bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In Consciousness we Trust
Authors: Lau Hakwan
Published: March 2022

This book puts forward a mechanistic account of subjective experience based on a review of the current cognitive neuroscience literature on conscious perception, attention, and metacognition. It is argued that current empirical studies are often misinterpreted. An undue focus has been placed on perceptual capacity rather than subjective experience per se. Null findings are often overemphasized despite the limited sensitivity of the methods used. A synthesis is proposed to combine the advantages and intuitions of both global and local theories of consciousness. This will be discussed in the context of our understanding of the sense of agency, emotion, rationality, culture, philosophical theories, and clinical applications. Taking insights from both physiology and current research in artificial intelligence, the resulting view directly addresses the qualitative nature of subjective experience.
Hitting the Right Note
Authors: Lau Hakwan
Published: March 2022

The chapter begins by questioning whether the prefrontal cortex plays a causal role in conscious perception. The dorsolateral prefrontal areas and the frontal polar cortex of the prefrontal cortex are identified as important because they seem to have survived the controls for all three kinds of confounders discussed in this volume: stimulus, report, and performance capacity. However, at the theoretical level, it is worth emphasizing that global theories do not fixate on these prefrontal areas alone. And yet, the prefrontal cortex is often a key focus in current debates. One main argument against the prefrontal cortex as part of the neural correlates of consciousness has to do with lesion effects. But lesions and stimulation studies are often conceptually misinterpreted or factually misrepresented. Once these issues are clarified, we can see that there is good evidence for the causal involvement of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness.
What Good Is Consciousness?
Authors: Lau Hakwan
Published: March 2022

Most of us agree that consciousness emerged at some time through our evolutionary history. Many also find probable that it is a relatively recent invention; simple organisms like bacteria are presumably not conscious. However, evolution is a long and complex process. Consciousness could have evolved mostly as a byproduct or for reasons that we do not intuitively expect. So, what good is consciousness? To answer the question, we need new experimental methods, beyond subliminal priming. That is because subliminal priming tends to only show small effects, which are often difficult to replicate. And then logically, even if some functions can be exercised nonconsciously, it could be that consciousness is required for these functions to work at their full capacity. So we need methods that can give us strong nonconscious signals. With these methods, current evidence suggests that consciousness may not be as useful as global theories suggest. Metacognition may be one of the few specific functions to which consciousness contributes.
Introduction
Authors: McNay Lois
Published: March 2022

This chapter briefly surveys the relationship between Frankfurt School critique and feminism. It summarizes the book’s main claim that despite declaring itself to be fundamentally concerned with a critique of oppression, Frankfurt School theory has little of substance to say about gender subordination. Instead of analysing real-world dynamics of oppression, Frankfurt School thinkers tend to concentrate on issues of normative foundation and context transcendence. This foundational turn has given rise to a mode of ‘paradigm-led theorizing’ that blocks an adequate diagnosis of power, exemplified in the tokenistic treatment of gender oppression. A model of experience-led theorizing is proposed as an alternative to paradigm-led thought and it is argued that feminist theory, both within and beyond the Frankfurt School, is an indispensable exemplar of such an approach. The chapter structure of the book is also laid out.
Influence in the ICN
Authors: Townley Christopher , Guidi Mattia , Tavares Mariana
Published: March 2022

This chapter talks about national competition authorities (NCAs) and some non-governmental actors (NGAs) that have influence over the International Competition Network (ICN) agenda. It describes influential actors from advanced industrialised nations, such as the EU and the USA, which have interests that radically diverge from those of other NCAs. It also demonstrates how influential actors use their influence to favour their own interests and ignore those of others, especially when in conflict with advanced industrialised nations. The chapter clarifies how actors exert such influence given the ICN’s consensus requirement. It discusses the wedge that influential actors drive between the interest of some NCAs and the interests of their states.
Conclusion
Authors: Townley Christopher , Guidi Mattia , Tavares Mariana
Published: March 2022

This chapter reviews the rise of informal transnational networks, like the International Competition Network (ICN), and highlights the highly re-distributive nature of competition policy. It provides the working definitions of legitimacy, effectiveness, and efficiency and suggests that each state more actively assess ICN work products and other support in order to judge the costs and benefits of using them in its own system. It also points out how legitimacy issues are likely to be acute the more states’ economies differ from those of the key ICN influencers. The chapter elaborates the meaning of ICN’s design, which implies that states may not be able to trust their national competition authorities (NCAs) to act in their national interest. It provides a top-to-bottom analysis of the ICN’s working methods and substantive coverage with recommendations for the future of the network.
The Art of Urban Survival
Authors: Agbiboa Daniel E.
Published: March 2022

If corruption is a constitutive element of everyday life, then it behooves us to understand what exactly that everyday life is. This chapter explores what an interpretative analysis of vehicle slogans in Lagos can tell us about the everyday spaces of corruption, coercion, and opportunities of informal transport operators, including the circumstances which may have informed the driver’s choice of slogan. Through an analysis of the relationship between vehicle slogans, persons and publics, we are able to relate to the precarious lifeworlds of transport operators, especially their daily encounters with agents of extortion and fear. The chapter finds that slogans provide not only unique windows onto the exploitative labor of transport workers, but are themselves effective means through which these “dirty workers” carve out meaningful livelihoods, expand their navigational capacity, and express their hopes for the city.
Integration of healthcare services and technologies
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

This chapter presents cases in the healthcare domain that have the large-scale integration of new and existing technologies across organizations as their aim. The first case illustrates how the involved researchers were able to bring a local solution to a broad setting, manage the complexity generated by the presence of different stakeholders with conflicting interests, and lead the process to quite successful outcomes. The other two cases illustrate how integration based on a standardization imposed from the top meets serious problems. In the first case, the initial ambition of an all-encompassing solution had to be downsized to the introduction of just one new component to several existing ones, in only one of the many target settings. The second case illustrates the necessity of changing the strategy in the course of the project in order to implement a solution that respects the local needs and strategies of the involved organizations.
Research projects in IT service companies
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

This chapter illustrates projects developed in the research laboratories of two IT service companies. At Xerox in Grenoble (France), the project supporting paper-saving was successful; the second project, which aimed at outsourcing data entry, was stopped because of the difficulty in reaching an adequate level of data quality; the last project, which aimed to support workers in a call centre, was problematic because of the conflicting views of the researchers and the deployers regarding the competences mobilized by workers. At IBM Research—Almaden in San Jose (United States), two projects aimed to introduce machine learning technologies: in the first case, this was to increase the use of available operational and transactional data to run internal sales operations; in the second one, it was to support IT service designers as they prepared architectural solutions in response to requests from clients. Both projects were stopped because of the difficulty the workers faced in appropriating this new and complex technology.
The complex way to sustainability
Authors: Simone Carla , Wagner Ina , Müller Claudia , Weibert Anne , Wulf Volker
Published: March 2022

This chapter highlights a number of issues that matter in any efforts towards sustainable results in IT-based projects and initiatives. A first set of issues concerns the creation of environments to promote and facilitate sustainable innovation. A second set concerns new specific design principles that the designers should apply in their current design efforts. Finally, a third set concerns more long-term challenges that ask for a change of perspective in the strategies applied by the stakeholders involved in IT projects: the researchers, the management, the funding agencies, the IT providers, and the software industry more generally, each of which should take responsibility for building and maintaining IT infrastructures that are understood as a public good that enhances the quality of life.
Temporal Discounting in Philosophy and Psychology
Authors: Sullivan Meghan
Published: March 2022

Psychologists are developing increasingly sophisticated models of the role that risk and stress play in our preferences for the future. And recently there has been interesting work extending these models to preferences about past events. Philosophers have long been in the business of developing theories to interpret and evaluate our preferences about the past and future. This chapter discusses four current research questions where closer collaboration between philosophers and psychologists promises better models of decision making and new sources of evidence for theories of prudential rationality.
Past/Future Attitude Asymmetries
Authors: Hoerl Christoph
Published: March 2022

An influential thought experiment by Derek Parfit sought to establish that people have a preference for unpleasant events to lie in the past rather than the future. In recent discussions of Parfit’s argument, this purported preference is modelled as a discounting phenomenon, as is the tensed emotion of relief, which Arthur Prior argued demonstrated that there is an objective metaphysical difference between the past and the future. Looking at recent work demonstrating some psychological past/future asymmetries that are more clearly instances of discounting, this chapter argues that this existing philosophical literature fails to distinguish between what are clearly two quite different psychological phenomena. This affects recent attempts to respond to Prior’s metaphysical argument, because it is not clear that they have identified the right phenomenon to be explained. It also affects Parfit’s thought experiment, because the purported unitary ‘preference’ may in fact be an amalgam of these two quite different psychological phenomena.
Temporal Asymmetries and Singular Causation
Authors: Campbell John
Published: March 2022

How should we explain the temporal asymmetries in our evaluations of past or future possibilities? One recent approach characterizes these asymmetries in terms of empirical generalizations governing human psychology, and finds an evolutionary basis for them in terms of past/future asymmetries found in the behavior of non-human animals. This chapter argues that human temporal reasoning, and particularly, our conceptions of past and future, depend on human language, and has no ready counterpart in animals. It proposes that human temporal reasoning is required by humans’ status, unique among animals, as free, and explains this freedom as fundamentally a matter of human psychology being full of singular causal connections not grounded in causal generalizations. This in turn suggests that the temporal asymmetries should be thought of in terms of our having a sheaf of tensed temporal emotions that we can feel in connection with particular, one-off psychological connections.
Music therapy for illness management and recovery
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

This chapter introduces readers to a model of music therapy for illness management and recovery specific to adult mental health. Although there is growing consensus that mental health conditions are chronic and incurable, people with mental health conditions can manage their illnesses and recover to live a life of purpose, hope, and meaning. The chapter differentiates music therapy for illness management and recovery and music therapy for symptom reduction. As music therapy for illness management and recovery can represent a dynamic, engaging, and motivating framework for providing interventions for people with mental health conditions, it can be an effective component of the contemporary treatment milieu for adults with mental health conditions. Moreover, music therapy for illness management and recovery may be ideal in short-term and acute care settings.
Illness management and recovery approach and topics
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

New to the second edition of this book, Chapter 6 describes how to approach and deliver illness management and recovery interventions. The chapter describes 11 illness management and recovery topics: recovery, practical facts about mental health conditions, the stress-vulnerability model, building social support, using medication effectively, drugs and alcohol, reducing relapses, coping with stress, coping with persistent symptoms, meeting needs within the mental health system, and living a healthy lifestyle. Because of diminished neurocognitive functioning resultant of the illness and medications, people with mental health conditions may require repetition and for the information to be presented in various ways. The chapter highlights prodromal symptoms and coping strategies to provide people with mental health conditions with the knowledge and skill sets necessary to identify and prevent relapse and augment the likelihood of recovery.
Continuum model of music and therapy within music therapy
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

What is music therapy? How does it work? What does a typical session look like? These questions are difficult to answer because of the breadth of populations music therapists serve and the various interventions music therapists use to address the idiosyncratic clinical objectives of the service users they are privileged to treat. This chapter introduces the continuum model of music and therapy within music therapy. Although various authors have described the relationship between music and therapy within music therapy, a fluid model is needed to better communicate the interplay between music and therapy within music therapy. The continuum model of music and therapy within music therapy recognizes that both music and therapy occur in music therapy, although music or therapy may not be immediately observable. Although designed for adult mental health settings, this model has applications for other music therapy service users.
Music therapy for diverse service users in mental health settings
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

This chapter describes music therapy for diverse service users in adult mental health settings. Highlighting intersectionality, the chapter notes that there are numerous types of diversity, including but not limited to age, ethnic background, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, medical condition, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. While diversity is to be celebrated as it enriches communities, the intersectionality of these various factors can complicate clinical practice and research. To use music effectively, music therapists must be aware of the role and function of the music within a person’s culture. The chapter emphasizes the lifelong process and importance of developing cultural awareness, reflexivity, and humility.
The music therapy treatment process in mental health settings
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

In-services can represent efficient and effective presentations to educate other professionals about music therapy while referral and assessment constitute vital parts of the treatment process. The totality of the treatment process constitutes an essential component of contemporary clinical music therapy practice and can be used as a framework for music therapists who are designing new programs. This chapter describes various aspects of the music therapy treatment process in adult mental health settings. The chapter provides information on in-services, referral, assessment, treatment planning, “homework” assignments, data collection, documentation, treatment evaluation, and professional supervision. The chapter also describes individualized treatment planning and clinical objectives in group music therapy settings and provides a mock schedule.
Research in music therapy for mental health
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

By definition, every research study involving humans who voluntarily consent to participate is inherently biased and blemished. There can also be additional difficulties in designing and conducting research with people who have mental health conditions. This chapter describes the complexities of music therapy and mental health research. While tables depicting objectivist music therapy mental health and substance use research are provided, all research paradigms are important to have a holistic understanding of music therapy in mental health settings. Involving service users in the design of research can lead to more sophisticated, sensitive, and appropriate investigations. Suggestions to stimulate ideas for future research are provided.
Evidence-based practice in music therapy for mental health
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

This chapter provides readers with an overview of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice is a philosophy of care integrating (i) the best research available; (ii) the service user’s culture, identities, values, and preferences; and (iii) the practitioner’s expertise. The chapter describes the importance and weaknesses of randomized controlled trials and highlights existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of music therapy research with adults who have mental health conditions. The chapter argues that objectivist inquiry does not represent the sole model for improving the status of music therapy as an evidence-based practice: service users’ values, identities, and preferences are also considered integral components, and these can be best understood through the interpretivist paradigm. The chapter also describes how evidence-based treatments are specific psychosocial interventions that have a strong supporting research base. The chapter describes the six established evidence-based treatments for adults with mental health conditions and seven evidence-based treatments for adults with substance use conditions. Music therapists can adapt and integrate existing evidence-based treatments into their clinical practice.
The future of music therapy and mental health
Authors: Silverman Michael J.
Published: March 2022

Innovative models of music therapy, including community, resource, wellness, and neurological models, are evolving and shaping new directions for contemporary treatment. Music therapists can be activists for people with mental health conditions and work to reduce public stigma through education and advocacy. This chapter describes future issues for music therapists practicing in adult mental health settings. Topics include manuals, rational drug design, community music therapy, holistic wellness, music-induced harm, and the importance of neuroscience. As music therapists may be at heighted risk for burnout, they should proactively manage stressors to maintain their holistic health. To thrive as a profession, it is vital that music therapists support their professional organizations and work toward occupational regulation to protect service users. Music therapists must also support and be allies to people with mental health conditions.
Culture from the Slums
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Culture from the Slums explores the history of punk rock in East and West Germany during the 1970s and 1980s. These decades witnessed an explosion of alternative culture across divided Germany, and punk was a critical constituent of this movement. For young Germans at the time, punk appealed to those gravitating toward individual and cultural experimentation rooted in notions of authenticity—endeavors considered to be more “real” and “genuine.” Adopting musical subculture from abroad and rearticulating the genre locally, punk gave individuals uncomfortable with their societies the opportunity to create alternative worlds. Examining how youths mobilized music to build alternative communities and identities during the Cold War, Culture from the Slums details how punk became the site of historical change during this era: in the West, concerning national identity, commercialism, and politicization; while in the East, over repression, resistance, and collaboration. But on either side of the Iron Curtain, punks’ struggles for individuality and independence forced their societies to come to terms with their political, social, and aesthetic challenges, confrontations which pluralized both states, a surprising similarity connecting democratic, capitalist West Germany with socialist, authoritarian East Germany. In this manner, Culture from the Slums suggests that the ideas, practices, and communities which youths called into being transformed both German societies along more diverse and ultimately democratic lines. Using a wealth of previously untapped archival documentation, Culture from the Slums reorients German and European history during this period by integrating alternative culture and music subculture into broader narratives of postwar inquiry and explains how punk rock shaped divided Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.
Beliefs and Practices
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Chapter 2 explores what youths thought punk was, why they were invested in the genre, and how they articulated these beliefs in subcultural practices, above all through fashion and music. In the West, punk was used by youths in their generational struggle against mainstream society and the cultural hegemony of the 1960s. Celebrating the modern world in all its artificiality and ugliness, flirting with fascism, and embracing difference (Anderssein), punks wanted to redefine what was considered “alternative,” then dominated by ʼ68ers. In the East, punk was primarily understood as an anti-state subculture whose subcultural endeavors resisted the crushing uniformity of state socialism under communism. These beliefs were expressed concretely in provocative dress and experimental music as youths on both sides of the Iron Curtain pursued independence and individuality in the face of convention and conformity, impulses helping to pluralize and liberalize their respective societies.
Language and Identity
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Chapter 3 examines how and why punk was seen as the basis for a popular musical revolution in West Germany. While at first imitating the Anglo-American subculture, Western punks soon began singing in German as a way of articulating a more expressive and local music culture. New instruments and sounds were thrown into the mix as punks experimented sonically to develop a specifically German punk sound. In so doing, youths elaborated a critique of everyday life which they felt was more honest and evocative, steps transforming punk into a national popular music sensation. But not all were happy with these endeavors and debates over the contents and directions of punk began to fracture the community, especially when journalist Alfred Hilsberg began popularizing punk in the media. While his support for punk was controversial, his work was nevertheless central to the expansion of the subculture in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Wall Jumping and Repression
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Chapter 4 surveys the transnational nature of East German punk and the consequences of such “wall jumping,” namely, the state repression of the subculture. In East Germany, the regime understood punk as a form of Western cultural imperialism sent over the Berlin Wall to corrupt socialist youths. Since punk could not exist in the GDR (as a product of capitalist exploitation), the state was disturbed by the increasing numbers of punks in East Germany. Then, in 1982–3, Eastern punks began participating in the global subculture, writing for Western fanzines, appearing in Western media, and releasing music in the West, elevating the threat punk posed to the authoritarian state. After several inflammatory concerts, the regime violently repressed the subculture, moving Härte gegen Punk (Hard against Punk). By 1984, after arresting many youths, drafting others into the army, and exiling some to the West, the subculture was nearly destroyed by the state.
Commercialization and Crisis
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Chapter 5 explores the nationalization of the subculture and the genre’s transformation into a mass-marketed and commercial version, the Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW). As punk spread, the music industry moved in to market a more pop-oriented variety of German-language popular music, the NDW, which, in the early 1980s, exploded across the nation. However, popularity led to a crisis of authenticity for punk, a predicament which highlights an unease with capitalism among youths in West Germany during this era and how politics in the alternative scene were often wracked by questions of commercialization. The heated debates over consumerism, conformity, and celebrity tore the scene asunder and show how the politics of authenticity exclude and divide as much as they integrate and shelter. By 1983, West German punk was at a pivotal crossroads, caught between subcultural marginality and the mainstream market which tells us much about alternative politics during this moment.
Politicization and Panic
Authors: Hayton Jeff
Published: March 2022

Chapter 7 considers how West German punks, responding to the commodification of the genre, sought to reaffirm subcultural boundaries by promoting fast, loud rhythms and radical leftist politics. Hardcore politicization—squatting, demonstrations, and anti-state activities—however, saw the subculture become increasingly antagonistic to West German state and society. Alarmed by the subculture, moral panic over punk led to violent confrontations between youths and the state, conflicts confirming punks’ marginality as the subculture’s politics became intertwined with aggression and martyrdom. In the end, however, the triumph of Hardcore was a tragedy for punk as the subculture ceased to be a vehicle for alterity and instead became trapped in a never-ending cycle of uniformity, hostility, and violence. Faced with this impasse, many youths turned to Fun Punk, a commercial and entertaining subgenre, which rejected the seriousness of Hardcore and speaks to an exhaustion of the subculture’s politics of nonconformity and capitalism’s ability to commodify difference.
Complementary Frameworks for Examining Global Innovation: Aligning GVCs, Industrial Clusters, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Authors: Cho Daniel Sunghwan , Buciuni Giulio , Ryan Paul
Published: March 2022

This chapter discusses the importance of production clusters and entrepreneurial firms continuously generating innovation if they are to sustain their long-term competitiveness in today’s global economy. The study of the complexity brought about by globalization has been investigated by the Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, which has improved the understanding of how clusters and firms compete globally. However, neither the cluster theory nor the GVC framework address firms’ innovation through an explicit dynamic perspective and dedicate only partial attention to the role of entrepreneurial ventures. This chapter draws on elements from the developing entrepreneurial ecosystems literature to complement the cluster-GVC perspective and offers a finer-grained approach to the study of innovation in the global economy.
Bringing Light to Dark Spots: The Case of Cross-border Bioprospecting
Authors: Giuliani Elisa , Jacqueminet Anne , Nieri Federica
Published: March 2022

Innovation-oriented cross-border collaborations are a means through which developing countries can upgrade technologically. However, the benefits accruing from cross-border collaborations can be asymmetric: while they may possess crucial resources, the developing country may gain little from the collaboration. This chapter examines the context of bioprospecting, defined as the search for biodiversity aimed at commercial exploitation of its biochemical or genetic elements. The well-documented exploitation of developing countries’ natural resources by international partners has made bioprospecting a ‘dark spot’ in the cross-border collaboration space. The chapter adopts an abductive configurational approach to investigate the sets of conditions that allow cross-border agreements to include knowledge transfer and innovation, through crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis. Based on an empirical analysis of fifty-nine cases, some policy recommendations about the need for international collaborations and investments to include greater respect for local communities’ fundamental rights and ecosystems are provided.
Introduction
Authors: Ludlow Peter , Živanović Sašo
Published: March 2022

This chapter lays out the plan of the book and introduces the key concepts that are deployed in subsequent chapters, including natural logic, polarity, natural deduction, and the difference between characterizing inferences syntactically (by virtue of their forms) and characterizing them semantically (for example by use of model theory).
Completing the Dynamic Deductive System
Authors: Ludlow Peter , Živanović Sašo
Published: March 2022

This chapter continues the development of the Dynamic Deductive System and introduces the operation of Prune, which does the work that reductio ad absurdum does in standard theories. Ludlow and Živanović develop an account of universal instantiation and universal generalization, and then prove the completeness of the new system by simulating a Hilbert natural deduction system.
A sustained release of BMP2 in urine-derived stem cells enhances the osteogenic differentiation and the potential of bone regeneration
Authors: Wu Shuang , Chen Zhao , Yu Xi , Duan Xin , Chen Jialei , Liu Guoming , Gong Min , Xing Fei , Sun Jiachen , Huang Shishu , Xiang Zhou
Published: March 2022

Cell-based tissue engineering is one of the optimistic approaches to replace current treatments for bone defects. Urine-derived stem cells (USCs) are obtained non-invasively and become one of the promising seed cells for bone regeneration. An injectable BMP2-releasing chitosan microspheres/type I collagen hydrogel (BMP2-CSM/Col I hydrogel) was fabricated. USCs proliferated in a time-dependent fashion, spread with good extension and interconnected with each other in different hydrogels both for 2D and 3D models. BMP2 was released in a sustained mode for more than 28 days. Sustained-released BMP2 increased the ALP activities and mineral depositions of USCs in 2D culture, and enhanced the expression of osteogenic genes and proteins in 3D culture. In vivo, the mixture of USCs and BMP2-CSM/Col I hydrogels effectively enhanced bone regeneration, and the ratio of new bone volume to total bone volume was 38% after 8 weeks of implantation. Our results suggested that BMP2-CSM/Col I hydrogels promoted osteogenic differentiation of USCs in 2D and 3D culture in vitro and USCs provided a promising cell source for bone tissue engineering in vivo. As such, USCs-seeded hydrogel scaffolds are regarded as an alternative approach in the repair of bone defects.
Muscle involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus: multimodal ultrasound assessment and relationship with physical performance
Authors: Di Matteo Andrea , Smerilli Gianluca , Cipolletta Edoardo , Wakefield Richard J , De Angelis Rossella , Risa Anna Maria , Salaffi Fausto , Farah Sonia , Villota-Eraso Catalina , Maccarrone Vincenzo , Filippucci Emilio , Grassi Walter
Published: March 2022

Objectives

The objectives of this study were (1) to explore US findings for muscle mass, muscle quality and muscle stiffness in SLE patients and healthy subjects; (2) to investigate the relationship between the US muscle findings and physical performance in SLE patients and healthy subjects.

Methods

Quadriceps muscle thickness was used for assessment of muscle mass, muscle echogenicity (using a visual semi-quantitative scale and grayscale analysis with histograms) for assessment of muscle quality, and point shear-wave elastography (SWE) for assessment of muscle stiffness in 30 SLE patients (without previous/current myositis or neuromuscular disorders) and 15 age-, sex- and BMI-matched healthy subjects. Hand grip strength tests and short physical performance battery (SPPB) tests were carried out in the same populations.

Results

No difference was observed between SLE patients and healthy subjects for quadriceps muscle thickness (35.2 mm ±s.d. 6.8 vs 34.8 mm ± s.d. 6.0, respectively, P = 0.79). Conversely, muscle echogenicity was significantly increased in SLE patients (visual semi-quantitative scale: 1.7 ± s.d. 1.0 vs 0.3 ± s.d. 0.5, respectively, P < 0.01; grayscale analysis with histograms: 87.4 mean pixels ± s.d. 18.8 vs 70.1 mean pixels ± s.d. 14.0, respectively, P < 0.01). Similarly, SWE was significantly lower in SLE patients compared with healthy subjects {1.5 m/s [interquartile range (IQR) 0.3] vs 1.6 m/s (IQR 0.2), respectively, P = 0.01}. Muscle echogenicity was inversely correlated with grip strength (visual semi-quantitative scale, Rho: –0.47, P = 0.01; grayscale analysis with histograms, Rho: –0.41, p < 0.01) and SPPB (visual semi-quantitative scale, Rho: –0.50, P < 0.01; grayscale analysis with histograms Rho: –0,46, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

US assessment of muscle echogenicity and stiffness is useful for the early detection of muscle involvement in SLE patients.
Advanced neural networks for classification of MRI in psoriatic arthritis, seronegative, and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Folle Lukas , Bayat Sara , Kleyer Arnd , Fagni Filippo , Kapsner Lorenz A , Schlereth Maja , Meinderink Timo , Breininger Katharina , Tascilar Koray , Krönke Gerhard , Uder Michael , Sticherling Michael , Bickelhaupt Sebastian , Schett Georg , Maier Andreas , Roemer Frank , Simon David
Published: March 2022

Objectives

To evaluate whether neural networks can distinguish between seropositive RA, seronegative RA, and PsA based on inflammatory patterns from hand MRIs and to test how psoriasis patients with subclinical inflammation fit into such patterns.

Methods

ResNet neural networks were utilized to compare seropositive RA vs PsA, seronegative RA vs PsA, and seropositive vs seronegative RA with respect to hand MRI data. Results from T1 coronal, T2 coronal, T1 coronal and axial fat-suppressed contrast-enhanced (CE), and T2 fat-suppressed axial sequences were used. The performance of such trained networks was analysed by the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) with and without presentation of demographic and clinical parameters. Additionally, the trained networks were applied to psoriasis patients without clinical arthritis.

Results

MRI scans from 649 patients (135 seronegative RA, 190 seropositive RA, 177 PsA, 147 psoriasis) were fed into ResNet neural networks. The AUROC was 75% for seropositive RA vs PsA, 74% for seronegative RA vs PsA, and 67% for seropositive vs seronegative RA. All MRI sequences were relevant for classification, however, when deleting contrast agent–based sequences the loss of performance was only marginal. The addition of demographic and clinical data to the networks did not provide significant improvements for classification. Psoriasis patients were mostly assigned to PsA by the neural networks, suggesting that a PsA-like MRI pattern may be present early in the course of psoriatic disease.

Conclusion

Neural networks can be successfully trained to distinguish MRI inflammation related to seropositive RA, seronegative RA, and PsA.
Use of accelerometers to assess and describe trailer motion and its impact on carcass bruising in market cows transported under North American conditions
Authors: Kehler Carollyne E J , Meléndez Daniela M , Ominski Kim , Crow Gary , Crowe Trever G , Schwartzkopf-Genswein Karen S
Published: March 2022

Increased trailer motion, coupled with large accelerations and decelerations, has been associated with decreased carcass quality and increased stress indicators in cattle, sheep, and hogs. However, motion of livestock trailers has not been measured in North-American cattle semi-trailers over long distances (> 1000 km). The objectives of this study were to develop a practical method of measuring transport trailer accelerations, to describe the range of accelerations cattle are exposed to under North American conditions, and to conduct a preliminary analysis of trailer accelerations for each compartment and its effect on carcass bruising. The root mean square (RMS) of acceleration was measured at a sampling rate of 200 Hz in 3 orthogonal axes; x (vertical), y (front-to-rear), and z (lateral; side-to-side) by clamping an accelerometer to the cross beam below each of the five compartments of 8 trailers transporting a total of 330 animals (674 ± 33.3 kg BW) from an assembly yard to a processing facility. Journeys took place on separate days and ranged in duration from 13 to 15.7 h. The number and severity of bruises per carcass were determined prior to trimming for n = 290 carcasses and the number of bruises per carcass ranged between 0.38 and 12.75, whereas the bruising score per carcass ranged between 0.38 and 14.88. Mean number of bruises and severity of bruises (bruising scores were assigned according to size using a three-point scale: 1) ≤ 6.5 cm, 2) 6.5 to 12 cm, and 3) ≥ 12 cm and bruising severity was determined by applying the weighted score to each bruise according to bruise area) per carcass was 4.52 ± 2.43 (n) and 5.31 ± 2.84, respectively. Accelerations in commercial transport vehicles were found to range between 0.33 and 1.90 m/s2, whereas the mean RMS of acceleration for all trailers (n = 31 accelerometers) was 1.01 ± 0.32 m/s2, 0.72 ± 0.31 m/s2, and 0.97 ± 0.30 m/s2 for the x, y, and z axes, respectively. Horizontal acceleration was greatest in the nose, back, and doghouse compartments (P = 0.05), whereas lateral acceleration was greatest in the nose and back compartments (P = 0.08). Although the nose, back, and doghouse compartments had the highest RMS values for the lateral and horizontal axes, there were no significant relationships between bruising and acceleration. Replication of this research is required to further understand the relationships between trailer motion, carcass bruising, and overall animal welfare in cattle transported long distances.
Advanced thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma with bone marrow metastases treated by immunotherapy combined with antiangiogenesis therapy: a case report
Authors: Li Ying-Jue , Li Yi-Wen , Cui Guang-Hua , Li Shu-hui , Deng Yu-wei , Lu Dan
Published: March 2022

Thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a rare primary malignant neoplasm originating from the thymus. Thymic LELC diagnosis is often terminal when diagnosed, some patients have lost the opportunity for surgery. Platinum- and anthracycline-based systemic chemotherapy are the first-line treatment plan; however, there is no clear consensus on therapy when first-line treatment fails because of the lack of cases of advanced thymic LELC. Here was a rare case of advanced thymic LELC with bone marrow metastasis at relapse, which is reported in a patient who responded well to toripalimab combined with anlotinib therapy. The treatment showed tolerable toxicity with good antitumor activity in the patient. As far as we know, this is the first case that the combination of toripalimab with anlotinib is effective in controlling advanced thymic LELC with bone marrow metastasis. The case reports represent an essential means by which an effective therapy for advanced thymic LELC may not be practical given the low frequency of a thymic LELC with multiple metastases.
Pyrotinib for HER2-amplified non-small cell lung cancer patient after progression to Afatinib: a case report
Authors: Zhao Huan , Yang Hongbo , Yu Xin , Feng Hu , Yang Fujun
Published: March 2022

Contrary to the success of antihuman epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) therapy in HER2-amplified breast cancer, the optimal targeted drug therapy for HER2-amplified lung cancer remains to be determined clinically. In this report, a nonsmoker, Chinese, old, male patient was diagnosed with cT2bN3M0 nonsmall cell lung cancer with genetic testing revealing HER2 amplification. Though the patient received successful microwave ablation, the results of reexamination after two cycles of afatinib monotherapy showed disease progression. Then the treatment regimen was switched to pan-HER inhibitor pyrotinib 400 mg daily, with which the patient remained with stable disease for 9 months. After computed tomography showed tumor enlargement in October 2021, anlotinib was added to the present treatment. This case suggests that pyrotinib may provide a novel effective treatment option for HER2-amplified lung cancer.
Unexpected response to fourth-line paclitaxel in a patient with metastatic oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, immunotherapy-refractory: a case report
Authors: Mosca Mirta , Filippini Daria Maria , Tober Nastassja , Rojas Fabiola Lorena , Rihawi Karim , Di Fabio Francesca
Published: March 2022

In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including nivolumab and pembrolizumab have revolutionized the treatment landscape in recurrent/metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, many patients do not respond to ICIs for reasons that remain largely unknown. For patients who progress on ICIs, chemotherapy and/or biologic therapies are the most widely used treatments based on the clinician’s choice, with no defined sequence strategy. We report the experience of a patient with metastatic oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer p16 and human papillomavirus-DNA positive who received chemotherapy with weekly paclitaxel after progressing on nivolumab. Our patient presented a partial response to fourth line paclitaxel, which lasted more than 2 years, with an improvement of his quality of life too. These results support the hypothesis of synergism between immunotherapy and conventional chemotherapies. Even in the setting of immune-refractory disease, immunotherapy may affect tumor immune microenvironment thus leading to a synergistic effect with conventional chemotherapy and achieving unexpected results.
Circ_0058063 promotes progression of thyroid cancer by sponging miR-330-3p/SDC4 axis
Authors: Tang Mingwei , Wang Fengbo , Wang Ke , Jiang Yuan , Wang Qiongfen
Published: March 2022

Circular RNA takes a crucial part in carcinogenesis. Circ_0058063 has been found to act as an oncogene in esophageal cancer and bladder cancer, but its role in thyroid cancer (TC) is still under investigation. Therefore, we carried out a study to understand its role in TC and its association with miR-330-3p. The circ_0058063 and miR-330-3p in TC tissues and cells were quantified by quantitative reverse transcription PCR, and cell counting kit-8 and scratch adhesion test were conducted for evaluation of cell proliferation and migration. In addition, a dual luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay were conducted for interaction analysis between circ_0058063 and miR-330-3p. Circ_0058063 was upregulated in TC tissues and cells, but miR-330-3p expression showed an opposite trend. Both silencing circ_0058063 and upregulating miR-330-3p can suppress the proliferation and migration of TC cells, upregulate Bax, and downregulate Bcl-2. In addition, circ_0058063 is able to target miR-330-3p that is also able to target syndecan 4 (SDC4). circ_0058063 can act as a carcinogen in cases with TC via the miR-330-3p/SDC4 axis.
Habitual aerobic exercise in healthy postmenopausal women does not augment basal cardiac autonomic activity yet modulates autonomic-metabolic interactions
Authors: O’Donnell Emma , Craig Jennifer
Published: March 2022

Objective:

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of habitual exercise training and metabolic health on basal cardiac autonomic function and cardiac autonomic recovery after exercise in healthy postmenopausal women (PMW).

Methods:

Habitually aerobically trained PMW (PMW-tr; 56 ± 1y; n = 11), and untrained PMW (PMW-un; 57 ± 1y; n 
= 13) and premenopausal women (PreM; ages 26 ± 1y; n 
= 14) were studied. Cardiac autonomic function, assessed using heart rate variability (HRV), was measured before and one hour after 45-minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (60% VO2peak). Fast Fourier frequency domain measures of high (HF; 0.15 Hz-0.4 Hz), low (LF; 0.04 Hz-0.15 Hz), very low (VLF; 0.01 Hz-0.04 Hz), and Total (VLF + LF + HF) HRV were assessed. Serum estradiol, insulin, and glucose were determined, and HOMA-IR, an index of insulin resistance, was calculated.

Results:

In PMW groups, body composition and serum markers did not differ (P > 0.05). Pre-exercise, heart rate was lower (P < 0.05) in PMW-tr than PMW-un, yet HRV did not differ (P > 0.05). In PMW-tr only, HF was inversely associated (P < 0.05) with insulin (r = -0.738) and HOMA-IR (r = -0.758). In PreM, HRV was higher than PMW (P 
< 0.05) and was positively correlated with estradiol (P 
< 0.05). Postexercise, HRV was decreased within all groups (P 
< 0.05) yet remained higher in PreM (P 
< 0.05), and similar (P 
> 0.05) between PMW.

Conclusions:

Basal and postexercise HRV does not differ between habitually aerobically trained and untrained PMW. However, greater insulin sensitivity was associated with higher cardiac parasympathetic tone in trained PMW only. Exercise training may favorably modulate cardiac autonomic-metabolic interactions in PMW.