bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
User-centered design and agile development of a novel mobile health application and clinician dashboard to support the collection and reporting of patient-reported outcomes for breast cancer care
Authors: Tsangaris Elena , Edelen Maria , Means Jessica , Gregorowitsch Madelijn , O’Gorman Joanna , Pattanaik Rakasa , Dominici Laura , Hassett Michael , Witkowski Mary Lynch , Schrieber Kristen , Frank Elizabeth , Carnie Martha , Pusic Andrea
Published: October 2022

Objectives

There is a need for advancements in health information technology that will transform how patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data are collected, reported, and used in breast cancer care. The objective of this study was to develop an innovative and customizable platform, called imPROVE to support PRO uptake in breast cancer care.

Design

User-centered design and agile development were employed. Recurrent stakeholder meetings with experts in the field of breast cancer care, in-depth one-on-one qualitative interviews with a clinical sample of patients with breast cancer, and focus groups with Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Breast Cancer Advisory Group members, were used to elicit feedback for the design features and functions of a patient mobile application and clinician dashboard.

Setting

This study was conducted at two academic hospitals in the USA.

Participants

Participants included experts in the field of breast cancer care, value-based healthcare, and health information technology, a clinical sample of patients with breast cancer, and members of the DF/HCC Breast Cancer Advisory Group.

Main outcome measures

imPROVE incorporates the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) breast cancer standard outcome set as well as the complete BREAST-Q Breast Cancer Module.

Results

Feedback was elicited from eight stakeholder meetings (n=28 members), interviews with a clinical sample of patients (n=28), and two focus groups with members of the DF/HCC Breast Cancer Advisory Group (n=17 members in each focus group). Participant feedback led to the development of a patient mobile application consisting of five components (myCare, myStory, myResources, myCommunity, and myNotes) and a clinician dashboard that includes an overview table and individual patient profiles with data displays.

Conclusions

imPROVE has the potential to transform the way we deliver care to patients. Developed from best practices in user-centered design, agile development, and qualitative methods; imPROVE addresses the needs of multiple stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, healthcare administrators, and researchers.
Tumor immune microenvironment of primary prostate cancer with and without germline mutations in homologous recombination repair genes
Authors: Trigos Anna Sofia , Pasam Anupama , Banks Patricia , Wallace Roslyn , Guo Christina , Keam Simon , Thorne Heather ,   kConFab, Mitchell Catherine , Lade Stephen , Clouston David , Hakansson Alexander , Liu Yang , Blyth Benjamin , Murphy Declan , Lawrentschuk Nathan , Bolton Damien , Moon Daniel , Darcy Phil , Haupt Ygal , Williams Scott G , Castro Elena , Olmos David , Goode David , Neeson Paul , Sandhu Shahneen
Published: October 2022

Background

Aberrations in homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes are emerging as important biomarkers for personalized treatment in prostate cancer (PCa). HRR deficiency (HRD) could affect the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), potentially contributing to differential responses to poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Spatial distribution of immune cells in a range of cancers identifies novel disease subtypes and is related to prognosis. In this study we aimed to determine the differences in the TIME of PCa with and without germline (g) HRR mutations.

Methods

We performed gene expression analysis, multiplex immunohistochemistry of T and B cells and quantitative spatial analysis of PCa samples from 36 patients withgHRD and 26 patients with sporadic PCa. Samples were archival tumor tissue from radical prostatectomies with the exception of one biopsy. Results were validated in several independent cohorts.

Results

Although the composition of the T cell and B cells was similar in the tumor areas ofgHRD-mutated and sporadic tumors, the spatial profiles differed between these cohorts. We describe two T-cell spatial profiles across primary PCa, a clustered immune spatial (CIS) profile characterized by dense clusters of CD4+T cells closely interacting with PD-L1+cells, and a free immune spatial (FIS) profile of CD8+cells in close proximity to tumor cells.gHRD tumors had a more T-cell inflamed microenvironment than sporadic tumors. The CIS profile was mainly observed in sporadic tumors, whereas a FIS profile was enriched ingHRD tumors. A FIS profile was associated with lower Gleason scores, smaller tumors and longer time to biochemical recurrence and metastasis.

Conclusions

gHRD-mutated tumors have a distinct immune microenvironment compared with sporadic tumors. Spatial profiling of T-cells provides additional information beyond T-cell density and is associated with time to biochemical recurrence, time to metastasis, tumor size and Gleason scores.
Adherence to Healthy Eating Index-2015 and severity of disease in hospitalised military patients with COVID-19: a cross sectional study
Authors: Parastouei Karim , Shokooee Jud S , Sepandi M , Abbaszadeh S , Samadi M , Meftahi GH , Taghdir M
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Proper nutrition can play an important role in preventing and improving disease progression in patients with COVID-19. The Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) is one of the most common measures used to assess overall nutritional quality. This research aimed to identify the relationship between the HEI-2015 score and disease severity in hospitalised military patients with COVID-19.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 295 hospitalised military patients (retired military and military reserve) with COVID-19. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food intake. To evaluate the quality of the diet, the HEI-2015 score was calculated. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to measure the association between HEI-2015 scores and disease severity (intensive care unit (ICU) admission and length of hospital stay greater than 4 days) in hospitalised military patients with COVID-19.

Results

The mean HEI-2015 score was significantly higher in non-ICU patients than in ICU patients (58.39±15.02 vs 53.54±15.65, p=0.01). After adjusting for possible confounding factors including age, sex, comorbidities, calorie intake, body mass index and physical activity, adherence to HEI-2015 inversely related to ICU admission (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.95 to 1.00) and length of hospital stay of more than 4 days (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.00) in hospitalised military patients with COVID-19, although statistically not significant.

Conclusions

According to the results of the study, adherence to HEI-2015 inversely related to both ICU admission and length of hospital stay in hospitalised military patients with COVID-19, although it was not statistically significant.
Anal and oral detection ofTreponema pallidumin men who have sex with men with early syphilis infection
Authors: Towns Janet M , Chow Eric P F , Wigan Rebecca , Fairley Christopher K , Williamson Deborah , Azzato Francesca , Graves Stephen , Zhang Lei , Chen Marcus Y
Published: October 2022

Objectives

We aimed to characterise patterns of anal and oral detection ofTreponema pallidumamong men who have sex with men (MSM) with early syphilis.

Methods

200 MSM with serologically confirmed primary, secondary and early latent syphilis were tested withT. pallidum polAPCR using an anal canal swab, oral rinse, plus swabs from any anal and oral lesions in a prospective, cross-sectional study. Anal and oralT. pallidumcycle threshold values were compared between subsets of men and according to rapid plasma reagin (RPR) titre.

Results

Of 200 men with early syphilis, 45 and 48 had anal and oralT. pallidumdetected, respectively. Cycle threshold values were lower with anal compared with oralT. pallidumwhether lesions were present or not. Among 27 and 42 men with anal and oralT. pallidumdetected, respectively, and no anal or oral primary lesion, frequency of detection increased with increasing RPR titre, with 95% (25/27) and 98% (41/42) of shedding from respective sites occurring with RPR titres ≥1:16. 6.5% (13/200) of men with syphilis had concurrent detection ofT. pallidumfrom both anal and oral sites: 9/13 with secondary syphilis, 7/9 of whom had anal lesions with a median duration of 30 days (range 7–180 days).

Conclusions

These data suggestT. pallidumload at the anus is higher than at the oral cavity and that a subset of men with secondary syphilis and prolonged anal lesions may be relatively infectious. Earlier detection and treatment of syphilis, when RPR titres are lower than 1:16, could potentially reduce infectiousness from anal and oral sites.
Clinical and radiographic predictors of the need for facial CT in pediatric blunt trauma: a multi-institutional study
Authors: Nguyen Brittany N , Edwards Mary J , Srivatsa Shachi , Wakeman Derek , Calderon Thais , Lamoshi Abdularouf , Wallenstein Kim , Fabiano Tiffany , Cantor Brittany , Bass Kathryn , Narayan Ananth , Zohn Ralph , Chess Mitchell , Thomas Richard D
Published: October 2022

Background

Facial injuries are common in children with blunt trauma. Most are soft tissue lacerations and dental injuries readily apparent on clinical examination. Fractures requiring operative intervention are rare. Guidelines for utilization of maxillofacial CT in children are lacking. We hypothesized that head CT is a useful screening tool to identify children requiring dedicated facial CT.

Methods

We conducted a multicenter retrospective review of children aged 18 years and under with blunt facial injury who underwent both CT of the face and head from 2014 through 2018 at five pediatric trauma centers. Penetrating injuries and animal bites were excluded. Imaging and physical examination findings as well as interventions for facial fracture were reviewed. Clinically significant fractures were those requiring an intervention during hospital stay or within 30 days of injury.

Results

322 children with facial fractures were identified. Head CT was able to identify a facial fracture in 89% (287 of 322) of children with facial fractures seen on dedicated facial CT. Minimally displaced nasal fractures, mandibular fractures, and dental injuries were the most common facial fractures not identified on head CT. Only 2% of the cohort (7 of 322) had facial injuries missed on head CT and required an intervention. All seven had mandibular or alveolar plate injuries with findings on physical examination suggestive of injury.

Discussion

In pediatric blunt trauma, head CT is an excellent screening tool for facial fracture. In the absence of clinical evidence of a mandibular or dental injury, a normal head CT will usually exclude a clinically significant facial fracture.

Level of evidence

III.
Erratum to: Stability in quadratic torsion theories
Authors: Vasilev Teodor Borislavov , Cembranos Jose A. R. , Valcarcel Jorge Gigante , Martín-Moruno Prado
Published: October 2022

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5331-6
Traveling Concepts: Anthropological Engagements with Histories of Social Science
Authors: van Eekelen Bregje F.
Published: October 2022

This article discusses historical and anthropological approaches to the life of social science. After presenting the thematic of social science concepts that figure as found object in cultural anthropology, this review briefly introduces the domain of history of social science (HSS). It then examines HSS studies that could enrich anthropological encounters with social science concepts, both methodologically and through the vivid social histories of relevant concepts, categories, and methods. I complement my review of these approaches in HSS with a discussion of anthropological studies of social science concepts. I review both the historical and the anthropological literature with the same key questions, focused on the analytical tools that each approach brings to the study of social science: what conditions of emergence of these social imaginaries are incorporated in the analyses, what contexts and processes relevant to their appropriation and travel are presented, and how these enquiries examine the effects on the worlds in which they circulate. In my conclusion, I point out how cultural anthropology can uniquely contribute to the domain of HSS.
The Effect of Anionic Surfactant and Stripping Voltammetry on the Signal of Ibrutinib at Nano-Level
Authors: Gürbüz Manolya Müjgan , Doğan-Topal Burcu , Atıcı Esen Bellur , Özkan Sibel A.
Published: October 2022

Ibrutinib is a selective inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, which is used in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia treatment. In this study, an adsorptive stripping square wave voltammetry was developed to quantify the nanomolar level of ibrutinib in an anionic surfactant medium. The effect of supporting electrolyte, pH, surfactant concentration, and scan rate on the voltammetric peak current and potential of ibrutinib were evaluated using a glassy carbon electrode. The possible electrochemical mechanism was discussed with model compounds. The electrochemical behaviour of ibrutinib shows irreversible and diffusion-adsorption mixed controlled oxidation processes depending on scan rate studies in 0.1 M sulphuric acid. The sensitivity of the method was increased by the combined use of surfactant and stripping conditions. Under optimum conditions, a concentration range of 4.00 × 10−9 to 2.00 × 10−7 M was linear in 0.1 M sulphuric acid, including 2.00 × 10−3 M sodium lauryl sulphate. The limit of detection was calculated as 2.73 × 10−10 M. The proposed method was applied for the quantification of ibrutinib in biological samples. In addition, this method was evaluated in the presence of some potential interference substances.
A Friend or a Foe? Bariatric Surgery in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Case Report
Authors: Bagai Sahil , Bansal Bhavna , Malik Vipra , Prasad Pallavi , Khullar Dinesh
Published: October 2022

There has been a parallel rise in the need for bariatric surgery as the prevalence of obesity has increased by leaps and bounds over the last 2 decades. Certain procedures like Roux-en-Y gastric bypass are associated with nephrolithiasis, hyperoxaluria, and, rarely, oxalate nephropathy. We report an interesting case of a patient who had relentless progression of his kidney disease post-bariatric surgery.
Clinical Implications of Postoperative Hyperamylasemia after Partial Pancreaticoduodenectomy
Authors: Mintziras Ioannis , Wächter Sabine , Manoharan Jerena , Kanngiesser Veit , Maurer Elisabeth , Bartsch Detlef K.
Published: October 2022

Introduction: The present study aimed to examine the clinical implications of postoperative hyperamylasemia (POH) after partial pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Methods: Data from all consecutive patients undergoing PD were obtained from a prospectively maintained database and reviewed. POH was defined as an elevation of serum pancreatic amylase above the upper limit of normal (53 U/L) on postoperative days 0–2. Clinically relevant POH (cr-POH) was defined as POH in patients with clinically relevant (Clavien-Dindo ≥ III) postoperative complications. Results: POH occurred in 61 of 170 (35.9%) and cr-POH in 24 of 170 (14.1%) patients. Patients with POH had higher rates of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (cr-POPF) (44.3 vs. 3.7%, p < 0.001) and clinically relevant postoperative complications than those without POH (39.3 vs. 21.1%, p = 0.001). Patients with cr-POH had higher C-reactive protein (CRP, milligrams per liter) levels on third (257.7 vs. 187.85 mg/L, p = 0.016) and fourth (222.5 vs. 151, p = 0.002) postoperative day (POD) than those with POH alone. Serum procalcitonin (PCT, micrograms per liter) levels on POD 2 (1.2 vs. 0.4 μg/L, p = 0.028) and POD 3 (0.85 vs. 0.4 μg/L, p = 0.001) were also higher in patients with cr-POH. Rates of cr-POPF in patients with cr-POH were higher than in those with POH alone (70.8 vs. 27%, p = 0.001). POH (OR 0.011, 95% CI: 0.001–0.097, p < 0.001) was an independent predictor of cr-POPF in the multivariable analysis. A high-risk pathology, defined as nonadenocarcinoma/nonchronic pancreatitis pathology (OR 0.277, 95% CI: 0.106–0.727, p = 0.009), and a small duct diameter (OR 0.333, 95% CI: 0.139–0.796, p = 0.013) were independent predictors of POH in the multivariable analysis. Conclusion: POH is a frequent, but not always clinically relevant, finding after partial PD. Serum CRP and PCT levels in the early postoperative period can be used to identify patients with cr-POH. POH is an independent risk factor for increased postoperative morbidity, including cr-POPF, after partial PD.
Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Prevalence Pattern of Allergens
Authors: Liu Yuanhong , Yang Shengbo , Zeng Yilan , Yang Caifeng , Li Xuemei , Zong Xiule , Tang Ziting , Wang Dan
Published: October 2022

Introduction: The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on allergic diseases is not certain, as people’s living habits and the environment have been affected by the pandemic. The present study described the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the allergen sensitization rate in patients with allergic diseases in central China. The results provide reliable epidemiological data for the prevention and control of allergic diseases during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: Data were collected from a total of 6,915 patients with symptoms of allergic diseases who visited the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in China for allergen testing from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021. Patients were divided into a children group (<14 years old), youth group (15∼44 years old), middle-aged group (45∼59 years old), and elderly group (>60 years old). Immunoblotting was used to detect 20 serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies in patient serum samples. We compared the positive rates of various allergens in different age and sex groups before and during the COVID-19 epidemic, and the prevalence data of sIgE sensitization were analysed. Results: Among the 6,915 patients with symptoms of allergic diseases, 2,838 (41.04%) patients were positive for at least one of the allergens. The top three positive rates of inhaled allergens were Dermatophagoides farinae (1,764 cases, 25.51%), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (1,616 cases, 23.37%), and house dust (645 cases, 9.33%). The top three positive rates of food allergens were eggs (686 cases, 9.92%), milk (509 cases, 7.36%), and crabs (192 cases, 2.78%). The total positive rate of allergens was higher in men (46.99%) than in women (37.30%). Compared to 2 years before the COVID-19 epidemic, the rate of sensitization to indoor inhalant allergens increased, but outdoor inhalant allergens showed no significant change. The positive rates of milk and eggs peaked during the outbreak of COVID-19 (2020) then declined in 2021. The total positive rate of allergens was higher in males than females before and during the COVID-19 epidemic, but more allergens were different between males and females during the pandemic. Compared to middle-aged and older adults, the children and youth groups were more susceptible to allergic diseases, and they exhibited an increasing positive rate for most common allergens, especially indoor inhalant allergens, during the COVID-19 epidemic than before the pandemic. Conclusion: D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae are the most common allergens in South China. Under the background of normalization of epidemic prevention, indoor inhaled allergens should be first in the prevention and control of allergic diseases, and a combination of various indoor cleaning measures should be used to improve the efficiency of interventions.
Nuevos biomarcadores y enfoques diagnósticos y terapéuticos en la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial por artritis reumatoide: una revisión narrativa
Authors: Florescu Alesandra , Gherghina Florin Liviu , Muşetescu Anca Emanuela , Padureanu Vlad , Roşu Anca , Florescu Mirela Marinela , Criveanu Cristina , Florescu Lucian-Mihai , Bobirca Anca
Published: October 2022

La artritis reumatoide (AR) se considera una enfermedad inflamatoria sistémica, caracterizada por una poliartritis que afecta a las articulaciones de forma simétrica, lo que provoca daño progresivo en la estructura ósea y, finalmente, deformidad articular. La afectación pulmonar es la característica extraarticular más prevalente de la AR, y afecta a 10-60% de los pacientes con la enfermedad. En esta revisión discutimos los patrones de la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial (EPI) de la AR, los mecanismos moleculares implicados en la patogénesis de la EPI en la AR, y también los retos terapéuticos en esta particular manifestación extraarticular. La fisiopatología de la AR-EPI se ha relacionado con biomarcadores como los anticuerpos contra proteínas citrulinadas (ACPAs), mutación en MUC5B, los niveles de Krebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) y factores ambientales como el tabaquismo. Los pacientes con mayor riesgo de padecer RA-EPI y quienes tengan más probabilidades de evolucionar se identificarán mediante biomarcadores. Se espera que el hallazgo de biomarcadores con buenas características de desempeño ayu­de a los investigadores a comprender mejor la fisiopatología de la AR-EPI y, a su vez, conduzca al desarrollo de terapias personaliza­-das para esta grave manifestación de la AR.
Eteplirsen Use in a Boy with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Sickle Cell Anemia
Authors: Aiello Gregory M. , Cartwright Michael Stephen
Published: October 2022

Eteplirsen is an antisense oligonucleotide used in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The safety of eteplirsen use in individuals with rare comorbid conditions is not known. We present the case of a 4-year-old boy with a DMD exon deletion amenable to treatment with eteplirsen and comorbid sickle cell anemia. He has received eteplirsen treatment for 3 years with no clear adverse effects, including no increase in sickle cell crises.
Application of Circular RNA Circ_0071662 in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Response to Radiotherapy
Authors: Wang Xingwei , Zhang Jing , Luo Fang , Shen Yaolin
Published: October 2022

Background: Although the involvement of circular RNA Circ_0071662 in bladder cancer and esophageal cancer has been reported, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. The presented research aimed to study its role in HCC. Methods: This study enrolled 60 HCC patients (advanced stage), 60 hepatic angiomyolipoma patients, 60 liver abscess patients, 60 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients, 60 focal nodular hyperplasia patients, and 60 healthy controls (HCs). Plasma samples were obtained from all participants prior to treatment. HCC and paired nontumor samples were collected from HCC patients. HCC patients received radiotherapy and plasma samples were also collected after treatment. Gene expression was analyzed by RT-qPCR. The role of Circ_0071662 in the diagnosis of HCC was evaluated by ROC curve analysis. Results: Compared to HCs, decreased plasma expression levels of Circ_0071662 were only observed in HCC patients, but not in other patient groups. HCC tissues also exhibited decreased expression levels of Circ_0071662 compared to that in nontumor samples. Decreased plasma expression levels of Circ_0071662 separated HCC patients from HCs and other patient groups. After radiotherapy, 28 patients developed radioresistance (RR) and the rest showed no RR. Decreased plasma expression levels of Circ_0071662 were closely associated with patients’ poor survival. Compared to pretreatment level, decreased plasma expression levels of Circ_0071662 were only observed in RR group. The expression levels of Circ_0071662 in plasma and tissues were closely associated with patients’ tumor metastasis and tumor size. Conclusion: Circ_0071662 was downregulated in HCC and may serve as a potential biomarker to improve the diagnosis of HCC. Moreover, downregulation of Circ_0071662 is likely correlated to the development of radioresistance.
SIRT6 Mitigates Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction in Diabetes
Authors: Wu Xiaoqian , Liu Huan , Brooks Alan , Xu Suowen , Luo Jinque , Steiner Rebbeca , Mickelsen Deanne M. , Moravec Christine S. , Alexis Jeffrey D. , Small Eric M. , Jin Zheng Gen
Published: October 2022

Background:

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a growing health problem without effective therapies. Epidemiological studies indicate that diabetes is a strong risk factor for HFpEF, and about 45% of patients with HFpEF are suffering from diabetes, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

Methods:

Using a combination of echocardiography, hemodynamics, RNA-sequencing, molecular biology, in vitro and in vivo approaches, we investigated the roles of SIRT6 (sirtuin 6) in regulation of endothelial fatty acid (FA) transport and HFpEF in diabetes.

Results:

We first observed that endothelial SIRT6 expression was markedly diminished in cardiac tissues from heart failure patients with diabetes. We then established an experimental mouse model of HFpEF in diabetes induced by a combination of the long-term high-fat diet feeding and a low-dose streptozocin challenge. We also generated a unique humanized SIRT6 transgenic mouse model, in which a single copy of human SIRT6 transgene was engineered at mouse
Rosa26
locus and conditionally induced with the Cre-loxP technology. We found that genetically restoring endothelial SIRT6 expression in the diabetic mice ameliorated diastolic dysfunction concurrently with decreased cardiac lipid accumulation. SIRT6 gain- or loss-of-function studies showed that SIRT6 downregulated endothelial FA uptake. Mechanistically, SIRT6 suppressed endothelial expression of
PPARγ
through SIRT6-dependent deacetylation of histone H3 lysine 9 around
PPARγ
promoter region; and
PPARγ
reduction mediated SIRT6-dependent inhibition of endothelial FA uptake. Importantly, oral administration of small molecule SIRT6 activator MDL-800 to diabetic mice mitigated cardiac lipid accumulation and diastolic dysfunction.

Conclusions:

The impairment of endothelial SIRT6 expression links diabetes to HFpEF through the alteration of FA transport across the endothelial barrier. Genetic and pharmacological strategies that restored endothelial SIRT6 function in mice with diabetes alleviated experimental HFpEF by limiting FA uptake and improving cardiac metabolism, thus warranting further clinical evaluation.
Contemporary Socioeconomic and Childhood Opportunity Disparities in Congenital Heart Surgery
Authors: Sengupta Aditya , Gauvreau Kimberlee , Bucholz Emily M. , Newburger Jane W. , del Nido Pedro J. , Nathan Meena
Published: October 2022

Background:

While singular measures of socioeconomic status have been associated with outcomes after surgery for congenital heart disease, the multifaceted pathways through which a child’s environment impacts similar outcomes remain incompletely characterized. We sought to evaluate the association between childhood opportunity level and adverse outcomes after congenital heart surgery.

Methods:

Data from patients undergoing congenital cardiac surgery from January 2011 to January 2020 at a quaternary referral center were retrospectively reviewed. Outcomes of interest included predischarge (early) mortality or transplant, postoperative hospital length-of-stay, inpatient cost of hospitalization, postdischarge (late) mortality or transplant, and late unplanned reintervention. The primary predictor was a US census tract–based, nationally-normed composite metric of contemporary child neighborhood opportunity comprising 29 indicators across 3 domains (education, health and environment, and socioeconomic), categorized as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. Associations between childhood opportunity level and outcomes were evaluated using logistic regression (early mortality), generalized linear (length-of-stay and cost), Cox proportional hazards (late mortality), or competing risk (late reintervention) models, adjusting for baseline patient-related factors, case complexity, and residual lesion severity.

Results:

Of 6133 patients meeting entry criteria, the median age was 2.0 years (interquartile range, 3.6 months–8.3 years). There were 124 (2.0%) early deaths or transplants, the median postoperative length-of-stay was 7 days (interquartile range, 5–13 days), and the median inpatient cost was $76 000 (interquartile range, $50 000–130 000). No significant association between childhood opportunity level and early mortality or transplant was observed (
P
=0.21). On multivariable analysis, children with very low and low opportunity had significantly longer length-of-stay and incurred higher costs compared with those with very high opportunity (all
P
<0.05). Of 6009 transplant-free survivors of hospital discharge, there were 175 (2.9%) late deaths or transplants, and 1008 (16.8%) reinterventions at up to 10.5 years of follow-up. Patients with very low opportunity had a significantly greater adjusted risk of late death or transplant (hazard ratio, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.1–2.6];
P
=0.030) and reintervention (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.5–2.3];
P
<0.001), versus those with very high opportunity.

Conclusions:

Childhood opportunity level is independently associated with adverse outcomes after congenital heart surgery. Children from resource-limited settings thus constitute an especially high-risk cohort that warrants closer surveillance and tailored interventions.
Can the presence of an author photograph and biography have an impact on article citations? The case of chemistry and chemical engineering
Authors: Dehdarirad Tahereh
Published: October 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence of an author photograph and biography in scientific articles could have an impact on article citations. The impact of a photograph and biography, in combination with certain author characteristics (i.e., gender, affiliation country (measured as whether the author was affiliated with a high-income country or not), and scientific impact (measured as whether the author was a high-impact author or not)), was also examined, while controlling for several covariates. This study focused on a sample of articles published in the time span of 2016–2018 in chemistry and chemical engineering journals by Elsevier. The articles were downloaded from Scopus. The analysis was done using random effects within-between model analyses. Within authors, the results showed no significant impact of author photograph and biography on citations. Different patterns were found for visibility of articles when the presence of an author photograph and biography was combined with author characteristics. While being affiliated to a high-income country and being a high-impact author had a positive impact on citations, gender (female) had a negative impact. For gender, there was a small citation disadvantage of 5% for female authors when they provided a photograph and biography.
Deep Time and Environmental Ethics
Authors: Attfield Robin
Published: October 2022

This paper employs the concept of deep time to supply a philosophical argument about the kind of environmental ethics required in the present. Considerations from the evolutionary past are deployed to support the intrinsic value of health and well-being in addition to that of pleasure. The well-being of a species is held to consist in that of its individual members, past, present and future. Duties to species accordingly include promoting the well-being of future species members, since the impacts of human actions in a technological age are spread out across the future. These impacts include impacts on non-human species after humanity has become extinct; if these impacts matter, then a non-anthropocentric ethic is needed to explain why they do, since an anthropocentric ethics is incapable of explaining this.
Belly up or belly down: Effect of body position on snout vent length and total length measurements in American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus)
Authors: Balaguera-Reina Sergio A. , Mazzotti Frank J.
Published: October 2022

The interpretation of morphometric data is relevant to understanding biological phenomena. Currently, little is known about the effect of body position on morphometric measurements in crocodylians as well as the extent to which these data are interchangeable. We investigated the effect of body position on snout-vent-length (SVL) and total-length (TL) measured ventrally (belly up) and dorsally (belly down) on 725 Crocodylus acutus (mean TL ventral and dorsal 68.49 cm and 69.82 cm, range = 33.1-185.4 cm and 33.8-185.4 cm) across South Florida, United States. We found evidence that body posture significantly influences SVL and TL measurements. However, regardless of body position, the variation found in SVL was less than 1 mm, and for TL was on average only 3 mm. We concluded that even though there is a difference when measuring American crocodiles belly up and belly down, there is a minimal effect on the outcome (less than half centimeter), which falls within the normal measurement instrument error (i.e., measurement tape) even more so under field conditions. If researchers concur that this is an acceptable error, then SVL and TL measurements taken belly up or belly down can be used interchangeably.
Politics of Spiritual Warfare
Authors: Hasu Päivi
Published: October 2022

This article examines the transformation of Pastor Josephat Gwajima of the Glory of Christ Tanzania Church in Dar es Salaam into a Pentecostal Big Man characterized by neopatrimonialism and clientelism. It argues that Pastor Gwajima’s status rests first, on religious mediation and individual as well as collective deliverance, and second, on the long-term creation of a Christian electorate. The paper focuses on Gwajima’s political activism during election campaigns that culminated in the 2020 elections when he became a member of parliament. The article concludes that Gwajima has built his religiopolitical profile on popular discourses of suspicion, witchcraft, and conspiracies, and that his Pentecostal politics expand the field of political power beyond political institutions to include demonic entities. Gwajima spiritually mediates people’s failed efforts to participate in the world of development while acknowledging the national and global inequalities, power asymmetries, and associated moral problems resulting from material and power accumulation.
[RETRACTED] Inscribing Agency in Religious Change
Authors: Shiyuka Karani
Published: October 2022

In the wake of the cultural turn, there has been a gradual shift in the theorization of African religions, from the static structural-functionalist oriented models, towards the insertion of agency. This new approach foregrounds the intentional actions of individuals, or collective actors, to create meaning when confronted with external cultural ideas. The African, therefore, is treated as an active agent capable of manipulating and inventing new religious possibilities, rather than being a puppet of a rigid social structure. This paper is cast in this mould. It examines the agentic role played by the Pokot as they navigated the cultural challenges presented to them by western Christianity during the British colonial rule in Kenya. However, because the agentic power to authorize meaning is never uniformly distributed in any society, this article highlights the central role played by Lukas Pkech in mediating the cultural conflict between the indigenous Pokot religion and western Christianity.
Attentional Moral Perception
Authors: Vance Jonna , Werner Preston J.
Published: October 2022

Moral perceptualism is the view that perceptual experience is attuned to pick up on moral features in our environment, just as it is attuned to pick up on mundane features of an environment like textures, shapes, colors, pitches, and timbres. One important family of views that incorporate moral perception are those of virtue theorists and sensibility theorists. On these views, one central ability of the virtuous agent is her sensitivity to morally relevant features of situations, where this sensitivity is often spoken of in perceptual terms. However, sensibility theorists have often not been careful to specify how to understand their claims about moral sensibilities as perceptual. In this paper, we distinguish between what we call Attentional Moral Perception and Contentful Moral Perception. We argue that sensibility theorists should endorse Attentional Moral Perception, because it has very powerful empirical evidence in its favor, and it can play all of the explanatory roles that the sensibility theorist needs in her theory of moral sensibilities.
A Defense of Empiricism
Authors: Lehrer Keith
Published: October 2022

The form of representation cannot be fully described, as Wittgenstein noted. This is because there is a non-linguistic component in the representation of truth that aesthetic experience shows us. It is the self-represented exemplar of conscious experience. On this basis, the author defends empiricism against the objection that all representation of experience is subject to error.
Palestinian Dependence on External Health Services: De-development as a Tool of Dispossession
Authors: Asi Yara M.
Published: October 2022

Through multiple mechanisms, armed conflict degrades and destroys health systems, leaving significant gaps in care delivery that lead to worse health outcomes. Civilian populations are often left at the mercy of multiple stakeholders to attain health care. Often, they are unable to meet their needs within their own territory. This has been documented as the case throughout the occupied Palestinian territories for decades. In this paper, I argue that the destruction and de-development of the Palestinian health system is not just a side effect of conflict, but is part of a broader effort of dispossession, disconnecting Palestinians from their land and from each other. I focus on the multiple ways Palestinians are forced to depend on external actors to seek needed care due to the limitations of blockade and occupation, the drivers of these pathways, and the outcomes of this dependence. Lastly, I provide recommendations for refocusing health efforts internally.
Support for Violent Versus Non-Violent Strategies in the Palestinian Territories
Authors: El Kurd Dana
Published: October 2022

What determines support for violent versus nonviolent strategies? I argue that strategy preference is motivated by an individuals’ assessment of their society’s cohesion. Perception of strong social cohesion, as existing literature argues, should increase individual support for nonviolence, as it gives people confidence that their society will be able to carry out that strategy effectively. I build on this work to show that perception of social cohesion does not always reflect individual conditions; in situations where social cohesion is weak, violence becomes attractive specifically to those who recognize this reality. The paper tests these arguments in the case of Palestine, using survey data and experimental methods, specifically polling data from the Arab Opinion Index in the West Bank and Gaza. The evidence shows that individuals who perceive society to be more cohesive prefer violence less. However, respondents may perceive social cohesion as weak, even while they personally enjoy strong social ties and greater social embeddedness. In this scenario, they are more likely to prefer armed resistance because they use their social ties to gain information and assess risk more effectively. Individuals who are networked in political power structures, members of political parties and those with higher levels of education, are those that both enjoy greater social ties and prefer violence to nonviolence. Their social situation helps them to recognize the weakness of social cohesion in society at large and, based on this perception, make certain choices. This suggests that violence in the Palestinian territories is not a spontaneous eruption, but rather a strategic choice that individuals endorse on the basis of a reasoned assessment of available options and constraints.
Comparer la logique et le droit? Quelques remarques théoriques sur l’usage du numérique en droit
Authors: Lassègue Jean
Published: October 2022

La numérisation actuelle du droit permet de revenir sur les liens historiques entre le droit et la logique moderne. En se fondant sur la différence établie par J. Van Heijenoort entre logique «comme calcul» et logique «comme langage», l’article établit des analogies entre différentes interprétations de la logique et différents types de systèmes ou d’instances juridiques : «Common law», systèmes «civils», «cour de cassation», cette dernière notion caractérisant le formalisme hilbertien. Ce formalisme a tenté de réduire la logique «comme langage» à la logique «comme calcul» mais la découverte des limitations internes des formalismes y a mis un terme : d’où le parallèle entre l’échec du programme hilbertien et les difficultés rencontrées dans la numérisation actuelle du droit. Le droit n’est pas réductible à un calcul formel sur des marques écrites : il reste une discipline dans laquelle la parole et le dialogue sont indispensables pour réaliser les buts qu’il s’assigne.
A Paradox About Our Epistemic Self-Conception: Are You an Über Epistemic Superior?
Authors: Walker Mark
Published: October 2022

I hope to show that each of 1, 2, and 3 are plausible, yet we can derive 4:

1.

It is epistemically permissible to believe that our preferred views in multi-proposition disputes are true, or at least more likely true than not.

2.

If it is epistemically permissible to believe that our preferred views in multi-proposition disputes are true, or at least more likely true than not, then it is epistemically permissible for us to believe that we are über epistemic superiors to our disagreeing colleagues in multi-proposition disputes.

3.

It is not epistemically permissible to believe that we are über epistemic superiors to our disagreeing colleagues in multi-proposition disputes.

4.

At least one of 1, 2, or 3, is false.
Building Burhanpur: The Process of Constructing a Mughal City
Authors: Hirsch Rachel
Published: October 2022

When Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) conquered Burhanpur, the capital of the Khandesh sultanate, in 1601, he catalyzed a decades-long process of transforming the city into a regional capital of the Mughal empire. In this essay, I argue that Mughal Burhanpur was constructed in three stages of spatial and architectural developments over the course of three decades. In the first stage, Akbar symbolically appropriated Burhanpur’s preexisting monumental architecture to demonstrate his conquest over the city. In the second stage, subimperial officers expanded the city through prolific patronage of civic architecture, most notably an underground canal system that carried fresh water several kilometers into the city. Lastly, when Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58) moved to the city in 1629, he implemented a new program of architectural construction that transformed Burhanpur from a provincial capital into an imperial one in just over two years. From symbolic appropriation to urban expansion and then to the implementation of an imperial architectural program, this three-part construction process ultimately transformed a town on the edge of an empire into a legible Mughal city.
Entangled Geographies, Contested Narratives: The Canning Marbles and the Ottoman Response to Antiquity
Authors: Turan Özkaya Belgi̇n
Published: October 2022

The history of archaeology in the nineteenth century has conventionally been studied from the point of view of Europeans, who are credited as the inventors of modern archaeology. Although the blatantly Eurocentric perspective of earlier scholarship has been challenged in recent decades by a proliferation of works on the “source countries” where the bulk of archaeological material originated before being displaced to Europe, the trajectory of European archaeology has not been abandoned as the measure by which to assess emerging sensibilities about antiquity in the nineteenth century. In this essay, I trace the origins of a group of “marbles” from the British Museum, the Canning marbles, and propose to rethink a mid-nineteenth-century Ottoman attempt to establish a museum to house such “marbles” in the light of the Ottoman exhibitionary practices in the longue durée. My aim is to challenge both contemporaneous European narratives on nineteenth-century Ottoman attitudes to antiquity and current scholarship on Ottoman museology that attributes its proper emergence to the last two decades of the century, after the well-known Ottoman polymath Osman Hamdi Bey resumed the directorship of the Müze-i Hümāyūn (Ottoman Imperial Museum).
The Sphero-Conical as Apothecary Vessel: An Argument for Dedicated Use
Authors: Lesoon Courtney
Published: October 2022

Sphero-conical vessels are ubiquitous in the archaeological record. However, their intended use has remained a conundrum. A multitude of conjectures have been proposed, such as that the sphero-conical vessel was a container for mercury, a grenade, a perfume sprinkler, an aeolipile, a beer gourd, a hookah pipe, and a plumb bob. Faced with a seemingly contradictory body of evidence, scholars have concluded that the sphero-conical vessel must have been a multi-use object. I disagree. This study offers a theory of dedicated use: the sphero-conical vessel was intended and produced to store pharmaceuticals, specifically apothecary compounds in personal-use dosages. My argument is built on a close analysis of material form, epigraphic evidence, decorative motifs, and representations of the sphero-conical vessel in other media. The re-inscribing of the sphero-conical vessel into a history of medicine as a tool of the robust Islamic pharmacological industry is rich with potential for furthering our understanding of medicine, apothecary, alchemy, apotropaia, and trade in the medieval Mediterranean.
Coordination strategies in Messapic
Authors: Pitts Reuben J.
Published: October 2022

Messapic, like many ancient Indo-European languages, shows evidence for the existence of more than one coordinating conjunction. Alongside an inherited Indo-European clitic =ti, comparable to Lat. =que or Gk. =τε, Messapic has also grammaticalised an additional coordinator anda from a lexical source. Although the two conjunctions are found in some strikingly similar contexts, this paper argues that they also show noteworthy functional differences, which can plausibly be contextualised against a broader cross-linguistic understanding of how novel coordinators grammaticalise. In this way, the typological study of coordination has the potential to contribute further insights into this fascinating—and as yet insufficiently understood—epigraphic language.
Unpublished Coptic Writing Exercises from Thebes
Authors: Bakr Rowida Abo
Published: October 2022

The monastic groups that settled in Thebes during the sixth and eighth centuries CE contributed to the prosperity of many aspects of life in Thebes, including education.

The Theban region provides us with many documents related to writing exercises, which reveal the development of education levels; there were many levels of writing and scripts, where the student would practice an entire course of literary education, with the goal of teaching the student to read and write properly. This course differed depending on the student’s level: beginner, intermediate, or professional.

This study aims to track Coptic education levels by publishing three ostraca: the first ostracon is being published for the first time, bears alphabetical exercise, and is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s excavation storehouse in Qurna; the photo of the second ostracon was previously published in a catalogue of the Graeco–Roman Museum, bearing biblical extracts, and is preserved in the Graeco–Roman Museum in Alexandria; and the third ostracon, which bears epistolary exercise and is preserved in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Cairo, is being published for the first time as well.