bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A railway fastener inspection method based on lightweight network
Authors: Wang Yue , Wang Ji , Zheng Shubin , Li Liming , Xie Xing
Published: January 2024

To ensure the safety of train operations, regular inspection and maintenance of railway fastener is crucial. Currently, computer vision-based fastener inspection has become the primary method. However, to improve detection accuracy, model complexity has been continuously increasing, leading to a decrease in detection efficiency and seriously affecting real-time fastener inspection task. To address this issue, we propose a fastener inspection method based on lightweight network. First, we introduce YOLOv5n-Faster, where this model selects YOLOv5n as the base network for fastener localization and uses partial convolution (PConv) from FasterNet for lightweight design, while using CoordConv to improve localization accuracy, thereby achieving efficient fastener localization task. Then, we perform lightweight design on the overall network structure and Block module of the ConvNeXt-T to propose the fastener state inspection model, Light ConvNeXt, for rapid fastener classification. Experimental results show that our proposed fastener localization model achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 84.7%, a detection speed of 161 FPS. The fastener state inspection model achieves an accuracy of 99.7%.
Optimal fuel supply of green ammonia to decarbonise global shipping
Authors: Verschuur Jasper , Salmon Nicholas , Hall Jim , Bañares-Alcántara René
Published: January 2024

Green ammonia has been proposed as a technologically viable solution to decarbonise global shipping, yet there are conflicting ambitions for where global production, transport and fuelling infrastructure will be located. Here, we develop a spatial modelling framework to quantify the cost-optimal fuel supply to decarbonise shipping in 2050 using green ammonia. We find that the demand for green ammonia by 2050 could be three to four times the current (grey) ammonia production, requiring major new investments in infrastructure. Our model predicts a regionalisation of supply, entailing a few large supply clusters that will serve regional demand centres, with limited long-distance shipping of green ammonia fuel. In this cost-efficient model, practically all green ammonia production is predicted to lie within 40° latitudes North/South. To facilitate this transformation, investments worth USD 2 trillion would be needed, half of which will be required in low- and middle-income countries.
Long-term predictors of developmental outcome and disease burden in SCN1A-positive Dravet syndrome
Authors: Feng Tony , Makiello Phoebe , Dunwoody Benjamin , Steckler Felix , Symonds Joseph D , Zuberi Sameer M , Dorris Liam , Brunklaus Andreas
Published: January 2024

Dravet syndrome is a severe infantile onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy associated with mutations in the sodium channel alpha 1 subunit gene SCN1A. Prospective data on long-term developmental and clinical outcomes are limited; this study seeks to evaluate the clinical course of Dravet syndrome over a 10-year period and identify predictors of developmental outcome. SCN1A mutation-positive Dravet syndrome patients were prospectively followed up in the UK from 2010 to 2020. Caregivers completed structured questionnaires on clinical features and disease burden; the Epilepsy & Learning Disability Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Adaptive Behavioural Assessment System-3 and the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Sixty-eight of 113 caregivers (60%) returned posted questionnaires. Developmental outcome worsened at follow-up (4.45 [SD 0.65], profound cognitive impairment) compared to baseline (2.9 [SD 1.1], moderate cognitive impairment, P < 0.001), whereas epilepsy severity appeared less severe at 10-year follow-up (P = 0.042). Comorbidities were more apparent at 10-year outcome including an increase in autistic features (77% [48/62] versus 30% [17/57], χ2 = 19.9, P < 0.001), behavioural problems (81% [46/57] versus 38% [23/60], χ2 = 14.1, P < 0.001) and motor/mobility problems (80% [51/64] versus 41% [24/59], χ2 = 16.9, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis demonstrated a more significant rise in comorbidities in younger compared to older patients. Predictors of worse long-term developmental outcome included poorer baseline language ability (P < 0.001), more severe baseline epilepsy severity (P = 0.003) and a worse SCN1A genetic score (P = 0.027). Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy had not been discussed with a medical professional in 35% (24/68) of participants. Over 90% of caregivers reported a negative impact on their own health and career opportunities. Our study identifies important predictors and potential biomarkers of developmental outcome in Dravet syndrome and emphasizes the significant caregiver burden of illness. The negative impact of epilepsy severity at baseline on long-term developmental outcomes highlights the importance of implementing early and focused therapies whilst the potential impact of newer anti-seizure medications requires further study.
Annular remodelling predicts outcome in isolated severe tricuspid regurgitation: a registry-based echocardiographic analysis
Authors: Arfsten Henrike , König Andreas , Geller Welf , Bodner Lorenz , Dannenberg Varius , Prausmüller Suriya , Bartko Philipp E , Binder Thomas , Hengstenberg Christian , Goliasch Georg , Schneider-Reigbert Matthias
Published: January 2024

Aims

Depending on volume status, secondary tricuspid regurgitation (sTR) has a strong dynamic component. In contrast, associated structural dilatation of the tricuspid annulus and the right heart chambers may be less volume dependent. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of right heart remodelling in isolated severe sTR (isoTR).

Methods and results

A total of 36 000 patients from the longitudinal echocardiographic database of our tertiary centre were screened for severe isoTR [vena contracta (VC) ≥ 7 mm] in the absence of atrial fibrillation (AF), other valve disease, and/or reduced systolic left ventricular function. Echocardiographic examinations were re-read, focusing on right ventricular (RV) parameters and on quantitative and qualitative parameters of isoTR. All-cause mortality was defined as the primary endpoint. Two hundred and sixteen patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Severe TR was predominant; only few were classified in the new grades massive [n = 23 (10%)] and torrential TR [n = 4 (2%)]. During a median follow-up of 35 months (20–53), all-cause mortality was 31% (n = 67). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed no association of VC, effective regurgitant orifice area, or regurgitant volume with all-cause mortality. However, indexed RV end-diastolic diameter (P < 0.001), indexed right atrial dimensions (P = 0.019), and particularly tricuspid valve (TV) annulus diameter diastole index (P = 0.002) and TV annulus diameter systole index (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with outcome.

Conclusion

Severe isolated TR in the absence of AF is a rare finding with a grim prognosis. Tricuspid annular diameter dimensions rather than quantitative measures of TR proved to be of significant prognostic value indicating a continuous remodelling leading to a ‘point of no return’ with a dismal outcome.
The Association of Skeletal Muscle Energetics With Recurrent Falls in Older Adults Within the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging
Authors: Kramer Philip A , Zamora Ezequiel , Barnes Haley N , Strotmeyer Elsa S , Glynn Nancy W , Lane Nancy E , Coen Paul M , Cawthon Peggy M , Goodpaster Bret H , Newman Anne B , Kritchevsky Stephen B , Cummings Steven R
Published: January 2024

Background

Falls in the older population are a major public health concern. While many physiological and environmental factors have been associated with fall risk, muscle mitochondrial energetics has not yet been investigated.

Methods

In this analysis, 835 Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (SOMMA) participants aged 70–94 were surveyed for number of falls (total), recurrent falls (2+), and fall-related injuries over the past 12 months at baseline and again after 1 year. Skeletal muscle energetics were assessed at baseline in vivo using 31P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for the maximal rate of adenosine triphosphate recovery (ATPmax) after an acute bout of exercise, and ex vivo by High-Resolution Respirometry for the maximal rate of complex I and II supported oxygen consumption (MaxOXPHOS) in permeabilized muscle fibers from the vastus lateralis.

Results

At least 1 fall was reported in 28.7% of SOMMA participants in the first year of the study, with 12% of older adults reporting recurrent falls (2+). Individuals who experienced recurrent falls had a slower 400-m walk gait speed (1.0 ± 0.2 vs 1.1 ± 0.2, p < .001), reported fewer alcoholic drinks per week in the past year (2.4 ± 4.3 vs 2.8 ± 4.4, p = .054), and took a significantly greater number of medication in the 30 days before their baseline visit (5.6 ± 4.4 vs 4.2 ± 3.4, p < .05). A history of falls was reported in 63% of individuals who experienced recurrent falls in the first year of the study compared to 22.8% who experienced 1 or fewer falls. MaxOXPHOS was significantly lower in those who reported recurrent falls (p = .008) compared to those with 1 or fewer falls, but there was no significant difference in ATPmax (p = .369). Neither muscle energetics measure was significantly associated with total number of falls or injurious falls, but recurrent falls were significantly higher with lower MaxOXPHOS (risk ratio = 1.33, 95% confidence interval = 1.02–1.73, p = .033). However, covariates accounted for the increased risk.

Conclusions

Mitochondrial energetics were largely unrelated to fall risk in older adults when accounting for variables, suggesting that the complex etiology of falls may not be related to a single “hallmark of aging” biological pathway.
Relationship between physical activity and locomotive syndrome among young and middle-aged Japanese workers
Authors: Watanabe Kazuhiko , Lu Xi , Masuda Shota , Miyamoto Takeshi , Katoh Takahiko
Published: January 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity (PA) and locomotive syndrome (LS) among young and middle-aged Japanese workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 335 participants from a company in Kumamoto, Japan. LS was evaluated using the 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25); a GLFS-25 score ≥7 was defined as LS. Weekly PA was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Work-related PA (time spent sitting, standing, walking, and strenuous work per day) and sedentary breaks were measured using a Work-related Physical Activity Questionnaire. Screen usage (television [TV], smartphones, tablets, and personal computers) during leisure time was recorded. The association between PA and LS was examined using a multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, history of musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, stroke, occupation, employment type, work time, shift system, employment status, and body pain.

Results: A total of 149 participants had LS. Fewer sedentary breaks during work (>70-minute intervals, odds ratio [OR] = 2.96; prolonged sitting, OR = 4.12) and longer TV viewing time (≥180 minutes, OR = 3.02) were significantly associated with LS. In contrast, moderate PA (OR = 0.75) was significantly associated with a lower risk of LS.

Conclusions: Fewer sedentary breaks during work and longer TV viewing time could increase the risk of LS in young and middle-aged Japanese workers.
Codelivery of TGFβ and Cox2 siRNA inhibits HCC by promoting T-cell penetration into the tumor and improves response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Authors: Kim Wookhyun , Ye Zhou , Simonenko Vera , Shahi Aashirwad , Malikzay Asra , Long Steven Z , Xu John J , Lu Alan , Horng Jau-Hau , Wu Chang-Ru , Chen Pei-Jer , Lu Patrick Y , Evans David M
Published: January 2024

Upregulation of TGFβ and Cox2 in the tumor microenvironment results in blockade of T-cell penetration into the tumor. Without access to tumor antigens, the T-cell response will not benefit from administration of the immune checkpoint antibodies. We created an intravenous polypeptide nanoparticle that can deliver two siRNAs (silencing TGFβ and Cox2). Systemic administration in mice, bearing a syngeneic orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), delivers the siRNAs to various cells in the liver, and significantly reduces the tumor. At 2 mg/kg (BIW) the nanoparticle demonstrated a single agent action and induced tumor growth inhibition to undetectable levels after five doses. Reducing the siRNAs to 1mg/kg BIW demonstrated greater inhibition in the presence of PD-L1 mAbs. After only three doses BIW, we could still recover a smaller tumor and, in tumor sections, showed an increase in penetration of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells deeper into the remaining tumor that was not evident in animals treated with non-silencing siRNA. The combination of TGFβ and Cox2 siRNA co-administered in a polypeptide nanoparticle can act as a novel therapeutic alone against HCC and may augment the activity of the immune checkpoint antibodies. Silencing TGFβ and Cox2 converts an immune excluded (cold) tumor into a T-cell inflamed (hot) tumor.
CanVaxKB: a web-based cancer vaccine knowledgebase
Authors: Asfaw Eliyas , Lin Asiyah Yu , Huffman Anthony , Li Siqi , George Madison , Darancou Chloe , Kalter Madison , Wehbi Nader , Bartels Davis , Fleck Elyse , Tran Nancy , Faghihnia Daniel , Berke Kimberly , Sutariya Ronak , Reyal Farah , Tammam Youssef , Zhao Bin , Ong Edison , Xiang Zuoshuang , He Virginia , Song Justin , Seleznev Andrey I , Guo Jinjing , Pan Yuanyi , Zheng Jie , He Yongqun
Published: January 2024

Cancer vaccines have been increasingly studied and developed to prevent or treat various types of cancers. To systematically survey and analyze different reported cancer vaccines, we developed CanVaxKB (https://violinet.org/canvaxkb), the first web-based cancer vaccine knowledgebase that compiles over 670 therapeutic or preventive cancer vaccines that have been experimentally verified to be effective at various stages. Vaccine construction and host response data are also included. These cancer vaccines are developed against various cancer types such as melanoma, hematological cancer, and prostate cancer. CanVaxKB has stored 263 genes or proteins that serve as cancer vaccine antigen genes, which we have collectively termed ‘canvaxgens’. Top three mostly used canvaxgens are PMEL, MLANA and CTAG1B, often targeting multiple cancer types. A total of 193 canvaxgens are also reported in cancer-related ONGene, Network of Cancer Genes and/or Sanger Cancer Gene Consensus databases. Enriched functional annotations and clusters of canvaxgens were identified and analyzed. User-friendly web interfaces are searchable for querying and comparing cancer vaccines. CanVaxKB cancer vaccines are also semantically represented by the community-based Vaccine Ontology to support data exchange. Overall, CanVaxKB is a timely and vital cancer vaccine source that facilitates efficient collection and analysis, further helping researchers and physicians to better understand cancer mechanisms.
Creative Class
Authors: Fasche Melanie
Published: January 2024

The US-American urban economist Richard Florida introduced the concept of the creative class in the early 2000s. The creative class concept and its associated creative class theory are based on Florida’s observations of Pittsburgh’s economic transformation from an industrial to a creative economy and subsequent research on metropolitan areas in the United States. The creative class represents a growing occupational class that is paid to think and create, and to solve problems, and is highly skilled in comparison to the working class and service class who apply physical and routine skills to their work. According to Florida, the creative class comprises one-third to 50 percent of the workforce and at least half of all wages and salaries in postindustrial economies. The associated creative class theory builds on theories of agglomeration (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article “Agglomeration”) and argues that the creative class clusters in urban areas with certain quality of place characteristics that offer inspiration, experiences, opportunities to meet, and serendipitous encounters with a diverse set of creative people. Places possessing these qualities are believed to be more competitive in attracting and retaining the creative class, and hence in generating innovation and economic growth. The introduction of the creative class concept and creative class theory has caused a critical debate and conversation across academic disciplines, including urban geography, economic geography, regional and urban economics, urban planning, urban sociology, architecture, public policy, and management. Criticism has mainly focused on the definition of the creative class, occupations as a measure for human capital, effects on economic growth, impacts on urban and economic policies, and associations with economic, social, and spatial inequalities in cities. Scholars across disciplines have tried and tested the concept and theory in metropolitan regions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and expanded the spatial focus beyond large cities to midsize and smaller cities as well as rural areas. Florida himself has stayed engaged in the debate and has been developing his thinking since the inception of the creative class concept and creative class theory in the early 2000s. The concept of the creative class is widely cited and has become a key reference for any work about the creative and knowledge economy. More recently, the concept has been accepted into the conceptual repertoire and canon across social sciences. Beyond the academy, the concept of the creative class and creative class theory have influenced urban and economic development policies and practices around the world.
Pythagoreanism in the Middle Ages
Authors: Moyer Ann E.
Published: January 2024

Pythagorean thought in the postclassical Latin world developed in distinct ways from that of antiquity. Not only were most writers and readers Christian, but the activities of reading and writing took place mainly in the settings of religious institutions and professions, especially in the earlier Middle Ages. Thus the Pythagorean teachings and patterns of life that had often been central to ancient followers, many of which might straddle categories of religion and philosophy, underwent accommodation to Christian settings. Furthermore, ancient writings in Pythagorean traditions had been in Greek, a language largely lost among Latin Christians in late antiquity. A number of patristic writers referred in their works to Pythagorean ideas, some with approval, others not. Augustine of Hippo, who had favored Pythagorean philosophy for some years, provided many such references; so too did Tertullian and Lactantius. A few authors usually considered Neoplatonist and Neopythagorean composed or translated more substantial works. Calcidius translated the first part of Plato’s Timaeus and wrote an extensive commentary in the early 4th century; this work too focuses especially on the cosmos and world soul. Macrobius (b. 370–d. 430) composed a commentary on the section of Cicero’s Republic known as the “Dream of Scipio” (Somnium Scipionis) that describes the order and nature of the cosmos. His near-contemporary Martianus Capella composed De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii (“On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury”), a work that presented the seven liberal arts that came to figure prominently in medieval education. Of greatest importance was Boethius (c 480–524). Among his many works were textbooks for the quadrivium, the four mathematical subjects of the liberal arts: arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. Only the first two have survived; they were loose translations of the writings of the Neopythagorean Nicomachus of Gerasa (c 60–120). These works became foundations of medieval Latin education. Thanks to this cluster of texts, medieval Pythagorean thought centered most often on these quadrivial disciplines. Nonetheless, some theologians, especially during the twelfth century, used Pythagorean ideas in their writings. The writings of Plotinus, more accurately a Neoplatonist, began to become available in the late thirteenth century, and also attracted interest in the fourteenth century. The recovery of ancient sources by humanists in the mid-fifteenth century and beyond marks a transition to Renaissance Pythagorean traditions; Nicholas of Cusa marks that point of transition. Medieval Pythagorean thought is thus characterized by its traditions of textual reception, of invocations of Pythagoras as exemplary figure, and creative reimagining.
Guillaume Budé
Authors: Sanchi Luigi-Alberto
Published: January 2024

Guillaume Budé (b. 1467–d. 1540) is one of the most relevant French contemporaries of Erasmus, and a friend of his. As a scholar, Budé improved several fields of research, such as studies on Roman law and Ancient Greek lexicography. A high civil servant and not a professor, Guillaume Budé is also credited with the creation of the first chairs (1530) of Collège de France. Budé received a traditional education in law before starting humanistic studies around 1491 and entering the circle of intellectuals gathered by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples. He then learned Ancient Greek and became one of the first modern Frenchmen to master this language to a level comparable to that of contemporary Italians. Not only did he start as a humanist by publishing some short translations from Greek into Latin (1505–1506), but he culminated his career with the Commentaries on the Greek Tongue in 1529, his most celebrated work (Commentarii Graecae linguae; posthumous, revised edition,1548). Between these two achievements, Budé ensured considerable results with other massive scholarly works. He first studied in a new way—which will later be called the Mos Gallicus Jura docendi—the texts of Corpus Juris, combining Greek and Latin philology, encyclopedic and legal knowledge, theoretical skills in his 1508 Annotations on the Digest (Annotationes in XXIV Pandectarum libros, followed by Annotationes reliquae in Pandectas in 1526). He then uncovered a vast portion of Antiquity, and resolved some textual enigmas, with The Roman As and Its Fractions (De Asse and Partibus eius Libri V, 1515, followed by six revised editions), a five-book tentacular monograph often simply called De Asse. It focuses on the vocabulary of quantities, their literary expressions, in words and abbreviations, and the resulting textual corruption or misunderstanding, thus allowing a more precise interpretation of Greek and Latin classics in general. Besides his international correspondence, Budé’s production includes moral essays and exhortations to humanistic studies. It ends in 1535 with From Hellenism to Christianism (De Transitu Hellenismi ad Christianismum), a meditation on the importance of religious devotion for a learned man, and a political answer to the Affaire des Placards, an anti-Catholic scandal that occurred in 1534 and endangered the Parisian and French humanist current. While 19th- and early 20th-century scholarship has rediscovered Budé’s original contribution to European humanism, recent research has focused on his literary production and his philological achievements.
Gardens
Authors: Manca Joseph
Published: January 2024

Gardening in the West flourished in classical antiquity, especially during the time of the Roman Empire, but went into decline during the earlier Middle Ages. Revived along with other cultural forms, fine gardening, created in a great range of size and styles, became a highly important art form during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance through the early eighteenth century, the time period covered by this bibliography. The word garden, and its equivalent in other languages, could refer to a purely utilitarian place for growing vegetables, fruit, herbs, or flowers, or to a botanical garden for scientific exposition and learning. The publications listed in this bibliography focus on aestheticized gardens, and the use of the word garden here will, unless otherwise qualified, always connote that broadly artistic meaning. We are mostly concerned with broader issues of design than with the character of individual plantings. A fine garden, sometimes called a pleasure garden, was intended as a place of beauty, and is distinguished by the inclusion of such niceties as fountains, statuary, canals, outbuildings, parterres, gravel paths, grassy lawns, and hedges. During the several centuries before the eighteenth century, European gardens comprised formal features such as rows of trees and bushes, geometric arrangements around center points, and such unnatural features as topiary (clipped and shaped plantings). Within such overall calculated formalism, both subtle and obvious changes occurred over time. In the early eighteenth century, with the English taking the lead from the Italians and the French, formal aspects gave way to a new kind of natural gardening, called landscape gardening. This bibliography extends forward to the cusp of the introduction of landscape gardening design. Gardening is the only kind of art that cannot travel or that one cannot move to another site. In part for that reason, many garden writers have taken special pride in their national traditions. Following the geographical specificity of gardens and the national divisions that have arisen in scholarly discussions, the lists here are arranged for the most part by nation within the categories of chronology and style. The bibliographies cover regions across Europe, with most emphasis on the taste-making centers of Italy, France, and Britain. This bibliography centers on real, historical gardens. There is inevitably some consideration in the readings about horticultural theory, and about fictional gardens that appear in paintings, poetry, and prose. Such consideration helps to put the real gardens in the intellectual and artistic context of the early times, but the subject of imagined, literary gardens deserves its own bibliographic article. The bibliography here covers built gardens, although in every case the gardens have changed over time, or even disappeared. The literature cited in many cases uses old drawings, verbal descriptions, artworks, and other evidence to convey a sense of the early appearance of the historical gardens in question.
Early Modern Amazonia
Authors: Chambouleyron Rafael
Published: January 2024

A bibliography on the Amazon and the Atlantic has to take into account a double perspective. First, and frequently forgotten, the fact that the Amazon region has an Atlantic shore that spreads over thousands of kilometers, encompassing four modern countries—Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela—and an overseas territory of a European nation—French Guiana. Atlantic Amazonia has an old history of occupation by several Indigenous peoples; a complex process of European conquest, including the vast Amazon Delta; and a long history of Atlantic interactions, including the Caribbean, especially in its western counterpart. Second, the connections of the Amazonian region and its immense hinterland with the Atlantic world. These networks were not necessarily intertwined through the generally studied transatlantic slave trade. In the case of Portuguese Amazonia, they involved the commercialization of Amazonian goods in Europe obtained through the use of an Indian enslaved workforce (and the use of a compulsory free Indian labor force), thus they were disconnected from the traditional Atlantic circuits stressed by historiography. In fact, the transamazonian slave trade connected towns and cities of the Atlantic shore (such as Portuguese Belém and São Luís) with the vast Amazonian rainforest, where enslaved Indians were traded and captured through networks that involved several Amerindian nations as well as Europeans (such as Portuguese and Dutch). Brazilian scholars of the early modern Amazon region have concentrated on the vast Amazonian hinterland (called sertão in colonial times). Thus, the Luso-Brazilian Amazonian coast remains barely understood, except for the conquest period. In the case of the early modern Guianas, scholars have focused on the occupation of the Atlantic coast and its several connections with the Caribbean. Contrary to the internal Amazonian frontiers, which have been the focus of many recent works, the relationship between the different Atlantic “Amazonias” is less studied. References will concentrate on the lesser-known Iberian Amazonian Atlantic, especially the Portuguese counterpart, since the Guianas have been treated in other Oxford Bibliographies articles. See Oxford Bibliographies in Atlantic History The Guianas, The Dutch Caribbean and Guianas, Slavery in Dutch America and the West Indies, Dutch Atlantic World, Maroons and Marronage, French American Port Cities, The French Lesser Antilles, French Atlantic World, and Oxford Bibliographies in Renaissance and Reformation Walter Raleigh.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Authors: Dickson Melissa
Published: January 2024

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (b. 1814–d. 1873) was an Irish writer who worked across several genres, including historical fiction, nonfiction, sensation novels, short stories, and tales of mystery. Throughout his career, he worked as a journalist, editor, and writer, and he contributed to several newspapers and magazines. He is best remembered today, however, for his Gothic and horror stories, which were central to the development of the 19th-century ghost story. Born in Dublin in 1814 to a well-educated middle-class Protestant family of Huguenot origins, Le Fanu studied law at Trinity College, Dublin, where he became involved with the Dublin University Magazine. From January 1838 he began to publish a series of supernatural stories in the magazine under the pseudonym of the Catholic Father Francis Purcell. These early works, many of which comprised the germs of his later writings, were heavily influenced by the Romantic and Gothic movements of the time. They contain many early toposes of the ghost story tradition while exploring questions of Irish nationalism and political dissent. They were collected and published in 1880 in the anthology entitled The Purcell Papers. In 1843, Le Fanu married Susanna Bennett, and they had four children. He supported his family as a journalist, publisher, and writer of fiction, producing a series of short stories and historical novels, including The Cock and Anchor (1845) and The Fortunes of Colonel Torlogh O’Brien (1847). After Susanna’s death in 1858, Le Fanu became something of a recluse, and after the subsequent death of his mother in 1861, he devoted himself to writing and publishing. In 1869, he became editor and proprietor of the Dublin University Magazine and he was also an owner of a number of other newspapers. Among the many works he produced during this period, which emerged from his preoccupation with the supernatural and the boundaries between the living and the dead, are his 1864 Gothic novel Uncle Silas, and his 1872 novella Carmilla, which became part of his In A Glass Darkly collection and was an early work of vampire fiction in English. Le Fanu died of a heart attack in February 1873 at the age of 58. Although he had been a best-selling author for over twenty years, the body of his work fell from popular attention until the 20th-century ghost story writer M.R. James sought to reinstate Le Fanu with the publication of a collection of his stories in 1923, entitled Madam Crowl’s Ghost and Other Stories.
Mining
Authors: Juif Dácil
Published: January 2024

Today Africa is home to about 30 percent of global mineral reserves and a significant share of the worldwide production of economically important minerals and metals. This continent is the first- or second-largest producer of platinum, diamonds, gold, phosphate, and cobalt, for example. African countries are also among the world’s top producers of copper, uranium, and oil. Minerals account for around 70 percent of total African export value (for some countries this percentage rises above 90) and about 28 percent of aggregate gross domestic product, as well as a similar share of total foreign direct investments (in 2020). The main mining regions have been situated in Southern and Central Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Botswana), West Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali), East Africa (Tanzania), and North Africa (Morocco). The timing at which mining activities came to dominate the above-mentioned economies varies, and countries not mentioned here have mined metals and fuels as well, but mostly at a lower scale. The mining and smelting of very rich metal ores in Africa dates back to ancient times, and the encounter of gold in the coast of modern-day Ghana by 15th-century Portuguese colonizers resulted in this region becoming known as the “Gold Coast.” The late nineteenth century brought about the development of industrial mining with the discovery of rich gold and diamond deposits in South Africa. In due time, Western companies monopolized the large-scale, capital-intensive extraction of minerals. From the early twentieth century onward, explorations yielded substantial deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, tin, lead, iron, cobalt, phosphate, platinum, and other minerals in several African countries, which were exploited to meet the growing industrial demand for ores, metals, and diamonds in Europe. After the independence of most African colonies, the mining industry remained in the hands of foreign companies or was nationalized by the newly independent states in the 1960s to 1970s. In some cases, mineral production dwindled between the 1970s and 1990s due to the collapse of global mineral prices (noticeably copper), conflict, or white exodus. In certain regions, minerals that were previously extracted through industrial extraction continued to be mined, but at an informal artisanal level (e.g., in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), also involving women. After the early 2000s, Africa experienced a new mining boom, driven predominantly by Chinese demand. Mining has had important socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental consequences, including sectoral change, labor migration, urbanization, conflict, environmental degradation, and health problems. Moreover, a well-known body of academic research, the “resource curse” literature, has contended that the excessive reliance of developing countries on mineral production could result in poor political and economic performance.
Effectiveness of mRNA Booster Vaccine Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection and Severe Outcomes Among Persons With and Without Immune Dysfunction: A Retrospective Cohort Study of National Electronic Medical Record Data in the United States
Authors: Sun Jing , Zheng Qulu , Anzalone Alfred J , Abraham Alison G , Olex Amy L , Zhang Yifan , Mathew Jomol , Safdar Nasia , Haendel Melissa A , Segev Dorry , Islam Jessica Y , Singh Jasvinder A , Mannon Roslyn B , Chute Christopher G , Patel Rena C , Kirk Gregory D
Published: January 2024

Background

Real-world evidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger RNA (mRNA) booster effectiveness among patients with immune dysfunction are limited.

Methods

We included data from patients in the United States National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) who completed ≥2 doses of mRNA vaccination between 10 December 2020 and 27 May 2022. Immune dysfunction conditions included human immunodeficiency virus infection, solid organ or bone marrow transplant, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. We defined incident COVID-19 BTI as positive results from laboratory tests or diagnostic codes 14 days after at least 2 doses of mRNA vaccination; and severe COVID-19 BTI as hospitalization, invasive cardiopulmonary support, and/or death. We used propensity scores to match boosted versus nonboosted patients and evaluated hazards of incident and severe COVID-19 BTI using Cox regression after matching.

Results

Among patients without immune dysfunction, the relative effectiveness of booster (3 doses) after 6 months from the primary (2 doses) vaccination against BTI ranged from 69% to 81% during the Delta-predominant period and from 33% to 39% during the Omicron-predominant period. Relative effectiveness against BTI was lower among patients with immune dysfunction but remained statistically significant in both periods. Boosted patients had lower risk of COVID-19–related hospitalization (hazard ratios [HR] ranged from 0.5 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .48–.53] to 0.63 [95% CI, .56–.70]), invasive cardiopulmonary support, or death (HRs ranged from 0.46 [95% CI, .41–.52] to 0.63 [95% CI, .50–.79]) during both periods.

Conclusions

Booster vaccines remain effective against severe COVID-19 BTI throughout the Delta- and Omicron-predominant periods, regardless of patients’ immune status.
How do patient-reported outcome measures affect treatment intensification and patient satisfaction in the management of psoriatic arthritis? A cross sectional study of 503 patients
Authors: Coyle Conor , Watson Lily , Whately-Smith Caroline , Brooke Mel , Kiltz Uta , Lubrano Ennio , Queiro Ruben , Trigos David , Brandt-Juergens Jan , Choy Ernest , D’Angelo Salvatore , Delle Sedie Andrea , Dernis Emmanuelle , Wirth Théo , Guis Sandrine , Helliwell Philip , Ho Pauline , Hueber Axel , Joven Beatriz , Koehm Michaela , Morales Carlos Montilla , Packham Jon , Pinto Tasende Jose Antonio , Ramírez Julio , Ruyssen-Witrand Adeline , Scrivo Rossana , Twigg Sarah , Welcker Martin , Soubrier Martin , Gossec Laure , Coates Laura C
Published: January 2024

Objectives

The AsseSSing Impact in pSoriatic Treatment (ASSIST) study investigated prescribing in routine PsA care and whether the patient-reported outcome—PsA Impact of Disease questionnaire (PsAID-12)—impacted treatment. This study also assessed a range of patient and clinician factors and their relationship to PsAID-12 scoring and treatment modification.

Methods

Patients with PsA were selected across the UK and Europe between July 2021 and March 2022. Patients completed the PsAID questionnaire and the results were shared with their physician. Patient characteristics, disease activity, current treatment methods, treatment strategies, medication changes and patient satisfaction scores were recorded.

Results

A total of 503 patients were recruited. Some 36.2% had changes made to treatment, and 88.8% of these had treatment escalation. Overall, the mean PsAID-12 score was higher for patients with treatment escalation; increase in PSAID-12 score is associated with increased odds of treatment escalation (odds ratio 1.58; P < 0.0001). However, most clinicians reported that PsAID-12 did not impact their decision to escalate treatment, instead supporting treatment reduction decisions. Physician’s assessment of disease activity had the most statistically significant effect on likelihood of treatment escalation (odds ratio 2.68, per 1-point score increase). Escalation was more likely in patients not treated with biologic therapies. Additional factors associated with treatment escalation included: patient characteristics, physician characteristics, disease activity and disease impact.

Conclusion

This study highlights multiple factors impacting treatment decision-making for individuals with PsA. PsAID-12 scoring correlates with multiple measures of disease severity and odds of treatment escalation. However, most clinicians reported that the PsAID-12 did not influence treatment escalation decisions. Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) scoring could be used to increase confidence in treatment de-escalation.
The emerging role of hypoxia and environmental factors in inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Villareal Luke B , Xue Xiang
Published: January 2024

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and debilitating disorder characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite extensive research, the exact cause of IBD remains unknown, hampering the development of effective therapies. However, emerging evidence suggests that hypoxia, a condition resulting from inadequate oxygen supply, plays a crucial role in intestinal inflammation and tissue damage in IBD. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), transcription factors that regulate the cellular response to low oxygen levels, have gained attention for their involvement in modulating inflammatory processes and maintaining tissue homeostasis. The two most studied HIFs, HIF-1α and HIF-2α, have been implicated in the development and progression of IBD. Toxicological factors encompass a wide range of environmental and endogenous agents, including dietary components, microbial metabolites, and pollutants. These factors can profoundly influence the hypoxic microenvironment within the gut, thereby exacerbating the course of IBD and fostering the progression of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. This review explores the regulation of hypoxia signaling at the molecular, microenvironmental, and environmental levels, investigating the intricate interplay between toxicological factors and hypoxic signaling in the context of IBD, focusing on its most concerning outcomes: intestinal fibrosis and colorectal cancer.
Brain microvascular endothelial cell‐derived exosomes transmitting circ_0000495 promote microglial M1‐polarization and endothelial cell injury under hypoxia condition
Authors: Min Xiao‐li , Jia Wen‐ji , Guo Li , Jing Rui , Zhao Xiao‐hong , Hu Jia‐yi , Li Xu‐hui , Liu Wei , Wang Tao , Dou Xing‐kui
Published: January 2024

Human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMVECs) and microglia play critical roles in regulating cerebral homeostasis during ischemic stroke. However, the role of HBMVECs‐derived exosomes in microglia polarization after stroke remains unknown. We isolated exosomes (Exos) from oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)‐exposed HBMVECs, before added them into microglia. Microglia polarization markers were tested using RT‐qPCR or flow cytometry. Inflammatory cytokines were measured with ELISA. Endothelial cell damage was assessed by cell viability, apoptosis, apoptosis‐related proteins, oxidative stress, and angiogenic activity using CCK‐8, flow cytometry, western blot, ELISA, and endothelial tube formation assay, respectively. We also established middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice model to examine the function of circ_0000495 on stroke in vivo. Our study found that HBMVECs‐Exos reduced M2 markers (IL‐10, CD163, and CD206), increased M1 markers (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and IL‐12), CD86‐positive cells, and inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α and IL‐1β), indicating the promotion of microglial M1‐polarization. Microglial M1‐polarization induced by HBMVECs‐Exos reduced viability and promoted apoptosis and oxidative stress, revealing the aggravation of endothelial cell damage. However, circ_0000495 silencing inhibited HBMVECs‐Exos‐induced alterations. Mechanistically, circ_0000495 adsorbed miR‐579‐3p to upregulate toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) in microglia; miR‐579‐3p suppressed HBMVECs‐Exos‐induced alterations via declining TLR4; furthermore, Yin Yang 1 (YY1) transcriptionally activated circ_0000495 in HBMVECs. Importantly, circ_0000495 aggravated ischemic brain injury in vivo via activating TLR4/nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) pathway. Collectively, OGD‐treated HBMVECs‐Exos transmitted circ_0000495 to regulate miR‐579‐3p/TLR4/NF‐κB axis in microglia, thereby facilitating microglial M1‐polarization and endothelial cell damage.
Unveiling the role of cellular dormancy in cancer progression and recurrence
Authors: Collignon Evelyne
Published: January 2024

Purpose of review

Cellular dormancy is a major contributor to cancer progression and recurrence. This review explores recent findings on the molecular mechanisms implicated in cancer dormancy and investigates potential strategies to improve therapeutic interventions.

Recent findings

Research on cancer dormancy reveals a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Providing a latent reservoir of tumor cells with reduced proliferation and enhanced drug-tolerance, dormant cancer cells emerge from a clonally diverse population after therapy or at metastatic sites. These cells exhibit distinct transcriptional and epigenetic profiles, involving the downregulation of Myc and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways, and the induction of autophagy. Senescence traits, under the control of factors such as p53, also contribute significantly. The tumor microenvironment can either promote or prevent dormancy establishment, notably through the involvement of T and NK cells within the dormant tumor niche. Strategies to combat dormancy-related relapse include direct elimination of dormant tumor cells, sustaining dormancy to prolong survival, or awakening dormant cells to re-sensitize them to antiproliferative drugs.

Improving our understanding of cancer dormancy at primary and secondary sites provides valuable insights into patient care and relapse prevention.
Sensitive development windows of prenatal air pollution and cognitive functioning in preschool age Mexican children
Authors: Hsu Hsiao-Hsien Leon , Lane Jamil M. , Schnaas Lourdes , Coull Brent A. , Osorio-Valencia Erika , Chiu Yueh-Hsiu Mathilda , Wilson Ander , Just Allan C. , Kloog Itai , Bellinger David , Téllez-Rojo Martha M. , Wright Robert O.
Published: January 2024

Introduction:

Neurotoxicity resulting from air pollution is of increasing concern. Considering exposure timing effects on neurodevelopmental impairments may be as important as the exposure dose. We used distributed lag regression to determine the sensitive windows of prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on children’s cognition in a birth cohort in Mexico.

Methods:

Analysis included 553 full-term (≥37 weeks gestation) children. Prenatal daily PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a validated satellite-based spatiotemporal model. McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities (MSCA) were used to assess children’s cognitive function at 4–5 years old (lower scores indicate poorer performance). To identify susceptibility windows, we used Bayesian distributed lag interaction models to examine associations between prenatal PM2.5 levels and MSCA. This allowed us to estimate vulnerable windows while testing for effect modification.

Results:

After adjusting for maternal age, socioeconomic status, child age, and sex, Bayesian distributed lag interaction models showed significant associations between increased PM2.5 levels and decreased general cognitive index scores at 31–35 gestation weeks, decreased quantitative scale scores at 30–36 weeks, decreased motor scale scores at 30–36 weeks, and decreased verbal scale scores at 37–38 weeks. Estimated cumulative effects (CE) of PM2.5 across pregnancy showed significant associations with general cognitive index (

= −0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.68, −0.01), quantitative scale (

= −0.27, 95% CI = −0.74, −0.02), motor scale (

= −0.25, 95% CI = −0.44, −0.05), and verbal scale (

= −0.2, 95% CI = −0.43, −0.02). No significant sex interactions were observed.

Conclusions:

Prenatal exposure to PM2.5, particularly late pregnancy, was inversely associated with subscales of MSCA. Using data-driven methods to identify sensitive window may provide insight into the mechanisms of neurodevelopmental impairment due to pollution.