bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Arrested Development: Characterisation, the Newspaper and Anthony Trollope
Authors: Valdez Jessica R.
Published: September 2021

Anthony Trollope famously envisioned novel writing as a way to participate in British politics, yet his novels are curiously empty of writers--other than his rascally journalists. This chapter argues that Trollope’s novels caricature journalists and newspapers and, in doing so, flatten out the British news system. In drawing a stylistic and literal contrast between the novel and the newspaper, Trollope develops a novelistic poetics more generous than the stark absolutes and fake news of his fictionalised newspapers. His reductive treatment of journalism stands in blatant opposition to the care with which he fictionalises the world of British parliament and cultivates rounded liberal characters, such as Phineas Finn and Plantagenet Palliser. Not only does his method in representing journalists mimic the strategies of the newspaper editors themselves, it also conveys the distortion Trollope perceives in their representative methods and their construction of a national reading public. Trollope’s emphasis on fictional narrative becomes an important counterweight to the series of disconnected and decontextualised outrages published by his fictional journalists. In drawing this distinction, Trollope invites his readers to think analytically about the way that they relate to and absorb the news. Trollope’s novels imitate and rework journalistic writing practices to theorise the ethical and political effects of formal choices on public discourse. Trollope, in a sense, is an early media theorist thinking through the contrasting systems of reality offered by newspapers and novels.
Introduction
Authors: Coit Emily
Published: September 2021

This introduction announces American Snobs's argument and indicates how its work draws from and speaks to conversations amongst literary and historical scholars. Pointing to the historical specificity of the liberalism that the book discusses, the introduction describes the social and professional ties that connect the thinkers treated throughout the book, noting the centrality of Harvard University in the elite network that links Henry Adams, Henry James, and Edith Wharton to men like W.E.B. Du Bois, Charles William Eliot, Charles Eliot Norton and Barrett Wendell. The introduction then offers a brief historiography of 'the genteel tradition' before concluding with a rapid summary of the book's subsequent chapters.
Pure English: Wharton and the Elect
Authors: Coit Emily
Published: September 2021

This chapter reads Edith Wharton's writing about race and nation alongside similarly 'ambassadorial' texts by her friend Barrett Wendell. Considering Wharton's French Ways and Their Meaning, 'Amérique en Guerre' and also Backward Glance in light of the antagonism between Wendell and Charles William Eliot, the chapter observes how each thinks about inequality, education, race, and change over time. Liberal, segregationist and eugenicist, Eliot argues for an aristocracy of merit in which the winners will be white; he stands for a liberal, democratic 'Puritan' heritage. Wendell and Wharton affiliate themselves instead with a Dutch, Cavalier tradition that claims whiteness without claiming democracy, and favours warm pleasure over icy rectitude. Sharing nostalgia for an 'Old New England' of Anglo-Saxon purity, they see racial decline where Eliot hails racial development. Less sanguine than Eliot about the possibilities of education, Wharton argues for continuity rather than rapid progress, criticizing 'Puritan' tendencies towards idealism and disruption. To Wendell's students Van Wyck Brooks and Vernon Louis Parrington, Wharton and Wendell alike offer rich source material: a story of decline and extinction, a resistance to 'Puritanism', and a realist critique of idealism. Brooks and Parrington adapt these elements as they develop the narrative about the 'genteel'.
The Rhythm of Life: The Pulse in the Spectator
Authors: Mee Sharon Jane
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses the concept of the Open in the work of Gilles Deleuze and Jean-François Lyotard. The literal pulse of the body and its movement in response to the world provides scope for arguing that the defining characteristic of an affective spectatorship must be the Open. In Georges Franju’s Le Sang des bêtes/Blood of the Beasts (1949), the rhythms of life encapsulate the shocks, bursts, or surges of energetic flow that connect and open the animals in the slaughterhouse to the ‘felt’ sensations of the spectator. Drawing on Deleuze’s theory of sensation as a diastolic-systolic opening and Lyotard’s conceptualisation of a libidinal economy wherein passages of intensity travel the open ‘libidinal skin’, the behaviour of the rhythm of life, in this chapter, is characterised as a pulse.
Aisthesis and Dispositif: The Pulse and Its Analogues
Authors: Mee Sharon Jane
Published: September 2021

This chapter discusses Jean-François Lyotard’s concept of aisthesis, which he develops through an examination of the executing apparatus in Franz Kafka’s short story ‘In the Penal Colony’. Aisthesis provides scope for defining the ‘felt’ spectatorship of the pulse, which can be differentiated from the aesthetic spectatorship concerned with the rhythms of the apparatus. By examining the viewing conditions established for William Castle’s The Tingler (1959), which saw cinema seats wired with electric devices that would ‘tingle’ their occupants, this chapter finds that what this apparatus ‘exposes’ is the aisthetic sensations of the spectator. It considers how the ‘machine-like’ prescription of the apparatus breaks into the energetic work of the dispositif of cinema at the site of the spectator, and more broadly, where the dispositif stands as a social apparatus in what is, for both Kafka’s and Castle’s apparatus, a disciplinary act.
Writing the Sphinx
Authors: Dobson Eleanor
Published: September 2021

This book unearths a rich tradition of creative flexibility, collaboration and mutual influence between literary culture and Egyptology from the late nineteenth century to the early decades of the twentieth century, culminating in the aftermath of the high-profile discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. The first book-length study to focus in depth on the symbiotic relationship between literature and Egyptological culture, it analyses the works of Egyptologists including Howard Carter and E. A. Wallis Budge alongside those of their literary contemporaries such as H. Rider Haggard and Marie Corelli. Combining literary criticism with book history and reception studies, it incorporates a number of archival primary sources which have, until now, escaped critical attention, and reads canonical literature alongside works by lesser-known authors, to ascertain the proliferation of twin Egyptological and literary interests. It was across this period, this book shows, that as a result of the public fervour stirred up by its gilded discoveries and the ancient language that its scholars had so recently deciphered, its high-profile practitioners (both expert and amateur) and its wide range of associations in the cultural consciousness (from magic and longevity, to sexual desire and horror), that Egyptology and its cultural offshoots infiltrated the libraries, lives and minds of an extraordinarily eclectic audience.
‘The sphinx will speak at last’: Visions, Communications and Esoteric Experience
Authors: Dobson Eleanor
Published: September 2021

This chapter investigates visions of ancient Egypt that were understood to be grounded in supernatural truth. It examines the Egyptologists on the peripheries of magical orders, including E. A. Wallis Budge and Battiscombe Gunn, those who took part in spiritualistic activities, such as Howard Carter, as well as the individuals who involved these specialists in their magical and spiritual undertakings. Examining the lives and works of Golden Dawn magicians Florence Farr and Aleister Crowley alongside writers including Sax Rohmer and H. Rider Haggard, it exposes networks of collaboration between Egyptologists and individuals interested in Egyptian rites, and connects these relationships with the Egyptological sites, works and artefacts. Egyptological experts often attempted to distance themselves from the supernatural tales that Egyptian artefacts were particularly liable to inspire, but this was by no means universal. Examining literary overlaps between esotericism and Egyptology illuminates one of the most intriguing aspects of cultural exchange taking place between this scholarly field and culture more broadly: Egyptian spirits and magical ceremonies which Egyptologists frequently claimed had no potency in the modern world (besides in fiction) did, in fact, impress upon several practitioners; esotericists, meanwhile, turned to Egyptology and Egyptologists to buttress their rites, beliefs and experiences.
Spinoza and the Politics of Freedom
Authors: Taylor Dan
Published: September 2021

Taking as its starting point the formative role of fear in Spinoza’s thought, this book argues that Spinoza’s vision of human freedom and power is realised socially and collectively. It presents a new critical study of the collectivist Spinoza, wherein we can become freer through desire, friendship, the imagination, and transforming the social institutions that structure a given community. A freedom for one and all, attuned to the vicissitudes of human life and the capabilities of each one of us to live up to the demands and constraints of our limited autonomy. It repositions Spinoza as the central thinker of desire and freedom, and demonstrates how the conflicts within his work inform contemporary theoretical discussions around democracy, populism and power.
Spinoza’s politics and their development are analysed both philosophically and historically. The argument approaches Spinoza’s texts critically, presenting new findings from the Latin. It critically engages with diverse hermeneutic traditions in Spinoza studies, from continental readings of Spinoza’s ontology and politics to more analytical or historicist Anglophone approaches to his epistemology and metaphysics, alongside recent work sensitive to the socially useful roles of the imagination and the affects. The book sets out new concepts to work through with Spinoza like commonality, collectivity, unanimity and interdependence, and analyses existing debates around democracy, the multitude, slavery and autonomy. Its overarching claim is that freedom in Spinoza is a necessarily political endeavour, realised by individuals acting cooperatively, requiring the development of socio-political institutions and communal imaginings that can realise the common good.
The Master Essayist
Authors: Dabashi Hamid
Published: September 2021

Our conclusions towards the end of the last chapter open up new ways of thinking about Al-e Ahmad’s prose and politics as we move steadily towards considering his legacy for the posterity of a post-Islamist liberation theology. The question of gender remains central and even definitive to the moral imperative of that liberation theology. If that liberation theology will remain pathologically masculinist and its politics ignorant of the gendered disposition of being a Muslim, let alone an intellectual, then that liberation could never shed its reactionary disposition. It is of course absolutely necessary and indispensable for women of different classes and races to be integral to the social and political disposition of that liberation – in the formation of the very public sphere upon which that theology is to be articulated.
Peace Processes in Northern Ireland and Turkey
Authors: Kadioğlu I. Aytaç
Published: September 2021

This book assesses the impact of political, non-violent resolution efforts in the Northern Irish and Turkish-Kurdish peace processes. It offers an important contribution to conflict-resolution research, theorising the various stages involved in the attempted resolution of asymmetric conflicts. By relying on primary sources, including interviews and recently declassified archival papers, it presents an innovative framework for conflict resolution, a starting-point for further research on managing peace processes and ethno-nationalist conflicts. This book challenges the notion of ‘conflict resolution’ in these two peace processes, both far-reaching ethno-nationalist conflicts in the post-Cold War era. Incorporating fieldwork carried out until 2015, the book compares these conflicts during major peace attempts, from early secret talks and semi-official peace initiatives, to multilateral and internationalised conflict-resolution processes through not only main armed protagonists, but also independent third parties. It analyses the political resolution efforts for ending the IRA and PKK’s armed campaigns and establishing a peace agreement. It argues that peace initiatives are ongoing processes which contain not only formal peace initiatives, but also informal and secret peace efforts. It suggests that formal and informal initiatives together embody conflict resolution processes through three major aspects: backchannel communications as the unofficial aspect, peace organisations as the informal and semi-official aspect, and negotiations as the official aspect of conflict resolution efforts, which operate at the elite level of conflict resolution.
Conflict and Peace: History of the Northern Irish and Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Processes
Authors: Kadıoğlu İ. Aytaç
Published: September 2021

The chapter provides an overview of the conflicts and peace processes in Northern Ireland and Turkey that dominated almost four decades of politics and security concerns in both cases. This overview demonstrates the dilemmas faced by authorities in deciding whether to adopt traditional terrorism and counter-terrorism tactics versus ‘conflict resolution’ measures. This historical account explores the transition in the perception of the British and Turkish governments on the one hand, and the leadership of the IRA and PKK, on the other. It reveals that peace efforts and violent campaigns were used together since the beginning of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, and since the early 1980s in Turkey. The use of violent and non-violent resolution methods depended on the attitudes of political agents in both conflicts. The chapter also reveals the agents and actors who played a critical role in the transition towards a peaceful resolution. It provides an understanding of how the attitudes and actions of the conflicting parties influenced the outcome of both peace processes.
Peace and Conflict Resolution Organisations: Catalysts for Peace?
Authors: Kadıoğlu İ. Aytaç
Published: September 2021

This chapter investigates unofficial peace initiatives that were undertaken from the early stages of both conflicts by peace and conflict resolution organisations. The existing literature has long recognised the influence of these groups at the community level, especially in the area of reconciliation. However, the impact of these track-two initiatives on the elite level of conflict resolution has been neglected particularly in situations where they may push political elites towards political reforms and a non-violent resolution, as well as forwarding the demands of conflicting communities to decision makers. This chapter intends to reveal the P/CROs’ contribution to peace processes in this broader sense by comparing the relevant groups in Northern Ireland and Turkey. Regarding middle-range efforts, P/CROs aim to close the gap between the elite and grassroots levels through public events, conferences and marches, which helps to include a war-affected society’s demand for political decisions and the promotion of political resolution attempts. Regarding elite-level efforts, they play a role in political decisions thanks to their personal contacts with political elites. It assesses whether these groups have reduced the tension in the society and have encouraged political efforts in Northern Ireland and Turkey.
Introduction
Authors: Coulson Victoria
Published: September 2021

In 1949 The Saturday Book posed a set of questions to nine distinguished men and women, one of whom was the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973). To the inquiry ‘Is there any other profession you might have been good at?’ Bowen replied: ‘I should like to have been an architect. Or (if I had been a man) a barrister.’...
Kelsen’s Milieu
Authors: Schuett Robert
Published: September 2021

Who shaped the early Kelsen’s style of thinking under the Kaiser? What were the intellectual circles in which he moved in fin-de-siècle Vienna and the interwar period before he left Austria for Cologne, Geneva, Prague, and the United States? The chapter explores ‘the other Kelsen’ by revisiting his formative years, as well as his work in the lecture halls of university and his high-profile roles in the War Ministry, Karl Renner’s state chancellery, and American foreign intelligence after escaping the fascist Continent. A reluctant jurist, Kelsen had a passion for philosophy and literature, and from Freud and the economists he learned that individual and social life was all about drives and desires, instincts and interests. Where Kelsen was, there was no land of utopia.
Merging Words and Making Connections in Sūrat Ṭaha
Authors: Ozgur Alhassen Leyla
Published: September 2021

This chapter focuses on the story of Mūsā in SūratṬaha, and looks at the rest of the sura and connections between the various parts. It explores ways in which the narrator creates and develops consonance through: connections between characters, connections with the audience and connections between various parts of the Qur’ānic text. It discusses examples of creating consonance through the following categories: (1) the narrator confirming God’s words, (2) the narrator confirming people’s words and (3) making connections through semantic echoes. In the first section, God as Creator and author shows to be true what God the character in a dialogue says. The second section examines how the Creator develops the relationship between God as character and other characters in the text. This is by confirming people’s words, by showing what they say in dialogue to be true in narration. The final section is a semantic and intertextual analysis that analyzes the connections throughout the sura and with other suras that are made through semantic echoes.
The Struggle
Authors: Ramkellawan-Arteaga Reshma
Published: September 2021

This essay identifies some of the challenges staff development providers may encounter and identifies ways to approach the work to ensure the greatest impact on students. This includes clearly defining the boundaries and permeability of the work, looking for various entry points, and explicitly addressing adults' mindsets. For teacher educators who support teachers and administrators looking to dismantle or challenge white supremacy in schools, the work can feel overwhelming but, through deliberate strategies, the work is always possible.
Self-Work before Toolkits: An Interview with Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz about Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education
Authors: Adjapong Edmund , Porcher Kisha
Published: September 2021

This interview highlights how Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education can be utilized to consider new possibilities for and address inequities in urban schools. It discusses the importance of positive teacher identity as a prerequisite for effective CR-SE and Dr. Sealey-Ruiz's framework of the Archeology of Self, which she describes as a framework that encourages educators to dig deep, peel back their layers, and explore how issues of race, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation live within them.
An Unwavering Commitment To Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education & Social Emotional Learning
Authors: Brooks-DeCosta Dawn , Lenard Ife
Published: September 2021

Through an analysis of both SEL and CR-SE practices at an urban school and a social skill building afterschool program conducted through outside support staff, this paper demonstrates the process of providing social-emotional supports with a culturally responsive lens. The authors suggest, without a culturally responsive-sustaining lens, social and emotional supports can lack the trust and connection needed to meet students where they are while acknowledging their unique identities and cultures.
Systematic Analysis of Monoallelic Gene Expression and Chromatin Accessibility Across Multiple Tissues in Hybrid Mice
Authors: Liang Weizheng , Zou Xudong , Li Guipeng , Zhou Shaojie , Tian Chi , Schaefke Bernhard
Published: September 2021

In diploid eukaryotic organisms, both alleles of each autosomal gene are usually assumed to be simultaneously expressed at similar levels. However, some genes can be expressed preferentially or strictly from a single allele, a process known as monoallelic expression. Classic monoallelic expression of X-chromosome-linked genes, olfactory receptor genes and developmentally imprinted genes is the result of epigenetic modifications. Genetic-origin-dependent monoallelic expression, however, is caused by cis-regulatory differences between the alleles. There is a paucity of systematic study to investigate these phenomena across multiple tissues, and the mechanisms underlying such monoallelic expression are not yet fully understood. Here we provide a detailed portrait of monoallelic gene expression across multiple tissues/cell lines in a hybrid mouse cross between the Mus musculus strain C57BL/6J and the Mus spretus strain SPRET/EiJ. We observed pervasive tissue-dependent allele-specific gene expression: in total, 1,839 genes exhibited monoallelic expression in at least one tissue, and 410 genes in at least two tissues. Among these 88 are monoallelic genes with different active alleles between tissues, probably representing genetic-origin-dependent monoallelic expression. We also identified six autosomal monoallelic genes with the active allele being identical in all eight tissues, which are likely novel candidates of imprinted genes. To depict the underlying regulatory mechanisms at the chromatin layer, we performed ATAC-seq in two different cell lines derived from the F1 mouse. Consistent with the global expression pattern, cell-type dependent monoallelic peaks were found, and a higher proportion of C57BL/6J-active peaks were observed in both cell types, implying possible species-specific regulation. Finally, only a small part of monoallelic gene expression could be explained by allelic differences in chromatin organization in promoter regions, suggesting that other distal elements may play important roles in shaping the patterns of allelic gene expression across tissues.
Study on Transorgan Regulation of Intervertebral Disc and Extra-Skeletal Organs Through Exosomes Derived From Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Authors: Wang Zhikun , Wu Yangming , Zhao Zhonghan , Liu Chengyi , Zhang Lingli
Published: September 2021

Exosomes are membranous lipid vesicles fused with intracellular multicellular bodies and then released into the extracellular environment. They contain various bioactive substances, including proteins, mRNA, miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, lipids, transcription factors, and cytokine receptors. Under certain conditions, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and biological functions. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-Exos) in osteology, exploring different sources of exosomes to improve bone microenvironment and resist bone metastasis. We also provided new ideas for the prevention and rehabilitation of human diseases by exosomes.
Long Non-coding RNA Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 14, a Promising Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Malignancy
Authors: Shen Shen , Wang Yanfang , Zhang Yize , Dong Zihui , Xing Jiyuan
Published: September 2021

Small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14) is a long non-coding RNA found to be overexpressed in various types of cancers. Moreover, the expression level of SNHG14 was closely associated with multiple clinicopathological characteristics such as prognosis, tumor differentiation, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis. Functionally, gain- and loss-of-function of SNHG14 revealed that overexpressed SNHG14 promoted cancer cell viability, invasion, and migration, whereas its down-regulation produced the opposite effect. Mechanistically, regulating its target gene expression by sponging distinct miRNAs might be the major mechanism underlying the oncogenic functions of SNHG14. Thus, SNHG14 might be a promising prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for cancers. In this review, we discuss the expression profile, biological function, and molecular mechanisms of SNHG14 in cancers to provide a molecular basis for the clinical utility of SNHG14 in the future.
A Rapid Detection of Haemophilus influenzae Using Multiple Cross Displacement Amplification Linked With Nanoparticle-Based Lateral Flow Biosensor
Authors: Cao Qilong , Liang Shaoshuai , Wang Lin , Cao Jun , Liu Mengyang , Li Shengpeng , Cao Xiaolong , Guo Yan
Published: September 2021

Haemophilus influenzaeis a major human pathogenic bacterium, resulting in a series of diseases, such as pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis. However, it is hard to diagnoseH.influenzaequickly. In this study, the multiple cross displacement amplification (MCDA) and nanoparticle-based lateral flow biosensor (LFB) (MCDA-LFB) were combined to detectH.influenzae, which has been proven to be reliable, rapid, and not complicated. On the basis ofH.influenzaeouter membrane proteinP6gene, 10 specific primers were designed. The best MCDA condition was 61°C for 1 h. The sensitivity ofH.influenzae-MCD-LFB assay showed, in the pure cultures, the minimum concentration of genomic DNA templates was 100 fg. The specificity ofH.influenzae-MCD-LFB assay showed onlyH.influenzaetemplates were detected, and no cross-reactivity was found in non-H.influenzaeisolates and otherHaemophilusspecies. In 56 sputum samples, with MCDA-LFB method and PCR detection, 21 samples were positive, which was in consistent with the traditional culture method. The accuracy of diagnosis of MCDA-LFB, in comparison with the traditional culture method and PCR detection, can reach 100%, indicating that the MCDA-LFB assay gains an advantage over the cultured-based method for target pathogen detection. In conclusion, the MCDA-LFB assay is suitable for the sensitive, rapid, and specific detection ofH.influenzae, which might be used as a potential diagnostic tool forH.influenzaein basic and clinical laboratories.
Gut Microbiota-Derived Metabolites in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Authors: Xiao Lin , Liu Qin , Luo Mei , Xiong Lishou
Published: September 2021

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional bowel disorder worldwide and is associated with visceral hypersensitivity, gut motility, immunomodulation, gut microbiota alterations, and dysfunction of the brain-gut axis; however, its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Gut microbiota and its metabolites are proposed as possible etiological factors of IBS. The aim of our study was to investigate specific types of microbiota-derived metabolites, especially bile acids, short-chain fatty acids, vitamins, amino acids, serotonin and hypoxanthine, which are all implicated in the pathogenesis of IBS. Metabolites-focused research has identified multiple microbial targets relevant to IBS patients, important roles of microbiota-derived metabolites in the development of IBS symptoms have been established. Thus, we provide an overview of gut microbiota and their metabolites on the different subtypes of IBS (constipation-predominant IBS-C, diarrhea-predominant IBS-D) and present controversial views regarding the role of microbiota in IBS.
Plasma Heat Shock Protein 70 Is Associated With the Onset of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Total Occlusion in Target Vessels
Authors: Wu Runda , Gao Wei , Dong Zheng , Su Ya , Ji Yuyao , Liao Jianquan , Ma Yuanji , Dai Yuxiang , Yao Kang , Ge Junbo
Published: September 2021

Background: Whether the role of plasma heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is protective or detrimental remains debated, and the relationship between HSP70 and total occlusion remains elusive.

Methods: A total of 112 patients with primary diagnosis of AMI and 52 patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) were enrolled into the study. Plasma HSP70 level was determined by ELISA on day 1 and day 7 after the onset of AMI and was examined before angiography in patients with CCS. Peak NT-proBNP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), troponin T (cTnT), and left ventricular ejection fraction were measured.

Results: Plasma HSP70 was significantly higher in CCS than AMI (P < 0.0001), and it showed a significant decrease from day 1 to day 7 after AMI (P < 0.01). Elevated HSP70 was associated with decreased levels of LDL-C (P < 0.05), peak cTnT (R = −0.3578, P < 0.0001), peak NT-proBNP (R = −0.3583, P < 0.0001), and peak CRP (R = −0.3539, P < 0.0001) and a lower diagnosis of AMI (R = −0.4016, P < 0.0001) and STEMI (R = −0.3675, P < 0.0001), but a higher diagnosis of total occlusion in target vessels (R = 0.1702, P < 0.05). HSP70 may provide certain predictive value for the diagnosis of AMI, STEMI, and total occlusion in target vessels, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.7660, 0.7152, and 0.5984, respectively. HSP70 was also negatively associated with in-hospital stay (P < 0.001) and positively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at 1-year follow-up (P < 0.05), despite no association with in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Conclusion: Plasma HSP70 level was found to decrease from day 1 to day 7 post-AMI, but the overall level of patients with AMI was lower than that of patients with CCS. However, the ability of HSP70 to identify clinically significant AMI and STEMI was moderate, and the predictive value to total occlusion was slight.
Oral Supplementation With Butyrate Improves Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury via a Gut-Brain Neural Circuit
Authors: Yu Zhiyao , Han Jiapeng , Chen Huaqiang , Wang Yueyi , Zhou Liping , Wang Meng , Zhang Rong , Jin Xiaoxing , Zhang Guocheng , Wang Changyi , Xu Tianyou , Xie Mengjie , Wang Xiaofei , Zhou Xiaoya , Jiang Hong
Published: September 2021

Objective: Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by the intestinal microbiota, plays a protective role in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but the mechanisms involved in this process remain unelucidated. We aimed to explore the effect of butyrate on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury through the gut-brain neural circuit.

Methods: Rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham group (sham), I/R group (I/R), I/R+ butyrate group (butyrate), and I/R+ butyrate+ vagotomy group (vagotomy). The rats were treated with sodium butyrate for 4 weeks, and the gut-brain neural circuit was investigated by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy.

Results: Butyrate treatment significantly reduced the infarct size and decreased the expression of creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase myocardial isoenzyme (CK-MB), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) compared with the values found for the I/R group. In addition, the I/R-induced increases in inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis were attenuated by butyrate. However, the above-mentioned protective effects were diminished by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy. The RNA sequencing results also revealed that the butyrate-induced protective changes at the cardiac transcription level were reversed by vagotomy. An analysis of the heart rate variability (HRV) and the detection of norepinephrine (NE) showed that butyrate significantly inhibited the I/R-induced autonomic imbalance, but this inhibition was not observed in the vagotomy group. Butyrate treatment also suppressed the neural activity of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and superior cervical ganglion (SCG), and both of these effects were lost after vagotomy.

Conclusions: Butyrate treatment significantly improves myocardial I/R injury via a gut-brain neural circuit, and this cardioprotective effect is likely mediated by suppression of the sympathetic nervous system.
Comparative Effectiveness of Complete Revascularization Strategies in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Multivessel Disease: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhao Lingyue , Guo Wenqin , Huang Weichao , Wang Lili , Mo Fanrui , Chen Xiehui , Li Chaoyang , Huang Siquan
Published: September 2021

Whether fractional flow reserve (FFR) should be available for revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease (MVD) is controversial. We aimed to compare the efficacy of various complete revascularization (CR) regimens for STEMI patients with MVD. The PubMed and Cochrane Library databases and clinicaltrial.gov were searched for the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the FFR-guided CR, angiography-guided CR, and culprit-only revascularization (COR) strategies in STEMI patients with MVD. A Bayesian random-effect model was employed to synthesize the evidence in network meta-analysis. We used relative risk (RR) and 95% credible interval (CrI) as measures of effect size. The primary endpoint was the composite outcome of all-cause mortality or myocardial infarction (MI). Twelve RCTs were included. Angiography-guided CR showed a lower event rate of the composite outcome (RR, 0.68; 95%CrI, 0.50–0.87), all-cause mortality (RR, 0.75; 95%CrI, 0.55–0.96), MI (RR, 0.63; 95%CrI, 0.43–0.86), and repeat revascularization (RR, 0.36; 95% CrI, 0.24–0.55) compared with COR. Additionally, angiography-guided CR had a lower risk of primary outcome (RR, 0.64; 95%CrI, 0.38–0.94) and MI (RR, 0.58; 95%CrI, 0.31–0.92) than FFR-guided CR. The difference between the FFR-guided CR and COR in terms of composite outcome, all-cause mortality, and MI was similar. Angiography-guided CR was associated with the highest probability of optimal treatment for the primary outcome (98.5%), followed by FFR-guided CR (1.2%) and COR (0.3%). STEMI patients with MVD benefitted more from angiography-guided CR than from FFR-guided CR. However, only one study compared the effectiveness of FFR-guided and angiography-guided PCI; thus, the comparison between FFR-guided and angiography-guided PCI relied on indirect evidence. Therefore, further studies directly comparing the effectiveness of these two CR strategies are warranted.
Prediction of Recurrent Atrial Tachyarrhythmia After Receiving Atrial Flutter Ablation in Patients With Prior Cardiac Surgery for Valvular Heart Disease
Authors: Chou Ching-Yao , Chung Fa-Po , Chang Hung-Yu , Lin Yenn-Jiang , Lo Li-Wei , Hu Yu-Feng , Chao Tze-Fan , Liao Jo-Nan , Tuan Ta-Chuan , Lin Chin-Yu , Chang Ting-Yung , Liu Chih-Min , Wu Cheng-I , Huang Sung-Hao , Chen Chun-Chao , Cheng Wen-Han , Liu Shin-Huei , Lugtu Isaiah Carlos , Jain Ankit , Feng An-Ning , Chang Shih-Lin , Chen Shih-Ann
Published: September 2021

Background: Surgical scars cause an intra-atrial conduction delay and anatomical obstacles that facilitate the perpetuation of atrial flutter (AFL). This study aimed to investigate the outcome and predictor of recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia after catheter ablation in patients with prior cardiac surgery for valvular heart disease (VHD) who presented with AFL.

Methods: Seventy-two patients with prior cardiac surgery for VHD who underwent AFL ablation were included. The patients were categorized into a typical AFL group (n = 45) and an atypical AFL group (n = 27). The endpoint was the recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia during follow-up. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine the predictor of recurrence.

Results: No significant difference was found in the recurrence rate of atrial tachyarrhythmia between the two groups. Patients with concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) had a higher recurrence of typical AFL compared with those without AF (13 vs. 0%, P = 0.012). In subgroup analysis, typical AFL patients with concomitant AF had a higher incidence of recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia than those without it (53 vs. 14%, P = 0.006). Regarding patients without AF, the typical AFL group had a lower recurrence rate of atrial tachyarrhythmia than the atypical AFL group (14 vs. 40%, P = 0.043). Multivariate analysis showed that chronic kidney disease (CKD) and left atrial diameter (LAD) were independent predictors of recurrence.

Conclusions: In our study cohort, concomitant AF was associated with recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia. CKD and LAD independently predicted recurrence after AFL ablation in patients who have undergone cardiac surgery for VHD.
The Sociotechnical Ethics of Digital Health: A Critique and Extension of Approaches From Bioethics
Authors: Shaw James A. , Donia Joseph
Published: September 2021

The widespread adoption of digital technologies raises important ethical issues in health care and public health. In our view, understanding these ethical issues demands a perspective that looks beyond the technology itself to include the sociotechnical system in which it is situated. In this sense, a sociotechnical system refers to the broader collection of material devices, interpersonal relationships, organizational policies, corporate contracts, and government regulations that shape the ways in which digital health technologies are adopted and used. Bioethical approaches to the assessment of digital health technologies are typically confined to ethical issues raised by features of the technology itself. We suggest that an ethical perspective confined to functions of the technology is insufficient to assess the broader impact of the adoption of technologies on the care environment and the broader health-related ecosystem of which it is a part. In this paper we review existing approaches to the bioethics of digital health, and draw on concepts from design ethics and science & technology studies (STS) to critique a narrow view of the bioethics of digital health. We then describe the sociotechnical system produced by digital health technologies when adopted in health care environments, and outline the various considerations that demand attention for a comprehensive ethical analysis of digital health technologies in this broad perspective. We conclude by outlining the importance of social justice for ethical analysis from a sociotechnical perspective.
Preliminary Results of an Earthquake Early Warning System in Costa Rica
Authors: Porras Juan , Massin Frédérick , Arroyo-Solórzano Mario , Arroyo Ivonne , Linkimer Lepolt , Böse Maren , Clinton John
Published: September 2021

We analyze the performance of a prototype earthquake early warning system deployed at the National Seismological Network of Costa Rica in collaboration with the Swiss Seismological Service by presenting the real-time performance during six earthquakes (Mw 5.1-6.4) that took place during 2018 and 2019. We observe that, despite only limited efforts to optimize the existing network of 158 stations, for EEW purposes, the network density allows fast determination of source parameters using both the Virtual Seismologist and the Finite Fault Rupture Detector algorithms. Shallow earthquakes on or near-shore are routinely identified within 11–20 s of their occurrence. The warning times for the capital city of San Jose are of 43 s for epicenters located at 220 km, like for the Mw 6.4 Armuelles earthquake. On the other hand, during the time analyzed, the EEW system did not provide positive warning times for earthquakes at distances less than 40 km from San Jose. Even though large (Mw > 7) distant historical earthquakes have not caused heavy damage in San Jose, there is potential for developing an EEW system for Costa Rica, especially for the purposes of rapid earthquake notifications, disaster response management, and seismic risk mitigation.
Discrete Element Modelling of Sedimentation and Tectonics: Implications for the Growth of Thrust Faults and Thrust Wedges in Space and Time, and the Interpretation of Syn-Tectonic (Growth) Strata
Authors: Hardy Stuart , Cardozo Nestor
Published: September 2021

Thrust faults, and thrust wedges, are an important part of the surface morphology and structure of many contractional mountain belts. Analogue models of thrust wedges typically provide a map- and/or side-view of their evolution but give limited insight into their dynamic development. Numerical modelling studies, both kinematic and mechanical, have produced much insight into the various controls on thrust wedge development and fault propagation. However, in many studies, syn-tectonic sediments or “growth strata” have been modelled solely as passive markers and thus have no effect on, or do not feedback into, the evolving system. To address these issues, we present a high-resolution, 2D, discrete element model of thrust fault and wedge formation and the influence that coeval sedimentation may have on their evolution. We use frictional-cohesive assemblies, with flexural-slip between pre-defined layers, to represent probable cover rheologies. The syn-tectonic strata added during contraction are frictional-cohesive and we can think of them as “mechanical growth strata” as they interact with, and influence, the growing thrust wedge. In experiments of thrust wedge development without syn-tectonic sedimentation, a forward-breaking sequence is seen: producing a typical thrust-wedge geometry, consistent with analogue and numerical models. In general, the inclusion of syn-tectonic sedimentation produces thrust wedges composed of fewer major forward-vergent thrusts and with only minor thrust activity in the foreland. In most of these models the sequence of thrust activity is complex and not simply forward-breaking. With increasing sedimentation, the frontal thrust has much greater displacement and overrides a much thicker package of earlier syn-tectonic sediments. Very high syn-tectonic sedimentation results in the formation of a single basin-bounding thrust fault and no thrust-wedge per se. At the local (outcrop) scale of individual fault-related folds, high syn-tectonic sedimentation alters fault-fold evolution by producing steeper ramps, whereas low syn-tectonic sedimentation allows shallower ramps that may flatten and propagate into the syn-tectonic strata. Implications of these results for the interpretation of thrust faults and wedges and their interaction with associated growth strata are discussed.
Activation of the Adipose Tissue NLRP3 Inflammasome Pathway in Cancer Cachexia
Authors: Jesus Joyce de Cassia Rosa de , Murari Ariene Soares de Pinho , Radloff Katrin , Moraes Ruan Carlos Macêdo de , Figuerêdo Raquel Galvão , Pessoa Ana Flavia Marçal , Rosa-Neto José César , Matos-Neto Emídio Marques , Alcântara Paulo S. M. , Tokeshi Flavio , Maximiano Linda Ferreira , Bin Fang Chia , Formiga Fernanda Bellotti , Otoch José P. , Seelaender Marilia
Published: September 2021

Background

Cachexia is a paraneoplastic syndrome that accompanies and compromises cancer treatment, especially in advanced stages, affecting the metabolism and function of several organs. The adipose tissue is the first to respond to the presence of the tumor, contributing to the secretion of factors which drive the systemic inflammation, a hallmark of the syndrome. While inflammation is a defensive innate response, the control mechanisms have been reported to be disrupted in cachexia. On the other hand, little is known about the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in this scenario, a multiprotein complex involved in caspase-1 activation and the processing of the cytokines IL-1β and IL-18.

Aim

based on the evidence from our previous study with a rodent model of cachexia, we examined the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in two adipose tissue depots obtained from patients with colorectal cancer and compared with that another inflammatory pathway, NF-κB.

Results

For CC we found opposite modulation in ScAT and PtAT for the gene expression of TLR4, Caspase-1 (cachectic group) and for NF-κB p50, NF-κB p65, IL-1β. CD36, expression was decreased in both depots while that of NLRP3 and IL-18 was higher in both tissues, as compared with controls and weight stable patients (WSC). Caspase-1 basal protein levels in the ScAT culture supernatant were higher in WSC and (weight stable patients) CC, when compared to controls. Basal ScAT explant culture medium IL-1β and IL-18 protein content in ScAT supernatant was decreased in the WSC and CC as compared to CTL explants.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate heterogeneous responses in the activation of genes of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in the adipose tissue of patients with cancer cachexia, rendering this pathway a potential target for therapy aiming at decreasing chronic inflammation in cancer.
Comprehensive Analysis of Sex Differences at Disease Manifestation in ANCA-Associated Glomerulonephritis
Authors: Tampe Désirée , Korsten Peter , Ströbel Philipp , Hakroush Samy , Tampe Björn
Published: September 2021

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a small vessel vasculitis affecting multiple organ systems, including the kidney. Besides investigations focusing on renal outcomes, sex differences associated with distinct clinical and histopathological findings in ANCA glomerulonephritis (GN) have not been systematically investigated. Therefore, we here aimed to systematically analyze sex differences in patients with AAV and biopsy-proven ANCA GN. We provide a comprehensive analysis of 53 kidney biopsies with ANCA GN retrospectively included between 2015 and 2020 and identified specific sex differences in ANCA GN concerning laboratory parameters and systematic scoring of renal histopathology glomerular and tubulointerstitial lesions, and extrarenal manifestations of AAV. We did not observe any correlation between sex and short-term clinical AAV course or disease severity by comparing general AAV parameters. AAV manifestations in females occurred at an older age with more joint involvement. Regarding histopathological findings, we, again, observed no sex difference among ANCA GN classification, but a significant correlation between females and distinct histopathological findings with less tubulointerstitial inflammation and vasculitis of peritubular capillaries. Finally, we here identified fewer associations between clusters of clinical, laboratory parameters, and histopathological findings in females as compared to males. These findings are of great relevance and further improve our understanding of sex differences in the pathogenesis of ANCA GN. While future studies about specific sex differences and conclusions in these clusters are crucial, our observations further support that sex differences are relevant, affect distinct parameters, and influence clinical, laboratory parameters, and histopathological findings in AAV, particularly ANCA GN.