDFs are inequivalent. Many additional inequivalent CEDFs are obtained by translating suitable subsets within the CEDF.
NASA's Curiosity rover is exploring a 5 km tall sedimentary mound that is hypothesized to record the transition from a warm and wet (phyllosilicate-rich) to a cold and drier (sulfate-rich) Mars. Evidence of magnesium sulfate-bearing rock has shown that Curiosity has crossed through this phyllosilicate-sulfate transition. Recently, Curiosity arrived at the Amapari Marker Band, a darker, indurated unit that can be traced laterally for tens of kilometers in orbiter images. Here, Curiosity found evidence for a very broad lake, and bedforms interpreted as wave-ripple laminated sedimentary rock that likely was deposited in shallow water in the explored location, before becoming a deeper lake. These rocks are enriched in Fe, Mn, and Zn which has major implications for groundwater paleohydrology in Gale crater. Three formation hypotheses are considered: concretion formation during early diagenetic alteration of shallow lake sediments, laterization or leaching of the sediments, and addition of Fe, Mn, and Zn by a mildly acidic and reducing groundwater interacting with a redox and/or pH front in a stratified lake. The preferred interpretation of the metal enrichments within the Amapari Marker band sedimentary rocks is that they formed in a shallow water environment at a redox and/or pH front within the ripple unit, which drove precipitation and concentration of metals. If the enrichments are due to groundwater alteration, these processes could link subsurface and surface environments. Water and the presence of high amounts of redox sensitive elements and other metals are favorable indicators for habitability.
During the last glacial period, the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) was the largest terrestrial ice sheet on Earth. Its evolution since the Last Glacial Maximum profoundly influenced Earth's geodynamics and surface processes. Investigating the past dynamics of the LIS provides critical insights into how contemporary ice sheets may respond to ongoing climate change. In this paper, we combine lithostratigraphy, targeted foraminiferal assemblage analysis, and swath bathymetry to reconstruct the early phase of retreat of the LIS margin across the Broughton and Merchants fjord-cross-shelf-trough systems in southeastern Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Radiocarbon dates based on mixed foraminiferal assemblages provide a revised deglacial chronology for southeastern Baffin Island. In Broughton Trough, the absence of moraines indicates a continuous retreat without prolonged stabilization until at least 12.9 k cal a BP. However, turbidites preserved in sediment cores record meltwater discharge during glacial retreat. In contrast, the Merchants Ice Flow stabilized on a grounding-zone wedge (GZW) between the LGM and 12.0 k cal a BP. Within the associated turbidite sequence downflow of the GZW, the transition between the presence of the foraminiferal species Islandiella helenae typically associated with ice-edge or seasonally open-water conditions and the absence of ice-rafted debris suggests the development of an ice shelf during this stabilization phase. Previously reported terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dates show that the inter-trough region appears to have deglaciated more rapidly than the adjacent troughs, acting as a transitional zone between the Broughton and Merchants ice flow sectors. When integrated with previously published terrestrial record, these results provide an updated deglaciation history of southeastern Baffin Island.
Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–2Mo (Ti6242) is a near-α titanium alloy developed for high-temperature applications, yet its tribological behavior in additively manufactured conditions remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to investigate the influence of build orientation on the microstructure and tribological performance of Ti6242 components produced via electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) across temperatures from room temperature to 450 °C. The outcomes revealed that a higher fraction of equiaxed grains was observed in the horizontally oriented samples compared to the vertically oriented ones, reflecting the influence of build orientation on the microstructural anisotropy. Abrasive wear emerged as the predominant mechanism in EB-PBF-Ti6242 and Al2O3 ball interactions under all tested conditions. The tribological behavior at 450 °C exhibited characteristics comparable to those at room temperature, with a friction coefficient of approximately 0.5 and a wear volume about 10
