bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“Let Me Die in Your House”: Cardiac Distress and Sympathy in Nineteenth-Century British Medicine
Authors: Kennedy Meegan
Published: June 2014

This essay examines the prevalence of a romantic discourse (e.g., associated with the genre of romance) in nineteenth-century British treatises on diseases of the heart. The nineteenth century brought remarkable changes to cardiac medicine, from the stethoscope to the sphygmograph, rendering medical practice increasingly clinical. However, case histories of cardiac disorders from this period maintain a surprising frequency of three affective elements: sensationalism (exaggerated, dramatic, and shocking events and language), sentimentalism (pathos and melancholy), and imagined experience, where the narrator projects himself imaginatively into the lived experience of his subject. British cardiac texts during these professionalizing decades repeatedly use the ambiguous term “distress” to describe the symptoms of heart disorders but also the observer’s subjective response to the patient’s evident suffering. These “distressing” texts demonstrate how nineteenth-century British physicians narrativized their sympathy during a period we usually associate with the distancing of the patient-physician relationship.
Representing Chronic Disorders of Consciousness: The Problem of Voice in Allende’s Paula
Authors: Hall Alice
Published: June 2014

This article explores problems of voicelessness in Isabel Allende’s Paula (1995) through a focus on the story of Paula’s illness and subsequent death from porphyria in 1992. I argue that the language, categories and stories through which disorders of consciousness are constructed are central to ethical decision-making and shifting cultural understandings of these conditions. In Paula, Allende uses an experimental, hybrid narrative form that draws on illness narrative, magical realist novel, national history, letters, and memoir to challenge traditional depictions of “coma” and to create a new public space through which these issues of voicelessness can be addressed.
The Medical Case Narrative: Distant Reading of an Epistemic Genre
Authors: Pomata Gianna
Published: June 2014

In this article, I argue that we should consider the medical case narrative as an “epistemic genre.” I suggest that historians of knowledge (including medical knowledge) should draw a distinction between “epistemic” and “literary” genres, and that the medical case narrative belongs to the first group, that is, those kinds of texts that develop in tandem with scientific practices. I also argue that the history of the medical case narrative should be studied in a long-term perspective. In general, the focal point of the historiography on the medical case narrative has tended to gravitate around the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with only cursory attention to earlier periods and no attempt to reconstruct the long-term lineaments of the story. I believe that this modernist focus has a very serious flaw, as it ignores the presence of a vast literature of case collections in pre-modern medicine. I believe that we need to trace the history of the medical case narrative as a genre that evolved over a very long period of time, from antiquity to modern medicine. For this purpose, I adopt the approach that literary scholar Franco Moretti has called “distant reading,” that is, a focused attention to the long duration of a genre within a culture as well as its variations across cultures.

What do we see when we look at the long-term development of the medical case narrative? Distant reading suggests, at first sight, that the genre appeared in embryonic form in antiquity, with the Hippocratic Epidemics, but also that it disappeared for long periods of time, to emerge again, in new form and with new vitality, in the late Renaissance. Most interestingly, distant reading also suggests that the evolutionary dynamic of the case narrative was closely intertwined with that of two other fundamental epistemic genres, the recipe and the commentary. Here, I examine in particular the association between case and commentary.
Telling Cases: Writing against Genre in Medicine and Literature
Authors: Pethes Nicolas
Published: June 2014

Building on Gianna Pomata’s concept of “epistemic genre,” the article argues that case histories are a specific textform suited for medical as well as literary communication. But as an inherently cross-disciplinary mode of presenting individual biographies, case histories also work against the idea of “genre” as generalizing typologies both in medicine and aesthetics. Focusing on German literature between 1750 and 1850, the article highlights four aspects of medical case histories that account for the success of this “writing against genre” in literature: discovering reality, avoiding the general, narrating pathology, and calculating normality. As the concluding example of Adalbert Stifter’s novella My Great-Grandfather’s Notebook demonstrates, literary case histories thus challenge established views regarding the relationship between case narratives and the semantics of individuality by incorporating the serial structure of clinical practice.
“The Intimate Language of Friendship with Men”: Same-Sex Attraction in the Civil War Fiction of S. Weir Mitchell
Authors: Stiles Anne M.
Published: June 2014

Philadelphia neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) is best known for his pioneering research on phantom limb pain and his rest cure for nervous women. But he was also a novelist whose fiction tackled controversial topics such as homosexuality. This essay examines Mitchell’s novel Roland Blake (1886) in the context of nineteenth-century sexology. The novel features two Union Army soldiers, Roland Blake and Philip Francis, whose affectionate bond survives the Civil War and Blake’s marriage to Olivia Wynne. Mitchell’s positive depiction of these soldiers’ homoerotic bond contrasts with the negative view of lesbianism presented in the relationship between Olivia and her cousin, Octopia Darnell. This essay explores the reasons behind Mitchell’s sexual double standard, and speculates about Mitchell’s own sexual orientation.
De perversos, voyeurs y locos: hacia una fenomenología de la violencia en la narrativa de Evelio Rosero
Authors: Jiménez María Del Carmen Caña
Published: June 2014

Al hablar de la producción literaria contemporánea de Colombia, sin duda alguna, se ha convertido en un imperativo tratar el asunto de la violencia. Como temática, la violencia ha dado lugar a lo que comúnmente se ha llamado “novela de la violencia” y “novela sobre la violencia”. Durante las dos últimas décadas, la violencia, expresada en múltiples formas, ha seguido imperando en el panorama narrativo colombiano. Este ensayo aporta un grano de arena a las genealogías en torno a la producción cultural colombiana por medio de la propuesta de una nueva categoría estética. Esta nueva categoría estética articula taxonómicamente un discurso de la violencia que aparentemente ha perdido su conexión con el mundo real externo a la narrativa y emana de y/o penetra en los rincones más íntimos del ser. Propongo para ello el término “violencia fenomenológica”, forma de violencia cuyo máximo exponente es la producción novelística de Evelio Rosero. El presente estudio explora las diferentes manifestaciones de la violencia fenomenológica en Mateo solo, Papá es santo y sabio, Señor que no conoce la luna y En el lejero y toma Los ejércitos a modo de referente dentro de la genealogía narrativa de Rosero.
Discursos sobre la sensorialidad en el fin de siglo español: del krausismo a la ciencia experimental
Authors: Barbosa Sonsoles Hernández
Published: June 2014

Desde mediados del siglo XIX tanto el desarrollo de la psicología experimental como el de la fisiología sitúan el estudio de los sentidos en un espacio central, que desde estas disciplinas permeará otros aspectos de la cultura contemporánea. En el caso español, la cuestión de los sentidos suscita un interés creciente a partir de la década de 1870, con las Lecciones sumarias de psicología (1874, 1 a ed.; 1877, 2 a ed.) de Francisco Giner de los Ríos y los trabajos del médico Luis Simarro Lacabra, que recogen los avances de la psicología experimental europea, particularmente de Wilhelm Wundt. En este artículo nos centraremos en el análisis de estos discursos en torno a la sensorialidad surgidos en el fin de siglo español, que se desarrollarán con particular énfasis en el ámbito del pensamiento krausista y en el de la psicología experimental. Junto con la consideración de los sentidos como filtro epistemológico, nos interesará su asunción como mediadores de la experiencia estética así como las consecuencias que ello implica para la reflexión en torno al objeto artístico. Entre éstas podemos destacar la incorporación de una valoración puramente formal de la obra de arte que en su recepción estética converge con los presupuestos estéticos de la Einfühlung .
Vampires and Witches and Commandos, Oy Vey: Comic Book Appropriations of Lilith
Authors: Dennis Geoffrey , Dennis Avi S.
Published: June 2014

Recent scholarship has identified multiple levels of interplay between American Jews and sequential art stories (comics). Many comics are now widely understood to be artifacts of the evolving Jewish American experience; this interplay is understood to have grown out of the cultural history, sociology, and social-psychology of the Jews who created, produced, and consumed these comics. But relatively little research has been done on the appropriation and incorporation of Jewish Tradition (Heb. Mesorah ) in comics and how this incorporation mirrors the changing relationship of Jewish culture to American (predominantly Protestant) culture.

Using textual and visual criticism, supplemented by the selective application of Jewish studies, mythological studies, sociology, and feminist theory, the authors offer insight into an aspect of that appropriation by tracking a single figure from Jewish folklore that comic writers and artists have drawn on, again and again: Lilith, first wife of Adam, hypersexual transgressor, demon mother, infanticide, and evil personified. Lilith’s trajectory and revision through pulp visual narratives over the past forty years sees her evolve from the traditional demon harridan into a feminist antihero, a mother seeking redemption from her daughter, and, eventually, an American superhero teammate. Her literary-visual transformations offer a pop culture perspective on Jewish Tradition’s evolution from a despised to an accepted element in American culture. Moreover, the continuous hybridization of Lilith’s story with Christian motifs, classical mythology, contemporary issues, and American history is a marker of a larger rapid and distinctively American assimilation of Jewish Tradition into the American intellectual and imaginative canon.
Why is There No Jewish Surrealism?
Authors: Ofrat Gideon
Published: June 2014

In this seminal article, translated for the first time into English, Gideon Ofrat poses and answers the question, why is there a lack of true Surrealism in Palestinian-Israeli art and literature while all the other major trends of twentieth-century literature and art found echoes in Palestinian-Israeli culture. Ofrat contrasts Israeli views on bodies and letters, light and darkness, dream and reality, memory and frozen consciousness, redemptive history and the prison of memory, meaning and paradox, and hope and abject despair—all considered in the perspectives of biblical-rabbinic Judaism, surrealist writing and art, and the Holocaust. He concludes by contrasting Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion and Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross and Corpus Hypercubus .
Teaching about Jewishness in the Heartland
Authors: Klein Misha
Published: June 2014

Cultural anthropologist Misha Klein reflects on a Jewish Studies course, entitled Anthropology of Jews and Jewishness, taught at the University of Oklahoma. The recent explosion of interest in the anthropological study of Jews and Jewish cultures has occurred in large part because of the ways Jews provide a lens through which to examine core concepts and concerns within anthropology. As Klein conceives it, the course is an exploration of these core issues, including race, ethnicity, identity, kinship, migration, diaspora and transnationalism, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, foodways, language, national identity, and globalization. A sample syllabus is provided.
“Well At My Temple in Scarsdale …”: Teaching Beyond the “Heritage Student” in Three Institutions
Authors: Caplan Jennifer
Published: June 2014

Jennifer Caplan discusses teaching the Introduction to Jewish Studies course at three very different institutions and considers how she changed the course for different kinds of students, from “heritage” students to those from under-recruited populations. She examines the problem of the classroom as a confessional space where non-heritage learners might lose interest and shut down, and analyzes which aspects of Jewish culture and tradition and which readings are most appropriate for each class’s mix. Caplan answers fundamental questions such as Who are we as teachers? How do we teach? and What is the learning environment like? The article includes two sample syllabi.
The Early Boundaries of Jewish Studies
Authors: Brettler Marc Zvi
Published: June 2014

Marc Zvi Brettler examines the way the Bible is taught in Introduction to Judaism courses, and suggests that presenting the Bible in its final form as background for the development of Judaism is insufficient. Many aspects of modern Judaism are not scripturally based; moreover, Jewish scripture developed and evolved over time: canon formation was a process. Thus, teaching Judaism as if today's Bible always existed, was always authoritative, and was the only canon that existed is historically inaccurate. Among other advantages, a historical-critical approach assists students in understanding rabbinic texts, which become easier if students realize that the Torah is not a single, unified text, but a polyphonic one. The academic teaching of religion involves, or at least includes, teaching texts in their historical contexts, and each text should be open to all questions. Brettler also argues for the place of the New Testament in Introduction courses.
On the existence of mild solutions for a class of fractional differential equations with nonlocal conditions in the α-norm
Authors: Abbas Mohamed
Published: June 2014

This paper concerns the existence of mild solutions for some fractional Cauchy problem with nonlocal conditions in the α-norm. The linear part of the equations is assumed to generate an analytic compact bounded semigroup, and the nonlinear part satisfies some Lipschitz conditions with respect to the fractional power norm of the linear part. By using a fixed point theorem of Sadovskii, we establish some existence results which generalize ones in the case of fractional order derivative.
Existence and nonexistence results for a fourth-order discrete neumann boundary value problem
Authors: Liu Xia , Zhang Yuanbiao , Shi Haiping
Published: June 2014

In this paper, a fourth-order nonlinear difference equation is considered. By making use of the critical point theory, we establish various sets of sufficient conditions for the existence and nonexistence of solutions for Neumann boundary value problem and give some new results. Results obtained generalize and complement the existing ones.
Malfatti’s problem on the hyperbolic plane
Authors: Horváth Ákos
Published: June 2014

More than two centuries ago Malfatti (see [9]) raised and solved the following problem (the so-called Malfatti’s construction problem): Construct three circles into a triangle so that each of them touches the two others from outside moreover touches two sides of the triangle too. It is an interesting fact that nobody investigated this problem on the hyperbolic plane, while the case of the sphere was solved simultaneously with the Euclidean case. In order to compensate this shortage we solve the following exercise: Determine three cycles of the hyperbolic plane so that each of them touches the two others moreover touches two of three given cycles of the hyperbolic plane.
Recurrence relations and reliability measures in slash and skew-slash distributions
Authors: Mehrali Yaser , Asadi Majid , Hamedani Gholamhossein
Published: June 2014

In recent years, slash and skew slash distributions have been employed, as flexible models, in various fields. In this paper, we study several properties of these distributions in both univariate and multivariate cases. Some recurrence relations for the probability density functions are derived and the behavior of reliability measures, such as hazard rate and mean residual life, associated to these distributions are investigated.
Near-peer mentoring to complement faculty mentoring of first-year medical students in India
Authors: Singh Satendra , Singh Navjeevan , Dhaliwal Upreet
Published: June 2014

Purpose: The first year is stressful for new medical students who have to cope with curricular challenges, relocation issues, and separation from family. Mentoring reduces stress and facilitates adaptation. A program for faculty mentoring of first-semester students was initiated by the Medical Education Unit in 2009 at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Feedback after the first year revealed that mentees were reluctant to meet their mentors, some of whom were senior faculty. In the following year, student mentors (near-peers) were recruited to see if that would improve the rate and quality of contact between mentees and mentors. Methods: Volunteer faculty (n=52), near-peers (n=57), and new entrants (n=148) admitted in 2010 participated in the ratio of 1:1:3. The program aims were explained through an open house meeting, for reinforcement, and another meeting was conducted 5 months later. At year-end, a feedback questionnaire was administered (response rate: faculty, 28 [54%]; mentees, 74 [50%]). Results: Many respondent faculty (27, 96%) and mentees (65, 88%) believed that near-peer mentoring was useful. Compared to the preceding year, the proportion of meetings between faculty mentors and mentees increased from 4.0±5.2 to 7.4±8.8; mentees who reported benefit increased from 23/78 (33%) to 34/74 (46%). Benefits resulted from mentors’ and near-peers’ demonstration of concern/support/interaction/counseling (35, 47.3% mentees); 23 mentees (82%) wanted to become near-peers themselves. Conclusion: Near-peer mentoring supplements faculty mentoring of first-year medical students by increasing system effectiveness.
Integrative Genomic Analysis for the Discovery of Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Hicks Chindo , Koganti Tejaswi , Giri Shankar , Tekere Memory , Ramani Ritika , Sitthi-Amorn Jitsuda , Vijayakumar Srinivasan
Published: June 2014

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have achieved great success in identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, herein called genetic variants) and genes associated with risk of developing prostate cancer. However, GWAS do not typically link the genetic variants to the disease state or inform the broader context in which the genetic variants operate. Here, we present a novel integrative genomics approach that combines GWAS information with gene expression data to infer the causal association between gene expression and the disease and to identify the network states and biological pathways enriched for genetic variants. We identified gene regulatory networks and biological pathways enriched for genetic variants, including the prostate cancer, IGF-1, JAK2, androgen, and prolactin signaling pathways. The integration of GWAS information with gene expression data provides insights about the broader context in which genetic variants associated with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer operate.
Influence of Modularity and Regularity on Disparity of Atelostomata Sea Urchins
Authors: López-Sauceda Juan , Malda-Barrera Juan , Laguarda-Figueras Alfredo , Solís-Marín Francisco , Aragón José L.
Published: June 2014

A modularity approach is used to study disparity rates and evolvability of sea urchins belonging to the Atelostomata superorder. For this purpose, the pentameric sea urchin architecture is partitioned into modular spatial components and the interference between modules is quantified using areas and a measurement of the regularity of the spatial partitions. This information is used to account for the variability through time (disparity) and potential for morphological variation and evolution (evolvability) in holasteroid echinoids. We obtain that regular partitions of the space produce modules with high modular integrity, whereas irregular partitions produce low modular integrity; the former ones are related with high morphological disparity (facilitation hypothesis). Our analysis also suggests that a pentameric body plan with low regularity rates in Atelostomata reflects a stronger modular integration among modules than within modules, which could favors bilaterality against radial symmetry. Our approach constitutes a theoretical platform to define and quantify spatial organization in partitions of the space that can be related to modules in a morphological analysis.
When Best Care Takes a Back Seat to the Bottom Line
Authors: Leeman Jonathan E. , Han Zhaohui , Haas-Kogan Daphne A.
Published: August 2024

This Viewpoint discusses the clinical vs economic success of magnetic resonance imaging combined with linear accelerator technology and its impact on patients.
Recurrence of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer With Visceral Pleural Invasion
Authors: Altorki Nasser , Wang Xiaofei , Damman Bryce , Jones David R. , Wigle Dennis , Port Jeffrey , Conti Massimo , Ashrafi Ahmad S. , Liberman Moishe , Landreneau Rodney , Yasufuku Kazuhiro , Yang Stephen , Mitchell John D. , Keenan Robert , Bauer Thomas , Miller Daniel , Kozono David , Mentlick Jennifer , Vokes Everett , Stinchcombe Thomas E.
Published: August 2024

Importance

The randomized clinical trial Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 140503 showed that for patients with clinically staged T1N0 non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; ≤2 cm), sublobar resections were associated with similar oncological outcomes to those after lobar resection. The association of the extent of parenchymal resection with recurrence and survival in patients with tumors pathologically upstaged to T2 based on visceral pleural invasion (VPI) is controversial.

Objective

To determine survival and recurrence rates in patients with small peripheral pT2 NSCLC (≤2 cm) that was treated by either lobar or sublobar resection in CALGB 140503.

Design, Participants, and Setting

CALGB 140503, a randomized multicenter noninferiority trial, included 697 patients with small peripheral NSCLC that was clinically staged as T1N0. Enrollment was from June 2007 through March 2017 at 83 participating institutions, and after a median follow-up of 7 years, the primary outcome of disease-free survival after sublobar resection was noninferior to that after lobar resection.

Intervention

Lobar or sublobar resection.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Survival end points were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Hazard ratios and 95% CIs were estimated using stratified Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

Of 679 participants, 390 (57.4%) were female, and the median (range) age was 67.8 (37.8-89.7) years. Among 697 patients randomized, 566 (81.2%) had pT1 tumors (no VPI) and 113 (16.2%) had pT2 tumors (VPI). Five-year disease-free survival was 65.9% (95% CI, 61.9%-70.2%) in patients with pT1 compared with 53.3% (95% CI, 44.3%-64.1%) in patients with pT2 tumors (stratified log-rank: P = .02). Disease recurrence developed in 27.6% of patients with pT1 (locoregional only: 60 [10.8%]; distant only: 81 [14.6%]) and 41.6% of those with pT2 (locoregional only: 17 [15.0%]; distant only: 27 [23.9%]). Five-year recurrence-free survival was 73.1% (95% CI, 69.2%-77.1%) for pT1 tumors and 58.2% (95% CI, 49.2%-68.8%) for pT2 tumors (stratified log-rank: P = .01). There were no intergroup differences in disease-free or recurrence-free survival based on the extent of parenchymal resection.

Conclusions and Relevance

The results of this secondary analysis suggest that compared with patients with tumors without VPI, patients who had tumors with VPI had worse disease-free and recurrence-free survival and a higher rate of local and distant disease recurrence. These high rates of recurrence were independent of the extent of parenchymal resection, and these data support the inclusion of these patients in adjuvant therapy trials.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0049933
Association Between Achievement of Clinical Disease Control and Improvement in Patient‐Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis in the Phase 3 SELECT‐PsA 1 and 2 Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Kavanaugh Arthur , Mease Philip , Gossec Laure , Ranza Roberto , Tsuji Shigeyoshi , Douglas Kevin , Lane Michael , Lippe Ralph , Mittal Manish , Gao Tianming , Setty Arathi , Ciecinski Sandra , Aletaha Daniel , Nash Peter
Published: August 2024

Objective

We explored the relationship between achievement of clinical disease control and improvements in and normative values for patient‐reported outcomes (PROs), including quality of life (QoL) measures, in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods

This was a post hoc analysis of 104‐week data from the SELECT‐PsA 1 and 2 trials in adults with PsA and inadequate response to one or more conventional synthetic (SELECT‐PsA 1) or biologic (SELECT‐PsA 2) disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug. Patients were initially randomized to upadacitinib 15 mg once daily (QD) to placebo switched to upadacitinib 15 mg QD at week 24 or to adalimumab 40 mg every other week (SELECT‐PsA 1 only), and data were pooled across treatments and analyzed. We evaluated several clinical disease control measures (minimal disease activity [MDA]; very low disease activity [VLDA]; and low disease activity [LDA] and/or remission by Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis [DAPSA], Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity Score [PASDAS], and Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 [RAPID3]) and examined their associations with improvements and normative values for various PROs.

Results

A total of 1,069 and 317 patients were analyzed for SELECT‐PsA 1 and 2, respectively. In both studies, responders (patients who achieved MDA or VLDA, and DAPSA, PASDAS, and RAPID3 LDA or remission) at week 104 achieved more marked changes from baseline, and more responders achieved normative values in PROs compared with nonresponders (most nominal P < 0.0001). Furthermore, numerically larger proportions of responders achieved minimal clinically important differences across PROs compared with nonresponders in both studies. In addition, patients who achieved MDA or VLDA were more likely to achieve DAPSA, PASDAS, and RAPID3 LDA or remission (all nominal P < 0.0001) for upadacitinib 15 mg QD and when treatment arms were pooled.

Conclusion

Patients with PsA who achieve clinical disease control are more likely to achieve improvements and normative values in PROs and QoL measures, which reinforces disease control as a treatment target.
Rational Design of Engineered Bionic Periosteum for Dynamic Immunoinduction, Smart Bactericidal, and Efficient Bone Regeneration
Authors: Yu Lei , Qiao Yusen , Ge Gaoran , Chen Miao , Yang Peng , Li Wenhao , Qin Yi , Xia Wenyu , Zhu Chen , Pan Guoqing , Zhang Po , Yang Huilin , Wang Chen , Bai Jiaxiang , Geng Dechun
Published: August 2024

Bone defects arising from trauma and tumors present a potential risk of infection and compromise host immune function. Within a dysfunctional microenvironment, the uncontrolled breeding of bacteria and persistent chronic inflammation exacerbate bone loss, impeding bone regeneration and repair. Macrophages function as specialized phagocytes within the immune microenvironment and the orchestrated role of distinct phenotypes during regeneration has attracted significant attention. The M1 phenotype exhibits antimicrobial activities to eliminate bacterial threats, while the M2 phenotype secretes anti‐inflammatory mediators to fine‐tune the immune microenvironment. Here, a biphasic delivery system consisting of a photothermal agent (graphene oxide, GO) coated and an immune modulator (urolithin A, UA) encapsulated in coaxial electrospun nanofibers with a dynamic regulation function of macrophage behavior is designed. It is observed that the GO coating exhibited remarkable photothermal performance within the near‐infrared window, affecting the phagocytic activity of macrophage subsets in an integrin‐RhoA‐ROCK1 dependent manner. The sustained release of UA from the core layer induced a phenotypic switch by downregulating TNF signaling and upregulating TGF signaling. This system also demonstrated a promotion of bone regeneration in vivo. Overall, this strategy achieved sequential regulation of macrophage phenotypes, effectively preventing infection and fostering bone tissue regeneration.
An Ultrahydrating Polymer that Protects Protein Therapeutics and RNA‐Lipid Nanoparticles Against Freezing, Heat and Lyophilization Stress
Authors: Herrmann Anna , Abbina Srinivas , Bathula Nuthan Vikas , Nouri Peyman Malek Mohammadi , Chafeeva Irina , Constantinescu Iren , Abbasi Emaan , Abbasi Usama , Drayton Matthew , Luo Haiming Daniel , Moon Haisle , Gill Arshdeep , Xi Yu , Bertram Allan K. , Du Caigan , Haag Rainer , Blakney Anna K. , Kizhakkedathu Jayachandran N.
Published: August 2024

RNA and protein‐based therapeutics constitute almost half of recent drug approvals and receive considerable attention within biotechnology industries. Ensuring their stability and longevity in the context of heat, freezing, and lyophilization processes are paramount to a successful deployment. However, the advancement of formulations designed to achieve this goal is still in its nascent phase. To address these challenges, a new class of semi‐dendritic hydrophilic polymer with extended linear units is reported, which showcase very high hydration. These novel polymers demonstrated exceptional efficacy in preserving messenger RNA‐ (mRNA‐) and self‐amplifying RNA‐ (saRNA‐) lipid nanoparticles during freezing and lyophilization. Additionally, they have been found to protect therapeutic proteins against external stressors such as freezing, heat, and lyophilization. These polymers are non‐toxic, which enables their utilization at high concentrations and eliminates the requirement for removal prior to administration. It is found that their unique topology contributes to the high hydration. These excipients are anticipated to create new prospects in biotechnology, food science, and cryopreservation.
Multiresponsive Ionic Conductive Alginate/Gelatin Organohydrogels with Tunable Functions
Authors: Tordi Pietro , Tamayo Adrián , Jeong Yeonsu , Bonini Massimo , Samorì Paolo
Published: August 2024

Materials combining stretchability and sensitivity to external stimuli are key for wearable electronics applications to enable the emergence of disruptive technologies in biosensing, health monitoring, photodetection and human motion recognition. Conductive organohydrogels have gained significant attention due to their high sensitivity and cost‐effective preparation. Biopolymers like gelatin and alginate offer unique opportunities for developing responsive wearable devices, owing to their biocompatibility and sensitivity toward environmental factors. Here sustainable bio‐inspired method is presented to produce alginategelatin organohydrogels combining transparency in the visible range, ionic conductivity, high stretchability, and multiresponsiveness. The controlled alginate's crosslinking with various metal cations like Mn2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, and Zr4+ enables modulating ionic conductivity as well as finely tuning the material's thermal and mechanical properties. These organohydrogels show responsiveness to temperature (from 10 to 50 degrees, with a sensitivity of 0.19 K−1), relative humidity (from 20 to 80%, with a sensitivity of 0.022 RH(%)−1), and strain (gauge factor >1.6), enabling real‐time monitoring of environmental and physiological parameters. Remarkably, they also exhibit photoresponsivity of 9.2 µA W−1 under visible light, a feature rarely reported in literature. The ease of tuning responsiveness to the chosen stimuli and the high sensitivities open perspectives for applying these materials as wearable stretchable sensors.
A historical syndemic? The impact of synergistic epidemics of measles and scarlet fever on life expectancy in Victoria, Australia (1860s–1870s)
Authors: Battles Heather T. , Roberts Phillip M.
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To explore whether synergistic epidemics of measles and scarlet fever in 1860s–1870s Victoria, Australia could be characterized as syndemics, we apply the methods of Sawchuk, Tripp, and Samakaroon (Social Science & Medicine 2022, 295, 112956) to quantify the impact of each of the two major co‐occurring epidemic events (1867, 1875) in terms of life expectancy (LE) changes. Sawchuk et al. posit the presence of a harvesting effect, indicated by a statistically significant increase in LE in the immediate post‐epidemic “fallow period”, as a criterion for identification of a historical syndemic. We test an alternate hypothesis that the same methods can identify a short‐term scarring effect.

Materials and Methods

Using annual age‐ and cause‐specific death statistics and census population data, we constructed abridged period life tables for baseline period, potential syndemic year, and “fallow” year for each of the two periods (1860s and 1870s). We compared LE at birth using Z‐tests. We decomposed age‐cause‐specific mortality according to Arriaga's method to identify age—and cause‐specific contributions to LE change.

Results

LE was significantly lower than baseline (1864–1865) in 1867 but not in the “fallow” year (1869). LE in 1875 and the 1878 “fallow” year were both significantly below baseline (1871–1873). Age‐cause‐specific decomposition showed similar patterns for 1867 and 1875 for measles and scarlet fever combined effects.

Discussion

Evidence of a scarring effect following the 1875 measles/scarlet fever combined peak supports the interpretation of this event as a syndemic. We suggest the short‐term scarring effect can be a useful additional criterion for identifying historical syndemics.
Characterization of white matter hyperintensities in Down syndrome
Authors: Morcillo‐Nieto Alejandra O. , Zsadanyi Sara E. , Arriola‐Infante Jose E. , Carmona‐Iragui Maria , Montal Victor , Pegueroles Jordi , Aranha Mateus Rozalem , Vaqué‐Alcázar Lídia , Padilla Concepción , Benejam Bessy , Videla Laura , Barroeta Isabel , Fernandez Susana , Altuna Miren , Giménez Sandra , González‐Ortiz Sofía , Bargalló Núria , Ribas Laia , Arranz Javier , Torres Soraya , Iulita Maria Florencia , Belbin Olivia , Camacho Valle , Alcolea Daniel , Lleó Alberto , Fortea Juan , Bejanin Alexandre
Published: August 2024

INTRODUCTION

In Down syndrome (DS), white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are highly prevalent, yet their topography and association with sociodemographic data and Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers remain largely unexplored.

METHODS

In 261 DS adults and 131 euploid controls, fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging scans were segmented and WMHs were extracted in concentric white matter layers and lobar regions. We tested associations with AD clinical stages, sociodemographic data, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers, and gray matter (GM) volume.

RESULTS

In DS, total WMHs arose at age 43 and showed stronger associations with age than in controls. WMH volume increased along the AD continuum, particularly in periventricular regions, and frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. Associations were found with CSF biomarkers and temporo‐parietal GM volumes.

DISCUSSION

WMHs increase 10 years before AD symptom onset in DS and are closely linked with AD biomarkers and neurodegeneration. This suggests a direct connection to AD pathophysiology, independent of vascular risks.

Highlights

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) increased 10 years before Alzheimer's disease symptom onset in Down syndrome (DS).

WMHs were strongly associated in DS with the neurofilament light chain biomarker.

WMHs were more associated in DS with gray matter volume in parieto‐temporal areas.
MOFite: A High‐Density Lithiophilic and Scalable Metal–Organic Framework Anode for Rechargeable Lithium‐Ion Battery
Authors: Gaber Safa , Mohammed Abdul Khayum , Javaregowda Bharathkumar H. , Martínez José Ignacio , Sánchez Pilar Pena , Gándara Felipe , Krishnamoorthy Kothandam , Shetty Dinesh
Published: August 2024

Developing an anode material that has better performance efficiency than commercial graphite while keeping the features of economic scalability and environmental safety is highly desirable yet challenging. MOFs are a promising addition to the ongoing efforts, however, the relatively poor performance, chemical instability, and large‐scale economic production of efficiency‐proven pristine MOFs restrict their utility in real‐life energy storage applications. Furthermore, hierarchical porosity for lucid mass diffusion, high‐density lithiophilic sites are some of the structural parameters for improving the electrode performance. Herein, we have demonstrated the potential of economically scalable salicylaldehydate 3D‐conjugated‐MOF (Fe−Tp) as a high‐performance anode in Li‐ion batteries: the anode‐specific capacity achieved up to 1447 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 89 % of cyclic stability after 500 cycles at 1.0 A g−1 for pristine MOF. More importantly, incorporating 10 % Fe−Tp doping in commercial graphite (MOFite) significantly enhanced lithium storage, doubling capacity after 400 cycles. It signifies the potential practical utility of Fe−Tp as a performance booster for commercial anode material.
Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Euphordraculoate A and Pedrolide
Authors: Tu Canhui , Yang Yunlong , Jiang Yuzhi , Hao Yan , Wang Zhen , Fu Shaomin , Qin Song , Liu Bo
Published: August 2024

Here we report the asymmetric total syntheses of two rearranged tigliane diterpenoids, euphordraculoate A and pedrolide. A reductive dihydroxylation cascade and Nazarov cyclization were performed to generate euphordraculoate A, which was subjected to a cascade of Eu‐promoted dienyl enolization, intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction and enol‐ketone tautomerization to afford pedrolide, a pathway consistent with our proposal for the biogenesis of pedrolide.
Piezo‐catalysis Mechanism Elucidation by Tracking Oxygen Reduction to Hydrogen Peroxide with In situ EPR Spectroscopy
Authors: He Jie , Li Zhi , Feng Pengju , Lu Gang , Ding Tengda , Chen Li , Duan Xiaoguang , Zhu Mingshan
Published: August 2024

For piezoelectric catalysis, the catalytic mechanism is a topic of great controversy, with debates centered around whether it belongs to the energy band theory or the screening charge effect which are similar to mechanisms of photocatalysis and electrochemical catalysis, respectively. Due to the formation of different intermediate active‐species during two‐electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) via electro‐ and photo‐catalysis, the key to solving this problem is precisely monitoring the active species involved in ORR during electro‐, photo‐, and piezo‐catalysis under identical condition. Here, a semiconductor material, BiOBr with abundant oxygen vacancies (BOB‐OV) was found remarkable catalytic activity in H2O2 production by all three catalytic methods. By employing in situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the H2O2 evolution pathway through piezo‐catalysis over BOB‐OV was monitored, which showed a similar reaction pathway to that observed in photo‐catalytic process. This finding represents solid evidence supporting the notion that piezo‐catalytic mechanism of ORR is more inclined towards photo‐catalysis rather than electro‐catalysis. Significantly, this exploratory conclusion provides insight to deepen our understanding of piezo‐catalysis.
Artificial Polymerizations in Living Organisms for Biomedical Applications
Authors: Chen Yun , Tan Brynne Shu Ni , Cheng Yu , Zhao Yanli
Published: August 2024

Within living organisms, numerous nanomachines are constantly involved in complex polymerization processes, generating a diverse array of biomacromolecules for maintaining biological activities. Transporting artificial polymerizations from lab settings into biological contexts has expanded opportunities for understanding and managing biological events, creating novel cellular compartments, and introducing new functionalities. This review summarizes the recent advancements in artificial polymerizations, including those responding to external stimuli, internal environmental factors, and those that polymerize spontaneously. More importantly, the cutting‐edge biomedical application scenarios of artificial polymerization, notably in safeguarding cells, modulating biological events, improving diagnostic performance, and facilitating therapeutic efficacy are highlighted. Finally, this review outlines the key challenges and technological obstacles that remain for polymerizations in biological organisms, as well as offers insights into potential directions for advancing their practical applications and clinical trials.
Aldehyde End‐Capped Degradable Polyethylenes From Hydrogen‐Controlled Ethylene/CO Copolymerization
Authors: Song Chuang , Yang Dian , Wang Chaoqun , Tang Zhenxin , Long Yingyun , Zhang Yuxing , Jian Zhongbao
Published: August 2024

To access degradable polyolefin plastic, non‐alternating copolymerization of ethylene (E) and carbon monoxide (CO) for producing polyethylene (PE) with in‐chain ketones is particularly appealing; however, it still presents significant challenges such as molecular weight modulation (hydrogen response) and chain endgroup control (functional terminal). In this study, we achieved hydrogen‐controlled E/CO non‐alternating copolymerization using late transition metal catalysts. This process results in linear PEs containing the desired non‐alternating in‐chain keto groups (1.0–9.3 mol %) and with tunable molecular weights ranging from 43 to 195 kDa. In this reaction, H2 serves as a chain transfer agent, modulating the polymer's molecular weight, forming unique aldehyde endgroups and eliminating usual olefinic endgroups; CO undergoes non‐alternating insertion into the PE chain, resulting in a strictly non‐alternating structure (>99 %) for the keto‐PE. The dispersed incorporation of in‐chain keto groups retains bulk properties of PE and makes PE susceptible to photodegradation, which produces significantly lower molecular weight polymers and oligomers with unambiguous vinyl and acetyl terminals.
Ambient Synthesis of Vanadium‐Based Prussian Blue Analogues Nanocubes for High‐Performance and Durable Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries with Eutectic Electrolytes
Authors: Shi Yuxin , Yang Biao , Song Gongjing , Chen Zhidong , Shakouri Mohsen , Zhou Wenfeng , Zhang Xiaoxing , Yuan Guoqiang , Pang Huan
Published: August 2024

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) have been widely studied in aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs) due to the characteristics of large specific surface area, open aperture, and straightforward synthesis. In this work, vanadium‐based PBA nanocubes were firstly prepared using a mild in situ conversion strategy at room temperature without the protection of noble gas. Benefiting from the multiple‐redox active sites of V3+/V4+, V4+/V5+, and Fe2+/Fe3+, the cathode exhibited an excellent discharge specific capacity of 200 mAh g−1 in AZIBs, which is much higher than those of other metal‐based PBAs nanocubes. To further improve the long‐term cycling stability of the V‐PBA cathode, a high concentration water‐in‐salt electrolyte (4.5 M ZnSO4+3 M Zn(OTf)2), and a water‐based eutectic electrolyte (5.55 M glucose+3 M Zn(OTf)2) were designed to successfully inhibit the dissolution of vanadium and improve the deposition of Zn2+ onto the zinc anode. More importantly, the assembled AZIBs maintained 55 % of their highest discharge specific capacity even after 10000 cycles at 10 A g−1 with superior rate capability. This study provides a new strategy for the preparation of pure PBA nanostructures and a new direction for enhancing the long‐term cycling stability of PBA‐based AZIBs at high current densities for industrialization prospects.
Metal‐Ligand Bonds Based Reprogrammable and Re‐Processable Supramolecular Liquid Crystal Elastomer Network
Authors: Zhou Xiaorui , Jin Binjie , Zhu Zhan , Wu Jingjun , Zhao Qian , Chen Guancong
Published: August 2024

Dynamic covalent bonds endow liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) with network rearrangeability, facilitating the fixation of mesogen alignment induced by external forces and enabling reversible actuation. In comparison, the bond exchange of supramolecular interactions is typically too significant to stably maintain the programmed alignment, particularly under intensified external stimuli. Nevertheless, remaking and recycling of supramolecular interaction‐based polymer networks are more accessible than those based on dynamic covalent bonds, as the latter are difficult to completely dissociate. Thus, preparing an LCE that possesses both supramolecular‐like exchangeability and covalent bond‐level stability remains a significant challenge. In this work, we addressed this issue by employing metal‐ligand bonds as the crosslinking points of LCE networks. As such, mesogen alignment can be repeatedly encoded through metal‐ligand bond exchange and stably maintained after programming, since the bond exchange rate is sufficiently slow when the programming and actuation temperatures are below the bond dissociation temperature. More importantly, the metal‐ligand bonds can be completely dissociated at high temperatures, allowing the LCE network to be dissolved in a solvent and reshaped into desired geometries via solution casting. Building on these properties, our LCEs can be fabricated into versatile actuators, such as reversible folding origami, artificial muscles, and soft robotics.
Synthesis of Rod‐Like Sb2Se3@MWCNT as Conductive‐Additive Free Anode for Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Jung Taejung , Jin Youngho , Ha Moon Joon , Seong Honggyu , Kim Geongil , Yoo Hyerin , Lee Seunghui , Kwon Seung‐Ryong , Kuk Kim Sung , Choi Jaewon
Published: August 2024

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising electrode material for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity. However, volume expansion during sodiation/desodiation and the low conductivity of Sb2Se3 reduce the electrochemical performance. Herein, we synthesized Sb2Se3 nanorods (NRs) and combined them with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using one‐step composite process to address these issues. MWCNTs can accommodate volume expansion and provide high conductivity. The fabricated Sb2Se3 NRs@MWCNT electrode exhibits improved cycle performance and cyclic stability without additional conductive carbons. The Sb2Se3 NRs@MWCNT electrode showed an enhanced specific capacity of 440 mAhg−1 at a current density of 0.1 Ag−1, compared to 220 mAhg−1 for the Sb2Se3 NRs electrode. Additionally, it exhibited good stability at high current density. The in‐situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) were used to estimate the electrochemical properties and kinetics of Sb2Se3 NRs@MWCNT. These results showed that Sb2Se3 NRs@MWCNT have the potential as a conductive‐free anode material in SIBs.