bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retrospective Study of Aging and Sex-Specific Risk Factors of COVID-19 with Hypertension in China
Authors: Wang Juan , Zhang Yili , Li Kexin , Du KangJia , Huang Xinyi , Zhou Zifeng , Ma Yan , Guo Shuzhen , Hou Yong , Li Quntang , Xu Hongming , Huang Jin , Huang Qiuhua , Na Hui , Wang Jingwei , Wang Xiaoyan , Xiao Yanhua , Zhu Junteng , Chen Hong , Liu Zhang , Wang Mingxuan , Zhang Linsong , Wang Wei , Wan Haitong
Published: June 2022

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a global threat that pushes healthcare to its limits. Hypertension is one of the most common risk factors for cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 and is strongly associated with disease severity and mortality. To date, clinical mechanisms by which hypertension leads to increased risk in COVID-19 are still unclear. Furthermore, additional factors might increase these risks, such as the consideration of age and sex, which are of interest when in search of personalized treatments for hypertensive COVID-19 patients. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 543 COVID-19 patients in seven provinces of China to examine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in this population and to determine risk factors of hypertensive COVID-19 patients. We also used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with hypertensive COVID-19 patients in different age and sex subgroups. Results. Among the enrolled COVID-19 patients, the median age was 47 years (interquartile range (IQR) 34.0–57.0), and 99 patients (18.23%) were over 60 years old. With regard to comorbidities, 91 patients (16.75%) were diagnosed with hypertension, followed by diabetes, coronary disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Of the hypertensive COVID-19 patients, 51 (56.04%) were male. Multivariable analysis showed that old age, comorbid diabetes or coronary heart disease on admission, increased D-dimer, increased glucose, and decreased lymphocyte count were independent risk factors associated with hypertensive COVID-19 patients. Elevated total bilirubin (odds ratio [OR]: 1.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23–1.05;p=0.043) and triglycerides (OR: 1.173, 95% CI: 0.049–1.617;p=0.007) were found to be associated with elderly hypertensive COVID-19 patients. In addition, we found that decreased lymphocytes, basophil, high-density lipoprotein, and increased fibrinogen and creatinine were related to a higher risk of disease severity in male patients. The most common abnormal clinical findings pertaining to female hypertensive COVID-19 patients were hemoglobin, total bile acid, total protein, and low-density lipoprotein. Conclusions. Factors associated with increased risk of hypertensive COVID-19 patients were identified. Results to the different age and sex subgroups in our study will allow for better possible personalized care and also provide new insights into specific risk stratification, disease management, and treatment strategies for COVID-19 patients with hypertension in the future.
Best Distance Perception in Virtual Audiovisual Environment
Authors: Song Hui , Ma Ke
Published: June 2022

Auditory distance perception is important to virtual sound production and is affected by many factors. In order to investigate the effect of the visual cue on auditory distance perception and the best auditory distance perception in the existence of virtual sound source, experiments on the effect of visual cue on distance perception and the best auditory distance perception were conducted, respectively. The results of the first experiment showed that there was no obvious difference between the auditory distance perception in the existence and absence of virtual sound source, but visual cue can decrease the fluctuation of the perception. From the best auditory distance perception experiment, the attenuating SPL of the initial sound signal that made the subjects perceive the best auditory distance in the existence of virtual sound source at the distance of 4m, 6m, 8m, 10m, and 12m was measured, respectively, and compared the difference of attenuating SPL between experiment measurement and theoretical calculation.
A Further Study and Assessment on Geographic Information System: From Highway Ecological Landscape Environment Angle of View
Authors: Zhou Ling , Liu Weijie
Published: June 2022

With the development of the national economy, our country’s highway construction is developing in a more advanced and humane direction. On the basis of meeting traffic needs, people have begun to pay more attention to the construction of highway landscapes. Based on the understanding and integration of domestic and foreign landscape evaluation system research, this paper constructs a new type of highway landscape evaluation model and selects Zhangjiakou, one of the co-host cities of the Winter Olympics, to analyze and verify the model. We use the designed evaluation model to analyze and evaluate the three highways in the Zhangjiakou area. First, based on the analytic hierarchy process, the combination of qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicators is selected, and then, the GIS geographic information system is used to obtain the basic data of the quantitative indicators and the questionnaire method is used. The grade evaluation of three highways is realized, and the optimization measures and construction strategies for the landscape quality along the highway are proposed. The results show that the research results of this evaluation system are of great significance to the landscape construction along the line, the protection of landscape resources, and the development of tourist roads.
Evaluation of Football Teaching Quality Based on Big Data
Authors: Long Yue , Zhai Wei
Published: June 2022

The arrival of the big data era has opened up new avenues for assessing the quality of physical education instruction. Using big data to explore these systems may help improve the quality of physical education itself, in addition to assisting schools in developing quality assessment systems for physical education. More and more schools are making football a compulsory part of their physical education and wellness curriculum. Therefore, this study used the methods of literature materials, expert interviews, questionnaires, and Delphi method to determine the evaluation indicators and index weight coefficients of football teaching and borrowed the application background of big data to initially explore the construction of a football teaching quality evaluation system. To this end, this paper completes the following tasks: (1) The current state of football teaching quality evaluation studies in the United States and internationally is summarized. (2) A football teaching quality evaluation system based on the background of big data is constructed. (3) Our experiments show that the assessment approach described in this study is scientifically and rationally distributed and can accurately represent all components of physical education. As a result, evaluating football instruction using big data is a possibility.
Analysis of the p-11B Fusion Scenario with Compensation of the Transfer of Kinetic Energy of Protons and Alpha Particles to the Gas Medium by the Electric Field
Authors: Shmatov Mikhail L. , Batani Dimitri
Published: June 2022

The energy balance of the p-11B fusion scenario with compensation of the transfer of kinetic energy of protons and alpha particles to the gas medium by the electric field is considered. It is shown that such scenario cannot provide the use of p-11B fusion reaction for power production due to the very low ratio of the energy release of the fusion reaction to the energy necessary for compensation. The upper boundary of this ratio is about<mml:math xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:mnf="http://cambridge.org/core/manifest" xmlns:cup="http://contentservices.cambridge.org" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:m="http://cambridge.org/core/metadata" xmlns:core="http://cambridge.org/core" xmlns:c="http://cambridge.org/core/content" id="M1">2×10−3.
Pelvic Desmoid Tumor: A Rare Case with Difficult Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Ormonde Mariana , Argyropoulou Despoina , Lourenço Cândida , Bastos João , Quintas Ana
Published: June 2022

Desmoid tumors are rare benign neoplasms, with locally aggressive characteristics. Ongoing or previous pregnancy, antecedent trauma, and familial adenomatous polyposis are known risk factors. Still, the majority of cases are sporadic and its etiology is still unknown. These tumors may occur in any body site, but retroperitoneal and pelvic desmoid tumors are extremely rare. Nonspecific clinical and radiological findings lead to erroneous diagnosis in 50% of patients before surgery. We present a case of a young multiparous female with a deep infiltrative lesion adherent to the right pelvic sidewall leading to severe right hydroureteronephrosis and ipsilateral loss of renal function. Although deep endometriosis was suspected, malignancy features could not be excluded by imaging studies. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy for definite diagnosis and treatment, which led to right nephrectomy, hysterectomy, and right oophorectomy because of deep infiltration and difficult dissection. Definite histologic diagnosis revealed the presence of a pelvic desmoid tumor. Positive margins were encountered but, until this moment, no disease relapse occurred.
Research on E-Commerce Database Marketing Based on Machine Learning Algorithm
Authors: Chen Nie
Published: June 2022

From simple commercial relations to complex online transactions at this stage, it not only highlights the progress of science and technology, but also indirectly explains the diversified evolution of marketing methods and means. In marketing, database marketing has been favored by more marketers with its low cost and high efficiency and has become the “rookie” in marketing in recent years. However, as a kind of prediction and ferry, database marketing tends to be applied after simple data analysis in unpredictable market and in practice. In contrast, database marketing combined with machine learning algorithms has always been a depression in the marketing field. Therefore, this paper takes e-commerce as the research object and carries out database marketing research based on machine learning algorithm from four stages: theoretical preparation, status analysis, model construction, and results application. Firstly, the connotation, advantages, and specific operation procedures of database marketing are discussed. At the same time, four excellent machine learning algorithms including logistic regression, random forest, support vector machine, and gradient boosted decision tree (GBDT) are selected to explain the basic principles and algorithm introduction, respectively, laying a theoretical foundation for the model training chapter. Secondly, it analyzes the current situation of e-commerce from the distribution of marketing objects, the proportion of marketing channels, and the composition of marketing methods and finds new marketing ideas based on the main problems existing at the present stage of database marketing using machine learning algorithm. Thirdly, on the premise of marketing ideas, data acquisition, data processing, and positive and negative sample setting. At the same time, four machine learning algorithms are used to combine features from the perspectives of consumers, stores, and the relationship between consumers and stores. Finally, by substituting the predicted sample into the model for testing, the crowd whose predicted score is between 80 and 99 is selected to be put into the market as the model predicted crowd, and it is proposed that e-commerce should mainly adopt the database marketing method of model prediction. On the one hand, machine learning algorithm can solve the problem of uneven distribution of marketing objects, and on the other hand, it can effectively prevent the loss of potential consumers. In addition, the application strategy of optimizing other database marketing methods and assisting model prediction to improve marketing effect is also put forward.
Integration of Green Innovation Capabilities of Enterprises Based on Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Yang Hailin , Liu Fengming , Zhang Lihong
Published: June 2022

This article studies the integration and optimization of green innovation capabilities of enterprises. The integration model of enterprise green innovation capability provides the theoretical basis for cultivating enterprise green innovation capability. However, from the perspective of optimization, in the life cycle of the enterprise, how the enterprise should reasonably allocate resources and carry out strategic guidance to achieve the optimal green innovation capability of the enterprise is a question worth thinking about. This stage of research starts from different cycle stages of enterprise development, explores the adaptability and evolution of the integration model, and studies the optimization methods of strategies to achieve the goal of matching. This article adopts the ant colony optimization algorithm to support the research on the integration of green innovation capabilities of enterprises. The article describes the principle of the ant colony optimization algorithm in detail by using the combination of text description and formula. In addition, it analyzes the effect of the research through experiments. The results show that the corresponding CITC coefficients of each item of the Green Innovation Scale are between 0.518 and 0.850, which are all greater than the ideal value of 0.4.
Identification of Prognostic DNA Methylation Signatures in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Wang Pengli , Xu Gaoran , Gao Erji , Xu Yong , Liang Leilei , Jiang Gening , Duan Liang
Published: June 2022

Background. Increasing evidence exists of a link between DNA methylation and tumor immunotherapy. However, the impact of DNA methylation on the characteristics of the lung adenocarcinoma microenvironment and its effect on immunotherapy remain unclear. Method. This study collected TCGA-LUAD related data sets (LUAD) to explore the characteristics and regulation of 20 DNA methylation-related genes. We further identified two DNA methylation subtypes by analysing the expression profiles of these 20 DNA methylation-related genes. Subsequently, the differences in immune cell infiltration (ICI) and the expression of immune-related signaling factors among different DNA methylation subtypes were explored, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among different LUAD DNA methylation subtypes were identified. Using univariate Cox to screen differentially expressed genes meaningful for survival, a DNA methylation score (DMS) was constructed based on the weight of the first and second dimensions after dimensionality reduction by principal component analysis (PCA). Our study found that DMS can better evaluate the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Results. Based on DMS, LUAD samples were divided into two groups with high and low scores. The differences in clinical characteristics, tumor mutation load, and tumor immune cell infiltration between different DMS groups of LUAD were deeply explored, and the prediction ability of DMS for the benefit of immunotherapy was evaluated. Conclusions. DMS is a valuable tool for predicting survival, clinicopathological features, and immunotherapeutic efficacy, which may help to promote personalized LUAD immunotherapy in the future.
Evaluating Competitive Ability of Tourism Enterprise by Using MTP-MCDM Technology for Resource-Based Viewpoint
Authors: Lu I-Yen
Published: June 2022

Tourism industry is an important industry for many countries because this industry can bring a lot of profit and worker opportunity. Tourism enterprise is the element in the tourism industry. Many scholars execute research to understand the compatibility of tourism enterprise. However, past research evaluates the compatibility ability of tourism enterprise based on tourism enterprise entire resource, but past research does not evaluate the compatibility ability of tourism enterprise in detail under consumers’ viewpoint. The goal of the work is to build the framework to evaluate the competitive ability of tourism enterprises based on tourism resource in each tourism destination. Based on this framework, tourism enterprise can understand its competitive ability in special tourism regions. Some advantages of the proposed method and future research should be taken over finally.
Reengineering Ponatinib to Minimize Cardiovascular Toxicity
Authors: Hnatiuk Anna P. , Bruyneel Arne A.N. , Tailor Dhanir , Pandrala Mallesh , Dheeraj Arpit , Li Wenqi , Serrano Ricardo , Feyen Dries A.M. , Vu Michelle M. , Amatya Prashila , Gupta Saloni , Nakauchi Yusuke , Morgado Isabel , Wiebking Volker , Liao Ronglih , Porteus Matthew H. , Majeti Ravindra , Malhotra Sanjay V. , Mercola Mark
Published: June 2022

Small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have revolutionized cancer treatment and greatly improved patient survival. However, life-threatening cardiotoxicity of many TKIs has become a major concern. Ponatinib (ICLUSIG) was developed as an inhibitor of the BCR-ABL oncogene and is among the most cardiotoxic of TKIs. Consequently, use of ponatinib is restricted to the treatment of tumors carrying T315I-mutated BCR-ABL, which occurs in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and confers resistance to first- and second-generation inhibitors such as imatinib and nilotinib. Through parallel screening of cardiovascular toxicity and antitumor efficacy assays, we engineered safer analogs of ponatinib that retained potency against T315I BCR-ABL kinase activity and suppressed T315I mutant CML tumor growth. The new compounds were substantially less toxic in human cardiac vasculogenesis and cardiomyocyte contractility assays in vitro. The compounds showed a larger therapeutic window in vivo, leading to regression of human T315I mutant CML xenografts without cardiotoxicity. Comparison of the kinase inhibition profiles of ponatinib and the new compounds suggested that ponatinib cardiotoxicity is mediated by a few kinases, some of which were previously unassociated with cardiovascular disease. Overall, the study develops an approach using complex phenotypic assays to reduce the high risk of cardiovascular toxicity that is prevalent among small molecule oncology therapeutics.

Significance:

Newly developed ponatinib analogs retain antitumor efficacy but elicit significantly decreased cardiotoxicity, representing a therapeutic opportunity for safer CML treatment.
Extracellular Vesicles May Predict Response to Radioembolization and Sorafenib Treatment in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Exploratory Analysis from the SORAMIC Trial
Authors: Shuen Timothy Wai Ho , Alunni-Fabbroni Marianna , Öcal Elif , Malfertheiner Peter , Wildgruber Moritz , Schinner Regina , Pech Maciej , Benckert Julia , Sangro Bruno , Kuhl Christiane , Gasbarrini Antonio , Chow Pierce Kah Hoe , Toh Han Chong , Ricke Jens
Published: June 2022

Purpose:

SORAMIC is a randomized controlled trial in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing sorafenib ± selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). We investigated the value of extracellular vesicle (EV)-based proteomics for treatment response prediction.

Experimental Design:

The analysis population comprised 25 patients receiving SIRT+sorafenib and 20 patients receiving sorafenib alone. Patients were classified as responders or nonresponders based on changes in AFP and imaging or overall survival. Proteomic analysis was performed on plasma EVs by LC/MS, followed by bioinformatics analysis. Clinical relevance of candidate EV proteins was validated by survival and receiver-operating characteristic analysis with bootstrap internal sampling validation. Origin of circulating EV was explored by IHC staining of liver and tumor tissues and transcriptomics of blood cells.

Results:

Proteomic analysis identified 56 and 27 EV proteins that were differentially expressed in plasma EVs between responders and nonresponders receiving SIRT+sorafenib and sorafenib alone, respectively. High EV-GPX3/ACTR3 and low EV-ARHGAP1 were identified as candidate biomarkers at baseline from the 13 responders to SIRT+sorafenib with statistically significant AUC = 1 for all and bootstrap P values 2.23 × 10−5, 2.22 × 10−5, and 2.23 × 10−5, respectively. These patients showed reduced abundance of EV-VPS13A and EV-KALRN 6 to 9 weeks after combined treatment with significant AUC and bootstrap P values. In reverse, low GPX3 and high ARHGAP1 demonstrated better response to sorafenib monotherapy with AUC = 0.9697 and 0.9192 as well as bootstrap P values 8.34 × 10−5 and 7.98 × 10−4, respectively. HCC tumor was the likely origin of circulating EVs.

Conclusions:

In this exploratory study, EV-based proteomics predicted response to SIRT+sorafenib and sorafenib-only treatment in patients with advanced HCC of metabolic origin.
Nivolumab Retreatment in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Who Responded to Prior Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Had ICI-Free Intervals (WJOG9616L)
Authors: Akamatsu Hiroaki , Teraoka Shunsuke , Takamori Shinkichi , Miura Satoru , Hayashi Hidetoshi , Hata Akito , Toi Yukihiro , Shiraishi Yoshimasa , Mamesaya Nobuaki , Sato Yuki , Furuya Naoki , Oyanagi Jun , Koh Yasuhiro , Misumi Toshihiro , Yamamoto Nobuyuki , Nakagawa Kazuhiko
Published: June 2022

Purpose:

To explore the efficacy of retreatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who responded to prior ICI and had adequate ICI-free interval.

Patients and Methods:

Patients with advanced NSCLC who had achieved complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease for ≥6 months with prior ICI therapy preceding progression were prospectively enrolled. All patients should have had ICI-free interval ≥60 days before registration. Patients were treated with nivolumab (240 mg) every 2 weeks until progression. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and safety (Trial Identifier, UMIN000028561).

Results:

Sixty-one patients were enrolled during October 2017 to February 2020, with 59 analyzed for efficacy. Regarding prior ICI, 41 patients had CR or PR. Median treatment on ICI and median ICI-free intervals were 8.1 months and 9.2 months, respectively. Twenty patients experienced immune-related adverse events (irAE) that required discontinuation of prior ICI. Nivolumab retreatment demonstrated ORR of 8.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.8–18.7%] and median PFS of 2.6 months (95% CI, 1.6–2.8 months) while 5 responders had 11.1 months of median PFS. In the multivariate analysis, ICI-free interval was the only predictive factor of PFS (HR, 2.02; P = 0.02), while prior efficacy or history of irAE was not. Common adverse events were skin disorders (23%), malaise (20%), and hypoalbuminemia (15%).

Conclusions:

Even in patients who initially responded to prior ICI and had ICI-free interval, once resistance occurred, retreatment with nivolumab had limited efficacy.
Visually Disturbing Vitreous Floaters following Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Capsulotomy: A Single-Center Case Series
Authors: Sim Ha Eun , Baik Seung Hwa , Hwang Je-Hyung
Published: June 2022

This study aimed to report the risk factors and treatment outcomes of visually disturbing vitreous opacities after neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser posterior capsulotomy. This was a retrospective observational case series study that included 6 patients who underwent vitrectomy for vitreous opacities after Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy. The patients’ medical records from January 2017 to June 2020 were reviewed. Seven eyes of 6 patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy for visually disturbing vitreous opacities were included in this study. The mean duration between Nd:YAG capsulotomy and vitrectomy was 8.57 ± 1.27 months. The posterior capsule opacification was proliferative with a pearl form in all patients. Visual acuity improved significantly after vitrectomy. Nd:YAG laser causes visually disturbing vitreous opacities. Vitrectomy was an effective treatment for these opacities.
Survival Probability and Survival Benefit Associated With Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverter‐Defibrillator Generator Changes
Authors: Bilchick Kenneth C. , Wang Yongfei , Curtis Jeptha P. , Shadman Ramin , Dardas Todd F. , Anand Inder , Lund Lars H. , Dahlström Ulf , Sartipy Ulrik , Levy Wayne C.
Published: June 2022

Background

As patients derive variable benefit from generator changes (GCs) of implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators (ICDs) with an original primary prevention (PP) indication, better predictors of outcomes are needed.

Methods and Results

In the National Cardiovascular Data Registry ICD Registry, patients undergoing GCs of initial non‐cardiac resynchronization therapy PP ICDs in 2012 to 2016, predictors of post‐GC survival and survival benefit versus control heart failure patients without ICDs were assessed. These included predicted annual mortality based on the Seattle Heart Failure Model, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >35%, and the probability that a patient's death would be arrhythmic (proportional risk of arrhythmic death [PRAD]). In 40 933 patients undergoing GCs of initial noncardiac resynchronization therapy PP ICDs (age 67.7±12.0 years, 24.5% women, 34.1% with LVEF >35%), Seattle Heart Failure Model–predicted annual mortality had the greatest effect size for decreased post‐GC survival (
P
<0.0001). Patients undergoing GCs of initial noncardiac resynchronization therapy PP ICDs with LVEF >35% had a lower Seattle Heart Failure Model–adjusted survival versus 23 472 control heart failure patients without ICDs (model interaction hazard ratio, 1.21 [95% CI, 1.11–1.31]). In patients undergoing GCs of initial noncardiac resynchonization therapy PP ICDs with LVEF ≤35%, the model indicated worse survival versus controls in the 21% of patients with a PRAD <43% and improved survival in the 10% with PRAD >65%. The association of the PRAD with survival benefit or harm was similar in patients with or without pre‐GC ICD therapies.

Conclusions

Patients who received replacement of an ICD originally implanted for primary prevention and had at the time of GC either LVEF >35% alone or both LVEF ≤35% and PRAD <43% had worse survival versus controls without ICDs.
Novel Risk Prediction Model to Determine Adverse Heart Failure Outcomes in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Chen Shi , Chen Liang , Saguner Ardan M. , Chen Kai , Akdis Deniz , Gasperetti Alessio , Brunckhorst Corinna , Tang Hanwei , Guo Guangran , Rao Man , Li Xiangjie , Song Jiangping , Duru Firat , Hu Shengshou
Published: June 2022

Background

Patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy are at risk for life‐threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias, but progressive heart failure (HF) may occur in later stages of disease. This study aimed to characterize potential risk predictors and develop a model for individualized assessment of adverse HF outcomes in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Methods and Results

Longitudinal and observational cohorts with 290 patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy from the Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China, and 99 patients from the University Heart Center in Zurich, Switzerland, with follow‐up data were studied. The primary end point of the study was heart transplantation or death attributable to HF. The model was developed by Cox regression analysis for predicting risk and was internally validated. During 4.92±3.03 years of follow‐up, 48 patients reached the primary end point. The determinants of the risk prediction model were left ventricular ejection fraction, serum creatinine levels, moderate‐to‐severe tricuspid regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation. Implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators did not reduce the occurrence of adverse HF outcomes.

Conclusions

A novel risk prediction model for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy has been developed using 2 large and well‐established cohorts, incorporating common clinical parameters such as left ventricular ejection fraction, serum creatinine levels, tricuspid regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation, which can identify patients who are at risk for terminal HF events, and may guide physicians to assess individualized HF risk and to optimize management strategies.
Family Resemblances in Action
Authors: van Dijk Rijk , Kirsch Thomas G. , Duarte dos Santos Franziska
Published: June 2022

The introduction to this special issue argues that in many countries in southern Africa a new phase in the entanglement between the religious and the political has set in. Increasingly, activists in political fields are borrowing from religious registers of discourse and practice, while conversely, activists in the religious domain are adopting discourses and practices originating in the political domain. We suggest that this religiopolitical activism is simultaneously the product of a climate of profound social change and an important transformative force within it. In order to do justice to the complex dynamics of southern African religiopolitical activism in its manifold manifestations, we draw on the concept of ‘family resemblances’. This allows us to examine how the boundaries between religious and political registers are made the object of situated social negotiations. The family resemblances explored in this special issue range from religiopolitical activists’ habitus and their communication strategies via religious leaders’ self-positionings in relation to the political, to the creation of specific religiopolitical spaces.
Tactical Activism
Authors: Cazarin Rafael
Published: June 2022

This article examines religious leaders’ engagements with gender transformative activism during prevention training workshops for sexual and gender-based violence. I draw on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in 2017 and 2018 in a South African NGO that promotes gender equality and human rights across Africa. My aim is twofold: to explore the tensions between the private and public dimensions of religious leaders’ engagement with gender transformative activism; and to demonstrate how they navigate those tensions by co-creating an ‘interstitial’ language and social space that allows them to conform new emotional repertoires, meanings and practices that ought to transform their gendered relations. I argue that doing so enables leaders to become tactical when engaging with gender activism in adverse religious contexts. By acting in the form of tactical activism, they establish interstices where religious and secular stances on gender can intersect whilst at the same time coping with the difficulties of inducing change in the given patriarchal structures.
On Becoming and Being a ‘Living Testimony of Change’: Masculinity, Gender Activism, and Pentecostalism in South Africa
Authors: Duarte dos Santos Franziska
Published: June 2022

Building on ethnographic research, this article explores the significance of narrative accounts, namely testimonies and confessions, in the social project of creating reformed men in urban and peri-urban settings of present-day South Africa. By drawing attention to certain ‘family resemblances’ (Wittgenstein 1953) between Pentecostalism and gender activism, it analyses how gender activists use testimonies of personal transformation to influence other men to change their self-understanding as men, their attitudes, and patterns of behaviour. Throughout the article I elaborate on the socially integrative and disintegrative effects of this endeavour as well as on the difference between such testimonial accounts and confessions. By exploring the distinction between these two forms of speaking out, the article illustrates what it means to be a gender activist in this context, and what ideas about personhood are deployed in gender activism.
Managing Unruliness: The (Anti-)Politics of Volunteer Management Practices in Faith-Based Organizations
Authors: Kirsch Thomas G.
Published: June 2022

Based on an ethnographic analysis of volunteer management practices in faith-based organizations in Zambia, this article outlines the dilemmas that these organizations face when deploying volunteers. Due to financial constraints, most of these organizations have to rely on voluntary work from local residents in order to realize their goals. I show that when the volunteers’ work is concerned with social problems that are deemed to be controversial, faith-based organizations are at pains to demonstrate that their aims and activities should be categorized as ‘social work’ or ‘humanitarian assistance’, and not as activist (party) political engagement. Yet since volunteers are only loosely linked to these organizations in respect to their formal status, in practice they have a great deal of leeway in how issues are handled. This means that some of them use their commitment to volunteering to pursue their own political agendas. The article explores the strategies that faith-based organizations use to navigate the challenges that this kind of ‘partisan volunteering’ pose.
The Concept of Muhājirūn – and Its Potential Significance for the Piety of the Seventh-Century Qurʾānic Movement
Authors: Mortensen Mette Bjerregaard
Published: June 2022

This article examines the Qurʾānic references to al-muhājirūn as an expression of a world renouncing current in the early Qurʾānic movement. Throughout the Qurʾān the muhājirūn are idealized for their willingness to leave their homes, wealth, and families behind in order to emigrate in the path of God. Traditionally, these emigrants have been interpreted through the lens of later Muslim exegesis as referring to the early believers who accompanied Muhammad on his emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622. In general, however, there is little evidence to suggest that the Qurʾān is referring to a specific historical emigration event. Based on the theoretical framework of Peter Sloterdijk and Mary Douglas, this article argues that the Qurʾānic employment of the root h-j-r basically centers on an ascetic distancing from worldly attachments, and that this uprooting into a new mobility denotes a central aspect of the piety of the early Qurʾānic movement.
Modern Muslim Objections to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Authors: Husayn Nebil
Published: June 2022

According to most Sunnī scholars of ḥadīth, two works can be considered sources for historically accurate and authentic reports about the words and actions of the Prophet Muḥammad, the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī and the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim, frequently referred to in union as the Ṣaḥīḥayn. These two works have achieved canonical status in Sunnī Islam. The narrators who appear in these collections and the content of what they report are popularly considered to be unassailable. However, the authenticity and historicity of such ḥadīth have been subject to severe criticism and skepticism by a number of Western academics beginning with Gustav Weil in 1848 and continuing with Ignaz Goldziher, Joseph Schacht, John Wansbrough and others. A few academics have alluded to the existence of a similar skepticism among Muslim modernists, but there has been little systematic study of these voices. A handful of twentieth century Muslims have openly objected to the canonical culture of sanctifying ḥadīth found in the Ṣaḥīḥayn with books lambasting their authenticity. This investigation reviews seven of these works and considers key themes in their methods of argumentation. The authors not only deny the authenticity of ḥadīth in the collections of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, but also reject key doctrines associated with classical Sunnism and the authority of Sunnī ḥadīth scholars who traditionally defined orthodoxy and evaluated ḥadīth on behalf of the community.
A novel symbiotic relationship between ascidians and a new tunic-boring polychaete (Annelida: Spionidae: Polydora)
Authors: ABE HIROKAZU , HOSHINO OSAMU , YAMADA KAZUYUKI , OGINO TETSUYA , KAWAIDA SHUN , SATO-OKOSHI WAKA
Published: June 2022

Polydora tunicola Abe, Hoshino & Yamada, sp. nov., a new spionid species currently considered an obligate symbiont of styelid ascidians, is described based on materials collected from Polycarpa cf. cryptocarpa kroboja (Oka, 1906) and Cnemidocarpa sp. in Izu-Oshima Island and Polycarpa sp. in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Polychaete–ascidian symbiotic relationships are known only in two syllid species: Myrianida pinnigera (Montagu, 1808) and Proceraea exoryxae Martin, Nygren & Cruz-Rivera, 2017. The latter has been the only polychaete known to bore into the tunic of an ascidian. Polydora tunicola sp. nov. is the second known example of a tunic-boring polychaete, which constructs U-shaped burrows in the tunic of the host ascidians. Worms were often concentrated near the host siphons and assumed to use water currents created by the filter-feeding host for suspension feeding. Although the boring mechanism into ascidian tunica is unknown, the plate assay and zymography results consistently detected cellulase activities, suggesting that cellulose digestion may enable the worms to bore into the cellulose-rich ascidian tunics. Polydora tunicola sp. nov. is morphologically similar to P. aura Sato-Okoshi, 1998, P. cornuta Bosc, 1802, P. fusca Radashevsky & Hsieh, 2000, P. glycymerica Radashevsky, 1993, P. latispinosa Blake & Kudenov, 1978, P. lingulicola Abe & Sato-Okoshi, 2020, P. nanomon Orensky & Williams, 2009, P. robi Williams, 2000, and P. vulgaris Mohammad, 1972 in having a single median antenna on the caruncle and chaetiger 5 without dorsal superior capillaries but with ventral capillaries. The new species is unique in having a black-rimmed pygidium, distinguishing it from these species. The phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated 18S, 28S, and 16S sequences recovered P. tunicola sp. nov. as the sister species to P. aura within a well-supported clade also including P. lingulicola and P. cf. glycymerica. The bright yellow body color of P. tunicola sp. nov. in life is similar to that of P. aura, however, these two species are distinguished by the former not having modified posterior notochaetae. The symbiotic nature of the association between P. tunicola sp. nov. and styelid ascidians is discussed.
Revision of the genus Neoceruraphis Shaposhnikov, 1956 (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
Authors: STEKOLSHCHIKOV ANDREY V.
Published: June 2022

The genus Neoceruraphis Shaposhnikov, 1956 with two species, is restored as a separate genus and not a synonym of Ceruraphis. This genus is fully revised, with descriptions or redescriptions of all known morphs of each species. Geographical points of species registrations are listed. All known and new data on the biology and life cycles of the species of genus are specified and analyzed. The genus Viburnaphis Pashtshenko, 1988 is considered a synonym of Neoceruraphis Shaposhnikov, 1956. Sappaphis viburnicola Sorin, 1983 becomes a secondary homonym of Neoceruraphis viburnicola (Gillette, 1909), so it must be replaced by the next oldest available name from among its synonyms—Viburnaphis pseudosensoriata Pashtshenko, 1988, which now becomes Neoceruraphis pseudosensoriata (Pashtshenko, 1988) comb. n. A possible way of the formation of the genus and the speciation that took place in it is discussed.
Postoperative Complications After Total Thyroidectomy for Patients With Graves’ Disease
Authors: Liang Jennifer J. , Irizarry Rachel , Victor Lousette Saint , Hoepner Lori A. , Chernichenko Natalya
Published: June 2022

Objective

To identify the rates and types of postoperative complications in patients with and without Graves’ disease undergoing total thyroidectomy using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database.

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

All hospitals participating in NSQIP from 2007 to 2017.

Methods

Thyroidectomy data were abstracted from the NSQIP database from 2007 to 2017 using related Current Procedural Terminology codes. Exclusion criteria included diagnosis of malignancy and partial thyroidectomy. Patients with a diagnosis of Graves’ disease were compared against the control group, which consisted of other nononcologic diagnoses. Statistical analysis including matched pair analysis was performed.

Results

Unmatched data demonstrated that patients with Graves’ disease who underwent total thyroidectomy (n = 5495) had a higher rate of readmission (odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.16‐1.73) and rate of reoperation (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.88‐2.79) in comparison to control patients (n = 24,213). They also had a higher rate of postoperative complication (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.23‐1.93) especially for wound‐related outcomes (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.32‐2.69), readmission for postoperative hypocalcemia (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.54‐2.92), and reoperation for hematoma or hemorrhage (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.32‐2.69). A matched‐pair analysis of the data also demonstrated similar significant results.

Conclusion

Patients with Graves’ disease undergoing total thyroidectomy are at higher risk of complications in comparison to those who do not have Graves’ disease, likely due to sequelae of the disease. However, overall rates were low, suggesting that the procedure remains relatively low risk and should continue to be offered to select patients who meet criteria for surgery.
Monopolar Cautery Use in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users
Authors: Page J. Cody , Chapel A. Claire , Silva Rodrigo C. , Sullivan J. Connor , Sweeney Alex D.
Published: June 2022

Objectives

To determine the incidence and impact of monopolar cautery use in a cohort of pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users.

Study Design

Case series from a retrospective chart review and a systematic review of the literature.

Setting

Tertiary academic referral center.

Methods

CI patient charts from 2012 to 2021 were reviewed from a single pediatric hospital system to determine if monopolar cautery was used during a subsequent surgical procedure. In addition, a systematic review of the literature was performed to identify additional, relevant patients. Postoperative CI function was the primary outcome measure.

Results

In total, 190 patients underwent a surgical procedure following cochlear implantation in a single pediatric hospital system. Fifteen patients (7.9%) and 17 distinct surgical procedures were identified in which monopolar cautery was used. Seven of these 17 cases (41.2%) involved the head and neck, and 10 were performed below the clavicles. No patients experienced a device failure or a decline in CI performance following surgery. A systematic review identified an additional 4 patients who underwent a surgery that used monopolar cautery following cochlear implantation, and no change in CI function was identified.

Conclusions

The present study adds additional support to the notion that monopolar cautery does not necessarily injure CI functionality. While the most risk adverse strategy when planning a surgical procedure for a CI patient is to avoid monopolar cautery use altogether, the use of cautery should not immediately be associated with implant dysfunction.
Dynamic incentive mechanism in mobile crowdsourcing networks by combining reputation and contract theory
Authors: Zhao Nan , Wan Qixuan , Chen Jinlian , Wu Minghu
Published: June 2022

By utilizing the mobile terminals’ sensing and computing capabilities, mobile crowdsourcing network is considered to be a promising technology to support the various large-scale sensing applications. However, considering the limited resources and security issue, mobile users may be unwilling to participate in crowdsourcing without any incentive. In this work, by combining reputation and contract theory, a dynamic long-term incentive mechanism is proposed to attract the mobile users to participate in mobile crowdsourcing networks. A two-period dynamic contract is first investigated to deal with the asymmetric information problem in the crowdsourcing tasks. Reputation strategy is then introduced to further attract the mobile users to complete the long-term crowdsourcing tasks. The optimal contracts are designed to obtain the maximum expected utility of service provider with reputation strategy and without reputation strategy, respectively. Simulation results demonstrate that the long-term crowdsourcing tasks can be guaranteed by combining the contract’s explicit incentive with the reputation’s implicit incentive. The incentive mechanism can gain a higher expected utility, the more implicit reputation effect factor.
Influence of breeding time, nest size, water depth, and egg size on the breeding success of the little bittern Ixobrychus minutus
Authors: Amininasab Seyed Mehdi , Hosseini-Moosavi Seyed Masoud , Xu Charles CY
Published: June 2022

Understanding the factors that influence avian reproductive output is critical for bird conservation as they reveal key considerations that directly impact a species’ long term survival and should be integrated into management plans. To better this understanding for the little bittern Ixobrychus minutus, we investigated how their breeding success relates to breeding time, nest size, water depth, and egg size in a man-made wetland (Ab-bandan) during the 2008 breeding season in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. For each nest, the dates of the first egg laying, the first hatching, and the first fledging were recorded as well as clutch sizes. Nest size parameters (height, depth, and diameter), water depth under the nest, and egg characteristics (shape index and weight) were measured. The first egg was laid on March 21 and the last chick left the nest on June 24. From 140 eggs in 25 nests, 127 eggs hatched (91%) and 121 fledglings left their nests (87%). Generalized linear modeling revealed that nest diameter positively affected breeding success ( p = 0.001) meaning larger nests were more likely to produce fledglings. Further studies will be necessary to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
Kinome profiling of cholangiocarcinoma organoids reveals potential druggable targets that hold promise for treatment stratification
Authors: Lieshout Ruby , Faria Alessandra V. S. , Peppelenbosch Maikel P. , van der Laan Luc J. W. , Verstegen Monique M. A. , Fuhler Gwenny M.
Published: June 2022

Background

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare but lethal cancer of the biliary tract. Its first-line treatment is currently restricted to chemotherapy, which provides limited clinical benefit. Kinase inhibitors targeting oncogenic intracellular signaling have changed the treatment paradigm of cancer over the last decades. However, they are yet to be widely applied in cholangiocarcinoma therapy. Cholangiocarcinoma has marked molecular heterogeneity, which complicates the discovery of new treatments and requires patient stratification. Therefore, we investigated whether a commercial kinome profiling platform could predict druggable targets in cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods

Kinase activity in patient-derived cholangiocarcinoma organoids, non-tumorous adjacent tissue-derived and healthy donor-derived intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids was determined using the PamChip® phosphotyrosine kinase microarray platform. Kinome profiles were compared and correlated with RNA sequencing and (multi-)kinase inhibitor screening of the cholangiocarcinoma organoids.

Results

Kinase activity profiles of individual cholangiocarcinoma organoids are different and do not cluster together. However, growth factor signaling (EGFR, PDGFRβ) and downstream effectors (MAPK pathway) are more active in cholangiocarcinoma organoids and could provide potential druggable targets. Screening of 31 kinase inhibitors revealed several promising pan-effective inhibitors and compounds that show patient-specific efficacy. Kinase inhibitor sensitivity correlated to the activity of its target kinases for several inhibitors, signifying them as potential predictors of response. Moreover, we identified correlations between drug response and kinases not directly targeted by those drugs.

Conclusions

In conclusion, kinome profiling is a feasible method to identify druggable targets for cholangiocarcinoma. Future studies should confirm the potential of kinase activity profiles as biomarkers for patient stratification and precision medicine.