bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Friedrich Meinecke, Machiavellism: The Doctrine of Raison d’état and its Place in Modern History (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1957)
Authors: Wight Martin
Published: December 2021

Wight praised Meinecke’s Die Idee der Staatsräson, translated as Machiavellism: The Doctrine of Raison d’état and its Place in Modern History, as ‘by any odds the most important and enduring book on international relations published in the 1920s, and perhaps between the wars’. It is, Wight wrote, ‘an essay in the historiography of human thought, a study of how Machiavelli’s principles infiltrated into European statecraft, how thinkers and politicians who most strenuously repudiated him found it necessary to borrow from him, and how the idea of raison d’état developed to guide the greatest statesmen from Richelieu to Bismarck, until it was swamped by the ignorant popular passions of 1918’. Meinecke was preoccupied, Wight observed, with (in Meinecke’s words) ‘that tragic duality which came into historical life through the medium of Machiavellism—that indivisible and fateful combination of poison and curative power which it contained’. Moreover, Wight added, the tension between ‘necessity’ and ‘moral traditions’ has been recognized by some statesmen ‘as the central experience of international politics’. Wight noted that ‘Meinecke, despite his honourable retirement under the Nazis, was infected with the German heresy of idealizing State power and fatalistically abdicating personal responsibility. … Yet it was easier for a Burckhardt or an Acton, in the security of nineteenth-century Switzerland or Britain, to condemn power as evil without qualification.’
Review of J. L. Talmon,Political Messianism: The Romantic Phase(London: Secker & Warburg, 1960)
Authors: Wight Martin
Published: December 2021

Wight noted that in an earlier book, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy, Professor Talmon identified Rousseau as the ‘main source’ of ‘the totalitarian messianism of the French Revolution’. In this sequel he examines ‘the vast effervescence of utopian political thought between 1815 and 1848, which produced modern nationalism and Communism’. He aims to place the genesis of Marxism ‘in a wider historical setting than histories of socialism usually supply, against a background not only of Owen and Fourier, Fichte and Hegel, but of the whole romantic range of the Saint-Simonists and Lamennais, Michelet, Mazzini, and Mickiewicz’. The complex outcome is ‘the world we still live in, where national particularities seek to justify themselves in the service of a universal ideal, but revolutionary war makes national frontiers irrelevant; where national uniqueness is the strongest adversary of international revolution, nationalism finds its fulfilment by turning socialist, and socialism cannot establish itself except within national boundaries’.
The Farming System
Authors: Toulmin Camilla
Published: December 2021

There are two millet varieties cultivated in Kala, a long-cycle bush field, and a short-cycle village field variety, covering more than 90% of farmed land. The characteristics, scale and access to land, labour and capital are presented, showing the very high reliance on household-owned resources. The pattern of activity between the two varieties is shown for 1980 and 1981, given differences in rainfall distribution. The size of bush and village fields, and their distribution by household are described and inputs of labour and plough-team use discussed. The particular importance of manure availability is shown for more intensive cultivation of village field millet, before presenting the performance of households in terms of yields of the two varieties, per hectare and per worker, demonstrating both competition and complementarity between the two crops.
Investment in Cattle-Breeding Stock
Authors: Toulmin Camilla
Published: December 2021

The village of Kala has large cattle holdings, totalling more than 600 animals managed in 7 herds. But cattle are held very unequally, with 2/3 of households having 10 cattle or less. A strong positive relationship exists between herd and household size, with larger households also holding greater cattle wealth per person. The chapter presents data on sales and purchases of cattle, exploring the costs of investment in breeding cattle, and returns in the form of calf production, milk, dung, and final sales value. The risks to cattle, and factors affecting yields from breeding stock, are investigated, as are the reason for variation in returns from one farmer to another. Returns are modelled over a 5-year period for four household types A, B, C, D, to demonstrate the range of outcomes. There are multiple risks to capital values embodied in breeding cattle, and the flow of returns, such as from theft, disease, and tensions between herd-owner and hired herder.
Farm-Investment Strategies
Authors: Toulmin Camilla
Published: December 2021

This chapter reviews the broader investment strategies pursued by Kala’s farmers, the differences between the three assets – wells, oxen plough-teams, breeding cattle - in terms of the variability in returns due to rainfall fluctuations, difference in household size and access to complementary inputs. Returns are shown to be consistently greater for larger households, as their services are spread over a larger area, and maintenance costs of livestock, especially watering, are spread over a larger herd. Wells and plough teams generate rapid returns, while the payback period for breeding cattle is much longer. Returns from each asset are not perfectly correlated, though all rely on rainfall, and each is subject to certain risks. The chapter also compares the length of useful life, resale values and the consequences for farming families of not being able to invest in a particular asset. The distribution of all three assets is described in relation to household size, and the strong association shown between large domestic groups and a diverse range of assets. Returns to the overall household enterprise are shown to be vulnerable to climate, land availability, and control by the villagers over who gains access to land and water, and on what terms. It is shown that some households have been better able than others to seize opportunities to invest capital and labour in new assets and openings, which then cement their longer-term ownership of wealth.
Bambara Household Organization
Authors: Toulmin Camilla
Published: December 2021

The Bambara households of Kala are very large domestic organizations, in comparison with those found elsewhere in West Africa. This chapter examines the factors which encourage persistence of large domestic groups, including the advantages reaped from production, investment and reproduction, alongside protection of the individual from risk. The drawbacks to the individual from incorporation within a household are examined, such as loss of control over labour and other resources. Membership of a household involves agreement with an unspoken contract regarding the duties and expectations of members; however, such terms are subject to some flexibility and can be renegotiated. Modelling relations within the household allows for a review of options for cooperation, vulnerability to demographic risk, the significance of economies of scale, acquisition and maintenance of productive assets, game-theory, cooperation, conflict and division.
Spirited Psychology and Civic Temperament in the Statesman
Authors: Wilburn Josh
Published: December 2021

Chapter 9 argues that the Statesman characterizes the task of the politician as one that prominently requires attention to distinctively spirited aspects of the human soul. According to the dialogue’s final section, the primary problem of politics is that of producing harmony between, or “weaving” together, two main types of citizens that naturally tend toward conflict with one another: the “courageous” and the “moderate.” This chapter argues that the Statesman’s treatment of civic unity is largely a discussion of spirited political psychology: the “courageous” citizens incline toward behavior associated with the aggressive side of thumos, while the “moderate” tend toward behavior associated with its gentle side. Moreover, this treatment is set up earlier in the dialogue through the Myth of Cronus, which is designed to expose the inadequacy of conceptions of politics that ignore the social desires and emotions of human beings that are most relevant to politics.
The Unification of the Arts
Authors: Brown Steven
Published: December 2021

The Unification of the Arts presents the first integrated cognitive account of the arts that attempts to unite all of the arts into a single framework, covering visual art, theatre, literature, dance, and music, with supporting discussions about creativity and aesthetics that span all of the arts. The book’s comparative approach identifies both what is unique to each artform and what artforms share with one another. An understanding of shared mechanisms sheds light on how the arts are able to combine with one another to form syntheses, such as choreographing dance movements to music, or setting lyrics to music to create a song. While most psychological analyses of the arts focus on perceptual mechanisms alone—most commonly aesthetic responses—the book offers a holistic sensorimotor account of the arts that examines the full gamut of processes from creation to perception for each artform. This allows for a broad discussion of the evolution of the arts, including the origins of rhythm, the co-evolution of music and language, the evolution of drawing, and cultural evolution of the arts. Finally, the book aims to unify a number of topics that have not been adequately related to one another in previous discussions, including theatre and literature, music and language, creativity and aesthetics, dancing and acting, and visual art and music. The Unification of the Arts provides a bold new approach to the integration of the arts, one that covers cognition, evolution, and neuroscience.
Victorian Women's Travel Writing on Meiji Japan
Authors: Kumojima Tomoe
Published: December 2021

Victorian Women’s Travel Writing on Meiji Japan: Hospitable Friendship explores real-life instances and literary manifestations of cross-cultural friendship between Victorian female travellers and Meiji Japanese, examining its ethico-political significance against the backdrop of British ‘New Imperialism’. Shifting critical focus from the individualist model of subjectivity to affective relationality, Tomoe Kumojima conceptualizes the female travellers’ open subjectivity as hospitable friendship and argues that femininity proves to be an asset in their praxis of more equitable cross-cultural contact in non-colonial Japan. Political affordances of literature are the book’s overarching thread. Kumojima opens new archives of unpublished correspondence and typescripts and introduces contemporary Japanese literature hitherto unavailable in English, shedding a refreshing light on the works of Isabella Bird, Mary Crawford Fraser, and Marie Stopes. The book traverses the themes of identity fluidity, literary afterlife, international female solidarity, literary diplomacy, cross-racial heterosexual intimacy, and cross-gender friendship. It traces the shifts in the representation of Japan in Victorian discourses prompted by Britain’s colonial management, Japan’s successful modernization, the Anglo-Japanese bilateral relationship, and global geopolitics, demonstrating how the women travellers complicated and challenged Oriental stereotypes and imperial binaries by creating counter-discourses through their literary activities. Kumojima also offers parallel narratives of three Meiji female pioneers in Britain and burgeoning transnational feminist alliances. The book addresses the absence of Japan in discussions of the British Empire in the field of literary studies and that of women and female agency in the male-dominated historiography of the Anglo-Japanese relationship.
A Republican Queen
Authors: Akkerman Nadine
Published: December 2021

After five months on the run, Frederick and Elizabeth arrived in The Hague where the States General rented them a house - for three days. The couple, however, stayed put, showing no sign of leaving for England: the Stuart resident ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton, was under instructions to keep them in the Dutch Republic. They furnished their court with leftovers from the English Royal Wardrobe, as well as items bought in Amsterdam. For Frederick, The Hague was the base from which he could organise his military campaigns and expedite a return to the Palatinate, if not Bohemia. Frederick put up a diplomatic facade, signing an armistice while on the run as James demanded, while simultaneously engaging mercenaries who had no truce with the Emperor and could fight under their different banners. The two most important of these, Ernest von Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick, did not get along, but their joint efforts soon led to results: by April 1622, Frederick had travelled in disguise to the Palatinate to join his men, while Elizabeth gave birth to another daughter, Louise Hollandine. A series of disasters followed: the Battle of Höchst in which Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting Elizabeth Dudley lost her husband of weeks, and the losses of Heidelberg and Mannheim. Meanwhile, to make matters even worse in Elizabeth’s eyes, James had started negotiations with Isabella Clara Eugenia, the governess of the Spanish Netherlands, to give Elizabeth’s dower Frankenthal into her protection. When Frederick returned to The Hague, beaten, only Frankenthal remained.
Military Manoeuvres
Authors: Akkerman Nadine
Published: December 2021

On 25 February 1623, at Ratisbonne, the Emperor publically announced that the Palatinate Electorship had been transferred to Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria. On 29 March 1623, James signed Frankenthal away to Isabella with a clause that she would return it after 18 months if there was not a full peace treaty between Frederick and the Spanish. Charles and Buckingham began their infamous trip to Spain to fetch the Spanish Infanta, Charles’s intended bride under the Spanish Match, back to England. In doing so, Charles exposed himself to the possibility of injury, kidnap or worse, not least as his sister was still at war with Spain. Rumours began that Elizabeth was being suggested as a replacement for the ailing James and the absent Charles, and several of the more politically active ladies of the Stuart court made surreptitious trips to The Hague – James was refusing requests for permission to visit his daughter, so they asked for permission to visit Spa to take the waters instead. With the Spanish Match apparently concluded and Frankenthal lost, Frederick and Elizabeth made plans to settle permanently in the United Provinces, establishing a combined court and academy for their children, the Prinsenhof in Leiden. But the Spanish Match collapsed, an event celebrated by a masque written by Constantijn Huyghens, and promptly rewritten by Elizabeth herself, and by other celebrations which led to Elizabeth being accused from the pulpit of licentious behaviour, and of this behaviour leading to the failure of a dyke and several fatalities.
‘I can send you nothing but deaths’
Authors: Akkerman Nadine
Published: December 2021

On 16 October 1624, Elizabeth Stuart gave birth to her eighth child and sixth son, Edward. Not long afterwards, on 4 January 1625, Frederick and Elizabeth’s fourth son, Louis, died while teething – the first child they had lost and had to bury on foreign, that is, Dutch, soil. Elizabeth’s grief was great, but there was more to come. Maurice, Prince of Orange, who had in many ways been a second father to Elizabeth, was gravely ill, and this led directly to her lady-in-waiting Amalia von Solms marrying Frederick Henry, the prince’s half-brother, to secure the succession of the House of Nassau. Mansfeld, meanwhile, had gathered an army in England to relieve the Palatinate, but he was refused permission to travel through France, and ended up in the United Provinces. Mansfeld had no option other than to assist the Dutch in relieving Breda, which was besieged by the Spanish. Elizabeth suffered more bereavements as both Maurice and James died - it is clear that while Elizabeth viewed her father’s death in part as an opportunity, as her brother Charles was far more belligerent when it came to the Spanish, the death of her ‘second father’ Maurice, affected her more deeply. Charles married Henrietta Maria, who brought with her a massive dowry which could pay for a serious campaign to relieve the Palatinate. This is what Elizabeth relied on as Mansfeld’s army was all but destroyed during the failed attempt to relieve the Dutch at Breda, which fell to the Spanish.
‘Obeisance to His Majesty, and Love to the Parliament’
Authors: Akkerman Nadine
Published: December 2021

Henrietta Maria and her daughter Mary Stuart arrived in The Hague, the latter to be presented to her new husband, William II. There were rumours of a possible Catholic plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Henrietta Maria would remain in The Hague for almost a year, as she would combine the delivery of William’s bride with rather more pressing affairs. Henrietta Maria set to her primary task, raising money to aid the Royalist war efforts. She was intent on pawning a collection of crown jewels, including the anchor jewel Buckingham had pawned to Frederick V in 1625 and which was redeemed in 1637 – by 1642 it was in Henrietta Maria’s possession. Rupert and Maurice joined the Royalists and fought for their uncle, with no little success, while in August 1642 Charles Louis, with different sympathies, finally tired of the situation and left his uncle’s side. Roe returned to England from his futile sojourn at Ratisbonne and found a country at war. Both sides wished for Elizabeth to act as mediatrix. Even though two of her sons were in active military service for the Royalists, Elizabeth, ever pragmatic, tried to appear as neutral as she could. After all, Parliament were still paying her pension. The appearance of Elizabeth’s niece Mary had an unexpected upside, as her court bolstered Elizabeth’s struggle for social supremacy with Amalia von Solms: there were now two Stuart courts in The Hague. Elizabeth lost two close friends: her mother-in-law and Sir Thomas Roe.
Restoration
Authors: Akkerman Nadine
Published: December 2021

In May 1660, the news reached Charles Stuart that he had been invited to return and take his place on the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland as Charles II. Parliament promised to pay her debts, and Elizabeth waited to be asked to return to England. The Duke of Gloucester and her niece Mary both died, and still Elizabeth waited. Frustrated, Elizabeth argued with Charles Louis, who responded by telling her his ambassadors in England were yet to discuss her situation with the new king. Elizabeth tried to recover some of her jewellery from the pawnbrokers. Elizabeth would not attend Charles’s coronation, and eventually took matters into her own hands in May 1661, asking the States General for a warship to take her to England, and arranging for her luggage to be sent separately. Charles Louis tried, but failed, to detain her goods that she thought belonged to her and he tried to claim as his inheritance. Moments before she left she received a letter from her nephew asking her to stay in the Republic, and when she arrived in England he was anything but welcoming. Denied rooms at court, she stayed first with Lord Craven in Drury Lane, and subsequently in Leicester (Exeter) house, which belonged to the Earl of Leicester. She reconciled herself with Charles II, accompanying him to the opera, and Charles Louis, too. She died on 23 February, 1662, aged sixty-five, and her autopsy was carried out by her son’s secretary.
Derivative expansion in the HAL QCD method for a separable potential
Authors: Aoki Sinya , Yazaki Koichi
Published: December 2021

We investigate how the derivative expansion in the HAL QCD method works to extract physical observables, using a separable potential in quantum mechanics, which is solvable but highly non-local in the coordinate system. We consider three cases for inputs to determine the HAL QCD potential in the derivative expansion: (1) energy eigenfunctions, (2) time-dependent wave functions as solutions to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with some boundary conditions, and (3) a time-dependent wave function made by a linear combination of a finite number of eigenfunctions at low energy to mimic the finite volume effect. We have found that, for all three cases, the potentials provide reasonable scattering phase shifts even at the leading order of the derivative expansion, and they give more accurate results as the order of the expansion increases. By comparing the above results with those from the formal derivative expansion for the separable potential, we conclude that the derivative expansion is not a way to obtain the potential but a method to extract physical observables such as phase shifts and binding energies, and that the scattering phase shifts from the derivative expansion in the HAL QCD method converge to the exact ones much faster than those from the formal derivative expansion of the separable potential.
From Fear to Safety: A Roadmap to Recovery From Musculoskeletal Pain
Authors: Caneiro J P , Smith Anne , Bunzli Samantha , Linton Steven , Moseley G Lorimer , O’Sullivan Peter
Published: December 2021

Contemporary conceptualizations of pain emphasize its protective function. The meaning assigned to pain drives cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. When pain is threatening and a person lacks control over their pain experience, it can become distressing, self-perpetuating, and disabling. Although the pathway to disability is well established, the pathway to recovery is less researched and understood. This Perspective draws on recent data on the lived experience of people with pain-related fear to discuss both fear and safety-learning processes and their implications for recovery for people living with pain. Recovery is here defined as achievement of control over pain as well as improvement in functional capacity and quality of life. Based on the common-sense model, this Perspective proposes a framework utilizing Cognitive Functional Therapy to promote safety learning. A process is described in which experiential learning combined with “sense making” disrupts a person’s unhelpful cognitive representation and behavioral and emotional response to pain, leading them on a journey to recovery. This framework incorporates principles of inhibitory processing that are fundamental to pain-related fear and safety learning.
How policies emerge and interact with each other? A bibliometric analysis of policies in China
Authors: Zhang Chao , Guan Jiancheng
Published: December 2021

Answering how and why policies emerge and interact with one another will advance our understanding of the evolution of policies. The paper investigates policy emergence as a practice defining possible policy objects in a specific domain and policy interaction as a practice enabling the defined objects. To trace the policy evolution, we define three types of citations to describe policymaking processes, establish the citation and co-citation networks of policy documents, and then conduct a natural language processing-based bibliometric analysis. We reveal the patterns of policymaking practices and identify the focal policies in a given domain. The results within the context of Chinese innovation and entrepreneurial policies suggest the information contained in focal policies drives the direction of future policy themes, as well as regular policies, tend to cite focal policies and follow the ideas of focal policies to achieve their goals. Our findings also provide some implications for Chinese future policymaking.
Copper Tolerance in Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni in South Carolina Peach Orchards
Authors: Cox Brodie M. , Wang Hehe , Schnabel Guido
Published: December 2021

Bacterial spot of peach, caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, causes yield loss every year in southeastern U.S. peach orchards. Management is mainly driven by season-long applications of copper-based products, site location, and choice of cultivar. Although tolerance to copper has not been reported in X. arboricola pv. pruni in the United States, adaptation of populations from frequent use is a concern. We collected X. arboricola pv. pruni from shoot cankers, leaves, and fruit of cultivar O’Henry over 2 years from three conventional farms and one organic farm in South Carolina, one orchard per farm. The four farms had been using copper extensively for years to control bacterial spot. X. arboricola pv. pruni was isolated from four canker types (bud canker, tip canker, nonconcentric canker, and concentric canker) in early spring (bud break), as well as from leaf and fruit tissues later in the season at the phenological stages of pit hardening and final swell. X. arboricola pv. pruni was most frequently isolated from cankers of the organic farm (24% of the cankers) and most isolates (45%) came from bud cankers. X. arboricola pv. pruni isolates were assessed for sensitivity to copper using minimal glucose yeast agar and nutrient agar amended with 38 μg/ml or 51 μg/ml of Cu2+. Two phenotypes of copper tolerance in X. arboricola pv. pruni were discovered: low copper tolerance (LCT; growth up to 38 μg/ml Cu2+) and high copper tolerance (HCT; growth up to 51 μg/ml Cu2+). A total of 26 (23 LCT and 3 HCT) out of 165 isolates in 2018 and 32 (20 LCT and 12 HCT) out of 133 isolates in 2019 were tolerant to copper. Peach leaves on potted trees were sprayed with copper rates typically applied at the stages of delayed dormancy (high rate; 2,397 μg/ml Cu2+), shuck split (medium rate; 599 μg/ml Cu2+), and during summer cover sprays (low rate; 120 μg/ml Cu2+), and subsequently inoculated with sensitive, LCT, and HCT strains. Results indicated that the low and medium rates of copper reduced bacterial spot incidence caused by the sensitive strain but not by the LCT and HCT strains. This study confirms existence of X. arboricola pv. pruni tolerance to copper in commercial peach orchards in the southeastern United States, and suggests its contribution to bacterial spot development under current management practices.
Comparison of psychological distress for breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer predisposition in a Spanish sample at high risk of hereditary cancer
Authors: Costa-Requena Gema , Garcia-Garijo Mercedes , Richart-Aznar Paula , Segura-Huerta Ángel
Published: December 2021

Objectives

Although future treatments may speciically target the tumour phenotype, other factors should be included to confirm the efficacy of treatment and prevention strategies. The objective of this study was to compare sociodemographic characteristics and psychological distress for breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer predisposition syndrome in a sample at high risk of hereditary cancer.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was designed with 799 patients. The nonparametric test, with Kruskal–Wallis test, was used to compare three genetic cancer syndromes, with significant differences in sample size.

Results

There were no differences in cancer hereditary syndromes related to sociodemographic characteristics except sex, as breast/ovarian cancer mainly affects women. No group differences were observed for cancer worry (P = 0.17). Breast/ovarian cancer syndrome showed significantly higher scores in cognitive distress compared to colorectal cancer (P = 0.01).

Conclusion

The differences in the distribution of sociodemographic characteristics in these hereditary cancer syndromes can help to better plan resources for patient care in genetic counselling units.
Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury in Colorectal Surgery
Authors: Loria Anthony , Fleming Fergal J.
Published: December 2021

CASE SUMMARY:

A 73-year-old woman with hypertension controlled by an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) undergoes a laparoscopic converted to open low anterior resection with diverting loop ileostomy (DLI) for locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma. On postoperative day 5, her serum creatinine (sCr) is 1.4 mg/dL compared to a baseline of 0.9 mg/dL. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are stopped, she is resuscitated with balanced crystalloid until her sCr returns to the nadir, and she is discharged. At her postoperative visit, she has mild tachycardia and reports 1 week of 1500 to 2000 mL/day of ileostomy output. She is admitted with an sCr of 2.4 mg/dL and a blood urea nitrogen of 50. She is discharged after infectious complications are excluded, her ileostomy output is controlled, and her sCr is 1.7 mg/dL. Before initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy, her sCr is 1.8 mg/dL, and her estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is 28 to 32 mL/minute/1.73m2. This severe renal impairment prompts dose reduction of adjuvant chemotherapy.
Immunomodulatory Activity of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor and its Therapeutic Effect on Liver Failure
Authors: Hu Jinhua , Sun Zijian , Tong Jingjing , Chen Jing , Liu Zifeng
Published: December 2021

Liver failure is characterized by the rapid deterioration of liver function, often accompanied by ascites, coagulation dysfunction, hepatic encephalopathy, and other critical complications. Owing to the complex multifaceted pathogenesis and consequential clinical manifestations of the disease, liver failure displays poor prognosis and warrants comprehensive clinical treatment and management. Liver transplantation remains the only well-established treatment for liver failure. However, several factors including transplantation cost and low organ donation rates limit the rate of liver transplantation. The development of a suitable therapy for liver failure is a significant challenge and remains a cause of concern for the medical world. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a member of the cytokine family of hematopoietic growth factors, is involved in the migration of hematopoietic stem cells into the damaged liver, and effectuates their dedifferentiation into hepatocytes. Liver regeneration involves a complex crosstalk of multiple cell types, including hepatocytes, endothelial cells, and inflammatory cells. Neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages that present different types of innate immune cells were found to play a crucial role in the progression of inflammation and restoration of the liver tissue. G-CSF, known as the most common used cytokine, may also affect these immune cells by combining G-CSF receptors on their surface. The immunomodulatory activity of G-CSF should be studied and described in order to ascertain its therapeutic effect on liver failure.
Assessment of fibrinolytic markers in patients with deep vein thrombosis
Authors: Sharma Saniya , Uppal Varun , Senee Hari Kishan , Ahluwalia Jasmina , Das Reena , Varma Neelam , Malhotra Pankaj , Kumar Narender
Published: December 2021

The association of the fibrinolytic markers with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is still a matter of debate. The present study aimed to investigate the association between fibrinolytic markers and DVT. This observational study recruited 52 adult cases with lower limb DVT and 52 healthy adult volunteers as controls. The quantitative determination of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), plasminogen, thrombin activable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and α2-antiplasmin (α2-AP) was performed by ELISA. TAFI, plasminogen and t-PA were significantly higher in cases than controls and PAI-1 was significantly lower in cases than controls. In addition, TAFI, plasminogen and t-PA levels were significantly increased in unprovoked and idiopathic DVT cases than controls. The present study suggests that the fibrinolytic markers tested in patients with a remote history of DVT are different than in individuals with no history of DVT and, with further study, may prove useful as screening assays for DVT risk.
Adverse drug events in AYUSH interventions for cervical and lumbar spondylosis
Authors: Ponnaiah Manickam , Muthappan Sendhilkumar , Elumalai Rajalakshmi , Muthuperumal Prakash , Parasuraman Ganeshkumar , Bagepally Bhavani Shankara , Kumar Saravana V. , Sivaprakasam Satish
Published: December 2021

Introduction:

The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders ranges between 20%–33% and also varies by age and diagnosis. In India, low back and neck pain are important leading contributors to the disability burden irrespective of gender. Many Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-rigpa and Homeopathy (AYUSH) interventions used for the treatment of cervical and lumbar spondylosis conditions due to its availability and accessibility. Even though it's widely practiced, there is no documentation of adverse events of AYUSH interventions for cervical and lumbar spondylosis. The primary objective of this systematic review is to synthesize evidence of adverse events attributable to pharmacological and non-pharmacological AYUSH interventions for cervical and lumbar spondylosis.

Methods:

We will conduct a systematic search in all standard biomedical databases and AYUSH system portals to identify and retrieve both the published and unpublished research articles. We will include all study designs such as the randomized and non-randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cross-sectional studies, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case-control studies, case series, and case studies. They should have reported the Adverse events of AYUSH systems of interventions for cervical and lumbar spondylosis. Using predefined search strategy with suitable medical subject headings terms and field terms, we will retrieve all the relevant articles from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest, AYUSH research portal, Digital Helpline for Ayurveda Research Articles, Shodhganga and reports of National Pharmacovigilance Centres. We will include the articles that are in English language. Data synthesis will be conducted using meta-analysis.

Results:

The systematic review will provide adverse events information attributable to pharmacological and non-pharmacological AYUSH interventions for cervical and lumbar spondylosis.

Discussion:

We will generate a report on the frequency and types of adverse drug events among patients with lumbar and cervical spondylosis treated with AYUSH system and characteristics of adverse event such as type and nature of medications. This study may help Indian AYUSH pharmacovigilance centres to develop methods to improve quality of data on adverse events.

Systematic review registration number:

PROSPERO CRD42020167433 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020167433)
A protocol for phase II study investigating the safety and efficacy of TM5614 in combination with nivolumab in the treatment of unresectable malignant melanoma
Authors: Fujimura Taku , Yoshino Koji , Kato Hiroshi , Fukushima Satoshi , Otsuka Atsushi , Matsushita Shigeto , Miyata Toshio , Amagai Ryo , Ohuchi Kentaro , Furudate Sadanori , Hashimoto Akira , Kambayashi Yumi , Fujisawa Yasuhiro
Published: December 2021

Introduction:

Plasminogen activating inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) plays a significant role in the development of various cancers, including melanomas, and modulation of tumor-associated inflammation is one of the key anti-tumor functions of PAI-1. A recent report suggested that PAI-1 inhibitors suppress the expression of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) on tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), suppressing the induction of regulatory T cells and promoting anti-melanoma immune responses.

Methods and analysis:

This is a single-arm, open-label, multi-institutional, phase 2 clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of nivolumab in combination with TM5614 (pPAI-1 inhibitor) in patients with advanced malignant melanoma. Nivolumab will be administered every 4 weeks, and TM5614 will be administered daily for 8 weeks. For the first-line cohort, assuming the null hypothesis of a response rate of 22.2% and an alternative hypothesis of 40%, a minimum of 22 patients are required to achieve a two-sided, type I error of 5% and power of 70% based on the exact binomial distribution. For the second-line and beyond cohorts, assuming the null hypothesis of a response rate of 5% and the alternative hypothesis of 22.2%, a minimum of 18 patients are required to achieve a two-sided, type I error of 5%, and power of 70% based on the exact binomial distribution.

Discussion:

This study will contribute to the development of novel combination therapy for anti- programmed cell death 1 antibodies-resistant advanced melanoma patients, which remains an unmet clinical need.

Trial registration:

Trial registration number: jRCT2021210029
Multiple lumbar spinal inter-dural cysts
Authors: Eun Jongpil , Oh Youngmin
Published: December 2021

Introduction:

Cysts of the spinal canal may be located in the extradural or intradural space. Distinct from these cysts, inter-dural spinal cysts form between the two layers of the spinal dura and contain fluid, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood. Inter-dural spinal cysts are extremely rare. We recently encountered a patient presenting with a multiple lumbar spinal inter-dural cysts.

Patient concerns:

A 58-year-old woman presented with an acute onset of back pain radiating to her left leg. She had no history of surgery or trauma and no other medical illness. Her pain was not relieved by considerable attempts to control it through medication or physical therapy

Diagnosis:

The magnetic resonance imaging indicated multiple cystic lesions ventral and dorsal to the thecal sac at L2/3 which were compressing the roots of the cauda equina. The contents of the ventral lesion were relatively high signal on T2-weighted images and low-signal on T1-weighted images, suggesting a CSF. Additional magnetic resonsnce myelography was highly suggestive of multiple isolated cysts located in the inter-dural space, with a thin wall separated from the CSF.

Interventions:

The patient underwent total laminectomy of the 2nd to 3rd lumbar vertebral to expose the cyst. After midline dural incision, inner dural leaflet was found and we could have confirmed the exact position of the cyst was interdural space, and the inner dura was excised. We then retracted the rootlets to find another ventral cyst. A small incision was made in the inner dura overlying the ventral cyst and yellowish fluid was drained. Complete cyst fenestration and excision of the inner dural leaflet was performed.

Outcomes:

A histopathology report confirmed the cyst to be dura. The patient had complete resolution of symptoms and was asymptomatic 3 years after surgery.

Conclusions:

Inter-dural cysts occur very rarely. We report the first case of multiple lumbar spinal inter-dural cysts. Acknowledging inter-dural spinal cysts as a type of spinal meningeal cyst is imperative, as this will allow surgeons to avoid unnecessary dural breaches and associated complications.
Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for irregular menstruation
Authors: Wang Junting , Zhang Heran
Published: December 2021

Introduction:

Irregular menstruation, a common gynecological disease, mainly refers to the syndrome of abnormal menstrual cycle or menstrual period, which is more common in adolescent or menopausal women. In modern medicine, the mostly used therapy is hormone. Although it has obvious therapeutic effect in the short term, repeated use of sex hormone therapy often has more side effects and higher recurrence rate. The implementation of acupuncture artificial cycle therapy according to the change of female menstrual cycle can achieve remarkable results. A network meta-analysis could be feasible to assess the efficacy and safety of various acupuncture for irregular menstruation.

Methods:

A comprehensive literature search will be conducted in both English and Chinese database, including Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP Database, and Chinese Biological and Medical database, from inception to October 2021. Two reviewers will independently accomplish the data extraction and bias assessment. RevMan 5.3, ADDIS 1.16.8, Open BUGS 3.2.3, and Stata 14.0 will be used for paired and network meta-analysis.

Conclusions:

The findings of the study will help to evaluate the efficacy and safety of various acupuncture in the treatment of irregular menstruation.
The impact of COVID-19 on urology office visits and adoption of telemedicine services
Authors: Butaney Mohit , Rambhatla Amarnath
Published: December 2021

Purpose of review

The purpose of this review article is to discuss the impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the evolution of telemedicine use for urology office visits.

Recent findings

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a dramatic change in the delivery of healthcare. Fraught with numerous barriers previously, the need for healthcare delivery during a time of social distancing and increased healthcare requirements drove the adoption of telemedicine forward. This ’trial period’ over the last year has allowed us to appreciate the potential utility of telehealth-associated services in practice and consider its role even after the pandemic. Multiple studies equating its utility to in-person visits whereas simultaneously providing added convenience and cost-related savings have been published in the urologic literature. Permanent regulatory changes will need to be implemented to allow us the flexibility to use telehealth in the future.

It is clear that telemedicine is an effective strategy for delivery of healthcare under the right circumstances. Although it initially started to fill a need out of necessity, it can help us effectively deliver healthcare as long as the regulations surrounding telemedicine allow us to continue to use it. This period has been challenging for healthcare delivery and led to policy changes that served as a catalyst to help us better understand this previously underutilized resource.
Percutaneous laser nephrolithotripsy: is it here to stay? Results of a systematic review
Authors: Rice Patrick , Somani Bhaskar K.
Published: December 2021

Purpose of review

PCNL (percutaneous nephrolithotomy) and its miniaturized variants are being widely employed in stone surgery, owing to their high-stone-free rates (SFRs) and efficacy for large (>20 mm) stones. With advances in laser technology, it has been readily utilized in PCNL, with the potential for lower complication rates at similar SFR. We aimed to perform a systematic literature review with a focus on recent prospective clinical data that compares laser PCNL to either nonlaser PCNL, different PCNL sizes or other current standards of care such as shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) or flexible ureteroscopy (FURS).

Recent findings

Of the 294 studies initially identified through database searching, nine papers published between 2019 and 2021 were included which compared laser PCNL (Standard PCNL in three, mini-PCNL in four, ultra-mini PCNL in one, micro-PCNL in one study) to other nonlaser lithotripsy, ESWL, FURS, and different PCNL sizes. Complications for laser PCNL ranged from bleeding (4.4%), perirenal haematoma (1.1%), fever (4.6%), ureteric/renal pelvic injury (2.3%), haematuria (2.7%), and infection (2.6%). The mean SFR for laser PCNL was 91.5% at 3 months.

Percutaneous laser nephrolithotripsy is well tolerated and effective, with high-SFRs at 3 months and relatively low intraoperative and postoperative complication rates. Further research is required to assess the role of intraoperative techniques and suction to improve outcomes further.
Prosthetic fitting in a double-digit amputation with concomitant postoperative shortening and contracture of the adjacent digits: optimizing aesthetic and functional outcomes
Authors: Leow Michael EL , Lim Ambrose YK , Lee Ellen Y , Chong Alphonsus KS
Published: December 2021

This report discusses the considerations behind the special modifications made on the finger prostheses fitted for a patient with crushed index, middle, ring, and little fingers resulting in a double-digit amputation with significant postoperative scarring, discoloration, shortening, and contracture of the salvaged index and middle fingers. The deformity and discoloration of the salvaged fingers were factored into the approach taken in the planning, fabrication, and fitting of prosthesis for the amputated digits. Length reduction with increased flexion planned into the prostheses, in addition to color matching them in two different shades, contributed to good aesthetic and functional outcomes.
Predictors of Blood Transfusion for Endoscopic Assisted Craniosynostosis Surgery
Authors: Suarez Alexander D. , Taicher Brad , Fuchs Herbert , Marcus Jeffery , Vestal Matthew , Homi Mayumi , Allori Alexander , Thompson Eric M.
Published: December 2021

Blood loss is a main cause of morbidity after craniofacial procedures. The purpose of this study is to identify the incidence and predictors for transfusion of blood products in the endoscopic assisted strip craniectomy population. Data was prospectively collected from a single-center multi-surgeon cohort of 78 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic assisted strip craniectomy for craniosynostosis between July 2013 and December 2020. The authors reviewed patient and treatment characteristics and outcomes. Of the 78 patients, 26 patients were transfused yielding an overall rate of transfusion of 33%. The most common fused suture was sagittal (n = 42, 54%) followed by metopic (n = 15, 19%), multiple (n = 10, 13%), coronal (n = 7, 9%) and finally lambdoid (n = 4, 5%). On univariate analysis, patients’ weight in the transfusion cohort were significantly lower than those who did not receive a transfusion (5.6 ± 1.1 versus 6.5 ± 1.1 kg, P = 0.0008). The transfusion group also had significantly lower preoperative hemoglobin compared to the non-transfusion group (10.6 versus 11.1, P = .049). Eleven percent patients admitted to step-down received a transfusion, whereas 39% of patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit received a transfusion (P = 0.042). On multivariate analysis, only higher patient weight (operating room [OR] 0.305 [0.134, 0.693], P = 0.005) was protective against a transfusion, whereas colloid volume (OR 1.018 [1.003, 1.033], P = 0.019) predicted the need for a transfusion.

Our results demonstrate that endoscopic craniosynostosis cases carry a moderate risk of transfusion. individuals with lower weight and those that receive colloid volume are also at elevated risk.