bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Women’s Inclusion and Political Violence
Authors: Karim Sabrina , Hill, Jr. Daniel W
Published: August 2024

Chapter 3 explores the connection between women’s (political) inclusion and political violence. The chapter starts out by conceptualizing women’s inclusion and developing a measure for it using the kind of model described in Chapter 2. The rest of the chapter is focused on theorizing about the connection between women’s inclusion and interstate war, intrastate conflict, repression, and terrorism. These arguments can be usefully grouped into two types. The first group of arguments has to do with the idea that women as individuals or as a group tend to behave in certain ways or have particular preferences that differ in systematic ways from men. A second group of arguments focus on the how perceived stereotypes about women who are included in public spaces affects the behavior of political actors. The results show that women’s inclusion in political spaces is negatively correlated with terrorist attacks.
Drugs, patients, and this book
Authors: Boarder Michael , Dixon Jane , Newby David , Navti Phyllis , Zetterström Tyra
Published: August 2024

This chapter shows how pharmacology can be looked at with a patient-centred approach. It explains that pharmacology is a broad science, running from the chemistry of drugs through their physiological effect, and to the treatment of the sick. The chapter explains that modern pharmacology is dependent on the understanding and techniques of molecular biology and genomics. Pharmacists are expected to become more patient-centred, with both pharmacists and nurses playing a primary role in prescribing drugs in many healthcare settings. The chapter finishes with an overview of the format of the rest of the book.
Epilepsy
Authors: Boarder Michael , Dixon Jane , Newby David , Navti Phyllis , Zetterström Tyra
Published: August 2024

This chapter provides an overview of epilepsy. Epilepsy is diagnosed when patients suffer repeated epileptic seizures, which are sudden episodes of abnormal bursts of excitatory brain activity, leading to transient motor, autonomic, psychic, or sensory dysfunction. The chapter focuses on glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) while highlighting the role of the major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems in the brain. It then elaborates on older, first-generation antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and newer, second-generation AEDs used to treat epilepsy. However, all epileptic drugs have a limited window for effective treatment with minimum adverse effects, so dosage and monitoring plasma levels of the drug are very important.
Against the Non-Ethical Tyranny of Outcomes
Authors: Hurley Paul
Published: August 2024

The argument here demonstrates that the same two mistakes undergirding the intuitive and ethical arguments for consequentialism, the conflation of senses of bringing about and the unwarranted imposition of an Outcome-Centered Constraint on Value, account for the illusory appeal of the outcome-centered accounts of attitudes, actions, and reasons grounding the non-ethical argument for consequentialism. Just as attempts to consequentialize target ethical theories fail, altering and mischaracterizing the target theories in the attempt, so too strategies of propositionalizing target desires fail, altering and mischaracterizing the aims and objects of, rationales provided by, and evaluative outlooks partially constitutive of these target desires. Propositionalizing typical desires captures neither the objects of such desires, nor the rationales for action they provide, nor the guise under which their objects are taken to be good; it captures only the constitutive consequent of realizing the desire’s object. With the failure of the outcome-centered account of desires, the non-ethical argument for consequentialism is undermined.
The Inadequacy of Supplemental Grounds for the Non-Ethical Argument
Authors: Hurley Paul
Published: August 2024

The chapter highlights and argues against three considerations that might seem to shore up outcome-centered accounts of practical attitudes. It considers first whether appeal to the contrasting directions of fit of beliefs and desires provides support for the outcome-centered account of desire, and demonstrates that it does not; indeed, that Anscombe’s actual contrast reinforces an account of desires that is not outcome-centered. It next considers arguments from explanatory symmetry and simplicity, demonstrating that simplicity is no friend of the outcome-centered account of desires, and that a simple, symmetrical understanding of such attitudes as distinguished by their distinctive guidance—by the true and the good—provides no support for an outcome-centered account. Finally, the chapter considers whether a reductionist metaphysical naturalism provides such support, demonstrating that although certain extreme metaphysical positions may support an outcome-centered account of desires, a wealth of other metaphysical positions, including avowedly naturalist ones, do not.
The Shape of the Real
Authors: Allen Emily , Felluga Dino Franco
Published: August 2024

This chapter lays out the mechanisms used by the realist novel in its approach to temporality. In the novel’s circular logic, the future gets locked into the actual in the present moment that sets us onto a single temporal path, thus foreclosing alternative possibilities; and it is also the vantage point from which we will understand that moment as bound to the past, the end already shaped by its beginning. This version of temporality is the one that we now take as reality, one in which we are the agents of our fate: our actions will determine the future, and we must choose well because, once we act, our future will be fixed. We propose an alternative approach to temporality inspired by recent philosophical work on “the event” and the future anterior by Alain Badiou, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, and Slavoj Žižek.
Charles Dickens and the Novel-Verse
Authors: Allen Emily , Felluga Dino Franco
Published: August 2024

In this chapter, we examine how realist fiction handles the time–action–character nexus, which is felt everywhere, but nowhere so obviously as in those crisis points tied to coincidence, chance, accident, and chaos. As the poor cousin of design, coincidence spoils the illusion of causal connection its own temporal property creates. It embeds within itself a realm of counterfactual possibility that it both cancels and preserves: these events might (not) have been connected. We provide examples in Charlotte Brontë and George Eliot before concentrating on Charles Dickens, who helps us to lay bare the temporal mechanisms employed more surreptitiously in other Victorian novels—and which these realist novels suggest we can apply to reality itself. We finish by examining A Tale of Two Cities, which illustrates how the novel form deals with revolution.
Lord Byron and the Novel
Authors: Allen Emily , Felluga Dino Franco
Published: August 2024

As we illustrate in this chapter, the most influential novelists of the period spent entire novels working through the formal challenge of Byron, which reveals the possibility that Byron directly influenced the rise of the novel in ways that have not been fully appreciated. Our goal is to be productive, not exhaustive, in our exploration of Byron’s influence on the genre of the novel. We address several novels briefly so that we can illustrate in a single chapter just how pervasive the novel’s engagement with Byron really was across the nineteenth century. By prying open the gap between structure and content, we aim here to demonstrate how a particular antirealist legacy is written into and over by Victorian realism in ways that fit what would become in hindsight the predominant novelistic mold.
Arthur Hugh Clough and the Non-Event
Authors: Allen Emily , Felluga Dino Franco
Published: August 2024

Unlike Barrett Browning’s revolutionary call from a Hereafter demanding to be planted in this Now, Clough asks us to consider the impossibility of event, be it personal act or historical occurrence, love or revolution. Like Byron and Barrett Browning, Clough challenges the dominant ways for making sense of temporality and the subject in the nineteenth century, both on the side of the novel and on the side of the lyric, but he does so without adopting the future-anterior temporality we explored in Chapters Five and Six. Examining a verse-novel that rejects the radical possibilities we read in Byron and Barrett Browning helps us to understand better what is required for the structural logic of the future anterior to be implemented in a literary work. We illustrate in this chapter how, structurally, Amours de Voyage is closer to the logic of the novel’s approach to the optative, the might have been.
The thorny intersection of personal opinion and arbitrator impartiality: lessons from Crescent Petroleum and other cases
Authors: Al-Khasawneh Ali , Liborio Garrido de Sousa Vanessa
Published: August 2024

With the rising use of social and other media as a means of self-expression, arbitrators have been facing an increased risk of disqualification due to a perceived lack of impartiality based on their public pronouncements on controversial topics. This particular scenario crystallized for renowned international arbitrator Charles Poncet in late 2023, when the ICC Court of Arbitration (ICC Court) disqualified him in a multi-billion-dollar case involving Crescent Petroleum against the National Iranian Oil Company, due to comments that were perceived to display an anti-Muslim bias made during a television broadcast in August of the same year. The same issue has arisen in other cases with varying outcomes, depending on context and the strength of the arbitrator’s expression. While requirements for the public conduct of national judges are comparatively strict, the same cannot be said for those applying to arbitrators, whose standard for impartiality is based primarily on the need to avoid conflicts of interest, whereas the impact of apparent biases, perceivable through their public statements, seems to have been largely overlooked.
Eighteen genes primarily expressed in the testis are not required for male fertility in mice
Authors: Yamamoto Kaito , Hiradate Yuki , Ikawa Masahito
Published: August 2024

There are approximately 20 000 protein-coding genes in humans and mice. More than 1000 of these genes are predominantly expressed in the testis or are testis-specific and thought to play an important role in male reproduction. Through the production of gene knockout mouse models and phenotypic evaluations, many genes essential for spermatogenesis, sperm maturation, and fertilization have been discovered, greatly contributing to the elucidation of their molecular mechanisms. On the other hand, there are many cases in which single-gene knockout models do not affect fertility, indicating that tissue-specific genes are not always critical. Here, we selected 18 genes whose mRNA expression is restricted to the testis or higher than in other tissues, but whose function in male reproduction is unknown. We then created single-gene KO mouse models using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The established KO males were subjected to mating tests and screened for effects on fecundity, revealing that these genes were not essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility. This knowledge will contribute to understanding the functions of genes characteristic of the testis and identify the cause of male infertility.
Nonparametric second-order estimation for spatiotemporal point patterns
Authors: Liang Decai , Liu Jialing , Shen Ye , Guan Yongtao
Published: August 2024

Many existing methodologies for analyzing spatiotemporal point patterns are developed based on the assumption of stationarity in both space and time for the second-order intensity or pair correlation. In practice, however, such an assumption often lacks validity or proves to be unrealistic. In this paper, we propose a novel and flexible nonparametric approach for estimating the second-order characteristics of spatiotemporal point processes, accommodating non-stationary temporal correlations. Our proposed method employs kernel smoothing and effectively accounts for spatial and temporal correlations differently. Under a spatially increasing-domain asymptotic framework, we establish consistency of the proposed estimators, which can be constructed using different first-order intensity estimators to enhance practicality. Simulation results reveal that our method, in comparison with existing approaches, significantly improves statistical efficiency. An application to a COVID-19 dataset further illustrates the flexibility and interpretability of our procedure.
Improvement in paediatric CT use and justification: a single-centre experience
Authors: Tiidermann Mariliis , Pihlakas Triin , Saaring Juhan , Märs Janelle , Aasmäe Jaanika , Langemets Kristiina , Lintrop Mare , Kool Pille , Ilves Pilvi
Published: August 2024

Objectives

To analyse changes in the use of paediatric (≤16 years) CT over the past decade and to evaluate the appropriateness of CT examinations at a tertiary teaching hospital.

Methods

Data from 290 paediatric CTs were prospectively collected in 2022 and compared with data from 2017 (358 cases) and 2012 (538 cases). The justification of CTs was evaluated with regard to medical imaging referral guidelines and appropriateness rates were calculated.

Results

Paediatric CTs decreased 39.4% over the 10 years, contrasting with a 27.6% increase in overall CTs. Paediatric CTs as the share of overall CTs dropped from 2.5% in 2012 to 1.1% in 2022 (P < .0001), with a concurrent rise in paediatric MRIs (P < .0001). Notable reductions in CT use occurred for head trauma (P = .0003), chronic headache (P < .0001), epilepsy (P = .037), hydrocephalus (P = .0078), chest tumour (P = .0005), and whole-body tumour (P = .0041). The overall appropriateness of CTs improved from 73.1% in 2017 to 79.0% in 2022 (P = .0049). In 15.4% of the cases, no radiological examination was deemed necessary, and in 8.7% of the cases, another modality was more appropriate. Appropriateness rates were the highest for the head and neck angiography (100%) and the chest (96%) and the lowest for the neck (66%) and the head (67%).

Conclusions

Justification of CT scans can be improved by regular educational interventions, increasing MRI accessibility, and evaluating the appropriateness of the requested CT before the examination. Interventions for a more effective implementation of referral guidelines are needed.

Advances in knowledge

The focus for improvement should be CTs for head and cervical spine trauma, accounting for the majority of inappropriate requests in the paediatric population.
Implementation of community-based rehabilitation in Colombia in mental health: barriers, facilitators, and purposes
Authors: Agudelo-Hernández Felipe , Giraldo-Álvarez Ana Belén , Marulanda-López Eduardo
Published: August 2024

Mental health holds a crucial position within global public health agendas, particularly in the context of developing and implementing community-based approaches. Despite this, there remains a scarcity of evidence regarding the methodologies and anticipated outcomes associated with community-based rehabilitation (CBR) in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to address this gap by identifying the barriers and facilitators. Through a qualitative approach involving focus groups conducted within a CBR training programme in Colombia, thematic analysis was employed to discern, analyze, and present patterns within the data. The findings, drawn from the participation of 208 individuals including clinical and administrative mental health professionals, as well as community leaders, underscored recurring themes such as the necessity for alliances across various sectors with a shared mental health goal, the importance of contextual considerations in programme development, the need for increased economic resources allocated to mental health, and the significance of empowering community autonomy. Ultimately, the study highlights the imperative of fostering equitable dialogue between communities and decision-makers to facilitate the effective transition of CBR from theory to implementation.
GABA system in the prefrontal cortex involved in psychostimulant addiction
Authors: Shi Wenjing , Li Minyu , Zhang Ting , Yang Chunlong , Zhao Dongdong , Bai Jie
Published: August 2024

Drug addiction is a chronic and relapse brain disorder. Psychostimulants such as cocaine and amphetamine are highly addictive drugs. Abuse drugs target various brain areas in the nervous system. Recent studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in regulating addictive behaviors. The PFC is made up of excitatory glutamatergic cells and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) interneurons. Recently, studies showed that GABA level was related with psychostimulant addiction. In this review, we will introduce the role and mechanism of GABA and γ-aminobutyric acid receptors (GABARs) of the PFC in regulating drug addiction, especially in psychostimulant addiction.
Wages and Inflation in the Euro Area
Authors: Michail Nektarios A , Louca Kyriaki G
Published: August 2024

We investigate the relationship between the four main inflation components (services, NEIG, energy, and food) and wages in the euro area. Using a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model for the 2002q1–2021q4 period, we find that wages positively respond to shocks in services inflation, energy inflation and GDP growth, with the first being the largest. In addition, services inflation is affected by all other inflation categories. The results are in line with the inflation path since 2022, following the food and energy price surges. Implications for policy include a feedback loop between wages and services inflation that lasts at least a year, with a possible reinforcement effect stemming from inflation expectations. Similar to US evidence, we also find that the unemployment rate does not affect wage developments in a Phillips curve setup. (JEL codes: J30, E24, E31)
Viability of Chlamydia trachomatis in Different Anatomical Sites—a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Wong Arthur , Lima Nicole , Applegate Tanya L , Guy Rebecca , Huston Wilhelmina M , Hocking Jane S , Boettiger David
Published: August 2024

Background

Modern assays for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) rely on nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) of DNA or ribosomal RNA. However, it is also known that both viable (“living”) and non-viable (“dead”) CT can be detected by NAAT. Multiple laboratory techniques to measure CT viability have emerged.

Methods

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Dimensions as well as conference abstracts for entries between January 2000 and May 2023. We included any studies that measured CT viability among NAAT-positive samples. Viability assays include enhanced cell culture, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA), messenger RNA (mRNA) detection via digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (PCR, ddPCR), viability PCR (V-PCR), and real-time PCR measuring RNA-to-DNA ratio (RDR) (eg, InSignia®). A meta-analysis was performed on the proportions of non-viable CT by anatomical site.

Results

We screened 31 342 records and included 16 studies in the analysis. The pooled proportions of non-viable CT by site were: 33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 19%–47%) in rectal swabs (8 studies), 17% (95% CI: 7%–27%) in cervical swabs (6 studies), 15% (95% CI: 6%–25%) in vaginal swabs (6 studies), and 11% (95% CI: 9%–17%) in urine/urethral swabs (2 studies).

Conclusions

All included studies found that a proportion of NAAT-detected CT is non-viable. The findings have far-reaching implications for screening programs and studies evaluating new STI tests and antimicrobial regimens.
Slack K+ channels confer protection against myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury
Authors: Roslan Anna , Paulus Katharina , Yang Jiaqi , Matt Lucas , Bischof Helmut , Längst Natalie , Schanz Sophia , Luczak Annika , Cruz Santos Melanie , Burgstaller Sandra , Skrabak David , Bork Nadja I , Malli Roland , Schmidtko Achim , Gawaz Meinrad , Nikolaev Viacheslav O , Ruth Peter , Ehinger Rebekka , Lukowski Robert
Published: August 2024

Aims

Na+-activated Slack potassium (K+) channels are increasingly recognized as regulators of neuronal activity, yet little is known about their role in the cardiovascular system. Slack activity increases when intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i) reaches pathophysiological levels. Elevated [Na+]i is a major determinant of the ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial injury; thus, we hypothesized that Slack plays a role under these conditions.

Methods and results

K+ currents in cardiomyocytes (CMs) obtained from wildtype but not from global Slack knockout mice were sensitive to electrical inactivation of voltage-sensitive Na+ channels. Live-cell imaging demonstrated that K+ fluxes across the sarcolemma rely on Slack, while the depolarized resting membrane potential in Slack-deficient CMs led to excessive cytosolic Ca2+ accumulation and finally to hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced cell death. Cardiac damage in an in vivo model of I/R was exacerbated in global and CM-specific conditional Slack mutants and largely insensitive to mechanical conditioning manoeuvres. Finally, the protection conferred by mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ (mitoKATP) channels required functional Slack in CMs.

Conclusion

Collectively, our study provides evidence for Slack's crucial involvement in the ion homeostasis of no or low O2-stressed CMs. Thereby, Slack activity opposes the I/R-induced fatal Ca2+-uptake to CMs supporting the cardioprotective signaling attributed to mitoKATP function.
Double coronary artery occlusion presenting as inferior ST segment elevation myocardial infarction and Wellens syndrome type A: a case report
Authors: Marchi Enrico , Muraca Iacopo , Cesarini Daniel , Pennesi Matteo , Valenti Renato
Published: August 2024

Background

ST elevation myocardial infarctions are usually a consequence of the occlusion of a single coronary artery, but in 2.5% of the cases, two or more culprit lesions are found. Simultaneous coronary artery occlusion is a potentially life-threatening condition that leads to cardiogenic shock or ventricular arrhythmias.

Case summary

We presented the case of a 74-year-old man presenting with chest pain and ST segment elevation (STE) in inferior leads and evidence of alternating STE in anterior leads in a pattern like Wellens syndrome type A in subsequent electrocardiogram (ECGs). Emergency coronary angiography (CA) revealed thrombotic occlusion of the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) and sub-occlusion of mid left anterior descending artery (LAD). During the CA, he became haemodynamically unstable requiring intravenous inotropes and vasopressors, and he underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention of both RCA and LAD culprit lesions. His subsequent hospital stay was uneventful, and he was discharged 5 days later.

Discussion

ST elevation myocardial infarction with more than one culprit coronary artery is a rare but at high risk of haemodynamic decompensation. The causes of occlusion of multiple coronary arteries may be several: coronary embolism, coronary ectasia, simultaneous plaque disruption, coronary vasospasm, hypercoagulability states, smoking, and illicit drug abuse. The presumed mechanism behind the presented case may be a combination of release of pro-thrombotic cytokines due to the thrombotic occlusion of the first coronary and low output state secondary to myocardial dysfunction leading to impaired flow in a severe stenotic coronary artery with subsequent thrombosis.
An magnetic resonance imaging–pathology correlation case report of cardiac sarcoidosis mimicking arrhythmogenic biventricular cardiomyopathy
Authors: Kim B Michelle , Bois Melanie C , Del-Carpio Munoz Freddy , Rosenbaum Andrew N , Chang Ian C
Published: August 2024

Background

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a granulomatous disease that can manifest as conduction defects, ventricular arrhythmias, and heart failure. The diagnosis of CS is inherently difficult due to variable presentations; as such, endomyocardial biopsy is often required but lacks sensitivity due to patchy myocardial involvement. Moreover, the diagnostic criteria of CS and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy overlap, particularly in right-side dominant or biventricular presentations, which further complicates an already challenging differential diagnosis.

Case summary

A 53-year-old man with no prior chronic medical conditions presented with ventricular tachycardia (VT) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. He was found to have biventricular cardiomyopathy and late gadolinium enhancement on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, resulting in an initial diagnosis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was placed, but he was readmitted for recurrent VT 2 months later. Despite an aggressive VT therapy (combination of antiarrhythmic drugs, epicardial and endocardial ablation, and stellate ganglion block), he continued with refractory VT and developed cardiogenic shock. Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation was initiated as a bridge to heart transplantation. Pathology of the explanted heart revealed the underlying disease to be CS.

Discussion

Cardiac sarcoidosis can mimic arrhythmogenic biventricular cardiomyopathy and may be difficult to distinguish by the proposed diagnostic criteria. High clinical suspicion and thorough investigation are necessary for an earlier diagnosis and initiation of treatment.
Beyond the ordinary: TNF-alpha inhibitor as a rescue therapy in relapsing Hughes–Stovin syndrome with intracardiac thrombosis—a case report and literature review
Authors: Chadli Sarra , Maamar Mouna , Khibri Hajar , Tazi Mezalek Zoubida , Harmouche Hicham
Published: August 2024

Background

Hughes–Stovin syndrome (HSS) is a rare vasculitis characterized by the association of thrombophlebitis with pulmonary artery aneurysms (PAAs). Because it is rarely reported, there are currently no established diagnostic criteria or standardized treatment guidelines for HSS. While conventional immunosuppressants are generally effective as first-line treatment, relapsing and refractory cases urge the need to investigate alternative therapies, such as TNF-alpha inhibitors. However, with only five cases published in the literature, knowledge of their efficacy in HSS is very limited.

Case summary

A 28-year-old man, with no past medical history, presented with haemoptysis, chest pain, and dyspnoea on exertion. Physical examination found bilateral leg swelling, with no associated lesions. CT angiography showed multiple bilateral PAA, proximal pulmonary artery thrombosis (PAT), and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the superior mesenteric vein and spleno-mesaraic confluence. Echocardiography was performed, identifying right intracardiac thrombosis (ICT). Initial management included high-dose corticosteroids and monthly cyclophosphamide cycles, followed by maintenance treatment with oral azathioprine. Eighteen months later, the patient presented with haemoptysis revealing a relapse of ICT and two new PAA. Infliximab was initiated, allowing complete and sustained remission after one year of follow-up.

Discussion

We report the challenging case of an HSS patient presenting with multiple PAA, proximal PAT, right ICT, and extended abdominal DVT. The positive response of our patient to infliximab, following a relapse under conventional immunosuppressants, supports the efficacy of TNF-alpha inhibitors as second-line treatment in relapsing/refractory HSS.
Atherosclerosis quantification and cardiovascular risk: the ISCHEMIA trial
Authors: Nurmohamed Nick S , Min James K , Anthopolos Rebecca , Reynolds Harmony R , Earls James P , Crabtree Tami , Mancini G B John , Leipsic Jonathon , Budoff Matthew J , Hague Cameron J , O'Brien Sean M , Stone Gregg W , Berger Jeffrey S , Donnino Robert , Sidhu Mandeep S , Newman Jonathan D , Boden William E , Chaitman Bernard R , Stone Peter H , Bangalore Sripal , Spertus John A , Mark Daniel B , Shaw Leslee J , Hochman Judith S , Maron David J
Published: August 2024

Background and Aims

The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA)–derived atherosclerotic plaque analysis in ISCHEMIA.

Methods

Atherosclerosis imaging quantitative computed tomography (AI-QCT) was performed on all available baseline CCTAs to quantify plaque volume, composition, and distribution. Multivariable Cox regression was used to examine the association between baseline risk factors (age, sex, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, ejection fraction, prior coronary disease, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and statin use), number of diseased vessels, atherosclerotic plaque characteristics determined by AI-QCT, and a composite primary outcome of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction over a median follow-up of 3.3 (interquartile range 2.2–4.4) years. The predictive value of plaque quantification over risk factors was compared in an area under the curve (AUC) analysis.

Results

Analysable CCTA data were available from 3711 participants (mean age 64 years, 21% female, 79% multivessel coronary artery disease). Amongst the AI-QCT variables, total plaque volume was most strongly associated with the primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval 1.25–1.97 per interquartile range increase [559 mm3]; P = .001). The addition of AI-QCT plaque quantification and characterization to baseline risk factors improved the model’s predictive value for the primary outcome at 6 months (AUC 0.688 vs. 0.637; P = .006), at 2 years (AUC 0.660 vs. 0.617; P = .003), and at 4 years of follow-up (AUC 0.654 vs. 0.608; P = .002). The findings were similar for the other reported outcomes.

Conclusions

In ISCHEMIA, total plaque volume was associated with cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction. In this highly diseased, high-risk population, enhanced assessment of atherosclerotic burden using AI-QCT-derived measures of plaque volume and composition modestly improved event prediction.
Experimental study on the rupture behaviours of orthogonal faults: Effects of stress state and rupture initiation location
Authors: Xu Ran , Wang Zhengyan , Xu Ying , Dong Peng , Xia Kaiwen
Published: August 2024

Fault rupture dynamics is expected to be significantly affected by the geometry of fault system, especially for orthogonal faults. However, the rupture behaviours of orthogonal faults, especially the coseismic interactions, are far from fully understood. Here, we present experimental results from a series of laboratory earthquakes to elucidate the effect of the stress state and initiation location on the rupture behaviours of orthogonal faults. Our results reveal a phase diagram of rupture behaviours of orthogonal faults, which is collectively controlled by stress state and rupture initiation location. For events initiating from the main fault, the rupture cannot jump to the branch, which may be due to the clamping effect or the inhibited shear stress accumulation on the branch. On the contrary, events initiating from the branch can persistently trigger ruptures of the main fault. This difference highlights the directional effect associated with the rupture of orthogonal faults. Further, the rupture length of triggered ruptures on the main fault is controlled by the stress state of the fault system. With the increase of the ratio between the shear stress and normal stress, the rupture length of the main fault increases. Our results reproduce the rupture behaviours of orthogonal faults, which may provide insights into the rupture characteristics of natural earthquakes.
Perceptions of prior authorization burden and solutions
Authors: Sahni Nikhil R , Istvan Brooke , Stafford Celia , Cutler David
Published: August 2024

The prior authorization (PA) process consumes time and money on the part of patients, providers, and payers. While some research shows substantial possible savings in the PA process, identifying what different groups can do is not as well known. Thus, organizations have struggled to capture this opportunity. To understand different perspectives on PA burden and receptivity to possible changes in the PA process, we surveyed 1005 patients, 1010 provider employees, and 115 private payer employees. Patients reported the longest perceived wait times but indicated the highest perceived approval rates and lowest perceived burden. The relatively low burden for patients is because most do not have to engage in PA directly. Provider respondents reported spending time equivalent of more than 100 000 full-time registered nurses per year on prior authorization. Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a possible solution: 65% of private payer respondents reported that their organizations planned to incorporate AI into the process in the next 3 to 5 years. Intended adoption by provider respondents is much smaller (11%). Private payer respondents cited cybersecurity concerns and a lack of technical infrastructure as barriers; provider respondents cited lack of budget and limited trust in the technology.
Accounting for Business
Authors: Scott Peter
Published: August 2024

Accounting for Business is designed to be used as an introduction to the practice and techniques of accounting in the business world. This e-book and the associated materials shows why a knowledge of accounting and its integral role in all organizations are of vital importance to a career in business. It is aimed specifically at a non-specialist studying an introductory accounting module as part of a degree in a business related subject. The book provides careful step-by-step guides on how to construct and evaluate various accounting statements. Further opportunities are then given to apply what has been learnt with a view to enhancing users’ understanding and ability to produce and interpret accounting information. Accounting for Business contains two parts. Part One addresses financial accounting. Chapters include examination of the statement of financial position, the statement of profit or loss and the statement of cash flows and ratio analysis. Part Two looks at cost and management accounting. This part includes chapters on costing, relevant costs, marginal costing, decision making, budgeting and capital investment appraisal. A final chapter presents an introduction to corporate governance and sustainability.
Managing through Disruption
Authors: Ivory Sarah Birrell , Macdonald Emma
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines the disruption and uncertainty which further complicate the act of management and the role of managers. It introduces the notion of the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world as an approach that can help describe the disruptions that organizations and their managers encounter, and to consider effective responses to them. Additionally, geopolitics, environment, and rapid technological advancement can cause potential disruption to organizations and management. The chapter then presents the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, which focus more on the impact of organizations on society. It cites how managers have wide-ranging knowledge and experience in many different areas.
The Internal Environment: Strategy and Planning
Authors: Brooks Simon , Ivory Sarah Birrell
Published: August 2024

This chapter covers strategy and planning within the internal environment. It explains that the inside-out resource-based view of the organization focuses on identifying and evaluating its resources and capabilities. Managers can analyse their organization's international environment through resource and capability audit, the VRIO (value, rarity, inimitability, and organizational support) framework, and Value Chain analysis. The integration of external analysis and internal analysis could be achieved through the tools of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) summary, TOWS framework, and SAF (suitability, acceptability, and feasibility) framework. The chapter explains that the analyses contributed to an aligned strategy for the organization, and detailed planning for how that strategy will be achieved.
Nonenzymatic Polymerization of Ribonucleic Acids and Peptides
Authors: Fahrenbach Albert C. , Cleaves Henderson J.
Published: August 2024

The polymerization of amino acids and ribonucleotides into long chains is what gives them their characteristic enzymatic and genetic properties. Nonenzymatic polymerization is thought to be a crucial step towards the origins of life. This chapter will focus on how amino acids and ribonucleotides can...
The UK Climate
Authors: Tilling Steve
Published: August 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the UK climate. As a result of human activities, the current pace of climate change in the UK is extremely rapid. However, we are trying to find ways to stop or reverse the ongoing climate trends in the UK. Research evidence pointing to climate change in the UK is particularly strong as a result of access to an extensive network of monitoring stations and the availability of historical archives and data. The chapter explains the complexities of modelling future climate changes in the UK. It also looks at what scientists are saying about human-induced climate change and the impact of this on a range of climate variables on terrestrial, freshwater, and marine locations throughout the UK.
Fundamentals of Plant Physiology
Authors: Taiz Lincoln , Møller Ian Max , Murphy Angus , Peer Wendy A.
Published: August 2024

Fundamentals of Plant Physiology is a distillation of the most important principles and empirical findings of plant physiology. First, the book covers plant and cell architecture. Then, it focuses on water and plant cells, water balance of plants, mineral nutrition, assimilation of inorganic nutrients, and solute transport. The text also looks at photosynthesis, translocation in the phloem, respiration and lipid metabolism, signals and signal transduction, signals from sunlight, and embryogenesis. Towards the end of the book, there are chapters that cover seed democracy, germination, seedling establishment, vegetative growth and senescence, flowering, fruit, biotic interactions, and abiotic stress.
Mineral Nutrition
Authors: Taiz Lincoln , Møller Ian Max , Murphy Angus , Peer Wendy A.
Published: August 2024

This chapter evaluates mineral nutrition, which is the study of how plants obtain and use mineral nutrients. Mineral nutrients are elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that plants acquire primarily in the form of inorganic ions from the soil. Although mineral nutrients continually cycle through all organisms, they enter the biosphere predominantly through the root systems of plants; in a sense, plants act as the “miners” of Earth's crust. The large surface area of roots and their ability to absorb inorganic ions at low concentrations from the soil solution increase the effectiveness of mineral acquisition by plants. After being absorbed by roots, the mineral elements are translocated to the different parts of the plant, where they serve in numerous biological functions. The chapter then looks at fertilizer production and uses.
Photosynthesis: The Light Reactions
Authors: Taiz Lincoln , Møller Ian Max , Murphy Angus , Peer Wendy A.
Published: August 2024

This chapter addresses the role of light in photosynthesis, the structure of the photosynthetic apparatus, and the processes that begin with the excitation of chlorophyll by light and culminate in the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and NADPH. The term photosynthesis literally means “synthesis using light”. Photosynthetic organisms use solar energy to synthesize complex carbon compounds. More specifically, light energy drives the synthesis of carbohydrates and generation of oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. The chapter begins by exploring the nature of light, the properties of pigments, and the various roles of pigments, before considering key experiments in understanding photosynthesis. It then looks at the organization of the photosynthetic apparatus and light-absorbing antenna systems, the mechanisms of electron transport, proton transport and ATP synthesis in the chloroplast.
Photosynthesis: Physiological and Ecological Considerations
Authors: Taiz Lincoln , Møller Ian Max , Murphy Angus , Peer Wendy A.
Published: August 2024

This chapter explores some physiological and ecological considerations concerning photosynthesis. Physiologists wish to understand the direct and indirect responses of photosynthesis to environmental factors. The dependence of photosynthetic processes on environmental conditions is also important to agronomists because plant productivity, and hence crop yield, depends strongly on prevailing photosynthetic rates in a dynamic environment. To the ecologist, photosynthetic variation among different environments is of great interest in terms of adaptation and evolution. The chapter focuses on how naturally occurring variation in light and temperature influences photosynthesis in leaves and how leaves in turn adjust or acclimate to such variation. It also describes how atmospheric CO2 influences photosynthesis, an especially important consideration in a world where CO2 concentrations are rapidly increasing as humans continue to burn fossil fuels for energy production.
Seed and Fruit Development
Authors: Taiz Lincoln , Møller Ian Max , Murphy Angus , Peer Wendy A.
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on seed and fruit development and opens with a discussion of the development of the embryo and associated seed structures that protect and nourish the embryo to ensure its viability and distribution to a suitable site to germinate. The chapter goes on to cover seed maturation and desiccation tolerance and finally looks at fruit development and ripening.
Evolution and the Study of Animal Behavior
Authors: Nordell Shawn E. , Valone Thomas J.
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on the process of evolution by natural selection. The chapter begins by describing natural selection and examining the conditions required for evolution to occur. The chapter goes on to consider the evolution of cooperation and examine how selection can promote behaviors that benefit others. Finally, the chapter introduces the concept of sexual selection, a form of natural selection that acts on reproduction and results in many of the morphological and behavioral differences that often exist between the sexes within a species.
Behavioral Genetics
Authors: Nordell Shawn E. , Valone Thomas J.
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on behavioral genetics, which looks into how genes and the environment contribute to differences in behavioral phenotypic value. The heritability of a trait is proportionate to phenotypic variations and genetic influences. Additive, dominance, and epistatic effects are genetic factors affecting phenotypic variations. The knockout technique gives an understanding of how genetic variation is associated with behavioral variation by disabling a gene and examining its effect on behavior. The chapter also explains environment influences behavior through gene expression, while the genomic approach correlates gene expression with behavioral phenotypes. Additionally, the chapter notes that genes can restrict behavioral flexibility.
Foraging Behavior
Authors: Nordell Shawn E. , Valone Thomas J.
Published: August 2024

This chapter explores foraging behavior. Animals selectively choose where, on what, and how long to forage. They eat to acquire energy and nutrients for survival and reproduction. Animals find food using a variety of sensory modalities. Natural selection favors modalities that efficiently give information, but a modality's efficiency can vary with environmental conditions. On the other hand, predators learn to how to locate difficult prey. The chapter explains optimal foraging theory (OFT), which assumes that natural selection favors feeding behaviors that maximize fitness. The chapter also includes the optimal diet model wherein the profitability of a food item is assessed. Additionally, the optimal patch-use model predicts how long a foraging animal should exploit a food patch.
Approaches to Regional and Local Downscaling
Authors: Sturman Andrew , Quénol Hervé
Published: August 2024

This chapter explains the methodological approaches to downscaling global climate models to the regional and local scales. Similar to weather forecasting models, global climate models (GCMs) attempt to represent the processes that operate in the atmosphere through the application of the fundamental equations of atmospheric physics. There are many sources of uncertainty in climate change modelling as the models do not perfectly represent all of the complex processes that operate in the atmosphere. Also, input data are not exactly free from error. The chapter then explains the importance of investigating climate variability across different spatial scales. It discusses the knowledge needed to develop sound adaptation strategies.
Handling pharmaceutical products: concentrations and dilutions
Authors: Langley Chris , Perrie Yvonne
Published: August 2024

This chapter describes the ability of a pharmacist and pharmacy technician to undertake accurate calculations relating to concentrations and dilutions of pharmaceutical preparations, which is a key part of good pharmaceutical practice. It analyzes the consideration of calculations relating to percentages and ratios, concentrated and diluted solutions, and alligation. It also explains the terms ‘percentage’ and ‘ratio’, which is shows, are basic mathematical concepts. The chapter looks at how percentages are used in pharmacy to express the amount of liquid or solid in a defined amount of liquid or solid. It covers the conversion of concentrated liquid solutions into more dilute solutions.
Environmental Biotechnology
Authors: Yeoman Kay , Fahnert Beatrix , Lea-Smith David , Clarke Tom
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines the significance of environmental biotechnology. It cites that according to the International Society for Environmental Biotechnology, environmental biotechnology is the development, use, and regulation of biological systems for the bioremediation of contaminated environments and environment friendly processes. The chapter then highlights the role microbes play in wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion. Due to the rapidly urbanizing global population, the importance of biotechnology for minimizing the impact of human activity on the natural environment has grown increasingly important. The chapter also provides an overview of the process of bioleaching, bioscrubbing, and bioaugmentation in correlation with the role of microorganisms in each process.
Diagnostics
Authors: Yeoman Kay , Fahnert Beatrix , Lea-Smith David , Clarke Tom
Published: August 2024

This chapter looks at diagnostics. It examines the basic principles of an assay. An assay is based on a specific interaction, which can either be detected directly or trigger a subsequent measurable output. Specificity and sensitivity are the crucial criteria of any diagnostic approach since the method of detection needs to be specific to reliably and correctly identify the analyte while still being detectable at low concentrations. The chapter explains that combining biosensors and nanotechnology allows the detection and quantification of biomolecules at very low concentrations. It highlights the significance of point of care tests in support of disease monitoring and control measures.
Clinical oncology 2: Further types of cancer
Authors: Blann Andrew
Published: August 2024

This chapter covers the fifth to sixteenth most frequent cancers that together cause a third of all cancer deaths. It discusses the aetiology, presentation, diagnosis, and management of pancreatic cancer, oesophageal cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, brain cancer, renal cancer, ovarian cancer, oral cavity and throat cancer, cancer of the uterus, melanoma, and mesothelioma. From a public health perspective, the cancers of defined organs and tissues described in this chapter have been focused upon in medical science simply because they are the most frequent and comprise 84% of all cancer deaths in 2021. The chapter notes that multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) occurs in many different organs and is often described as having two types with a familial component. The chapter considers the difficulty of diagnosis for malignant neoplasms.