bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional and elevational patterns of extreme heat stress change in the US
Authors: Raymond Colin , Waliser Duane , Guan Bin , Lee Huikyo , Loikith Paul , Massoud Elias , Sengupta Agniv , Singh Deepti , Wootten Adrienne
Published: May 2022

Increasing severity of extreme heat is a hallmark of climate change. Its impacts depend on temperature but also on moisture and solar radiation, each with distinct spatial patterns and vertical profiles. Here, we consider these variables’ combined effect on extreme heat stress, as measured by the environmental stress index, using a suite of high-resolution climate simulations for historical (1980–2005) and future (2074–2099, Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5)) periods. We find that observed extreme heat stress drops off nearly linearly with elevation above a coastal zone, at a rate that is larger in more humid regions. Future projections indicate dramatic relative increases whereby the historical top 1% summer heat stress value may occur on about 25%–50% of future summer days under the RCP8.5 scenario. Heat stress increases tend to be larger at higher latitudes and in areas of greater temperature increase, although in the southern and eastern US moisture increases are nearly as important. Imprinted on top of this dominant pattern we find secondary effects of smaller heat stress increases near ocean coastlines, notably along the Pacific coast, and larger increases in mountains, notably the Sierra Nevada and southern Appalachians. This differential warming is attributable to the greater warming of land relative to ocean, and to larger temperature increases at higher elevations outweighing larger water-vapor increases at lower elevations. All together, our results aid in furthering knowledge about drivers and characteristics that shape future extreme heat stress at scales difficult to capture in global assessments.
On symmetry breaking in the B − L extended spectral standard model
Authors: Besnard Fabien
Published: May 2022

We apply Connes–Chamseddine spectral action to the U(1)
B−L
—extension of the standard model. We show that in order for the scalar potential to reach its minimum for a non-zero value of the new complex scalar field, thus triggering the breaking of B − L symmetry, a constraint on the quartic coupling constants must be satisfied at unification scale. We then explore the renormalization flow of this model in two opposite scenarios for the neutrino sector, and show that this constraint is not compatible with the pole masses of the top quark and SM Higgs boson. We also show that the model suffers from a mass-splitting problem similar to the doublet-triplet splitting problem of grand unified theories. We discuss potential implications for the noncommutative geometry program.
Aerosol-jet-printed graphene electrochemical immunosensors for rapid and label-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva
Authors: Pola Cícero C , Rangnekar Sonal V , Sheets Robert , Szydłowska Beata M , Downing Julia R , Parate Kshama W , Wallace Shay G , Tsai Daphne , Hersam Mark C , Gomes Carmen L , Claussen Jonathan C
Published: May 2022

Rapid, inexpensive, and easy-to-use coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) home tests are key tools in addition to vaccines in the world wide fight to eliminate national and local shutdowns. However, currently available tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are too expensive, painful, and irritating, or not sufficiently sensitive for routine, accurate home testing. Herein, we employ custom-formulated graphene inks and aerosol jet printing to create a rapid electrochemical immunosensor for direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) in saliva samples acquired noninvasively. This sensor demonstrated limits of detection that are considerably lower than most commercial SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests (22.91 ± 4.72 pg ml−1 for spike RBD and 110.38 ± 9.00 pg ml−1 for spike S1) as well as fast response time (∼30 min), which was facilitated by the functionalization of printed graphene electrodes in a single-step with SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal antibody through the carbodiimide reaction without the need for nanoparticle functionalization or secondary antibody or metallic nanoparticle labels. This immunosensor presents a wide linear sensing range from 1 to 1000 ng ml−1 and does not react with other coexisting influenza viruses such as H1N1 hemagglutinin. By combining high-yield graphene ink synthesis, automated printing, high antigen selectivity, and rapid testing capability, this work offers a promising alternative to current SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests.
[6,6]CNB with controllable external electric field deformation: a theoretical study of the structure-function relationship
Authors: Lu Chen , Jiang Fengli , Wang Jingang
Published: May 2022

An external electric field (EEF) has a strong controlling effect on the structure, electron distribution, and optoelectronic properties of a system. In this study, the geometric structure, electronic distribution and electronic transition properties of [6,6]carbon nanobelt ([6,6]CNB) were investigated under different EEFs based on density functional theory and wave function analysis. These theoretical studies determined that EEF can significantly change the geometry of [6,6]CNB by elongating its structure. The system deformation was mainly caused by forces pulling in the direction of the EEF. After removal of the EEF, the system reverted to its original structure. Electronic polarization played a major role in structural stability during the deformation process. The changes in geometric structure and electronic distribution affected the photoelectric properties of [6,6]CNB. Under the action of EEFs, the absorption peak of [6,6]CNB was red-shifted and gradually appeared in the visible light region. This study facilitates an understanding of the performance of [6,6]CNB as a new type of nanomaterial and provides the necessary theoretical basis for the application of [6,6]CNB in the field of optoelectronics.
Adsorption of Cd(II) on mesoporous Al2O3 prepared from high-aluminum fly ash
Authors: Liu Chengwei , Liu Nengsheng , Li Xiaoying , He Xintao , Liu Xueqing , Hu Bo , He Sufang
Published: May 2022

Cadmium (Cd) pollution has increased in water bodies due to an increase in industrial and agricultural activities, threatening human health and ecosystem stability. In this study, high-alumina fly ash (HAFA) was used as a low-cost raw material to prepare mesoporous alumina (MA) adsorbents to remove Cd(II) from water. The adsorption performance of the synthesized MA for Cd(II) was investigated at different pH values, initial Cd(II) concentrations, and contact times. The results showed that MA was successfully prepared from HAFA, and showed a specific surface area of 318.7 m2 g−1 and average pore size of 4.5 nm. The adsorption of Cd(II) on the synthesized MA had the best adsorption environment at pH 7, and the contact time to reach the dynamic adsorption equilibrium was 60 min. The pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models accurately described chemisorption and monolayer adsorption of Cd(II) on the surface of the synthesized MA, respectively. The fitting results of the Intra-particle diffusion model show that the intraparticle diffusion of particles is not the only step controlling the rate during the adsorption of Cd(II) by synthetic materials. The maximum adsorption capacity of the synthesized MA for Cd(II) was calculated to be 88.26 mg g−1 using the Langmuir isotherm.
Preparation of Palygorskite hybrid iron oxide red pigment and its application in waterborne polyurethane composite coatings and ceramics
Authors: Han Yisen , Shan Miao , Lu Yunfei , Liu Songqin
Published: May 2022

Palygorskite (Pal) is a kind of magnesium aluminum silicate clay mineral with a one-dimensional rod and layer chain structure. Herein, Pal hybrid iron oxide red pigment (Pal/α-Fe2O3) was prepared by the grinding method. Pal acted as a matrix to fix α-Fe2O3 particles and influenced the performances of composite pigments by changing the particle size and distribution of α-Fe2O3. The color difference analysis showed that the color performances of composite pigments were closely related to the ratio of Pal to α-Fe2O3. Compared with the original red iron oxide pigment, the tinting strength of the composite pigment was increased by about 15%. When Pal/α-Fe2O3 was used as the red pigment for coating, it had good storage stability for waterborne coating and improved its adhesion and corrosion resistance. Pal/α-Fe2O3 composite pigments had excellent high-temperature resistance, which could increase the calcination temperature of ceramic pigments and would be beneficial for the ceramic industry. The synthetic method of Pal/α-Fe2O3 composite pigment was simple, low-cost, and environmentally friendly, and could be applied to large-scale industrial production.
5. Spartan women
Authors: Bayliss Andrew J.
Published: May 2022

‘Spartan women’ describes Spartan women as having a reputation for physical attractiveness which dates back to mythical times via Helen. However, their beauty went hand in hand with a notoriety for sexual promiscuity, because Spartan girls could be seen outside, scantily clad and engaging in traditionally male activities like athletics. Whereas Spartan boys trained to prepare them for their future life as citizen-soldiers, Spartan girls were strengthening their bodies in preparation for their future role as child-bearers. Spartan women enjoyed certain freedoms. They had a reputation for forthright speech, and they were able to own landed-property in their own right. Spartan sexual practices are also a consideration.
Prognostic value of modified model for end-stage liver disease scores in patients with significant tricuspid regurgitation
Authors: Lv Junxing , Ye Yunqing , Li Zhe , Zhang Bin , Liu Qingrong , Zhao Qinghao , Zhao Zhenyan , Wang Weiwei , Zhang Haitong , Duan Zhenya , Wang Bincheng , Yu Zikai , Guo Shuai , Zhao Yanyan , Gao Runlin , Xu Haiyan , Wu Yongjian ,   for the CHINA-VHD Collaborators, Wu Yongjian , Xu Haiyan , Zhou Yujie , Zhang Haibo , Liu Changfu , Yang Qing , Cong Hongliang , Zhou Daxin , Zhao Xianxian , Zhang Zhihui , Jiang Xianyan , Zhang Mei , Han Qinghua , An Jian , Ke Yongsheng , Chen Lianglong , Lin Rong , Luo Jianfang , Wen Hong , Wu Qiang , Liao Wang , Gao Chuanyu , Li Ling , Qi Xiaoyong , Ji Zheng , Su Xi , Hu Xinqun , Li Yue , Yu Bo , Liu Bin , Chen Shaoliang , Wang Jianan , Fu Guosheng , Zheng Zeqi , Zhang Zheng , Song Bing , Xie Ping , Zhao Xingsheng , Pei Hanjun , Huang Hui , Tao Ling , Li Fei , Guo Yingqiang , Fan Zhongcai , Wang Haoyu , Guo Tao , Tao Guizhou , Ren Ming , Gesang Luobu , Ma Xiang
Published: May 2022

Aims

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) may cause damage to liver and kidney function. The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease excluding international normalized ratio (MELD-XI) and the model with albumin replacing international normalized ratio (MELD-Albumin) scores, which include both liver and kidney function indexes, may predict mortality in patients with TR. The study aimed to analyse the prognostic value of MELD-XI and MELD-Albumin scores in patients with significant TR.

Methods and results

A total of 1825 patients with at least moderate pure native TR from the China Valvular Heart Disease study between April and June 2018, were included in this analysis. The primary outcome was all-cause death within 2 years. Of 1825 patients, 165 (9.0%) died during follow-up. Restricted cubic splines revealed that hazard ratio for death increased monotonically with greater modified MELD scores. The MELD-XI and MELD-Albumin scores, as continuous variables or categorized using thresholds determined by maximally selected rank statistics, were independently associated with 2-year mortality (all adjusted P < 0.001). Both scores provided incremental value over prognostic model without hepatorenal indexes {MELD-XI score: net reclassification index [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.237 (0.138–0.323)]; MELD-Albumin score: net reclassification index (95% CI), 0.220 (0.122–0.302)}. Results were similar in clinically meaningful subgroups, including but not limited to patients under medical treatment and those with normal left ventricular ejection fraction. Models including modified MELD scores were established for prognostic evaluation of significant TR.

Conclusion

Both MELD-XI and MELD-Albumin scores provided incremental prognostic information and could play important roles in risk assessment in patients with significant TR.
Observation of stagnant slab material in the lower transition zone beneath the Aleutian Trench using teleseismic underside reflections
Authors: Akoto John , Gurrola Harold
Published: May 2022

The goal of this project is to investigate the mantle transition zone (TZ) across the Aleutian subduction zone using SdS underside reflections. The Aleutian subduction zone is chosen as our study area because of its significant tectonic activity, coupled with a high-density data set of SdS midpoints, largely obtained from the U.S. Transportable Array. Seismic images were made using the wavefield iterative deconvolution stacking method. Our results are corroborated by comparing them with velocity anomalies observed in the 3-D GyPSuM Earth velocity model. The results of our investigation show that where the subducting Pacific Plate passes through the TZ, the 410 discontinuity is elevated by up to 20 km, and the 660 discontinuity is depressed by up to 40 km. We interpret the variations in the depth to the boundaries of the TZ in terms of Clapeyron slope of the olivine phase changes hypothesized to be responsible for these discontinuities. In this model, the 410 discontinuity is caused by a phase change of olivine to wadsleyite and has a positive Clapeyron slope, while the 660 discontinuity (phase change) represents a phase change of ringwoodite to perovskite and ferropericlase, and has a negative Clapeyron slope. Also, in the TZ, the 520 discontinuity (a phase change from wadsleyite to ringwoodite) occurs over a 30 km interval, resulting in a boundary that is too gradational to be observed globally in seismic imaging. However, in this study, the 520 is observed in regions close to the cold subducting slab in the Aleutian trench. We suggest this observation is a result of mantle chilling of the lower half of the TZ where the cold subducting Pacific slab does not penetrate the 660 km discontinuity, thereby cooling the mantle beneath the 520. This chilling of the mantle appears to sharpen the velocity contrast at the 520 depth. Finally, we infer that the Pacific slab pools atop the 660 discontinuity and undergoes dehydration that contributes to the observed deepening of the 660.
Real-time surgical tool detection in computer-aided surgery based on enhanced feature-fusion convolutional neural network
Authors: Liu Kaidi , Zhao Zijian , Shi Pan , Li Feng , Song He
Published: May 2022

Surgical tool detection is a key technology in computer-assisted surgery, and can help surgeons to obtain more comprehensive visual information. Currently, a data shortage problem still exists in surgical tool detection. In addition, some surgical tool detection methods may not strike a good balance between detection accuracy and speed. Given the above problems, in this study a new Cholec80-tool6 dataset was manually annotated, which provided a better validation platform for surgical tool detection methods. We propose an enhanced feature-fusion network (EFFNet) for real-time surgical tool detection. FENet20 is the backbone of the network and performs feature extraction more effectively. EFFNet is the feature-fusion part and performs two rounds of feature fusion to enhance the utilization of low-level and high-level feature information. The latter part of the network contains the weight fusion and predictor responsible for the output of the prediction results. The performance of the proposed method was tested using the ATLAS Dione and Cholec80-tool6 datasets, yielding mean average precision values of 97.0% and 95.0% with 21.6 frames per second, respectively. Its speed met the real-time standard and its accuracy outperformed that of other detection methods.
Q-compensated viscoelastic reverse time migration in crosswell seismic imaging
Authors: Pan Yue , He Xiao , Yang Jixin , Wang Xiuming
Published: May 2022

Viscoelastic reverse time migration (RTM) is a practical approach to compensats for attenuation effects in migration, commonly studied in surface seismic research. Compared with conventional surface seismic imaging, the sources and receivers of crosswell seismic imaging are distributed in different wells with higher main frequencies and lower surface noises. The finer structures can be imaged. In this paper, we apply attenuation compensated RTM in crosswell migration to improve the resolution of images in attenuation regions. We solve the viscoelastic equations using the constant Q model because of its advantage of decoupling the amplitude and phase. The fractional-order amplitude and phase Laplacian operators are used. By spectral ration techniques, we observe the relationship between attenuation and frequency in crosswell seismic imaging. We describe the alignment and muting of direct P- and S-waves from full waves in detail. Synthetic examples demonstrate that Q-RTM images the geological structure more clearly than the traditional RTM. We reveal that compensated images describe the three-layer model, tilted fractures and randomly distributed caves more accurately. As the tilted angles increase, only two end points of the tilted fracture can be identified by conventional RTM, the boundary is blurred. We find that caves far from the source well can barely be imaged. By comparison, the compensated RTM approach obtains precise migration results of tilted fractures with arbitrary dip angles and caves. Finally, to approximate the real measurement data, noise is added to the viscoelastic data of the five-layer model. The effective noise immunity in crosswell seismic applications is verified.
Collisional excitation of isotopologues of carbon monoxide by molecular hydrogen
Authors: Dagdigian Paul J
Published: May 2022

Rate coefficients for transitions between the 14 lowest rotational levels, having energies less than 500 K, of the most abundant isotopologue of carbon monoxide,12C16O, caused by collisions with para-H2 and ortho-H2 are reported for temperatures between 5 and 400 K. These data were computed through time-independent close-coupled scattering calculations employing the high-quality potential energy surface (PES) recently calculated by Faure et al. Rate coefficients for collision-induced transitions are required for radiative transfer modelling of molecules present in interstellar clouds under non-equilibrium conditions. In addition, rate coefficients were computed for other carbon monoxide isotopologues, 13C16O, 12C17O, and 12C18O. The PESs for these systems were obtained by transforming the PES for 12C16O–H2 PES. The rotational transitions of 12C17O isotopologue often display resolved hyperfine structure in astronomical spectra. Rate coefficients for collision-induced transitions between the rotational–hyperfine levels of this isotopologue have been computed by the recoupling technique. A simple radiative transfer calculation was performed to illustrate the utility of using such an approach to relate observed intensities in astronomical spectra with molecular abundances.
Hexokinase 2 is a transcriptional target and a positive modulator of AHR signalling
Authors: Watzky Manon , Huard Solène , Juricek Ludmila , Dairou Julien , Chauvet Caroline , Coumoul Xavier , Letessier Anne , Miotto Benoit
Published: May 2022

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) regulates the expression of numerous genes in response to activation by agonists including xenobiotics. Although it is well appreciated that environmental signals and cell intrinsic features may modulate this transcriptional response, how it is mechanistically achieved remains poorly understood. We show that hexokinase 2 (HK2) a metabolic enzyme fuelling cancer cell growth, is a transcriptional target of AHR as well as a modulator of its activity. Expression of HK2 is positively regulated by AHR upon exposure to agonists both in human cells and in mice lung tissues. Conversely, over-expression of HK2 regulates the abundance of many proteins involved in the regulation of AHR signalling and these changes are linked with altered AHR expression levels and transcriptional activity. HK2 expression also shows a negative correlation with AHR promoter methylation in tumours, and these tumours with high HK2 expression and low AHR methylation are associated with a worse overall survival in patients. In sum, our study provides novel insights into how AHR signalling is regulated which may help our understanding of the context-specific effects of this pathway and may have implications in cancer.
Evaluation of renal oxygenation by BOLD–MRI in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes and matched controls
Authors: Sørensen Steffen S , Gullaksen Søren , Vernstrøm Liv , Ringgaard Steffen , Laustsen Christoffer , Funck Kristian L , Laugesen Esben , Poulsen Per L
Published: May 2022

Background

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) accounts for ∼50% of end-stage kidney disease. Renal hypoxia is suggested as a main driver in the pathophysiology underlying chronic DKD. Blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) has made noninvasive investigations of renal oxygenation in humans possible. Whether diabetes per se contributes to measurable changes in renal oxygenation by BOLD-MRI remains to be elucidated. We investigated whether renal oxygenation measured with BOLD-MRI differs between people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with normal to moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) (Stages 1–3A) and matched controls. The repeatability of the BOLD-MRI method was also assessed.

Methods

In this matched cross-sectional study, 20 people with T2DM (age 69.2 ± 4.7 years, duration of diabetes 10.5 ± 6.7 years, male 55.6%) and 20 matched nondiabetic controls (mean age 68.8 ± 5.4 years, male 55.%) underwent BOLD-MRI analysed with the 12-layer concentric object method (TLCO). To investigate the repeatability, seven in the T2DM group and nine in the control group were scanned twice.

Results

A significant reduction in renal oxygenation from the cortex to medulla was found in both groups (P < .01) but no intergroup difference was detected [0.71/s (95% confidence interval −0.28–1.7), P = .16]. The median intraindividual coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 1.2% to 7.0%.

Conclusion

T2DM patients with normal to moderate CKD do not seem to have lower renal oxygenation when measured with BOLD-MRI and TLCO. BOLD-MRI has a low intraindividual CV and seems like a reliable method for investigation of renal oxygenation in T2DM.
“Yellow Noise”
Authors: Loeffelholz Mary
Published: May 2022

The translation of Emily Dickinson’s manuscript writings into digital formats, beginning in the late twentieth century, sharpened editorial and interpretive questions that were already interesting enough when encountered in high-quality analog reproduction. To move from Ralph Franklin’s edition of the fascicles, The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson (1981), to those presented by Martha Nell Smith and her colleagues in the Dickinson Electronic Archive, Versions I and II (1994–present), and by Harvard’s editorial collective of scholars in the Emily Dickinson Archive (2012–present), is to move from print into the world of markup and coding, which make digital surrogates immensely more searchable than analog reproductions. In doing so, markup and coding inevitably bake into digital presentations a host of interpretive decisions about which features of Dickinson’s writing are potentially meaningful or interesting enough to be searched: about which features, in short, constitute information. The process of digital representation has privileged the surviving visual media and features of Dickinson’s writing, in keeping with the powerful visual turn of the twenty-first century screenworld, and diminished Dickinson’s investment in aural forms. This essay investigates Dickinson’s contemporary understanding of aural forms in light of the information sciences and communication technologies emergent in her own lifetime and proposes that Dickinson’s sense of form and information is constitutively intermedial.
Looking Back on Dickinson’s Reception in Japan
Authors: Asahina Midori , Shimomura Nobuko , Takeda Masako
Published: May 2022

There are various ways to respond to the world of Dickinson in Japan. First, we look back on translation history, paying special attention to the significance of tone in translation. Here we examine in particular David and Mabel Todd’s scroll of a Dickinson poem, written in Esashi, Hokkaido, in the summer of 1896; poet Jun Takami’s elegant juxtaposition of Dickinson’s poetry with modern art, in the magazine Lady’s Graphic in the 1950s; and poet Masayo Koike’s recent translation reflecting on Japanese classic literature. Second, we witness two influential artists’ responses to Dickinson. Toru Takemitsu (1930–96) composed five musical pieces inspired by her poems; and contemporary poet Gozo Yoshimasu (b. 1939) refers to Dickinson’s poems in his experimental writings. Third, we report on a unique Japanese style of appreciation through koh-do (incense ceremony). As we demonstrate, by continuously stimulating our senses of sight, sound, and smell, Dickinson’s poetry shows its transcultural power in Japan and stimulates experimental and uniquely Japanese responses.
The Letter Not Sent
Authors: Crumbley Paul
Published: May 2022

This essay provides a historical overview of fascicle scholarship while demonstrating the possibilities of horizontal reading, one method of fascicle analysis. It shows how lifting poems out of their fascicle context can make Dickinson’s work appear more conventional and palatable to a general American public. Conversely, reading poems with an eye toward their original relationship to other poems in each fascicle allows more complex and fraught meanings to emerge, whereby each poem is in conversation with a range of social, political, aesthetic, and philosophical issues. For example, when “This is my letter to the World” is read horizontally in its relationship to the whole of Fascicle 24, the fascicle in which Dickinson placed it, it can be seen as tangled up with difficult news from the front, questions concerning the ecological implications of war, and Dickinson’s lifelong concern about the role of the poet in periods of historic upheaval. The essay suggests that by putting Dickinson’s work back into the context of the fascicles, her poems appear to jostle against each other, disclosing unresolved tensions concerning Dickinson’s investigation of the poet’s place in the world.
Dickinson Composed
Authors: Cazé Antoine
Published: May 2022

This essay looks at how three living composers (Stefano Gervasoni, John Adams, and Édith Canat de Chizy) have set to music poems by Emily Dickinson. After describing Dickinson’s own approach to sounds, showing how she uses them to create a “tune of thinking” that allows her to expand perception into speculation, the essay focuses on the relationships these composers have created between text and music. It suggests that instead of using the expressive model favored by the majority of composers when setting texts to music, they favor structural methods of composition in order to translate Dickinson’s conception of sound. Layering, spaciousness, and movement are identified as musical ways of creating spatial-temporal structures in which the poems’ words become an absent center. While these musical compositions sometimes go so far as to challenge the possibility of understanding the poems, they prolong Dickinson’s structures of sound on a deeper level, enhancing her poetic capacity to think in verse.
Dickinson’s Spinster Poetics
Authors: Kent Kathryn R.
Published: May 2022

This essay traces two major trajectories in Dickinson criticism focused on sexuality: the lesbian-feminist lineage that underpins a great deal of modern scholarship on the poet and, more recently, queer studies’ understanding of her work. It examines analyses of Dickinson’s life and poetry, including popular-culture representations from memes to the recent film Wild Nights with Emily. Demonstrating what a lesbian/female-female homoerotic critical lens makes possible, this essay puts alongside these readings an account of Dickinson’s “spinster poetics” and the ways some of her poems represent alternative forms of sociality and erotic relation.
“Where congregations ne’er break up”
Authors: Donahue Eberwein Jane
Published: May 2022

From baptism to her funeral, Dickinson lived in an environment influenced by the church her family had long supported and guided. Amherst’s First Congregational Church stood as a proud landmark within her town, both when housed in the Third Meeting House near the college and later when her brother guided construction of handsome new buildings within sight of the Homestead. It was in church that she experienced Bible-reading, preaching, and hymns that influenced her use of language. Services frequently provided her with subject matter for letters. So did tasks typically entrusted to women, such as charitable service and support for domestic and foreign missions. Ministers from Aaron Colton and Edward Dwight through Jonathan Jenkins guided the church through and beyond the revivalism of Dickinson’s youth while helping members grapple with public concerns (abolitionism and the Civil War) and internal disciplinary actions—some of them directly affecting Edward and Austin Dickinson. Although never formally a “member” of First Church, the poet remained within its “parish” as her community understood those terms.
“Dragons – in the Crease –”
Authors: Cull Ryan
Published: May 2022

This essay considers a sequence of poems by Emily Dickinson that challenges a claim forwarded by a number of influential, contemporary lyric theorists, the idea that the dynamics of social recognition define the political work of lyric writing. These poems focus on the “crease” and the “fold,” images that signify the space wherein dramas of social recognition occur, most often with reference to a feature of or action related to clothing or the location of a grave, which in Dickinson’s lexicon is a crease or fold in the ground. She links these two apparently disparate meanings by illustrating how the need to be recognizable within gendered social norms can make existence akin to a death-in-life. But in the most conceptually challenging of these poems, including “I had not minded –Walls –” (M 283, Fr554) and “I tie my Hat – I crease my Shawl –” (M 256, Fr522), Dickinson reflects on how she has learned, with great difficulty, to resist the “Recompense” or “Reward” promised but never fulfilled by economies of social recognition. And in probing the limits of recognition, she begins to open space for alternative models of social relation, alternative adjacencies that demand alternative lyricisms and alternative lyric reading practices.
Climate to COVID, global to local, policies to people: a biopsychosocial ecological framework for syndemic prevention and response in behavioral medicine
Authors: Persad-Clem Reema , Hoerster Katherine D , Romano Evalynn Fae T , Huizar Nancy , Maier Karl J
Published: May 2022

Land development, pollution, and waste have affected natural environments, contributing to hurricanes, wildfires, and pandemic infectious diseases like COVID-19. Globalized corporate food systems that produce ultra-refined foods with low nutritional value contribute to both environmental conditions and health conditions like obesity and undernutrition. This has the greatest impact on communities already suffering from elevated health risks driven by economic inequities rooted in racism. These interacting environmental, health, and social conditions represent a syndemic. We outline practical suggestions to address this syndemic of environmental degradation, pandemic infectious disease, chronic disease, undernutrition, and inequity through research and practice at many levels, including individual behavior, local communities, and regional, national and global policy. Collaboration with communities is central to simultaneously tackling interconnected human and environmental health threats. For example, community-led groups have increased access to healthy food in response to pandemic conditions. Building on behavioral medicine’s rich foundation of ecological models, communities have partnered with local researchers to address the needs of equitable public transport and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through multilevel research and practice. Policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and community members should collaborate with each other and across disciplines to find lasting, multiduty solutions to improve physical, psychosocial, and planetary health.
Occurrence of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus in Wine Grapes in Arizona
Authors: Hu Jiahuai
Published: May 2022

During August to October 2021, symptoms of leaf reddening similar to those associated with grapevine red blotch disease were observed on several red variety blocks in a vineyard located in the Willcox area of Cochise County, Arizona. To our knowledge, this is the first report of grapevine red blotch virus in Arizona vineyards.
Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a multivitamin mineral herbal essential‐oil‐infused supplement: a pilot clinical trial
Authors: Han Xuesheng , Parker Tory
Published: May 2022

A complete multivitamin mineral herbal omega 3 supplement infused with essential oils (product name Lifelong Vitality, LLV) has been reported by its users to increase energy levels, decrease pain, strengthen immunity and improve mental focus. This study was designed to quantitatively evaluate these effects through serum biomarkers and qualitatively by survey. Sixteen participants were recruited to take LLV as directed for two months. A blood sample was provided and a survey taken both before and after the 2 month supplementation period. The following were shown to improve significantly (p < 0.05): HDL cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, fasting insulin, homocysteine, serum vitamin E, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and arachidonic acid (AA)/EPA ratio. This demonstrated that the LLV had significant positive effects on biochemical indicators for cardiovascular health, antioxidant status, markers of inflammation, and blood sugar regulation. In the 16 ‐ item qualitative survey, after two months of LLV supplementation all results were improved positively; 12 of them were statistically significant. The participants reported more mental clarity, energy, motivation, control, balance, and happiness, while reporting less back pain, muscle pain, colds and flu occurrence, anxiety, frustration and irritation at the end of 2 ‐ month supplementation. These results suggest that the supplement may provide a broad range of health benefits for its users in a short period of time, though a larger study should be conducted to verify.

Support or Funding Information

This study was supported by doTERRA International, LLC, Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Impact of Project ECHO on Patient and Community Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review
Authors: Osei-Twum Jo-Ann , Wiles Brittany , Killackey Tieghan , Mahood Quenby , Lalloo Chitra , Stinson Jennifer N.
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) is a hub-and-spoke tele-education model that aims to increase health care providers’ access to evidence-based guidelines and enhance their capacity to care for complex patients in rural, remote, and underserved communities. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine evidence of the impact of Project ECHO programs on patient and community health outcomes.

Method

The authors used Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and subsequent revisions proposed by Levac and colleagues to guide their review. They searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science for English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between January 2003 and June 2020. Included studies focused on Project ECHO programs and reported either patient or community health outcomes. The authors used a standardized data extraction form to document bibliographical information and study characteristics, including health outcome level(s), as articulated by Moore’s evaluation framework for continuing medical education.

Results

Of the 597 search results, the authors identified 15 studies describing Project ECHO programs. These programs were implemented in the United States and Australia and facilitated education sessions with health care providers caring for adult patients living with 1 of 7 medical conditions. Included study findings suggest Project ECHO programs significantly changed patient-level outcomes (n = 15) and to a lesser extent changed community-level outcomes (n = 1). Changes in care were observed at the individual patient level, at the practice level, and in objective clinical measures, including sustained virologic response and HbA1c.

Conclusions

This review identified emerging evidence of the effectiveness of Project ECHO as a tele-education model that improves patient health outcomes and has the potential to positively impact community health. The small number of included studies suggests that additional evidence of patient- and community-level impact is required to support the continued adoption and implementation of this model.
Clinical trials of cell therapy for heart failure: recent results warrant continued research
Authors: Bolli Roberto , Tang Xian-Liang
Published: May 2022

Purpose of review

Clinical trials of adult cell therapy for chronic heart failure are often misrepresented in an unfairly negative light. Results are claimed to be ’negative’, ’incremental’, or ’modest’. This common misconception is detrimental to medical progress and needs to be dispelled.

Recent findings

Contrary to the false narrative of scientific and lay media, the outcome of recent trials of cell therapy for heart failure has been encouraging and even exciting. Specifically, with the exception of ALLSTAR, in the past 2 years several Phase II–III double-blind, randomized trials have yielded impressive results, demonstrating not just safety but also salubrious effects on cardiac function (MSC-HF) or clinical events (MSC-HF, CONCERT-HF, and DREAM-HF) for at least 1 year after a single administration of cells. Such outcomes were neither incremental nor minor, nor achievable with one dose of any other nondevice therapy for heart failure.

The oft-repeated assertion that cell therapy does not benefit patients with chronic heart failure is based on a misrepresentation of the literature and is contrary to the available scientific evidence. Although the mechanism of action of cell therapy is unclear, research on its use in heart failure should continue, as only rigorous, well designed, Phase III trials can definitely confirm or refute its efficacy.
The role of multimodality imaging in patients with heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction
Authors: Hassan Ossama K. Abou , Higgins Andrew R.
Published: May 2022

Purpose of review

The burden of clinical heart failure, both heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), continues to increase both nationally and globally. This review summarizes the expanding role of multimodality imaging techniques in the evaluation and management these patients.

Recent findings

Echocardiographic assessment for heart failure continues to expand and should include a robust hemodynamic and strain assessment. Nuclear techniques have also continued to evolve and advances including computed tomography attenuation correction for single photon emission-computed tomography positron-emission tomography increase diagnostic accuracy as well as provide information such as myocardial blood flow and viability assessment. Computed tomography imaging, already well established in the assessment of coronary and valvular disease, has increasing utility in the characterization of myopathy, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continues to expand its role in tissue characterization to a wider breadth of diseases, including right ventricular cardiomyopathy and left ventricle noncompaction.

Although heart failure remains a clinical diagnosis based on history and examination, early imaging is critical for further assessment. Due to its widespread availability, affordability, and safety, transthoracic echocardiography has long been the mainstay tool for both initial evaluation as well as for periodic surveillance of heart failure patients, but advances in multimodality imaging are occurring at a rapid pace and promise to provide an increasing wealth of data to help manage such patients.
Novel devices for managing heart failure
Authors: Howard Travis , Spilias Nikolaos , Bhattacharya Sanjeeb , Harb Serge , Puri Rishi
Published: May 2022

Purpose of review

Despite advances in heart failure (HF) therapies, the associated morbidity, mortality, hospitalization rates, and healthcare expenditures remain high. A significant proportion of patients with HF remain symptomatic despite receiving optimal medical therapy. Consequently, there exists a large unmet clinical need for novel therapies for treating acute and chronic HF. With the exponential growth of transcatheter interventions in structural heart disease, novel applications of minimally invasive, device-based therapies have been sought in an effort to bridge this treatment gap. The rationale, development, and current data underscoring these therapies will be summarized in this review.

Recent findings

Recent studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of devices that alter left ventricular geometry (i.e., ventriculoplasty), create anatomic shunts to decompress the left atrium, and modulate vena caval and renal blood flow. However pivotal large trials evaluating clinical outcomes are ongoing.

Innovative device-based therapies may expand our armamentarium against the growing heterogeneous and morbid HF syndrome.
Role of medical management of cardiogenic shock in the era of mechanical circulatory support
Authors: Blumer Vanessa , Marbach Jeffrey , Veasey Tara , Kanwar Manreet
Published: May 2022

Purpose of review

The goal of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the role of medical management of cardiogenic shock in the era of mechanical circulatory support based on important lessons from clinical trials and routine clinical practice, with a focus on providing practical recommendations that can improve contemporary in-hospital management.

Recent findings

Despite an increasing number of invasive therapies being used to manage cardiogenic shock, evidence-based treatment regimens known to improve outcomes are limited. Medical management of cardiogenic shock includes pharmacological interventions aimed at optimizing determinants of cardiac output–contractility, preload, afterload, and heart rate. In this regard, inotropes and vasopressors remain cornerstone therapies for the management of cardiogenic shock. Norepinephrine has shown potential vasopressor advantage with compared with dopamine, and although milrinone and dobutamine are both considered appropriate first-line inotropes, there is limited data to guide selection, and a recent randomized clinical trial found no significant differences in the treatment of cardiogenic shock.

In the absence of an evidence-based management approach to cardiogenic shock, clinical guidelines are based on expert opinion and routine clinical practice patterns. Further studies focusing on clinical outcomes among specific cardiogenic shock phenotypes are needed to better assess the clinical efficacy of these agents.
The use of multidisciplinary teams, electronic health records tools, and technology to optimize heart failure population health
Authors: Martyn Trejeeve , Montgomery Robert A. , Estep Jerry D.
Published: May 2022

Purpose of review

Given the limited population level, adoption of optimal therapy that has been shown in recent clinical trials and heart failure registries, efforts to rapidly and safely improve adoption of guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure should be prioritized. Opportunities to leverage remote monitoring technology, the electronic health record (EHR), and multidisciplinary teams to improve heart failure care merit review.

Recent findings

Dedicated multidisciplinary teams employing algorithmic medication titration schema have shown better efficacy than clinician alerts or quality initiatives that focus on education and audit-feedback processes alone. Technology that enables invasive pressure monitoring and wearable devices that transmit physiologic data have the potential to predict decompensation and allow for early intervention by alerting clinicians to signs of congestion/clinical worsening but further real-world data is needed to prove efficacy and develop effective treatment protocols.

The combination of technology, multidisciplinary teams, and identification of populations for intervention using the EHR will be central to impactful innovation in heart failure population health and prevention of avoidable morbidity. Novel approaches to study implementation efforts including cluster randomized trials are needed.
Excretion of Pu-238 during Long-term Chelation Therapy by Repeated DTPA Inhalation
Authors: Grémy Olivier , Blanchin Nicolas , Miccoli Laurent
Published: May 2022

An individual underwent an extensive diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) chelation therapy that started several months after plutonium incorporation, most likely by inhalation of a soluble compound. After receiving multiple intravenous infusions of DTPA, the patient continued the treatment by pulmonary delivery of aerosolized DTPA. The purpose of the present work is to provide and discuss the bioassay data obtained during the DTPA aerosol therapy and compare them with those under the DTPA infusion therapy that have been largely interpreted elsewhere. As with DTPA given intravenously, each delayed DTPA inhalation increased the clearance of plutonium not only in urine but also in feces, thus demonstrating the ability to remove plutonium retained by extrapulmonary tissues. Also, the slow decline of increased plutonium urinary elimination together with enhanced fecal excretion are two features coherent with the contribution of intracellular chelation to overall decorporation. The therapeutic benefit of DTPA inhalation appeared lower than with DTPA infusion, most likely due to a lower amount of DTPA reaching the systemic compartments where plutonium chelation predominates. The results suggest that DTPA administration through aerosol could be an alternative to the invasive procedure using a needle, i.e., intravenous injection/infusion, when protracted decorporation therapy is needed following transuranic internalization. Indeed, the patient may be more inclined to undergo a chelation treatment for a longer period because taking DTPA by inhalation may make it less cumbersome and painful.