bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Validation of a Novel Quality Management System for Blood Gas, Electrolytes, Metabolites, and CO-Oximetry
Authors: Nichols James H , Cambridge Tony , Sanchez Neldis , Marshall Debra
Published: May 2021

Background

Quality management of point-of-care (POC) blood gas testing focuses on verifying instrument accuracy and precision, in addition to performing daily quality control (QC) checks every 8 h and with each patient test (unless internal calibration is verified every 30 min). At the POC, a risk-based approach is suitable to address both systemic and transient sample-specific errors that may negatively impact patient care.

Methods

We evaluated the performance of the GEM® Premier™ 5000 with next generation Intelligent Quality Management 2 (iQM®2) (Instrumentation Laboratory, Bedford, MA), from the analysis of approximately 84,000 patient samples across 4 sites. Continuous iQM2 was compared to intermittent liquid QC, either manual or automated, at 2 sites. Analysis of error flags for patient samples and statistical characteristics of QC processes, including method sigma and average detection time (ADT) for an error, were examined.

Results

ADT was approximately 2 min with iQM2 and varied from hours to days with intermittent QC. iQM2 Process Control Solutions (PCS) precision was similar or better (>6 sigma for all analytes) than manual (sigma 3.0 for pO2) or automated internal QC (sigma 1.3 for tHb and sigma 3.3 for pO2). In addition, iQM2 detected errors in ∼1.4% of samples, providing an additional safeguard against reporting erroneous results.

Conclusions

The findings in this study demonstrate excellent performance of the GEM Premier 5000 with iQM2 including >6 sigma precision for all analytes and faster error detection times. These benefits address risk in different phases of testing that are not easily detected by intermittent performance of liquid QC (manual or automated).
Uptake and Short-term Outcomes of High-risk Screening Colonoscopy Billing Codes: A Population-based Study Among Young Adults
Authors: Paszat Lawrence , Sutradhar Rinku , Luo Jin , Tinmouth Jill , Rabeneck Linda , Baxter Nancy N
Published: May 2021

Background

Persons suspected or confirmed with familial colorectal cancer syndrome are recommended to have biennial colonoscopy from late adolescence or early adulthood. Persons without a syndrome but with one or more affected first-degree relatives are recommended to begin colonoscopy 10 years before the age at diagnosis of the youngest affected relative, and every 5 to 10 years. Ontario introduced colonoscopy billing codes for these two indications in 2011.

Methods

We identified persons in Ontario under 50 years of age, without a prior history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, with one or more of these billing claims between 2013 and 2017. We described the index colonoscopy, and subsequent colonoscopy up-to-date status. We computed average annual rates of colorectal and other cancer diagnoses, and displayed mean cumulative function plots, stratified by billing code, age and sex.

Results

Billing claims for ‘familial syndrome’ high-risk screening colonoscopy were identified among 14,846 persons; the average annual rate of CRC diagnoses was 38.6 per 100,000 among males and 22.2 among females. Colonoscopy up-to-date status fell to 50% within 7 years. Billing claims for ‘first-degree relative’ screening colonoscopy was identified among 49,505 persons; average annual rates of CRC diagnoses were 16.3 among males and 13.5 per 100,000 among females, respectively.

Conclusion

Colorectal cancer was more frequent following billing claims for high-risk screening colonoscopy for familial syndromes, as were noncolorectal malignancies potentially associated with these syndromes. This billing claim for familial colorectal cancer syndrome colonoscopy appears to identify a group at elevated short-term risk for cancer.
Prediction of the minimum spacer thickness required for definitive radiotherapy with carbon ions and photons for pelvic tumors: an in silico planning study using virtual spacers
Authors: Yamada Masayoshi , Miyasaka Yuya , Kanai Takayuki , Souda Hikaru , Uematsu Ken , Matsueda Rei , Yano Natsuko , Kawashiro Shohei , Akamatsu Hiroko , Harada Mayumi , Hagiwara Yasuhito , Ichikawa Mayumi , Sato Hiraku , Nemoto Kenji
Published: May 2021

We aimed to predict the minimum distance between a tumor and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that can satisfy the dose constraint by creating simulation plans with carbon-ion (C-ion) radiotherapy (RT) and photon RT for each case assuming insertion of virtual spacers of various thicknesses. We enrolled 55 patients with a pelvic tumor adjacent to the GI tract. Virtual spacers were defined as the overlap volume between the GI tract and the volume expanded 7–17 mm from the gross tumor volume (GTV). Simulation plans (70 Gy in 35 fractions for at least 95% of the planning target volume [PTV]) were created with the lowest possible dose to the GI tract under conditions that meet the dose constraints of the PTV. We defined the minimum thickness of virtual spacers meeting D2 cc of the GI tract <50 Gy as ‘MTS’. Multiple regression was used with explanatory variables to develop a model to predict MTS. We discovered that MTSs were at most 9 mm and 13 mm for C-ion RT and photon RT plans, respectively. The volume of overlap between the GI tract and a virtual spacer of 14 mm in thickness (OV14)-PTV was found to be the most important explanatory variable in the MTS prediction equation for both C-ion and photon RT plans. Multiple R2 values for the regression model were 0.571 and 0.347 for C-ion RT and photon RT plans, respectively. In conclusion, regression equations were developed to predict MTS in C-ion RT and photon RT.
Testicular torsion in a catheterized geriatric 73-year-old patient, making an early diagnosis: a case report
Authors: Ali Mahamudu A , Oyortey Mawuenyo , Maalman Raymond S , Donkor Otchere Y , Quarshie Henrietta
Published: May 2021

Testicular torsion is a urologic emergency that requires surgical intervention. Its diagnosis is rarely made in elderly men especially the subset of men on urethral catheter. As a result, delayed diagnosis and surgical exploration occur leading to testicular infarction with necrosis, abscess formation and ultimately orchidectomy. We report a 73-year-old urologic patient referred with a 2-month history of transurethral catheterization to relieve retention of urine with subsequent scrotal pains and fever. Physical examination showed left hemi-scrotal swelling and normal right hemi-scrotal findings. A Doppler scan done showed an intratesticular fluid collection with no blood flow in the left testes. This case illustrates the need to include testicular torsion when diagnosing geriatric men with transurethral catheter presenting with any acute scrotal pains. We, therefore, recommend a detailed history and physical examination in addition to a colour Doppler ultrasound scan in making a diagnosis.
Day case endoscopic excision of an antrochoanal polyp in a paediatric patient
Authors: Bakheet Manuel , Althawadi Noora , Albinali Sultan , Alreefy Mohamed , Alreefy Hiba
Published: May 2021

Antrochoanal polyps (ACP; also known as Killian’s polyp) are considered to be the most common type of choanal polyps, making up ~4–6% of all nasal polyps in the general population and ~33% of nasal polyps in the paediatric age group. Patient’s suffering from ACP range between the ages of 5 and 80 years. Only 4% of the patients are children aged < than 10 years old. Overall there is a male predominance making up ~64% of the total number of patients. We report a case of an antrochoanal polyp in a 9-year-old girl who presented with complaints of unilateral nasal obstruction, snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. The patient underwent a computed tomography scan and was managed endoscopically for excision of the polyp, as a day case procedure.
Spectral index of the Galactic foreground emission in the 50–87 MHz range
Authors: Spinelli M , Bernardi G , Garsden H , Greenhill L J , Fialkov A , Dowell J , Price D C
Published: May 2021

Total-power radiometry with individual meter-wave antennas is a potentially effective way to study the Cosmic Dawn (z ∼ 20) through measurement of the sky brightness arising from the 21 cm transition of neutral hydrogen, provided this can be disentangled from much stronger Galactic and extra-galactic foregrounds. In the process, measured spectra of integrated sky brightness temperature can be used to quantify the foreground emission properties. In this work, we analyse a subset of data from the Large-aperture Experiment to Detect the Dark Age (LEDA) in the 50–87 MHz range and constrain the foreground spectral index β in the northern sky visible from mid-latitudes. We focus on two zenith-directed LEDA radiometers and study how estimates of β vary with local sidereal time (LST). We correct for the effect of gain pattern chromaticity and compare estimated absolute temperatures with simulations. We select a reference data set consisting of 14 d of observations in optimal conditions. Using this data set, we find, for one radiometer, that β varies from −2.55 at LST <6 h to a steeper −2.58 at LST ∼13 h, consistently with sky models and previous southern sky measurements. In the 13 − 24 h LST range, however, we find that β varies between −2.55 and −2.61 (data scatter ∼0.01). We observe a similar β versus LST trend for the second radiometer, although with slightly smaller |β| over the 24 h, in the −2.46 < β < −2.43 range (data scatter ∼ 0.02). Combining all data gathered during the extended campaign between mid-2018 and mid-2019, and focusing on the LST = 9−12.5 h range, we infer good instrument stability and find −2.56 < β < −2.50 with 0.09 < Δβ < 0.12.
Linking globular cluster structural parameters and their evolution: multiple stellar populations
Authors: Mastrobuono-Battisti Alessandra , Perets Hagai B
Published: May 2021

Globular clusters (GCs) are known to host multiple stellar populations showing chemical anomalies in the content of light elements. The origin of such anomalies observed in Galactic GCs is still debated. Here we analyse data compiled from the Hubble Space Telescope, ground-based surveys, and Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and explore relationships between the structural properties of GCs and the fraction of second population (2P) stars. Given the correlations we find, we conclude that the main factor driving the formation/evolution of 2P stars is the cluster mass. The existing strong correlations between the 2P fraction and the rotational velocity and concentration parameter could derive from their correlation with the cluster mass. Furthermore, we observe that increasing cluster escape velocity corresponds to higher 2P fractions. Each of the correlations found is bimodal, with a different behaviour detected for low- and high-mass (or escape velocity) clusters. These correlations could be consistent with an initial formation of more centrally concentrated 2P stars in deeper cluster potentials, followed by a long-term tidal stripping of stars from clusters outskirts. The latter are dominated by the more extended distributed first population (1P) stars, and therefore stronger tidal stripping would preferentially deplete the 1P population, raising the cluster 2P fraction. This also suggests a tighter distribution of initial 2P fractions than observed today. In addition, higher escape velocities allow better retention of low-velocity material ejected from 1P stars, providing an alternative/additional origin for the observed differences and the distributions of 2P fractions amongst GCs.
The last migration trap of compact objects in AGN accretion disc
Authors: Peng Peng , Chen Xian
Published: May 2021

Many black holes detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo detectors are multiple times more massive than those in X-ray binaries. One possibility is that some binary black holes (BBHs) merge within a few Schwarzschild radii of a supermassive black hole (SMBH), so that the gravitational waves (GWs) are highly redshifted, causing the mass inferred from GW signals to appear higher than the real mass. The difficulty of this scenario lies in the delivery of BBH to such a small distance to a SMBH. Here we revisit the theoretical models for the migration of compact objects (COs) in the accretion discs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We find that when the accretion rate is high so that the disc is best described by the slim disc model, the COs in the disc could migrate to a radius close to the innermost stable circular orbit and be trapped there for the remaining lifetime of the AGN. The exact trapping radius coincides with the transition region between the sub- and super-Keplerian rotation of the slim disc. We call this region ‘the last migration trap’ because further inward, COs can no longer be trapped for a long time. We pinpoint the parameter space that could induce such a trap and we estimate that the last migration trap contributes a few per cent of the LIGO/Virgo events. Our result implies that a couple of BBHs discovered by LIGO/Virgo so far could have smaller intrinsic masses.
PolyQ length co-evolution in neural proteins
Authors: Vaglietti Serena , Fiumara Ferdinando
Published: May 2021

Intermolecular co-evolution optimizes physiological performance in functionally related proteins, ultimately increasing molecular co-adaptation and evolutionary fitness. Polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats, which are over-represented in nervous system-related proteins, are increasingly recognized as length-dependent regulators of protein function and interactions, and their length variation contributes to intraspecific phenotypic variability and interspecific divergence. However, it is unclear whether polyQ repeat lengths evolve independently in each protein or rather co-evolve across functionally related protein pairs and networks, as in an integrated regulatory system. To address this issue, we investigated here the length evolution and co-evolution of polyQ repeats in clusters of functionally related and physically interacting neural proteins in Primates. We observed function-/disease-related polyQ repeat enrichment and evolutionary hypervariability in specific neural protein clusters, particularly in the neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric domains. Notably, these analyses detected extensive patterns of intermolecular polyQ length co-evolution in pairs and clusters of functionally related, physically interacting proteins. Moreover, they revealed both direct and inverse polyQ length co-variation in protein pairs, together with complex patterns of coordinated repeat variation in entire polyQ protein sets. These findings uncover a whole system of co-evolving polyQ repeats in neural proteins with direct implications for understanding polyQ-dependent phenotypic variability, neurocognitive evolution and neuropsychiatric disease pathogenesis.
Changes in Immune Activation During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period in Treated HIV Infection
Authors: Schnittman Samuel R , Byakwaga Helen , Boum Yap , Kabakyenga Jerome , Matthews Lynn T , Burdo Tricia H , Huang Yong , Tracy Russell P , Haberer Jessica E , Kembabazi Annet , Kaida Angela , Moisi Daniela , Lederman Michael M , Bangsberg David R , Martin Jeffrey N , Hunt Peter W
Published: May 2021

Background

Pregnant women with HIV (PWWH) have high postpartum morbidity and mortality from infections like tuberculosis. Immunologic changes during pregnancy and postpartum periods may contribute to these risks, particularly the immunoregulatory kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism, which contributes to both HIV and tuberculosis pathogenesis and increases in the early postpartum period.

Methods

Women with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Uganda AIDS Rural Treatment Outcomes (UARTO) cohort who were pregnant at enrollment or became pregnant during observation were studied (n = 54). Plasma kynurenine/tryptophan (KT) ratio, soluble CD14 (sCD14), sCD163, sCD27, interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), D-dimer, interleukin-6, and intestinal fatty-acid binding protein levels were assessed through the first year of ART and at 3-month intervals throughout pregnancy and 1 year postpartum. Biomarker changes were assessed with linear mixed models adjusted for ART duration. Hemoglobin concentration changes were used to estimate pregnancy-related changes in plasma volume.

Results

The median pre-ART CD4 count was 134. D-dimer increased through the third trimester before returning to baseline postpartum, while most other biomarkers declined significantly during pregnancy, beyond what would be expected from pregnancy-associated plasma volume expansion. IP-10 and sCD14 remained suppressed for at least 12 months postpartum. KT ratio was the only biomarker that increased above prepregnancy baseline postpartum (mean + 30%; P < .001) and remained higher than baseline for ≥9 months (P ≤ .045 for all time points).

Conclusions

Several immune activation markers decline during pregnancy and remain suppressed postpartum, but the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism increases above baseline for ≥9 months postpartum. The mechanisms underlying postpartum kynurenine pathway activity are incompletely understood but may contribute to increased tuberculosis risk in this setting.
Interactions with Megafauna
Authors: Johnson Chris N. , Dortch Joe , Worthy Trevor H.
Published: May 2021

Megafauna were a prominent feature of the biodiversity of Sahul. They were still diverse when people reached Sahul but had largely disappeared by about 40,000 years ago. Several studies provide evidence that, before their extinction, megafaunal animals were exploited by people, but such evidence is rare. This rarity of evidence could indicate that interaction was infrequent or that evidence of significant interaction is missing because of weaknesses and biases in the palaeontological and archaeological records. The timing and pattern of disappearance of megafauna suggest that humans played a role in their extinction, but more research is needed to understand the nature of human impacts on megafauna and the synergistic or independent effects of climate.
Axe Quarrying, Production, and Exchange in Australia and New Guinea
Authors: Ford Anne , Hiscock Peter
Published: May 2021

Ground-edge artefacts (GEAs), also known as ground-edge axes, are an independent innovation that date to the earliest sites in Sahul (the continental landmass of Australia and New Guinea). During the Pleistocene, these tools were localized to the northern parts of the continent. Over time, significant changes took place in the distribution of GEAs, which became an almost continent-wide technology, with distinct regional variations in their form, production, and exchange patterns. This article explores the evolution of GEAs in Sahul, mapping the different trajectories in their production, use, and exchange, while also exploring the different roles that they may have played both socially and economically in their communities of use.
Pedagogies of Creativity in Music
Authors: Barrett Margaret S.
Published: May 2021

This chapter explores the notion of pedagogies of creativity and creative pedagogies in music composition. Drawing on Amabile’s categorization of “domain-relevant” and “creativity-relevant” skills, the chapter uses historical and contemporary examples to indicate the interrelated nature of these skill sets, specifically through a historical case study of the pedagogy of Nadia Boulanger. The chapter presents the notion of composition pedagogy as a “signature pedagogy” that operates as a series of collaborative apprenticeships undertaken in spaces and places of professional practice that promote the cognitive, practical, and moral aspects of composition as a professional practice. In a world where the notion of music creativities is ever expanding, the interdialogic relationship of pedagogies of creativity and creative pedagogies provides a way forward for composition learning and teaching.
The Apocrypha in the Context of Early Judaism
Authors: Oegema Gerbern S.
Published: May 2021

The Apocrypha are an intrinsic part of Early Judaism, which as a field has undergone some dramatic changes. Starting as the Jewish background of the New Testament, it has developed from Ancient Judaism to Second Temple or Early Judaism, through and integrating the discoveries of the Qumran Scrolls and the re-emergence of the importance of the Pseudepigrapha. The Apocrypha have been part of this change and should therefore also be understood within the context of the many Judaisms during the Greco-Roman period.
3 Maccabees
Authors: Dyer Bryan R.
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines the Third Book of Maccabees with an eye toward its unique contribution to the Apocrypha. By way of orientation, various historical and textual issues are discussed that place the text in the late first century bce or early first century ce. Additional focus is given to the role of women in the narrative, especially the figure of Arsinoë, who plays a decisive part in the opening Battle of Raphia. The chapter then turns to the theology of 3 Maccabees and highlights its emphasis on prayer, divine intervention, and the identity of the Jewish people living under a tyrannical king.
Jewish Religion in the Apocrypha
Authors: Sulzbach Carla
Published: May 2021

In this chapter, the Apocrypha are read through the lenses of Jewish observances in their original Second Temple era milieu, in their (dis-)continuity with biblical as well as post-Temple Rabbinic culture. This allows for these writings, all dating from the Graeco-Roman period, to be put on a trajectory from pre-exilic times (to which they were heir and to which they refer), through Second Temple times, to Rabbinic Judaism. The total known textual corpus dating from this period is much greater and also comprises the Pseudepigrapha, Qumran, and the Hellenistic-Jewish historians. Early Christian texts in their interaction with their Jewish subtexts, too, shed light on the development of Early Judaism of this period although these fall outside the purview of this article, which narrows its focus to a selection of representative examples, namely, 1 and 3 Maccabees, Tobit and Judith, the Additions to Daniel and to Esther, as well as the Wisdom of Solomon.
Women and Gender in the Apocrypha
Authors: Parks Sara
Published: May 2021

In this piece, Sara Parks examines women and gender in the Apocrypha and their adjacent texts. Parks highlights key shifts in the last fifty years in the study of apocryphal female characters, women’s history, and, more recently, theorized gender. She addresses methods for the reconstruction of women’s lived experiences from antique texts written overwhelmingly by and for men, when the nature of the ancient evidence is far from ideal for answering contemporary questions. Parks highlights several key apocryphal texts that have been studied for their female protagonists, but points out that, as masculinity is also under construction in the texts, the question of gender is applicable to every ancient text and artifact. Beyond the analysis of female protagonists and the quest for women’s history, gender is a lens through which all historical and literary analysis should be approached.
Theology and Ethics in EARLY JUDAISM
Authors: Oegema Gerbern S.
Published: May 2021

The question of theology and ethics cannot be separated from the methodological problems connected with studying it. Whereas the Apocrypha come to us from different life settings and represent many different, often unknown, groups and socio-religious traditions in Second Temple Judaism (538 bce–70/135 ce), the same is the case with the Pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, unlike the Jewish or Christian Bible, none of these writings have a present-day faith community to represent them, so that there present-day ethical relevance is quite uncertain and any systematic theological approach is nearly impossible.
The Protestant Reception of the Apocrypha
Authors: Korpman Matthew J.
Published: May 2021

Due to the fact that most modern Protestant creeds do not explicitly reject the Apocrypha as inspired or define what books make up the canon they refer to when speaking of the Old Testament (nor did many of their spiritual forebears during the Reformation), it must be acknowledged that for many Protestants, the Old Testament canon has not been formally closed since the Reformation began. This may have been caused by fact that Protestant reformers did not all reject the Apocrypha, but to the contrary, continued to support their status as a strange middle-ground, the Reformation made no concrete or agreed decisions or assessments regarding the status of the Apocrypha. Moreover, the reformers who held positive views of these books went in one of two directions: to continue the tradition of treating these books as essential for Bibles but inferior in status, or treating the category as a temporary purgatory until such a time that their correct status as inspired or uninspired could be determined.
A Canonical History of the Old Testament Apocrypha
Authors: McDonald Lee Martin
Published: May 2021

From ancient times, those Jewish religious writings now regularly identified as “Apocrypha” have had a varied history of meaning and function in the churches and in their scope and presence in Bibles. The term itself has ranges in meaning from hidden and sacred to spurious and rejected. McDonald focuses on history of the recognition of the emergence and change of the meaning of the Apocrypha as well as how these religious texts functioned in the communities that welcomed them as Scripture, or as valued and readable texts for church (“ecclesiastical”) use, but not as sacred Scripture. Their history of use and rejection is best reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, Josephus, the Early Church Fathers, ancient canon lists, major manuscripts, translations, and church council decisions.
Technology, Labor, and the Gig Economy
Authors: Woodcock Jamie
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines the interconnections between technology, labor, and the gig economy. It starts by analyzing the changing context of work, connecting contemporary changes to a historical context. This draws out the ongoing undermining of the employment relationship alongside neoliberal reforms and policies. The chapter then examines the organizational form of platforms, the specific preconditions that shape their implementation, and the overlaps this has with the gig economy. In particular, it focuses on the emergence of two new models of platform work: geographically tethered work like transport and online forms of cloudwork. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the implications of platforms for understanding the changes to work, as well as charting potential new areas for research.
Introduction: Convergences and Divergences in Contemporary Pentateuchal Research
Authors: Baden Joel S. , Stackert Jeffrey
Published: May 2021

The field of pentateuchal studies continues to witness an impressive volume of scholarly productivity. Given this robust interest, it is unsurprising that diverse perspectives, approaches, and foci are represented in current scholarship. Newer developments in the broader field of biblical studies are also impacting pentateuchal studies, both being combined with more established research trajectories and offering important correctives to existing research. This essay lays out the most salient points of agreement among contemporary pentateuchal scholars as well as points of persistent disagreement.
Form and Tradition Criticism
Authors: Dozeman Thomas B.
Published: May 2021

This chapter traces the influence of the history of religions school on the interpretation of the Pentateuch in two important areas of research: (1) the identification of individual oral stories in form criticism; and (2) the attempt to trace the formation of oral stories into larger collections in tradition history. It also discusses the main methodological issues raised by the various approaches surveyed in this chapter.
Positions on Redaction
Authors: Müller Reinhard
Published: May 2021

This essay examines the nature of pentateuchal redaction, the various positions that scholars have taken on it across the history of modern biblical studies, and the ways that these theories contribute to larger theories of compositional history. It highlights the manner in which redactional theories have been especially productive among continental European scholars over the past half-century. The essay concludes with a consideration of external, empirical evidence for redaction, especially among the Persian and Hellenistic period witnesses to the Pentateuch.
The Relationship of the Legal Codes
Authors: Stackert Jeffrey
Published: May 2021

This essay discusses the major pentateuchal legal collections (the Covenant Code, Priestly Law, Deuteronomic Law, the Holiness Code) and the possible relationships that adhere among them. It also considers different interpretive approaches to these legal materials (juridical, literary), especially as the laws relate to the narratives in which they are embedded. The essay concludes with a discussion of the revisionary methods that later authors employed in their reuse of earlier pentateuchal legislation.
The Identification of Preexilic Material in the Pentateuch
Authors: Polak Frank
Published: May 2021

It is the aim of this chapter to indicate the convergence of the linguistic data and the sociocultural background for many segments in the narratives of the patriarchs and the Exodus, noting the convergence of the cultural hybridity of these narratives that are sometimes close to the Ugaritic epic, and their predominant oral background, as revealed by language usage. Some of the allusions to sociopolitical and geopolitical context dovetail with different periods of the Israelite/Judahite monarchy. Against these features I pointed to the congruence of the language usage of the deuteronomic/ priestly strata and their place in the royal/temple administration. This dialectic interplay of cultural/linguistic contrasts and convergences indicates four main formative stages/strata for pentateuchal literature, to begin with the oral/written, epic stage (ninth/early eighth century).
The Genres of the Pentateuch and Their Social Settings
Authors: Roskop Erisman Angela
Published: May 2021

The ability to recognize genres has been central to modern critical study of the Pentateuch since the work of Hermann Gunkel at the turn of the twentieth century. This essay surveys the legal, administrative, and literary genres used in the Pentateuch, offering a sense of its generic complexity. Genres are defined not as the fixed and stable forms used to classify texts, as understood by classic form-critical method, but as idealized cognitive models employed as tools for writing and interpreting texts, an understanding drawn from modern genre theory. Because genres are situated in social contexts, Gunkel saw genre as central to writing a history of Israel’s literature. This essay surveys the limitations of Gunkel’s vision yet identifies a way to reconnect with it and write a more organic literary history, one that may intersect with but also at times challenge the results of source- and redaction-critical methods.
The Pentateuch: Archaeology and History
Authors: Finkelstein Israel
Published: May 2021

This essay deals with the archaeological and extrabiblical clues that are relevant for identifying the historical realities that may lay behind pentateuchal texts. It will concentrate on the most thoroughly discussed pentateuchal narrative complexes, namely, the patriarchs and the Exodus and desert wandering.
The Pentateuch as “Torah”
Authors: Watts James W.
Published: May 2021

This essay observes that Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian readers engage the same pentateuchal texts, but they name them differently, publish them in different material forms, perform particular liturgical and devotional readings of them, and interpret them distinctively. These differences can be traced historically to four key figures in four pivotal moments: Ezra, Judah Maccabee, Judah haNasi, and Irenaeus. The developments associated with these figures help to account for the distinctive identities of Jews, Samaritans, and Christians.
The Text of the Pentateuch
Authors: White Crawford Sidnie
Published: May 2021

This essay reconstructs the history of the text of the Pentateuch from the extant evidence available, starting with a brief inscription from the seventh century BCE and ending with the medieval Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch. It begins with an overview of the available textual evidence. There follows a history of text-critical theories concerning the development of the text of the Pentateuch, finishing with the author’s own reconstruction of that development. Finally, the essay ends with a brief discussion of the relevance of this textual data to the current debate concerning the composition of the Pentateuch.
The Evolution of Human Life Course
Authors: Suman Francesco
Published: May 2021

Homo sapiens’ life history pattern possesses both fast and slow components, in a combination that is unique among the extant great apes. One of the issues debated in current evolutionary research is the role played by phenotypic plasticity as a non-genetic means of adaptation to evolutionary challenges. While life history parameters are shaped at a species level by genetic adaptations via natural selection, they remain very sensitive to changes in the environment. Relying on updated evidence and on key explanatory tools of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (phenotypic plasticity, niche construction, and inclusive inheritance), it is likely that environmentally induced plasticity led the way in human life history evolution, promoting subsequent genetic accommodation. To the extent that culturally transmitted behaviors altered the selective pressures that acted on life history traits across generations during human evolution, a culturally driven plasticity dynamic shaping human life history traits can be identified. Two case studies in particular are discussed: the human adaptations to the domestication of fire and the self-domestication hypothesis.
Exploring the Evolutionary Pathways from Number Sense to Numeracy
Authors: Frank Roslyn M.
Published: May 2021

In this chapter, four stages are proposed for the evolutionary development of number systems in humans with special emphasis being given to neurocognitive and linguistic aspects of the evolutionary process. The four stages are: 1) number sense—innate quantitative competence without counting and language; 2) transition to syntactic language and counting skills; 3) transition from finger-counting to numeracy; and 4) establishment of a complex numerical lexicon and its notational instantiation. Evidence drawn from the archaeological record as well as contemporary ethnographic research is used to investigate the symbolic reference gap that exists between the two biologically given systems which allow for quantification judgments and those systems that are truly numerical in nature and hence culturally instantiated. The possible key role played by finger-counting, specifically as a bridging mechanism, in this evolutionary process is also highlighted.
Transcending the Rational Symbol System
Authors: Heylighen Francis
Published: May 2021

Symbols support the uniquely human capabilities of language, culture, and thinking. Therefore, cognitive scientists have tried to explain intelligence as founded on Rational Symbol Systems (RSS). RSS use syntactical and logical rules to combine discrete symbols into meaningful expressions and inferences. However, these symbols fail to capture continuous, felt experience. The proposed solution is to ground symbols in situated interactions and subsymbolic networks of associations. Historically, different approaches have attempted to overcome the shortcomings of RSS. These include science, by formalizing and operationalizing symbols; philosophy, by critically analyzing the relation between symbols and reality; art, by evoking subjective experiences; and spirituality, by expanding consciousness. Information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, neural networks, simulations and virtual reality, make it possible to integrate their results. That would allow externalizing and controlling creativity and intuition, thus inaugurating an evolutionary transition to a supra-human level of intelligence, the “Global Brain”.
The Aboutness of Language and the Evolution of the Construction-ready Brain
Authors: Arbib Michael A.
Published: May 2021

The chapter presents the hypothesis that early Homo sapiens were language-ready in the sense that they had brains that could have supported language had it already been developed, but were not yet language-using. Informed by data from comparative neuroprimatology, the approach sees protolanguage emerging from complex recognition and imitation of manual skills via biocultural evolution, while cultural evolution alone supported the emergence of language from protolanguage. This approach supports the view that the Homo sapiens language-ready brain had the more general property of being construction-ready, and that this made possible the emergence of drawing and painting through later cultural evolution.
Primate Parents
Authors: Botero Maria
Published: May 2021

In this chapter, the author will provide an overview of some of the main areas of research and ideas on the evolution of parenting in human and nonhuman primates, including parenting styles, and parental investment and attachment. The author will situate different approaches in their historical context of origin and analyze their merits and disadvantages. Then, the author will pose two fundamental questions that have changed how we approach the evolutionary history of parenting: “Who is a parent?” and “what is a parent?” The author will provide examples of some of the biases that are present in answers to these two questions, and of how a critical analysis of the traditional theories in the evolution of parenting is transforming the way researchers understand the evolution of parenting in recent years.
Neurocognitive underpinnings of social development during childhood
Authors: Steinbeis Nikolaus
Published: May 2021

This chapter reviews the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying social development during middle childhood. The author focuses on social abilities (e.g., theory of mind and empathy) and prosocial behavior (e.g., sharing and helping). The chapter discusses studies and theories on developmental changes in these social phenomena and references evidence of neurocognitive underpinnings where available. The author argues that changes in social development during childhood can best be explained in developments in regulatory processes, such as behavioral control, emotion regulation, conflict processing, and self-other control. The author refers to this cluster of functions as social control mechanisms. Changes in these social control mechanisms are driven by the maturation of neural circuitry comprising prefrontal cortical regions and their interactions with subcortical regions. Crucially, while the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying social development are distinct for different abilities and behaviors, it appears to be domain-general processes that predominantly shape social development during middle childhood.
Liberalism
Authors: Müller Philipp
Published: May 2021

Weimar liberalism reflects the difficulties of political and economic liberalism to adapt to parliamentary democracy and the economic consequences of the First World War. These difficulties pushed liberalism into a crisis that led to new liberal formations on an organizational and intellectual level. The two main liberal parties experienced a steady decline, resulting in their political insignificance at the end of the Weimar Republic. This process was accompanied by liberal controversies over the benefit and mischief of democracy and capitalism, calling established liberal ideals into question. Liberals considered the restriction of parliamentary politics, of unbounded economic activities, liberal internationalism, and the coordination of capitalism as possible solutions to contemporary challenges. These controversies disillusioned many former adherents of liberalism, but also provoked a renewal of liberal concepts in various fields.
Antisemitism in the Weimar Republic
Authors: Wein Susanne , Ulmer Martin
Published: May 2021

Antisemitism was an integral part of the Weimar Republic’s political culture and was widespread in society. During the 1920s, hostility towards Jews was often radical and militant, complemented by their increasing exclusion in everyday life. Right-wing anti-democrats weaponized antisemitic conspiracy myths against the Weimar Republic, defamed as the ‘Jew Republic’. In Reich and state parliaments and in the party press, antisemites attempted to charge public discourses with antisemitism and, in doing so, change the unwritten rules of what could and could not be said. Dwindling republican forces largely underestimated the looming danger. The defence organizations of the German Jews, from the early 1930s, had hardly any chance against the superior numbers of the right-wing extremist movement under the leadership of the Nazi party.
German Literature, 1918–1933
Authors: Kiesel Helmuth
Published: May 2021

This chapter charts the development of literature during the years of the Weimar Republic. Three tendencies were particularly important. (1) Literature turned towards politics with an unprecedented intensity, attempting to influence the republic’s political and social development. It became a ‘weapon’, fostering the ‘formation of a frontline’ between different political, social, and cultural camps. This included the dispute over the lost war and the revolution. (2) A broad Zeitliteratur (literature of that time) on modern life emerged—on the metropolis, the world of industrial labour, being a white-collar employee, women’s emancipation—but also on tensions between progressive and conservative forces, and between metropolis and province. (3) All three literary genres, lyric, drama, and epic, showed new approaches by productively connecting innovative and traditional creative patterns, particularly in the exemplary works of Alfred Döblin, Gottfried Benn, and Bertolt Brecht, that represented a new kind of ‘reflective modernity’.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients with predominantly tender joints rarely achieve clinical remission despite being in ultrasound remission
Authors: Hammer Hilde Berner , Jensen Hansen Inger Marie , Järvinen Pentti , Leirisalo-Repo Marjatta , Ziegelasch Michael , Agular Birte , Terslev Lene
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Given that subjective variables might reduce remission by composite DAS (CDAS), the main objectives were to explore whether RA patients with mainly tender vs mainly swollen joints had differences in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), clinical or US assessments or in achieving remission defined by CDAS or US.

Methods

In a Nordic multicentre study, RA patients initiating tocilizumab were assessed by PROMs, clinical, laboratory and US assessments (36 joints and 4 tendons) at baseline, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. Remission was defined according to clinical disease activity index (CDAI)/Boolean or no Doppler activity present. Tender–swollen joint differences (TSJDs) were calculated. Statistics exploring changes over time/differences between groups included Wilcoxon, Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and Spearman tests.

Results

One hundred and ten patients were included [mean (s.d.) age 55.6 (12.1) years, RA duration 8.7 (9.5) years]. All PROMs, clinical, laboratory and US scores decreased during follow-up (P < 0.001). During follow-up, tender joint counts were correlated primarily with PROMs [r = 0.24–0.56 (P < 0.05–0.001)] and swollen joint counts with US synovitis scores [r = 0.33–0.72 (P < 0.05–0.001)]. At 24 weeks, patients with TSJD > 0 had higher PROMs and CDAI (P < 0.05–0.001) but lower US synovitis scores (P < 0.05). Remission by CDAI/Boolean was seen in 26–34% and by Doppler 53%, but only 2–3% of patients with TSJD > 0 achieved CDAI/Boolean remission.

Conclusion

Patients with more tender than swollen joints scored higher on subjective assessments but had less US synovitis. They seldom achieved CDAS remission despite many being in Doppler remission. If patients with predominantly tender joints do not reach CDAS remission, objective assessments of inflammation should be performed.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov/, NCT02046616.
Risk of diverticulitis and gastrointestinal perforation in rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab compared to rituximab or abatacept
Authors: Rempenault Claire , Lukas Cédric , Combe Bernard , Herrero Astrid , Pane Isabelle , Schaeverbeke Thierry , Wendling Daniel , Pham Thao , Gottenberg Jacques-Eric , Mariette Xavier , Morel Jacques ,   the French Society of Rheumatology and the investigators participating in AIR-PR, ORA and REGATE registries
Published: May 2021

Objective

To compare the risk of diverticulitis and gastrointestinal perforation (GIP) in RA treated with tocilizumab (TCZ) compared with rituximab (RTX) and abatacept (ABA).

Methods

We conducted a population-based study using three observational French registries on TCZ, RTX and ABA in RA. Using a propensity score approach, we compared the risk of diverticulitis or GIP in these patients.

Results

With inverse probability weighting, there was an increased risk of diverticulitis in TCZ-treated patients compared with RTX- or ABA-treated patients [hazard ratio (HR)=3.1 (95% CI: 1.5, 6.3), P =0.002]. Moreover, patients treated with TCZ had also an increased risk of GIP due to diverticulitis compared with those treated with RTX or ABA [HR=3.8 (1.1–13.6), P =0.04], resulting in an overall increased risk of GIP [HR=2.9 (1.1–7.8), P =0.03], while no significant increased risk of GIP due to any other aetiology was found in TCZ treated patients. Diverticulitis and GIP occurred earlier with TCZ than other drugs after the last perfusion (P =0.01), with atypical clinical presentation (slow transit in 30%, P =0.04) and lower acute-phase reactants at the time of the event (P =0.005).

Conclusion

TCZ for RA was associated with increased odds of diverticulitis as well as GIP due to diverticulitis as compared with RTX and ABA. Our study confirms the increased odds of GIP in patients receiving TCZ, which might be explained by an increased risk of diverticulitis with misleading clinical presentation.
Anakinra in hospitalized non-intubated patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Barkas Fotios , Filippas-Ntekouan Sebastian , Kosmidou Maria , Liberopoulos Evangelos , Liontos Angelos , Milionis Haralampos
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Acute respiratory distress syndrome and cytokine release syndrome are the major complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with increased mortality risk. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of anakinra in adult hospitalized non-intubated patients with COVID-19.

Methods

Relevant trials were identified by searching literature until 24 April 2021 using the following terms: anakinra, IL-1, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. Trials evaluating the effect of anakinra on the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality in hospitalized non-intubated patients with COVID-19 were included.

Results

Nine studies (n = 1119) were eligible for inclusion in the present meta-analysis. Their bias risk with reference to the assessed parameters was high. In pooled analyses, anakinra reduced the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (odds ratio (OR): 0.38, 95% CI: 0.17–0.85, P = 0.02, I2 = 67%; six studies, n = 587) and mortality risk (OR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.23–0.45, P < 0.00001, I2 = 0%; nine studies, n = 1119) compared with standard of care therapy. There were no differences regarding the risk of adverse events, including liver dysfunction (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.48–1.16, P > 0.05, I2 = 28%; five studies, n = 591) and bacteraemia (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.42–2.73, P > 0.05, I2 = 71%; six studies, n = 727).

Conclusions

Available evidence shows that treatment with anakinra reduces both the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and mortality risk of hospitalized non-intubated patients with COVID-19 without increasing the risk of adverse events. Confirmation of efficacy and safety requires randomized placebo-controlled trials.