bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cryogenic characterization of Hamamatsu HWB MPPCs for the DUNE photon detection system
Authors: Andreotti M. , Bertolucci S. , Branca A. , Brizzolari C. , Brunetti G. , Calabrese R. , Carniti P. , Casazza D. , Cattadori C. , Calvo E. , Cervera A. , Chiozzi S. , Cicero V. , Cotta Ramusino A. , Cristaldo Morales E. , Cuesta C. , D'Amico R. , De la Torre A. , Delgado Gonzalez M. , Di Capua F. , Di Ferdinando D. , Dyshkant A. , Eads M. , Falcone A. , Fialova E. , Filip P. , Fiorillo G. , Fiorini M. , Francis K. , Galizzi F. , Gallice N. , Garcia-Gamez D. , García-Peris M.Á. , Giammaria T. , Gil-Botella I. , Giugliano C. , Gotti C. , Guarise M. , Guffanti D. , Kovalcuk M. , Lax I. , Lazzaroni M. , Lokajicek M. , Luppi E. , Manthey S. , Martin-Albo J. , Mauri N. , Meazza L. , Minotti A. , Moggi N. , Montagna E. , Montanari A. , Neri I. , Nicolas-Arnaldos F.J. , Palomares C. , Pasqualini L. , Patrizii L. , Pérez-Molina L. , Pessina G. , Pia V. , Poppi F. , Pozzato M. , Querol M. , Rocabado J. , Saadana A. , Sala P. , Sanchez-Castillo A. , Sanchez-Lucas P. , Schifano F.S. , Sirri G. , Smolik J. , Spanu M. , Terranova F. , Tenti M. , Tomassetti L. , Torti M. , Tosi N. , Verdugo de Osa A. , Vieira de Souza H. , Zalesak J. , Zamorano B. , Zani A. , Zucchelli S. , Zuklin J. , Zutshi V.
Published: January 2024

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next
generation experiment aimed to study neutrino oscillation. Its
long-baseline configuration will exploit a Near Detector (ND) and a
Far Detector (FD) located at a distance of ∼1300 km. The FD
will consist of four Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC)
modules. A Photon Detection System (PDS) will be used to detect the
scintillation light produced inside the detector after neutrino
interactions. The PDS will be based on light collectors coupled to
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). Different photosensor
technologies have been proposed and produced in order to identify
the best samples to fullfill the experiment requirements. In this
paper, we present the procedure and results of a validation campaign
for the Hole Wire Bonding (HWB) MPPCs samples produced by Hamamatsu
Photonics K.K. (HPK) for the DUNE experiment, referring to them as
`SiPMs'. The protocol for a characterization at cryogenic
temperature (77 K) is reported. We present the down-selection
criteria and the results obtained during the selection campaign
undertaken, along with a study of the main sources of noise of the
SiPMs including the investigation of a newly observed phenomenon in
this field.
Enterogenous extra-oral halitosis has a more severe impact on quality of life in females compared to males
Authors: Qian Xiao Xian
Published: January 2024

Some studies have examined the impact of intra-oral halitosis on quality of life (QOL), but the impact of enterogenous extra-oral halitosis (EOH) on QOL has not been previously studied. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 88 patients with enterogenous EOH who visited our online halitosis clinic. A specialized halitosis associated life-quality test (HALT) questionnaire was used to assess QOL of these patients. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between HALT score and age. We found that 21 (23.86%) patients were male and 67 (76.14%) patients were female. HALT scores in females were significantly higher than in males (57.6 ± 13.6 vs. 45.5 ± 11.9, P < 0.001). Additionally, 13 of the 20 items of the HALT questionnaire showed significant differences between the sexes. No correlation was identified between HALT score and age. Therefore, we conclude that: (1) enterogenous EOH has a more severe impact on QOL in females compared to males. (2) More females with EOH visit the offline halitosis clinic compared to males. (3) The QOL of patients with enterogenous EOH does not decline with age.
Hydrogeochemical characteristic and water quality index of groundwater and streamwater at Nam Mu River basin, Lai Chau province in northwest Vietnam
Authors: Do Thu Thi , Dung Pham Thi , Tran Tuan Anh , Le Luong Duc , Vu Hai Dinh , Doan Tra Thi Thu , Le Dao Quang , Tran Hien Trong , Pham Dat Ngoc , Nguyen Lien Thi , Le Dung Thi Phuong
Published: January 2024

Assessing the quality of groundwater and upstream water in regions experiencing water scarcity during the dry season, such as the mountainous districts of Northern Vietnam, holds immense significance in the management, utilization, and preservation of natural water resources. In this study, we collected and analyzed 54 samples of groundwater and upstream streamwater within the Nam Mu river basin in Lai Chau province during the dry season. These samples underwent thorough analysis for physicochemical parameters, major ion concentrations, and trace elements. Some results revealed a close relationship between streamwater and groundwater, indicating a similar chemical composition. These waters could be classified based on geological formations, yielding two primary water types in the area. The first type, characterized by Ca2+ - Mg2+ - HCO3
− is prevalent in Triassic terrigenous sediments. The second type is a mixed water type, ranging from Ca2+ - Mg2+ - Cl− to Ca2+ - Na+ - HCO3
−, primarily distributed in Permian felsic volcanic formations. These distinct water types are primarily the result of interactions between water and rock, precipitation processes, and ion exchange phenomena. Geochemical simulation results demonstrated the supersaturation of aragonite, calcite, and dolomite minerals, leading to the precipitation of carbonate minerals. Concurrently, the simulation indicated a tendency to dissolve minerals such as fluorite, gypsum, halite, and sylvite. The assessment of water quality using the WQI indicates that, in accordance with QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT 2018 standards, the majority of groundwater and streamwater are suitable for domestic use. However, exceptions exist in certain sample locations where water quality exceeds permissible standards, primarily due to elevated levels of Fe, Mn, and NO3
− concentration. Hence, it is important to implement water treatment processes for the water sourced from these specific locations before their utilization in daily activities to ensure the safety and well-being of the local population.
TrashInst: real-time floating litter instance segmentation model
Authors: Bessaad Nassim , Qilian Bao , Jiankang Zhao , Benoudina Nardjess
Published: January 2024

This paper introduces TrashInst, an innovative fully convolutional single-stage anchor-free real-time instance segmentation model designed specifically for the detection of floating litter in waterways. TrashInst features a streamlined Encoder-Decoder architecture and an efficient channel attention mask head, ensuring the preservation of critical feature maps while minimizing redundant computations. Even in scenarios with limited feature maps, our approach, complemented by sparse instance activation maps, excels in both detection and segmentation tasks. Our encoder effectively processes features derived from ResNet50 across multiple scales, generating comprehensive abstractions through the nested feature module. Subsequently, the Vortex Instance Activation Maps module (VIAM) aggregates these multi-scale nested features and integrates them with mask head outputs, yielding precise instance masks. Furthermore, we employ the focal Tversky objective function to balance the dataset. In terms of performance, our approach outperforms state-of-the-art real-time instance segmentation models, achieving a remarkable 34% accuracy improvement, all while maintaining swift execution at 44 frames per second (FPS) on a single NVIDIA GTX-3090 GPU. Rigorous validation underscores the delicate interplay between speed and precision, highlighting the model’s exceptional ability to handle objects of varying sizes in real-time settings. Significantly, TrashInst attains superior average precision (AP) results in detecting large to medium-sized objects, outperforming existing models by a notable 4∼22% in the large category and an impressive 1.1∼56% in the medium category within our dataset. For the benefit of the community data will be available at (https://github.com/nassim12/TrashInst).
No infinite spin for planar total collision
Authors: Moeckel Richard , Montgomery Richard
Published: January 2024

The infinite spin problem is an old problem concerning the rotational behavior of total collision orbits in the n-body problem. It has long been known that when a solution tends to total collision then its normalized configuration curve must converge to the set of normalized central configurations. In the planar n-body problem every normalized configuration determines a circle of rotationally equivalent normalized configurations and, in particular, there are circles of normalized central configurations. It’s conceivable that by means of an infinite spin, a total collision solution could converge to such a circle instead of to a particular point on it. Here we prove that this is not possible, at least if the limiting circle of central configurations is isolated from other circles of central configurations. (It is believed that all central configurations are isolated, but this is not known in general.) Our proof relies on combining the center manifold theorem with the Łojasiewicz gradient inequality.
Carotid Intima–Media Thickness and Improved Stroke Risk Assessment in Hypertensive Black Adults
Authors: Abe Temidayo A , Olanipekun Titilope , Yan Fengxia , Effoe Valery , Udongwo Ndausung , Oshunbade Adebamike , Thomas Victoria , Onuorah Ifeoma , Terry James G , Yimer Wondwosen K , Ghali Jalal K , Correa Adolfo , Onwuanyi Anekwe , Michos Erin D , Benjamin Emelia J , Echols Melvin
Published: January 2024

BACKGROUND

We aim to determine the added value of carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT) in stroke risk assessment for hypertensive Black adults.

METHODS

We examined 1,647 participants with hypertension without a history of cardiovascular (CV) disease, from the Jackson Heart Study. Cox regression analysis estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for incident stroke per standard deviation increase in cIMT and quartiles while adjusting for baseline variables. We then evaluated the predictive capacity of cIMT when added to the pool cohort equations (PCEs).

RESULTS

The mean age at baseline was 57 ± 10 years. Each standard deviation increase in cIMT (0.17 mm) was associated with approximately 30% higher risk of stroke (HR 1.27, 95% confidence interval: 1.08–1.49). Notably, cIMT proved valuable in identifying residual stroke risk among participants with well-controlled blood pressure, showing up to a 56% increase in the odds of stroke for each 0.17 mm increase in cIMT among those with systolic blood pressure <120 mm Hg. Additionally, the addition of cIMT to the PCE resulted in the reclassification of 58% of low to borderline risk participants with stroke to a higher-risk category and 28% without stroke to a lower-risk category, leading to a significant net reclassification improvement of 0.22 (0.10–0.30).

CONCLUSIONS

In this community-based cohort of middle-aged Black adults with hypertension and no history of CV disease at baseline, cIMT is significantly associated with incident stroke and enhances stroke risk stratification.
Social Determinants of Health and Perceived Cognitive Difficulties in High School Students in the United States
Authors: Iverson Ila A , Gaudet Charles E , Cook Nathan E , Iverson Grant L
Published: January 2024

Objective

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the Adolescent Behavior and Experiences Survey (ABES) to examine disruption and adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the association between social determinants of health (SDoH) and cognitive problems attributed to physical or mental health problems among high school students.

Method

The ABES was an online survey. Perceived cognitive problems were assessed with the question: “Because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?” A SDoH index was created by summing endorsements to 12 variables.

Results

Participants were 6,992 students, age 14–18, with 3,294 boys (47%) and 3,698 girls (53%). Many adolescents reported experiencing cognitive problems (i.e., 45%), with girls (56%) more likely to report cognitive difficulties than boys (33%) [χ2(1) = 392.55, p < 0.001]. Having poor mental health was strongly associated with cognitive problems in both girls [81%, χ2(1, 3680) = 650.20, p < 0.001] and boys [67%, χ2(1, 3267) = 418.69, p < 0.001]. There was a positive, linear association between the number of SDoH experienced and reporting cognitive problems. Binary logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of cognitive difficulty for both boys and girls (e.g., being bullied electronically, experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic, being treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity, and being in a physical fight).

Conclusions

A strikingly high proportion of adolescents reported experiencing problems with their cognitive functioning. After adjusting for current mental health problems, several SDoH remained associated with adolescents’ reported cognitive difficulties, including experiencing racism, bullying, parental job loss, and food insecurity.
Deep neural network learning biological condition information refines gene-expression-based cell subtypes
Authors: Fan Zhenjiang , Sun Jie , Thorpe Henry , Lee Stephen , Kim Soyeon , Park Hyun Jung
Published: January 2024

With the recent advent of single-cell level biological understanding, a growing interest is in identifying cell states or subtypes that are homogeneous in terms of gene expression and are also enriched in certain biological conditions, including disease samples versus normal samples (condition-specific cell subtype). Despite the importance of identifying condition-specific cell subtypes, existing methods have the following limitations: since they train models separately between gene expression and the biological condition information, (1) they do not consider potential interactions between them, and (2) the weights from both types of information are not properly controlled. Also, (3) they do not consider non-linear relationships in the gene expression and the biological condition. To address the limitations and accurately identify such condition-specific cell subtypes, we develop scDeepJointClust, the first method that jointly trains both types of information via a deep neural network. scDeepJointClust incorporates results from the power of state-of-the-art gene-expression-based clustering methods as an input, incorporating their sophistication and accuracy. We evaluated scDeepJointClust on both simulation data in diverse scenarios and biological data of different diseases (melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer) and showed that scDeepJointClust outperforms existing methods in terms of sensitivity and specificity. scDeepJointClust exhibits significant promise in advancing our understanding of cellular states and their implications in complex biological systems.
Detection of acute coronary occlusion with a novel mobile electrocardiogram device: a pilot study
Authors: Zepeda-Echavarria Alejandra , van de Leur Rutger R , Vessies Melle , de Vries Nynke M , van Sleuwen Meike , Hassink Rutger J , Wildbergh Thierry X , van Doorn J L , van der Zee Rien , Doevendans Pieter A , Jaspers Joris E N , van Es René
Published: January 2024

Aims

Many portable electrocardiogram (ECG) devices have been developed to monitor patients at home, but the majority of these devices are single lead and only intended for rhythm disorders. We developed the miniECG, a smartphone-sized portable device with four dry electrodes capable of recording a high-quality multi-lead ECG by placing the device on the chest. The aim of our study was to investigate the ability of the miniECG to detect occlusive myocardial infarction (OMI) in patients with chest pain.

Methods and results

Patients presenting with acute chest pain at the emergency department of the University Medical Center Utrecht or Meander Medical Center, between May 2021 and February 2022, were included in the study. The clinical 12-lead ECG and the miniECG before coronary intervention were recorded. The recordings were evaluated by cardiologists and compared the outcome of the coronary angiography, if performed. A total of 369 patients were measured with the miniECG, 46 of whom had OMI. The miniECG detected OMI with a sensitivity and specificity of 65 and 92%, compared with 83 and 90% for the 12-lead ECG. Sensitivity of the miniECG was similar for different culprit vessels.

Conclusion

The miniECG can record a multi-lead ECG and rule-in ST-segment deviation in patients with occluded or near-occluded coronary arteries from different culprit vessels without many false alarms. Further research is required to add automated analysis to the recordings and to show feasibility to use the miniECG by patients at home.
Evolution of journal clubs: fostering collaborative learning in modern research
Authors: Balamurali Deepak , Preda Mihai Bogdan , Ben-Aicha Soumaya , Martino Fabiana , Palioura Dimitra , Kocken Jordy M M , Emanueli Costanza , Devaux Yvan
Published: January 2024

Journal clubs have been a staple in scientific communities, facilitating discussions on recent publications. However, the overwhelming volume of biomedical information poses a challenge in literature selection. This article provides an overview of journal club types and their efficacy in training potential peer reviewers, enhancing communication skills, and critical thinking. Originating in the 19th century, journal clubs have evolved from traditional in-person meetings to virtual or hybrid formats, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face interactions offer personal connections, while virtual events ensure wider participation and accessibility. Organizing journal clubs demands effort, but it has several benefits, including promoting new publications and providing a platform for meaningful discussions. The virtual CardioRNA J-club experience exemplifies successful multidisciplinary collaboration, fostering international connections and inspiring new research. Journal clubs remain a vital component of academic research, equipping senior researchers with the latest developments and nurturing the next generation of scientists. As millennial and Gen Z researchers join the scientific field, journal clubs continue to evolve as a fertile ground for education and collaborative learning in an ever-changing scientific landscape.
Effects of mango and partridge tea extracts on microbial, physical, and chemical properties of tilapia fillets treated with in-package cold plasma during refrigerator storage
Authors: Liu Chencheng , Wang Jiamei , Su Weiming , Chen Gu , Zhang Jianhao
Published: January 2024

Objectives

The effect of natural extracts on the oxidative quality of cold plasma (CP)-treated tilapia fillets during 9 d refrigerator storage was explored by adding mango and partridge tea extracts as natural antioxidants.

Materials and Methods

The effects of mango and partridge tea extracts on the fish during storage were evaluated using the total viable count (TVC), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), carbonyl values, and color.

Results

The results showed that on the ninth day, the TVC of the mango extract (ME)-CP group was 3.52±0.08 log colony-forming units/g, which was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of the other groups, while the TBARS of ME-CP and partridge tea extract (MOE)-CP was similar. The TVB-N values in the ME-CP and MOE-CP groups were 10.21±0.7 mg/100 g and 14.27±0.31 mg/100 g, respectively, which were within the acceptable values. The sulfhydryl and carbonyl contents in ME-CP were lower than those in MOE-CP; however, no significant variation was detected in texture. No significant changes were observed in the L* values among the treatment groups, while the b* values in the MOE-CP group were significantly increased (P<0.05).

Conclusions

Therefore, the addition of ME combined with CP treatment can inhibit microbial growth, lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation in tilapia fillets without significantly impacting their color.
Antibody-Mediated Serum Resistance Protects Pseudomonas aeruginosa During Bloodstream Infections
Authors: Hickson Sarah M , Hoehensteiger Johannes K , Mayer-Coverdale Johanna , Torres Von Vergel L , Feng Wenkang , Monteith Joshua N , Henderson Ian R , McCarthy Kate L , Wells Timothy J
Published: January 2024

Background

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent pathogen isolated from bacterial bloodstream infection (BSI) and is associated with high mortality. To survive in the blood, P aeruginosa must resist the bactericidal action of complement (ie, serum killing). Antibodies usually promote serum killing through the classical complement pathway; however, “cloaking antibodies” (cAbs) have been described, which paradoxically protect bacteria from serum killing. The relevance of cAbs in P aeruginosa BSI is unknown.

Methods

Serum and P aeruginosa were collected from a cohort of 100 patients with BSI. Isolates were tested for sensitivity to healthy control serum (HCS). cAb prevalence was determined in sera. Patient sera were mixed with HCS to determine if killing of the matched isolate was inhibited.

Results

Overall, 36 patients had elevated titers of cAbs, and 34 isolates were sensitive to HCS killing. Fifteen patients had cAbs and HCS-sensitive isolates; of these patients, 14 had serum that protected their matched bacteria from HCS killing. Patients with cAbs were less likely to be neutropenic or have comorbidities.

Conclusions

cAbs are prevalent in patients with P aeruginosa BSI and allow survival of otherwise serum-sensitive bacteria in the bloodstream. Generation of cAbs may be a risk factor for the development of BSI.
Baldwin and Wittgenstein on White Supremacism and Religion
Authors: Carroll Thomas D
Published: January 2024

This article contends that James Baldwin’s exploration of racism and resistance to it in The Fire Next Time may be put into conversation with Ludwig Wittgenstein’s consideration of fundamental epistemic commitments in On Certainty. Out of this constructive engagement, I argue that white supremacism in the United States may be interpreted as being like a Wittgensteinian grounding or “hinge” commitment and that this viewpoint illuminates some of the ways in which white supremacism may interact with various kinds of religious commitments. This combined analysis depicts, first, the extent to which fundamental commitments about race deeply affect people, including the formation of their ethical and civic values, existential and religious commitments, and range of empathetic capacity and, second, similarities between Baldwin and Wittgenstein when it comes to their contentions that there is ethical value in the clarification of language and work on oneself.
Influence of season on the microbial population dynamics of activated sludge
Authors: Stratton Helen M , Nittami Tadashi , Esteban Nicolas Herraiz , Petrovski Steve , Seviour Robert J
Published: January 2024

This review discusses critically how seasonal changes might affect the community composition and dynamics of activated sludge wastewater treatment plants, and examines the factors thought more generally to control microbial community assembly, including the role of taxa–time relationships and stochastic and deterministic influences. The review also questions the differences in protocols used in these studies, which make any subsequent attempts at data comparisons problematic. These include bacterial DNA extraction and PCR methodologies, 16S rRNA sequencing and especially its depth, and subsequent statistical analyses of the data, which together often fail to reveal seasonal dynamic community shifts. Suggestions are given as to how experimental protocols need to be improved and standardized, and especially the requirement to examine bacterial populations at the species level. This review looks critically at what is known currently about seasonal influences on key members of this community, including viruses, the bacteria responsible for nitrogen and phosphorus removal and those causing bulking and foaming. The data show many of these species exhibit replicative seasonal abundances over several years, but not under all conditions, illustrating how complex these community dynamics are. Fungal and protozoal/metazoal seasonal community dynamics, less studied, are also discussed. The current data suggest that seasonal temperature fluctuations are responsible for most of the seasonal community dynamics by selectively favouring or otherwise individual populations. However, more longer term studies carried out under much stricter controlled conditions are required.
Urban sprawl and racial inequality in intergenerational mobility
Authors: Xiong Ning , Wei Yehua Dennis , Rey Sergio J
Published: January 2024

Persistent racial inequality in socioeconomic status within urban areas has been a significant concern in both the US and European countries. Differences across racial groups in intergenerational mobility (IM) have been identified as a key source of this persistence. However, efforts to understand racial inequality in IM have rarely considered the role of urban sprawl. This article argues that urban sprawl affects differences in IM between racial groups directly and indirectly through racial segregation, racial bias, and social capital. We analyze data from 874 metropolitan counties in the US using structural equation models to test these direct and indirect effects of sprawl on racial inequality in IM. We found that urban sprawl was negatively associated with racial inequality in IM. The direct effect, which we partially attribute to higher racial disparities in social capital in more compact counties, was statistically significant. For the indirect effects, racial segregation had the largest mediating effects between urban sprawl and racial inequality in IM, followed by economic connectedness (EC) and racial bias. The net indirect effect of sprawl on racial inequality in IM was negative because negative indirect effects through racial segregation and EC outweigh positive indirect effects through racial bias. Our findings demonstrate the significant role of urban form in racial inequality in IM.
Alteration of functionality and differentiation directed by changing gene expression patterns in myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumor microenvironment and bone marrow through early to terminal phase of tumor progression
Authors: Mahanti Krishna , Saha Jayasree , Sarkar Debanjan , Pramanik Anik , Roy Chattopadhyay Nabanita , Bhattacharyya Sankar
Published: January 2024

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are heterogenous immature myeloid lineage cells that can differentiate into neutrophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells as well. These cells have been characterized to have potent immunosuppressive capacity in neoplasia and a neoplastic chronic inflammatory microenvironment. Increased accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells was reported with poor clinical outcomes in patients. They support neoplastic progression by abrogating antitumor immunity through inhibition of lymphocyte functions and directly by facilitating tumor development. Yet the shifting genetic signatures of this myeloid lineage cell toward immunosuppressive functionality in progressive tumor development remain elusive. We have attempted to identify the gene expression profile using lineage-specific markers of these unique myeloid lineage cells in a tumor microenvironment and bone marrow using a liquid transplantable mice tumor model to trace the changing influence of the tumor microenvironment on myeloid-derived suppressor cells. We analyzed the phenotype, functional shift, suppressive activity, differentiation status, and microarray-based gene expression profile of CD11b+Gr1+ lineage-specific cells isolated from the tumor microenvironment and bone marrow of 4 stages of tumor-bearing mice and compared them with control counterparts. Our analysis of differentially expressed genes of myeloid-derived suppressor cells isolated from bone marrow and the tumor microenvironment reveals unique gene expression patterns in the bone marrow and tumor microenvironment–derived myeloid-derived suppressor cells. It also suggests T-cell suppressive activity of myeloid-derived suppressor cells progressively increases toward the mid-to-late phase of the tumor and a significant differentiation bias of tumor site myeloid-derived suppressor cells toward macrophages, even in the presence of differentiating agents, indicating potential molecular characteristics of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in different stages of the tumor that can emerge as an intervention target.
‘Trying to patch a broken system’: Exploring institutional work among care professions for interprofessional collaboration
Authors: Hald Andreas Nielsen , Bech Mickael , Enemark Ulrika , Shaw Jay , Burau Viola
Published: January 2024

There is a growing interest in understanding when and why interprofessional collaborations are well functioning, especially within healthcare systems. However, more knowledge is needed about how professionals affect and contribute to these collaborations when they engage in them. To address this shortcoming, this study aims to contribute to professional and organizational studies of interprofessional collaboration by providing novel insights into how professionals engage in and contribute to interprofessional collaborations. It builds on a theoretical perspective of examining professionals’ everyday collaboration practices through the interplay between temporal-oriented agency and institutional work. It applies this perspective to a case study of interprofessional collaboration between personal workers (PWs), nurses, and therapists in the home care sector in Denmark. Overall, the findings show that the professionals engaged in and contributed to the interprofessional collaboration by ‘trying to patch a broken system’. All three professional groups did this primarily by ‘adopting new practices to deal with inept institutionalized practices’ to maintain collaboration. Additionally, some PWs ‘failed to enact institutionalized practices’ to disrupt the collaboration, and some nurses and therapists ‘invented and established mechanisms’ to create new arrangements for the collaboration. Based on the findings, the study demonstrates that certain dimensions of agency are associated with certain types of institutional work. Furthermore, the study suggests that the interplay between agency and institutional work varies between professional groups, influenced by their relative autonomy.
Stevens–Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis in an orthotopic liver transplant recipient: a case report
Authors: Huang Chun-Sing , Strouphauer Emily , O’Mahony Christine , Galván Nhu T N , Cotton Ronald , Goss John , Rana Abbas
Published: January 2024

Stevens–Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is a rare spectrum of acute, mucocutaneous drug reactions characterized by epidermal necrosis of the skin and mucous membranes with progressive multiorgan failure. Cutaneous presentation of SJS/TEN is similar to that of acute graft-versus-host disease, creating a diagnostic dilemma in solid-organ transplant recipients presenting with diffuse, erythematous eruptions, skin sloughing, and systemic sequelae, reflective of both diseases. This case report details a 48-year-old woman post-orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) who developed a diffuse, painful, morbilliform rash with progressive desquamation, along with corresponding pathological analysis indicative of SJS/TEN. There are few documented reports of SJS/TEN in solid-organ transplant recipients, and this case illustrates successful intervention and resolution of SJS/TEN in an OLT recipient while managing intraabdominal sepsis and an episode of acute rejection. Despite its rarity, prompt diagnosis of SJS/TEN and the implementation of tailored therapeutic strategies are crucial in the care of solid-organ transplant recipients.
Microsurgery for brain aneurysms in an accessory A2 and basilar arteries: a rare case presentation and surgical video
Authors: Bocanegra-Becerra Jhon E , Acha Sánchez José Luis , Contreras Montenegro Luis
Published: January 2024

We present the case of a 58-year-old male with a 3-day history of sudden onset headache, loss of consciousness, and uncontrolled vomiting. The patient had 3/5 quadriparesis and a Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score of 8, which merited neurocritical intensive care. Brain imaging suggested the presence of two lesions: (i) a fusiform aneurysm of 12 × 7 mm in an accessory A2 artery of the anterior cerebral artery and (ii) an unruptured saccular aneurysm of 3.3 × 2.8 mm in the distal segment of the basilar artery. He was deemed a candidate for microsurgical management. Postoperatively, he had 4/5 quadriparesis, paresis of the right oculomotor nerve, and a GCS score of 13. A 3-month follow-up showed a significant improvement in neurological function with a score of 2 on the modified Rankin scale. The presented case illustrates the relevance of a nuanced acquaintance to operate in diseased anatomical variants and complex pathologies of narrow corridors.
Search for interacting galaxy clusters from SDSS DR-17 employing optimized friends-of-friends algorithm and multimessenger tracers
Authors: Oak Tejas , Paul Surajit
Published: January 2024

In the theoretical framework of hierarchical structure formation, galaxy clusters evolve through continuous accretion and mergers of substructures. Cosmological simulations have revealed the best picture of the universe as a 3D filamentary network of dark-matter distribution called the cosmic web. Galaxy clusters are found to form at the nodes of this network and are the regions of high merging activity. Such mergers being highly energetic, contain a wealth of information about the dynamical evolution of structures in the Universe. Observational validation of this scenario needs a colossal effort to identify numerous events from all-sky surveys. Therefore, such efforts are sparse in literature and tend to focus on individual systems. In this work, we present an improved search algorithm for identifying interacting galaxy clusters and have successfully produced a comprehensive list of systems from SDSS DR-17. By proposing a set of physically motivated criteria, we classified these interacting clusters into two broad classes, ‘merging’ and ‘pre-merging/postmerging’ systems. Interestingly, as predicted by simulations, we found that most cases show cluster interaction along the prominent cosmic filaments of galaxy distribution (i.e. the proxy for dark matter filaments), with the most violent ones at their nodes. Moreover, we traced the imprint of interactions through multiband signatures, such as diffuse cluster emissions in radio or X-rays. Although we could not find direct evidence of diffuse emission from connecting filaments and ridges; our catalogue of interacting clusters will ease locating such faintest emissions as data from sensitive telescopes such as eROSITA or SKA, becomes accessible.
Characteristics of patients presenting with concomitant carpal tunnel syndrome at the initial diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Nakamura Taiki , Nagira Keita , Nakagawa Naoki , Takasu Yuta , Ishida Koji , Hayashibara Masako , Hagino Hiroshi , Nagashima Hideki
Published: January 2024

Objective

To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients who presented with concomitant carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) at the initial diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

We analyzed patients with newly diagnosed RA at a single institution between 2012 and 2021. Patient demographic and laboratory data, the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria, and the duration from the initial visit to RA diagnosis were compared between RA patients with concomitant CTS (RA with CTS group) and those without CTS (RA without CTS group).

Results

The study included 235 patients (157 females), of which 11 patients (4.7%) presented with CTS at the initial diagnosis with RA. In the RA with CTS group, the age was significantly higher (P = .033), all patients were female, and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) was negative, and the duration to RA diagnosis was longer than in the RA without CTS group. Among all RA with CTS patients, ultrasonography showed power Doppler signal-positive tenosynovitis in the carpal tunnel, which is not usually detected in idiopathic CTS.

Conclusions

Patients with concomitant CTS at the initial diagnosis with RA were characterized by old age, female sex, and negative ACPA. Patients with symptoms of CTS should undergo ultrasonography for early diagnosis of RA.
Religious Reasons and Liberal Legitimacy
Authors: Leontiev Kim
Published: January 2024

This article addresses the exclusivism–inclusivism debate about religious reasons in law within a justificatory liberal framework. The question of whether religious reasons have justificatory capacity for attaining public justification has increasingly been seen as a matter of how public justification is understood between two rival models: the consensus model being aligned with exclusivism, the convergence model with inclusivism. More recently, however, that alignment has been challenged with attempts to show that consensus can reach an equivalent degree of inclusivism as convergence. Against this, I contend that the purported equivalence is misplaced. First, I identify a crucial ambiguity about public justification and two corresponding domains. Upon demonstrating these to be mutually independent and severable, I conclude that the moves to equalize the models are confined within the more narrow domain while, in the more fundamental domain, the choice of model continues to prove determinative as to the exclusivist or inclusivist valence of justificatory liberalism.
The need for proper archiving and referencing of sound recordings in taxonomic studies of birds
Authors: Lima Rafael Dantas
Published: January 2024

A survey of recent taxonomic studies of birds that included acoustic trait analyses reveals that most studies have not archived the sound recordings that support their conclusions, despite the current availability of online, publicly available collections of bird sounds. In addition, bird sound recordings have often been cited without unique accession numbers that permit unambiguous sample identification and in considerably less detail than other types of samples, such as museum specimens or genetic samples. Both this lack of data openness and the way acoustic samples have been cited undermine the methodological rigor that otherwise characterizes many of these studies, and much invaluable biological data are likely to be lost over time if bird sound recordings are not archived in long-term collections. I suggest that these problems can be easily addressed by embracing the open data movement and adopting some best practices that are widely used in other fields. Just as study skins and DNA sequences are required to be deposited in publicly available collections such as natural history museums and the GenBank, respectively, sound recordings used in taxonomic studies with acoustic trait analyses should be archived in publicly available collections as a condition for publication of associated results. Authors of taxonomic studies involving sounds should archive their sound recordings and provide unique accession numbers for sound recordings examined, and journals and reviewers should ensure that authors have done so. By embracing the open data movement, research studying avian acoustic signals is expected to become more transparent, reproducible, and useful.
Theoretical and Terminological Issues
Authors: Bent Margaret
Published: January 2024

This chapter proposes that the often-cited prescriptions for motet composition traditionally attributed to ‘Egidius’ should revert to anonymous status. It addresses the phenomenon of motets with middle-voice tenors and a lower motetus, the definition and terminology for introitus and cadentia, and the problem of non-coincident or dissonant endings, which it is suggested would normally have been adjusted to consonance. A survey of lower parts includes solus tenors, tenors ad longum, and the status of essential and inessential contratenors in four-part writing, some of which have been addressed in other publications, together with questions of musical grammar and counterpoint, which underlie many of the assumptions in this book.
Words and Music in Machaut’s Motet 9
Authors: Bent Margaret
Published: January 2024

This chapter was written with pedagogical intent, with explanations designed for undergraduates or non-medievalists, complementing previous analyses of this motet. It sets out the music, texts and translations, and is illustrated by sound clips matched to notated examples. But it also finds fruitful new analytical directions in significant departures from background rhythmic groupings, in cadence choices and voice crossings. Text–music relationships are a rich hunting-ground: alliteration and onomatopoeia abound. Extremes of range convey height and depth; Lucifer flies high before his descent, and the triplum crosses below the motetus for abysses and caverns. Depiction goes far beyond madrigalisms, and even ascent and descent are not simple when different simultaneous texts are involved. The conjunct serpentine tenor represents the evil beast of its chant-derived words, and contrasts at the word pungit (punctures, or stings) with hockets which puncture the texted parts above it. Affinities with other motets are explored.
Motet 18:Bone pastor Guillerme/Bone pastor, qui pastores/Bone pastor
Authors: Bent Margaret
Published: January 2024

This chapter expands earlier observations about the close planning of text and music together for Motet 18 in such a way as to place monosyllables so that no words would be broken by rests in the isorhythmic hockets of the second section. This could not have happened by accident. Debates have centred around the early date apparently required by the motet’s undisputed dedicatee, Guillaume de Trie, Bishop of Reims. Musically, it has a number of features which seem precocious for 1325, notably a single minim rest. Recent later datings by Karen Desmond and Lawrence Earp are considered, but the present author concludes that the earlier dating is not impossible. A postscript offers a tidier notational solution to the tenor of Motet 2 than those proposed previously.
Apollinis eclipsatur/Zodiacum signis/In omnem terramand Later Versions with Added Parts
Authors: Bent Margaret
Published: January 2024

Apollinis was the earliest of the group of musician motets set out in Chapter 15, and the progenitor of the others. It was also one of the most widely circulated fourteenth-century motets, and uniquely attracted the addition not only of contratenors but also of extra upper parts, up to at least seventy years later. Its texts are among the richest in the repertory for their cosmic and numerical symbolism, closely bound to the music. As with other motets in the group, the three parts refer to each other textually and musically. The composer B. de Cluny names himself in the motetus. Apollinis and its three later versions with added parts are all edited with commentary. Chapter 1 proposed restoring the treatise De modo componendi tenores motettorum to anonymous status; in this chapter, the author argues that its instructions for composing with a central tenor and for four- and five-part composition uniquely fit Apollinis and its later versions.
Sub Arturo plebs/Fons citharizancium/ In omnem terramand its Musicians
Authors: Bent Margaret
Published: January 2024

The brilliant composition Sub Arturo plebs is the only English member of the musician motets group. It is attested in three sources (two Continental and one English), one as late as the 1430s. Its nearest comparands are datable after 1400, about thirty years later than other datings that have been proposed. It is an exuberant and complex piece, with exciting cross-rhythms and a mensurally accelerating tenor, celebrating fourteen English musicians. The composer appends his name, J. Alanus, to a potted history of musical greats in the motetus. Provisional documentation of the named musicians ranges over more than half a century, suggesting a retrospective roll-call, not a list of the living. Musicorum celebrated seven musicians: here twice seven, surely going one better not only than Musicorum, but than the bis sex (‘twice six’) of Apollinis, while also nodding at the seven taleae of Musicalis. Extensive links to the other musician motets are explored.
Against Private Surrogacy
Authors: Gheaus Anca
Published: January 2024

This is Anca Gheaus’s main chapter, providing a child-centred criticism of surrogacy. Gheaus argues that surrogacy is best understood as an attempt to transfer the moral right to parent from one private individual to another, at will. But children’s moral status limits the power that may be legitimately exercised over them—including parental power—to what is in the best interest of the child, suitably defined, and in line with third parties’ moral rights. Therefore, the moral right to parent does not protect the would-be parent’s interest in exercising authority over the child; it is not a claim right, but a liberty, or privilege. Parents lack the normative power to transfer their right to custody privately; surrogacy, whether altruistic or commercial, is an attempt to engage in such a transfer and is therefore illegitimate. The law should reflect this fact, banning privately arranged transfers of custody. A radically transformed practice of surrogacy could be legitimate, on the condition that it allocates legal parenthood in ways that are respectful to children.
Aristotle on Modality
Authors: Malink Marko
Published: January 2024

Modal concepts are used by some of the earliest Greek philosophers, but Aristotle was the first to develop a full-blown theory of modality and to explore connections between modality and many other philosophical topics. The chapter first presents Aristotle’s rich account of necessity, possibility, and contingency. Aristotle distinguished various kinds of necessity and possibility, distinctions that he embedded in his logic, semantics, theory of truth, and accounts of powers and agency. Some of these embeddings proved more controversial than others, and the chapter outlines some of the main criticisms of Aristotle’s theories advanced by his own students, as well as by later Stoic philosophers. One perennial topic of discussion among ancient Greek philosophers concerns the distribution of necessity and the threat of fatalism. Many of these debates about the nature and source of contingency, and the relation of modality to time more generally, would be repeated in later centuries.
Modality in Medieval Latin Philosophy
Authors: Knuuttila Simo
Published: January 2024

Chapter 2 discusses how Aristotle’s influence on theories of modality continued well into the medieval period. It focuses on the complex relation between temporal and modal notions in the Latin and Arabic Aristotelian traditions. Medievals tended to interpret modal notions like necessity and possibility in terms of time and change. This interlacing of modality and temporality had wide-ranging implications for medieval accounts of logic, metaphysics, and natural sciences. One important point of disagreement between some Latin and Arabic medievals concerned how to treat non-temporal divine possibilities, disagreements that ultimately led to more general challenges to the statistical model for modalities. Duns Scotus developed an alternative framework for analyzing modal concepts in terms of consistency rather than temporality, an approach that had far-reaching consequences for late medieval discussions in theology, metaphysics, and modal logic.