bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of systemic inflammatory profiles in COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia patients: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Ibáñez-Prada Elsa D. , Fish Matthew , Fuentes Yuli V. , Bustos Ingrid G. , Serrano-Mayorga Cristian C. , Lozada Julian , Rynne Jennifer , Jennings Aislinn , Crispin Ana M. , Santos Ana Maria , Londoño John , Shankar-Hari Manu , Reyes Luis Felipe
Published: February 2023

Background

Inflammatory responses contribute to tissue damage in COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Although predictive values of different inflammatory biomarkers have been reported in both, similarities and differences of inflammatory profiles between these conditions remain uncertain. Therefore, we aimed to determine the similarities and differences of the inflammatory profiles between COVID-19 and CAP, and their association with clinical outcomes.

Methods

We report a prospective observational cohort study; conducted in a reference hospital in Latin America. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia and CAP were included. Multiplex (Luminex) cytokine assays were used to measure the plasma concentration of 14 cytokines at hospital admission. After comparing similarities and differences in the inflammatory profile between COVID-19 and CAP patients, an unsupervised classification method (i.e., hierarchical clustering) was used to identify subpopulations within COVID-19 and CAP patients.

Results

A total of 160 patients were included, 62.5% were diagnosed with COVID-19 (100/160), and 37.5% with CAP (60/160). Using the hierarchical clustering, COVID-19 and CAP patients were divided based on its inflammatory profile: pauci, moderate, and hyper-inflammatory immune response. COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory subpopulation had the highest mortality. COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory subpopulation, compared to pauci-inflammatory, had higher levels of IL-10 (median [IQR] 61.4 [42.0–109.4] vs 13.0 [5.0–24.9], P: < 0.001), IL-6 (48.1 [22.3–82.6] vs 9.1 [0.1–30.4], P: < 0.001), among others. Hyper-inflammatory vs pauci-inflammatory CAP patients were characterized by elevation of IFN2 (48.8 [29.7–110.5] vs 3.0 [1.7–10.3], P: < 0.001), TNFα (36.3 [24.8–53.4] vs 13.1 [11.3–16.9], P: < 0.001), among others. Hyper-inflammatory subpopulations in COVID-19 and CAP compared to the corresponding pauci-inflammatory subpopulations had higher MCP-1.

Conclusions

Our data highlights three distinct subpopulations in COVID-19 and CAP, with differences in inflammatory marker profiles and risks of adverse clinical outcomes.

Trial registration: This is a prospective study, therefore no health care intervention were applied to participants and trial registration is not applicable.
Preoperative serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is an independent prognostic factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy
Authors: Cui Fan , Zhou Huiyu , Lv Dingyang , Wen Jie , Gong Qian , Rong Yi , Kang Yinbo , Jia Mohan , Shuang Weibing
Published: February 2023

Background

Little is known about the association between the preoperative low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after nephrectomy, and its prognostic value needs to be elucidated.

Methods

The clinical and follow-up data of 737 RCC patients who underwent nephrectomy were retrospectively analyzed. The optimal cut-off LDL-C level was determined using X-tile, and then patients were divided into low and high LDL-C groups. The association between LDL-C levels and survival of RCC patients was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.

Results

The optimal cut-off LDL-C level was 1.93 mmol/L, and patients were divided into the low (≤ 1.93 mmol/L) and high LDL-C (> 1.93 mmol/L) groups. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients in the low LDL-C group had significantly shorter overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) than those in the high LDL-C group (P = 0.001, P = 0.001, and P = 0.003, respectively). The COX univariate analysis showed that the preoperative LDL-C level was closely associated with OS, CSS, and RFS in RCC patients (P = 0.002, P = 0.003, and P = 0.005, respectively). The multivariate analysis showed that the preoperative LDL-C level was an independent factor for predicting survival (OS, CSS and RFS) in RCC patients after nephrectomy. The low preoperative LDL-C levels predicted worse OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.337; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.192–4.581; P = 0.013), CSS (HR: 3.347; 95% CI: 1.515–7.392; P = 0.003), and RFS (HR: 2.207; 95% CI: 1.178–4.132; P = 0.013).

Conclusions

The preoperative LDL-C level is an independent factor for the prognosis of RCC patients after nephrectomy, and low preoperative LDL-C levels predict worse survival (OS, CSS, and RFS).
CT-determined sarcopenia is associated with neutropenia in patients undergoing hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer
Authors: Jiang Wei , Zhan Wenli , He Fangxun , Wu Xiaolin , Wu Jing , Xu Xiangshang , Cao Zhixin
Published: February 2023

Background

With better patient selection and the increasing experience in patients undergoing hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) combined surgery, the rate of severe postoperative complications and mortality decreased significantly. However, leukopenia and neutropenia were still a particular concern, and their relation to sarcopenia was not clarified.

Methods

Data of consecutive patients who underwent HIPEC for gastrointestinal cancer were collected and analyzed retrospectively between September 2020 and August 2022. Sarcopenia was assessed using psoas muscle index (PMI) at the L3 level on preoperative computed tomography (CT).

Results

Among 103 patients enrolled, 37 (35.9%) were classified as sarcopenic. Most leukopenia and neutropenia occurred during the hospital leaving period after HIPEC and surgery. Before the first time of postoperative chemotherapy, the blood tests revealed 11 (29.73%) and 6 (9.09%) patients were diagnosed with neutropenia in sarcopenia and no sarcopenia groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed sarcopenia was independently associated with the increased risk of neutropenia (OR 5.58, 95% CI 1.70–18.29, p = 0.005). An incremental albumin level was protective against the occurrence of leukopenia and neutropenia.

Conclusions

Sarcopenia and low albumin level were significantly associated with an increased rate of delayed neutropenia after HIPEC in that disease setting and could be the preoperative risk predictors.
PET/CT standardized uptake value and EGFR expression predicts treatment failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Fei Zhaodong , Xu Ting , Hong Huiling , Xu Yiying , Chen Jiawei , Qiu Xiufang , Ding Jianming , Huang Chaoxiong , Li Li , Liu Jing , Chen Chuanben
Published: February 2023

Objective

This study inventively combines epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression of the primary lesion and standardized uptake value (SUV) of positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) to predict the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study aimed to evaluate the predictive efficacy of maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) and EGFR for treatment failure in patients with NPC.

Methods

This retrospective study reviewed the results of EGFR expression and pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT of 313 patients with NPC. Time-dependent receiver operator characteristics was used for analyzing results and selecting the optimal cutoff values. Cox regression was used to screen out multiple risk factors. Cumulative survival rate was calculated by Kaplan–Meier.

Results

The selected cutoff value of SUVmax-T was 8.5. The patients were categorized into four groups according to EGFR expression and SUVmax-T. There were significant differences in the 3-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) (p = 0.0083), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) (p = 0.0077), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) (p = 0.013), and progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.0018) among the four groups. Patients in the EGFR-positive and SUVmax-T > 8.5 group had the worst survival, while patients in the EGFR-negative and SUVmax-T ≤ 8.5 group had the best prognosis. Subsequently, patients with only positive EGFR expression or high SUVmax-T were classified as the middle-risk group. There were also a significant difference in 3-year overall survival among the three risk groups (p = 0.034). SUVmax-T was associated with regional recurrence-free survival and LRRFS in multivariate analysis, whereas EGFR was an independent prognostic factor for LRRFS, DMFS, and PFS.

Conclusion

The combination of SUVmax-T and EGFR expression can refine prognosis and indicate clinical therapy.
Osteogenic effects of rapamycin on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via inducing autophagy
Authors: Xing Yifeng , Liu Chaowei , zhou Lin , Li Yan , Wu Dong
Published: February 2023

Background

While autophagy is essential for stem cells’ self-renewal and differentiation, its effect on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between autophagy and osteogenic differentiation using rapamycin (RAPA), a classical autophagy agonist with osteo-regulatory effects.

Methods

Rat BMSC’s autophagy was analyzed after osteoinduction (0, 7, 14, and 21 d) by western blotting, immunofluorescence, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In addition, we evaluated osteogenic differentiation using alizarin red staining, alkaline phosphatase assays, and RT-qPCR/Western blotting quantification of bone sialoprotein, type 1 collagen, alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, and Runt-related transcription factor 2 mRNA and protein levels.

Results

The BMSC’s basal autophagy level gradually decreased during osteogenic differentiation with a decrease in BECN1 level and the lipidated (LC3-II) to unlipidated (LC3-I) microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 ratio and an increase in the expression of selective autophagic target p62. In contrast, it increased with increasing RAPA concentration. Furthermore, while 2 nM RAPA promoted BMSC osteogenic differentiation on days 7 and 14, 5 nM RAPA inhibited osteogenesis on days 14 and 21. Inhibition of autophagy by the inhibitor 3-methyladenine could impair RAPA’s osteogenesis-enhancing effect on BMSCs.

Conclusions

The BMSC’s basal autophagy level decreased over time during osteogenic differentiation. However, an appropriate RAPA concentration promoted BMSC osteogenic differentiation via autophagy activation.
Vitamin D status in healthy Italian school-age children: a single-center cross-sectional study
Authors: Galeazzi Tiziana , Quattrini Sara , Pjetraj Dorina , Gatti Simona , Monachesi Chiara , Franceschini Elisa , Marinelli Luisita , Catassi Giulia N. , Lionetti Elena , Catassi Carlo
Published: February 2023

Background

Vitamin D is involved in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism, although its extra-skeletal actions are also well-known. Low serum 25(OH)D levels are common both in adults and children worldwide.

Methods

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the distribution of 25(OH)D levels in a cohort of healthy Italian school-age children, aged 5–10 years, in relationship to determinants of vitamin D deficiency such as season, BMI, gender, age and ethnicity.

Results

The mean serum 25(OH) D level was 28.2 ng/mL; the prevalence of 25(OH)D sufficiency (> 30 ng/mL), insufficiency (20–30 ng/mL), deficiency (10–20 ng/mL) and severe deficiency (< 10 ng/mL) was 36%, 37%, 21% and 6% of the study-group population, respectively. The lower serum 25(OH)D values were observed during winter (21.6 ng/mL) and spring (22.9 ng/mL), as compared to summer (46.7 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). Higher BMI z-scores were associated with lower 25(OH)D level while no statistical difference was observed as related to gender and age groups.

Conclusions

Healthy Italian schoolchildren show low 25(OH)D levels, particularly during winter and spring time. Seasonality, ethnicity and overweight/obesity were confirmed to influence the vitamin D status, thus indicating the need for effective initiatives to support adequate vitamin D status in this population group.
Knockdown of circ_0006872 alleviates CSE-induced human bronchial epithelial cells injury in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Wang Jieqiong , Li Zegeng , Zheng Lili , Tong Jiabing , Wang Chuanbo
Published: February 2023

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to be related to the initiation and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by affecting the function of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs). Here, we aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of circ_0006872 in regulating COPD process using cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced 16HBEC in vitro. The results showed that circ_0006872 was increased in smokers without or with COPD, especially in smokers with COPD. Also, its expression was dose-dependently up-regulated by CSE exposure in 16HBECs. Functionally, circ_0006872 knockdown dramatically attenuated CSE-evoked proliferation arrest, apoptosis, inflammatory response and oxidative stress in 16HBECs. Mechanistically, circ_0006872/miR-485-3p/cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) formed a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. CDKN1B was increased and miR-485-3p was decreased in COPD patients and CSE-induced 16HBECs. MiR-485-3p overexpression or CDKN1B knockdown protected 16HBEC against CSE-induced 16HBEC injury mentioned above. Moreover, rescue experiments showed that circ_0006872 regulated CSE-induced 16HBEC injury via miR-485-3p/CDKN1B axis. Circ_0006872 silencing protected against CSE-induced bronchial epithelial cell injury via miR-485-3p/CDKN1B axis, suggesting the potential application of circ_0006872 in preventing cigarette smoke-induced COPD.
Examining the utility of a photorealistic virtual ear in otologic education
Authors: Shin Dongho , Batista Arthur V. , Bell Christopher M. , Koonar Ella R. M. , Chen Joseph M. , Chan Sonny , Dort Joseph C. , Lui Justin T.
Published: February 2023

Background

Otolaryngology–head and neck surgical (OHNS) trainees’ operating exposure is supplemented by a combination of didactic teaching, textbook reading, and cadaveric dissections. Conventional teaching, however, may not adequately equip trainees with an understanding of complex visuospatial relationships of the middle ear. Both face and content validation were assessed of a novel three-dimensional (3D) photorealistic virtual ear simulation tool underwent face and content validation as an educational tool for OHNS trainees.

Methods

A three-dimensional mesh reconstruction of open access imaging was generated using geometric modeling, which underwent global illumination, subsurface scattering, and texturing to create photorealistic virtual reality (VR) ear models were created from open access imaging and comiled into a educational platform. This was compiled into an educational VR platform which was explored to validate the face and content validity questionnaires in a prospective manner. OHNS post-graduate trainees were recruited from University of Toronto and University of Calgary OHNS programs. Participation was on a voluntary basis.

Results

Total of 23 OHNS post-graduate trainees from the two universities were included in this study. The mean comfort level of otologic anatomy was rated 4.8 (± 2.2) out of 10. Senior residents possessed more otologic surgical experience ( P < 0.001) and higher average comfort when compared to junior residents [6.7 (± 0.7) vs. 3.6 (± 1.9); P = 0.001]. Face and content validities were achieved in all respective domains with no significant difference between the two groups. Overall, respondents believed OtoVIS was a useful tool to learn otologic anatomy with a median score of 10.0 (8.3–10.0) and strongly agreed that OtoVIS should be added to OHNS training with a score of 10.0 (9.3–10.0).

Conclusions

OtoVIS achieved both face and content validity as a photorealistic VR otologic simulator for teaching otologic anatomy in the postgraduate setting. As an immersive learning tool, it may supplement trainees’ understanding and residents endorsed its use.

Graphical Abstract
Outcomes and complications of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair with pars plana vitrectomy in young adults
Authors: Kasetty Venkatkrish M. , Aye Jennifer , Patel Nish , Tripathi Nitika , Hessburg Thomas , Kumar Nitin , Desai Uday R. , Hamad Abdualrahman E.
Published: February 2023

Background

Scleral buckling has been the standard for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair in young patients given the typical lack of posterior vitreous detachment, phakic status, and lower risk of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. In older patients, pars plana vitrectomy alone is typically used for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair. We report the outcomes and complications of pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in young eyes.

Methods

Retrospective, single-center cohort study. Medical records of patients between 15 to 45 years of age undergoing primary pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair between 2010 and 2020 were carefully reviewed. All analyses were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis tests for numeric covariates between age groups.

Results

Eyes were stratified by age: 15–24 (group 1, n = 10), 25–34 (group 2, n = 14), and 35–45 (group 3, n = 38). The average number of surgeries were 1.9, 1.4, and 1.1 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p = 0.004). Single surgery success rates were 50%, 64%, and 92% in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p = 0.005). Final reattachment rates were 80%, 93%, 100% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p = 0.568). Proliferative vitreoretinopathy developed in 50%, 7%, and 8% of eyes in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

While the final reattachment rates were excellent in all groups, the higher rates of proliferative vitreoretinopathy and lower single surgery success rate in younger patients may suggest that primary pars plana vitrectomy may not be the optimal repair method in these age groups.
Efficacy of endophytic wild strains of entomopathogenic fungi against the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato plants
Authors: Giannoulakis Euaggelos , Mantzoukas Spiridon , Lagogiannis Ioannis , Dervisoglou Sophia , Perdikis Dionysios
Published: February 2023

Background

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a vegetable of great economic value. The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a serious pest of tomato. Its control is difficult due to the protection of the larvae in the galleries they create its fast resistance development too many active ingredients and due to its many generations per year. Many entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been reported as endophytes for various plant pathogens and pests. In this study, the endophyticity of Beauveria bassiana Balsamo (Vuillemin) (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) isolated from the soils of Crete against larvae of T. absoluta in tomato plants was examined.

Results

As a result, the EPF isolates of Crete decreased both the distance of larval travel from the egg to the opening of the gallery and the weight of the T. absoluta larvae, but also colonized the tomato plants. The entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from tomatoes again. Mycelium began to appear 7 days later and had developed completely after 12 days at 25 ± 2 °C and in 95% RH. Interestingly, the period between the hatched egg and the emerged first instar T. absoluta larvae was affected significantly by the different treatments, but not by "repetition" or "plant". Interestingly, the distance was further significantly shortened after treatment with M. anisopliae isolate Crete and B. bassiana isolate Crete and the commercial strain. The development period of T. absoluta larvae varied significantly among the treatments, but not by repetition in time or plant. The treatments caused a significant variation in the weight of T. absoluta pupae. The lowest weight was recorded in the plants colonized by M. anisopliae isolate Crete.

Conclusions

The study demonstrated the ability of the B. bassiana and M. anisopliae from Crete to colonize the tomato plants and the wild strains of Crete affect the distance of larvae. With the presence of endophytic EPF, the period between the hatched egg and the emerged first instar T. absoluta larvae was decreased, as does the weight of the T. absoluta pupae.
Penile osteosarcoma
Authors: Athanazio Daniel Abensur , Bessa Maurício , do Egypto Pereira Filho José , Athanazio Paulo Roberto Fontes
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma arising in the penis is exceedingly rare and its major differential diagnosis is sarcomatoid carcinoma.

Case presentation

A 19-year-old patient noticed a deep nodule in the dorsal side of the penis 2 years before this presentation. No skin lesions were noted until recent ulceration. In both biopsy and penectomy specimen, atypical mononuclear cells were diffusely positive for SATB2 (a marker of osteoblastic differentiation), CD99 and vimentin. These cells were negative for pan-keratin, SOX10, S100, EMA, GATA3 and CD68 was expressed only in multinucleated giant (osteoclast-like) cells. Few areas suggestive of osteoid production were noted.

Conclusion

In high-grade sarcomas, including in the penis, SATB2 staining may be useful to identify extraskeletal osteosarcoma.
Perioperative management of patient with pre-existing deep vein thrombosis for laparoscopic peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion: a case report
Authors: Gupta Aakriti , Dhiman Deepanshu
Published: February 2023

Background

A patient with chronic kidney disease and recurrent catheter-related thrombosis.

Case presentation

The patient had femoral vein thrombosis and was scheduled for laparoscopically assisted continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion. The chief concerns during the perioperative period were the risk of pulmonary thromboembolism, limited venous access, and risk of bleeding as the patient was on anticoagulation therapy. Meticulous attention was paid to history, clinical examination, and to the ongoing treatment with regard to risk of systemic thrombosis.

Conclusions

Management was tailored according to risk of thrombosis and bleeding during perioperative period along with identification adverse events associated with anticoagulation and preparedness for management of pulmonary embolism.
Results of a multicenter, randomized, phase 3 trial of trimodality therapy with I-125 brachytherapy, external beam radiation therapy, and long- versus short-term androgen deprivation therapy for localized high-risk prostate cancer (TRIP/TRIGU0907).
Authors: Yorozu Atsunori , Namiki Mikio , Saito Shiro , Egawa Shin , Yaegashi Hiroshi , Hiroyuki Konaka , Momma Tetsuo , Fukagai Takashi , Tanaka Nobumichi , Ohashi Toshio , Takahashi Hiroyuki , Mizokami Atsushi , Nakagawa Yoko , Kikuchi Takashi , Stone Nelson
Published: February 2023

305

Background: The TRIP trial was a multicenter, phase 3 randomized investigation designed to determine whether 30 months of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was superior to 6 months of ADT when combined with brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for localized high-risk prostate cancer. Methods: The trial was done in 37 hospitals in Japan. Men between 40 to 79 years old with stage T2c-3a, or a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) >20 ng/ml or a Gleason score >7 received 6 months of ADT combined with I-125 brachytherapy at a prescription dose of 110 Gy, followed by EBRT of 45 Gy. Patients were randomly assigned either no further treatment (short arm) or 24 months of adjuvant ADT (long arm) after stratification. The primary endpoint was biochemical progression-free survival using the Phoenix definition of failure. Secondary endpoints included clinical progression, metastasis, salvage treatment, disease-specific survival, overall survival, and grade 3 or higher of adverse events. An intention-to-treat analysis was conducted with survival estimates determined using competing risk analyses. Results: Of 332 patients, 165 were randomized to the short and 167 to the long arm. The median follow-up periods were 9.43 and 9.24 years, respectively. 24 patients have died in each arm. The cumulative incidence for biochemical progression in the short vs. long arm were 10.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.62-16.42) vs 9.5% (5.85-15.46) at 9 years, respectively (p=0.647). The cumulative incidences for clinical progression, distant metastases, salvage treatment, and disease-specific mortality events were not significantly different between the two arms. The overall survival rates of the short arm vs long arm were 87.2% (82.13-92.63%) and 85.9% (80.41-91.77%) at 9 years, respectively (p=0.914). Endocrine-related grade 3 morbidity for short arm vs long arm was 0.6% vs 1.8% (p=0.623), and radiation-related grade 3 morbidity was 1.2% vs 0.6% (p=0.622). Conclusions: In localized high-risk prostate cancer, TRIP did not demonstrate the superiority of 30 months vs. 6 months of ADT when combined with brachytherapy and EBRT. These data suggest that ultra-high radiation doses can be combined with a shorter course of ADT without compromising survival. Clinical trial information: UMIN000003992 .
A prospective phase II trial of neoadjuvant sintilimab in muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of bladder.
Authors: Wan Fangning , Gu Chengyuan , Ma Chunguang , Zhu Yiping , Shen Yijun , Ye Dingwei
Published: February 2023

509

Background: To assess the efficacy and safety of the PD-1 antibody in neoadjuvant setting of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of bladder (MIBC). Methods: In this prospective phase II trial (ChiCTR2000032730), eligible patients were cT2-T4 N0 MIBC, and were considered eligible for radical cystectomy (RC). Patients received sintilimab 200 mg on days 1, study treatment was repeated every 21 days up to 3 cycles before surgery. The primary endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0). Secondary endpoints included incidence of surgical related delayed events, relapse free survival, overall survival and safety. Results: Between Aug 2020 and Sep 2022, 15 patients (median age: 69, male 93.3%, PS=1 100%) were enrolled. The majority of patients (93.3%) completed the planned (median, 3; range 2 to 4) cycles of sintilimab without significant toxicities. The most common adverse events included hematuria (3/15), proteinuria (2/15), hypophosphatemia (2/15), hypoalbuminemia (2/15) and dysuria (2/15). Among the 15 patients who completed study treatment, 9 patients (60.0%) received RC. Among 6 patients who did not revive RC, 1 due to myasthenia gravis related to sintilimab, 1 due to progression disease, 3 patients refused RC due to bladder preserving, and 1 due to cardiac comorbidity unrelated to sintilimab. Pathologic results revealed 6 pCR (ypT0, 66.7%), 1 ypT0N1, 1 ypT2N0 and 1ypT4N0. At a median follow up of 181 days, they all had no disease recurrence and median DFS was not reached. 2 patients died of disease progression (1 refused RC, 1 had PD before RC). Conclusions: Neoadjuvant sintilimab was feasible and provided meaningful pathologic responses in patients with MIBC. Clinical trial information: ChiCTR2000032730 .
Prognostic stratification by the Meet-URO score in a real-world elderly population of patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) receiving cabozantinib: A subanalysis of the prospective ZEBRA study (Meet-URO 9).
Authors: Damassi Alessandra , Cremante Malvina , Fornarini Giuseppe , Signori Alessio , Buti Sebastiano , Basso Umberto , Procopio Giuseppe , Maruzzo Marco , Sorarù Mariella , Di Napoli Marilena , Fratino Lucia , Santini Daniele , Grillone Francesco , Ballestrin Melissa , Dionese Michele , Murianni Veronica , Catalano Fabio , Banna Giuseppe Luigi L. , Rescigno Pasquale , Rebuzzi Sara Elena
Published: February 2023

637

Background: The combination of neutrophil to lymphocyte (NLR), bone metastases and IMDC score in the novel prognostic Meet-URO score has shown a higher prognostic performance than the IMDC score alone in mRCC pts receiving ≥2nd line nivolumab or cabozantinib in two retrospective analyses and 1st line nivolumab-ipilimumab in a real-world prospective study [http://bit.ly/Meet-URO15_score]. Further validation is needed since this score represents an easy prognostic tool for clinical practice with no additional costs. Methods: A real-world analysis of elderly (≥70 yo) mRCC pts treated with any line cabozantinib was conducted in the multicenter observational prospective Zebra study. Baseline Meet-URO score was assessed. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and the Harrell’s c-index was calculated to compare accuracy of survival prediction of the Meet-URO and IMDC scores. Results: 104 mRCC pts received cabozantinib as 1st (38%), 2nd (20%), 3rd (33%) and 4th (8%) line, with a median follow-up of 11.2 months (mo) and a median overall survival (mOS) of 18.4 mo. According to the IMDC score, favorable- (15%), intermediate- (65%) and poor-risk (19%) pts had a mOS not reached (NR), 15.6 and of 5.7 mo, respectively (p = 0.011). Reclassifying the population according to the Meet-URO score, we observed that group 1 (10%) and group 2 (25%) had both mOS NR, whereas group 3 (33%), group 4 (25%) and group 5 (8%) had a mOS of 13.6, 12.5 and 3.7 mo, respectively (p = 0.001). Moreover, the Meet-URO score maintained its discrimination ability also merging group 1-2 vs 3-4 vs 5 (p < 0.001). NLR < 3.2 was the heaviest component of the score (p < 0.001, mOS 24.8 vs 11.5 mo). The Meet-URO score (using both original with 5 groups and modified with 3 groups) has shown a higher prognostic power than the IMDC score alone (c-index of 0.686 and 0.676 vs 0.622). Conclusions: This analysis confirmed the higher accuracy in survival stratification of the Meet-URO score compared with the IMDC score alone also in a specific population like elderly mRCC pts treated with cabozantinib. NLR was confirmed as a strong prognostic factor with cabozantinib. Further applications of the Meet-URO score in mRCC pts treated with first-line immune-combinations are planned and highly awaited. Clinical trial information: 2018/116/PU .
Mining Manchuria's Colonial Past
Authors: Fromm Martin Thomas
Published: February 2023

The rise of nationalism in China in recent decades has grown in part out of a state-sponsored patriotic education project centered on the production of narratives involving the century-long history of China's subjection to foreign imperialism. In the northeast, the regional history of Russian and Japanese colonialism during the first half of the twentieth century has provided abundant materials for this collective commemoration of China's anti-imperialist struggles. A network of commemorative projects undertaken at local, regional, and national levels of the PRC state since the 1980s, including oral histories, monuments, museums, gazetteers, and party histories, has reframed the history of the northeast borderland in terms that legitimize post-Mao nationalist and market reform ideology. This study brings attention to another dimension of these commemorative projects, the translation and republication of Chinese and Japanese historical accounts originally produced in northern Manchuria during the 1920s and 1930s. I argue that the diverse representations of the borderland's history that are included in these accounts, while originally embedded in the colonial institutional contexts of Manchuria, acquired new significance in post-Mao reimaginings of the region's place in defining nationalism and negotiating Sino-Russian relations.
Calendar ageing modelling using machine learning: an experimental investigation on lithium ion battery chemistries
Authors: Celen Burak , Ozcelik Melik Bugra , Turgut Furkan Metin , Aras Cisel , Sivaraman Thyagesh , Kotak Yash , Geisbauer Christian , Schweiger Hans-Georg
Published: February 2023

Background: The phenomenon of calendar ageing continues to have an impact on battery systems worldwide by causing them to have undesirable operation life and performance. Predicting the degradation in the capacity can identify whether this phenomenon is occurring for a cell and pave the way for placing mechanisms that can circumvent this behaviour.

Methods: In this study, the machine learning algorithms, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and artificial neural network (ANN) have been used to predict the calendar ageing data belonging to six types of cell chemistries namely, Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Iron Phosphate, Lithium Manganese Oxide, Lithium Titanium Oxide, Nickle Cobalt Aluminum Oxide and Nickle Manganese Cobalt Oxide.

Results: Prediction results with overall Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 0.0126 have been obtained for XGBoost algorithm. Among these results, Nickle Cobalt Aluminum Oxide and Nickle Manganese Cobalt Oxide type cell chemistries stand out with their mean absolute percentage errors of 0.0035 and 0.0057 respectively. Also, algorithm fitting performance is relatively better for these chemistries at 100% state of charge and 60°C temperature compared to ANN results. ANN algorithm predicts with mean absolute error of approximately 0.0472 overall and 0.0238 and 0.03825 for Nickle Cobalt Aluminum Oxide and Nickle Manganese Cobalt Oxide. The fitting performance of ANN for Nickle Manganese Cobalt Oxide at 100% state of charge and 60°C temperature is especially poor compared to XGBoost.

Conclusions: For an electric vehicle battery calendar ageing prediction application, XGBoost can establish itself as the primary choice more easily compared to ANN. The reason is XGBoost’s error rates and fitting performance are more usable for such application especially for Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide and Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide chemistries, which are amongst the most demanded cell chemistries for electric vehicle battery packs.
The New Collective Signature Schemes Based on Two Hard Problems Using Schnorr's Signature Standard
Authors: Kim Tuan Nguyen , Ngoc Duy Ho , Viet Nin Ho Le , Moldovyan Nikolay A.
Published: February 2023

Many types of digital signature schemes have been researched and published in recent years. In this paper, we propose two new types of collective signature schemes, namely i) the collective signature for several signing groups and ii) the collective signature for several individual signings and several signing groups. And then we used two difficult problems factoring and discrete logarithm to construct these schemes. To create a combination of these two difficult problems we use the prime module p with a special structure: p = Nn + 1 with n = rq, N is an even number, r and q are prime numbers of at least 512 bit. Schnorr’s digital signature scheme and the RSA key generation algorithm are used to construct related basic schemes such as the single signature scheme, the collective signature scheme, and the group signature scheme. The proposed collective signature schemes are built from these basic schemes. The correctness, security level and performance of the proposed schemes have also been presented in this paper.
American Naturalism and the Future of Philosophy
Authors: Saatkamp, Jr. Herman J.
Published: February 2023

Philosophy as a discipline is facing new challenges that will determine its future. The challenges include the historic ones relating to economic conditions and administrative leadership that focuses on preparation for employment in a way that lessens the intellectual development of students. But the new challenges occur in a worldwide democratic recession and in political leadership that seems to be moving toward greater censorship and less academic freedom. In America, this is also occurring with a decline in student enrollment that negatively impacts the liberal arts and particularly philosophy. This article examines the way two forms of American naturalism may respond. John Dewey’s cultural naturalism and George Santayana’s thorough, non-reductive naturalism provide an array of alternatives. I explore alternatives open to philosophers that include abandoning philosophy by leaving the university or becoming an administrator as well as alternatives available if one remains in the university. Finally, I offer four criteria for judging the viability of choosing any of the alternatives.
Filter Bubbles, Echo Chambers and Shared Experience
Authors: Weydner-Volkmann Sebastian
Published: February 2023

This article explores what John Dewey’s political philosophy can offer in regard to the current crisis in digital democracy. It focuses on two digital mechanisms, the “filter bubble” and the “echo chamber”. While there is a prominent, Dewey-inspired debate on “digital publics” in the literature, a reconstruction of the Deweyan concepts of the public and of shared experience shows that it does not adequately reflect the aspect of situated and embodied experience. Based on this, it is shown that digital media offerings must also be rooted in local contexts of experience in order to answer the challenge of those two problematic mechanisms.
Niedotrzymana amerykańska obietnica – Richard Rorty o patriotyzmie i lewicy kulturowej
Authors: Aksiuto Kamil
Published: February 2023

Amerykański filozof Richard Rorty wytrwale pracował na etykietkę intelektualnego enfant terrible. Jednym z przejawów jego oryginalności w akademickim milieu była zdecydowana obrona amerykańskiego patriotyzmu przedstawiona w Spełnianiu obietnicy naszego kraju i innych pismach. W niniejszym artykule staram się uwypuklić pewne cechy Rortiańskiego patriotyzmu oraz powiązać je z jego krytyką lewicy kulturowej. Jego zdaniem utraciła ona polityczne wpływy i uczyniła swoim fetyszem radykalne teoretyzowanie właśnie na skutek swojego antyamerykanizmu. Na koniec stawiam pytanie o to, czy wzrost znaczenia lewicy kulturowej w USA w ostatnich latach nie poddaje w wątpliwość diagnozy Rorty’ego.
Identity, Dignity and the Politics of Resentment
Authors: Callaway H. G.
Published: February 2023

In his 2018 book, Identity, the Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, Stanford University politi­cal scientist Francis Fukuyama addresses themes which might more properly be considered matters of political philosophy and the philosophy of law: How are we to navigate between traditional, ethnic, unitary conceptions of the nation on the one hand, and the threat of identitarian fragmentation on the other?  Though Fukuyama affirms the importance of the concepts of human dignity and identity, more or less as these are commonly understood, he also criticizes the contemporary phenomenon of identity politics—which he views as a danger to liberal democ­racy. “The rise of identity politics in modern liberal democracies,” writes Fukuyama, “is one of the chief threats that they face;” and moreover, “unless we can work our way back to more universal understand­ings of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.” This paper raises the question of whether the well reasoned case against identity politics as a threat to national unity and purpose leaves room for skepticism of fast-paced and more ambitious (“Wilsonian”) pursuit of internationalist goals of globalization. Greater emphasis on political consensus at home may helpfully strengthen the hand of American foreign policy in support of liberal democracy. But we now look back with well founded skepticism on neo-conservative interventionism, and there are just and needed limits on globalizing internationalism imposed by and implicit in the retreat from identity politics. Having lost the unity of purpose of Cold War liberalism, we are yet to find a “golden mean” avoiding ethnic nationalism and short of political fragmentation.
Przywództwo w nowych partiach politycznych w Polsce i jego znaczenie dla przekroczenia progu reprezentacji oraz instytucjonalizacji partii
Authors: Kosowska-Gąstoł Beata
Published: February 2023

LEADERSHIP IN NEW POLITICAL PARTIES IN POLAND AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR OVERCOMING THE THRESHOLD OF PARTY REPRESENTATION AND FOR PARTY INSTITUTIONALIZATION
After the period of relative stabilization of the Polish party system at the parliamentary level in the first decade of the 21st century, changes related to the entry of new parties on the political scene took place in the second one. While in 2007 only four established parties (PO, PiS, SLD and PSL) got seats in the parliament, and the party system at the parliamentary level was described as “concreted”. In subsequent elections of 2011, 2015, 2019, newly created parties managed to overcome the threshold of party representation. What they have in common is that they were founded shortly before the election by recognizable leaders and immediately achieved election success, which they were not able to repeat in subsequent elections, they lost their importance and were replaced by newer parties. The aim of the article is to define what role the leader plays in achieving electoral success of new parties and what is the importance of leadership for the party’s survival and further election success. These issues are considered in the context of changing the organizational model and the concepts of party institutionalization.
The Role and Significance of Populist Party Leaders in Poland
Authors: Hartliński Maciej
Published: February 2023

The article is the first attempt at describing and comparing leaders of four most important populist groupings in Poland: Samoobrona, PiS, LPR, Kukiz’15. It makes three primary contributions to the literature of the subject. In its theoretical aspect, it shows that the literature concerning the analysed issue is still at the stage of being developed. When it comes to the analysis of data, it was found that populist party leaders played an important political role in Poland. In the case of Samoobrona, PiS and Kukiz’15 they played a key role in the process of origination of their parties, while in PiS they still hold a very strong intra-party position.
Ownership Structure, Incentives, and Asset Returns
Authors: Jung Hae Won (Henny) , Subramanian Ajay , Zeng Qi
Published: February 2023

We develop a dynamic equilibrium model to derive the endogenous relations among firms’ ownership structures, managerial incentives, and asset returns. Ownership concentration is positively related to managerial incentives (PPS) but is negatively related to its expected stock (dollar) return, and volatility. If initial block ownership is above (below) its steady-state level, block ownership and managerial PPS decrease (increase) over time to their steady-state levels, whereas the expected stock returns, return volatilities, and the price impacts of block trades increase (decrease). The convergence of these variables to their respective steady-state levels is faster for firms that are less productive, that are riskier, and whose earnings are more sensitive to managerial actions. The price impact of block trades is larger in firms that are more productive and smaller in firms whose earnings are more sensitive to managerial actions. Changes in the expected stock return over time are negatively affected by changes in block ownership but positively affected by changes in managerial incentives. Relative to owner-managed firms, more widely owned firms have lower expected stock returns and volatilities, faster dispersion of block ownership, and smaller but more variable price impacts of block trades. Compared with diffusely owned firms, firms with significant blockholdings have lower expected stock returns, higher return volatilities, and less powerful managerial incentives.

This paper was accepted by Tomasz Piskorski, finance.

Funding: H. W. (H.) Jung and Q. Zeng received an internal research grant (AUD 15,000) in 2015 from the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne.

Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4696 .
COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS ON HEAVE AND PITCH MOTIONS PERFORMANCE OF A HYDROFOIL SHIP
Authors: Fitriadhy A , Amira Adam N , Syafiq Zikry M
Published: February 2023

Hydrofoil ship usually experiences high resistance and excessive heave and pitch that may lead to downgrade her seakeeping performance. Therefore, a reliable investigation on prediction of a seakeeping performance of a hydrofoil ship in head-seas is obviously required. To achieve this objective, an analysis of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) approach on hydrofoil ship motion is then proposed. Several parameters such as angle of stern foil and Froude Number have been accordingly taken into account in the simulation, where the fore foil angle is constantly 5 . In general, the results revealed that the increase of the stern foil angle was proportional to the heave motion of the hydrofoil ship. As compared to the magnitude of the stern foil angle of 5 and 10 , the heave motion of the hydrofoil ship has sufficiently decreased at the stern foil angle of 7.5, which leads to have a better seakeeping performance. Furthermore, the subsequent increase of Froude number pointing towards reduction of heave motion, which was inversely proportional to the magnitude of her pitch motion. Inherently, these have led to degrade of the hydrofoil ship seakeeping performances presented in the form of high Response Amplitude Operators (RAO). In general, this CFD simulation is very beneficial to ensure an operational effectiveness of hydrofoil design in high sea states with respect to the aforementioned design parameter.
GNSS METEOROLOGY AND LAND SUBSIDENCE OF HEAVY RAINFALL IN JAKARTA ON JANUARY 1, 2020
Authors: Arief Syachrul , Cahyadi Mokhamad Nur
Published: February 2023

This study aims to demonstrate that GNSS meteorology can be applied in Indonesia, by estimating the zenith troposphere delay (ZTD) of sustainable GNSS stations in Indonesia, using one of the “goGPS” software packages. As a calculation with rain conditions, the ZTD value was converted into precipitation water vapor (PWV). This research is using GNSS meteorology to be applied into heavy rains at the end of 2019 in Jakarta which was hit by floods on December 31, 2019. According to a report by Geophysical Meteorology and Climatology Agency (BMKG), the main cause of this flood is a high rainfall. The rainfall gauge at Halim Perdanakusuma Station showed 377 mm of rainfall that day. Rain gauges at Taman Mini and Jatiasih stations record rainfall of 335 mm/day and 260 mm / day, respectively. From the GNSS data processing, the PWV values at the five GNSS stations show a similar pattern even though the average between stations is ~ 30 km. The PWV value appeared to be increased at noon on December 30, 2019, and the peak occurs at the end of the day on December 31, 2019. The PWV value showed a sudden drop at midday on January 1, 2020. In the end, the PWV increased again, but not as high as the first peak. From 2 January 2020, the PWV has decreased and has been maintained almost constantly until 4 January. Within this time frame, there were two peak PWV events. The PWV of the first peak was ~ 70 mm and the second peak was ~ 65 mm, and the largest peak PWV was recorded at the CJKT station.