bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Different associations between body mass index and Alzheimer’s markers depending on metabolic health
Authors: Lee Eun Hye , Yoo Heejin , Kim Young Ju , Cheon Bo Kyoung , Ryu Seungho , Chang Yoosoo , Yun Jihwan , Jang Hyemin , Kim Jun Pyo , Kim Hee Jin , Koh Seong-Beom , Jeong Jee Hyang , Na Duk L. , Seo Sang Won , Kang Sung Hoon
Published: August 2024

Background

Increasing evidence supports the association between body mass index (BMI), Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular markers. Recently, metabolically unhealthy conditions have been reported to affect the expression of these markers. We aimed to investigate the effects of BMI status on Alzheimer’s and vascular markers in relation to metabolic health status.

Methods

We recruited 1,736 Asians without dementia (71.6 ± 8.0 years). Participants were categorized into underweight, normal weight, or obese groups based on their BMI. Each group was further divided into metabolically healthy (MH) and unhealthy (MU) groups based on the International Diabetes Foundation definition of metabolic syndrome. The main outcome was Aβ positivity, defined as a Centiloid value of 20.0 or above and the presence of vascular markers, defined as severe white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Logistic regression analyses were performed for Aβ positivity and severe WMH with BMI status or interaction terms between BMI and metabolic health status as predictors. Mediation analyses were performed with hippocampal volume (HV) and baseline Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores as the outcomes, and linear mixed models were performed for longitudinal change in MMSE scores.

Results

Being underweight increased the risk of Aβ positivity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13–4.98), whereas obesity decreased Aβ positivity risk (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.50–0.80). Especially, obesity decreased the risk of Aβ positivity (OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.26–0.56) in the MH group, but not in the MU group. Obesity increased the risk of severe WMH (OR = 1.69, 1.16–2.47). Decreased Aβ positivity mediate the relationship between obesity and higher HV and MMSE scores, particularly in the MH group. Obesity demonstrated a slower decline in MMSE (β = 1.423, p = 0.037) compared to being normal weight, especially in the MH group.

Conclusions

Our findings provide new evidence that metabolic health has a significant effect on the relationship between obesity and Alzheimer’s markers, which, in turn, lead to better clinical outcomes.
Attentional processes in response to emotional facial expressions in adults with retrospectively reported peer victimization of varying severity: Results from an ERP dot-probe study
Authors: Blauth Klara , Iffland Benjamin
Published: August 2024

Background

Attentional processes are influenced by both stimulus characteristics and individual factors such as mood or personal experience. Research has suggested that attentional biases to socially relevant stimuli may occur in individuals with a history of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence. Based on this, the present study aimed to examine attentional processes in response to emotional faces at both the behavioral and neurophysiological levels in participants with experiences of peer victimization.

Methods

In a sample of 60 adult participants with varying severity of retrospectively reported peer victimization in childhood and adolescence, the dot-probe task was administered with angry, disgusted, sad, and happy facial expressions. In addition to behavioral responses, physiological responses (i.e., event-related potentials) were analyzed.

Results

Analyses of mean P100 and P200 amplitudes revealed altered P200 amplitudes in individuals with higher degrees of peer victimization. Higher levels of relational peer victimization were associated with increased P200 amplitudes in response to facial expressions, particularly angry and disgusted facial expressions. Hierarchical regression analyses showed no evidence for an influence of peer victimization experiences on reaction times or P100 amplitudes in response to the different emotions.

Conclusion

Cortical findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of peer victimization mobilize more attentional resources when confronted with negative emotional social stimuli. Peer victimization experiences in childhood and adolescence appear to influence cortical processes into adulthood.
Micro-mechanical properties of Song Dynasty tilestones based on nanoindentation tests and homogenization approach
Authors: Wang Zhi-Liu , Hu Meng-Xin , Wang Yu-Long , Li Xin-Ming , Yin Song
Published: August 2024

Song Dynasty tilestones are one type of ancient Chinese building materials. Studying their mechanical properties is of great significance for the design and development of restoration materials. It is a challenge to sample and perform traditional tests (ϕ50mm × 100mm) for the tilestone cultural relics. In this work, a combination of nanoindentation techniques and the homogenization calculation method based on the Mori–Tanaka model were used to determine the mechanical parameters of Song Dynasty tilestones. The study process involved several steps: (1) Using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to examine the surface morphology and mineral composition of the tilestones. (2) Determining the mechanical parameters (i.e., the elastic modulus, hardness and fracture toughness) through nanoindentation tests. (3) Upgrading mechanical parameters from micro to meso-scale using the Mori–Tanaka model and comparing these with uniaxial compression test results. The result shows that the red tilestones and green tilestone are mainly composed of quartz, feldspar and mica. The average elastic modulus of the red tilestones and the green tilestones are 29.47 GPa and 30.21 GPa, respectively. Compared with the parameter result obtained by upscaling, the deviation rates of the red tilestones and green tilestones are 10.3% and 9.6%, respectively, which proves that the test method is reliable. The nanoindentation test and homogenization approach in this work provide the robust theoretical and practical basis for evaluating the mechanical strength of Song Dynasty tilestones.
Immunohistochemical expression of GATA3, CK5/6 and CK20 in molecular subtypes of bladder carcinoma: correlation with clinicopathological features
Authors: Yassen Noha N. , ELsharkawy Sonia L. , Abbas Naglaa F. , Shabana Marwa E.
Published: August 2024

Background

Bladder urothelial carcinoma, is considered the 7th most common cancer in males. It is classified into luminal and basal subtypes depending on molecular markers, influencing prognosis and treatment. Identifying reliable biomarkers like GATA3, CK20, and CK5/6 through immunohistochemical methods can aid in early detection, risk stratification, and personalized treatment strategies. This study aims for evaluation prognostic role of these mentioned markers in correlation with clinicopathological parameters in urothelial carcinomas.

Methods

Tumor samples of forty cases were immunohistochemically stained for GATA3, CK5/6, and CK20. A cutoff of 20% positivity was used to determine subtype classifications, with staining patterns guiding the categorization into basal, luminal, double positive, or double negative groups.

Results

In this study of 40 urothelial carcinoma patients tumors were classified into basal and luminal subtypes using GATA3, CK5/6 and CK20 markers. GATA3 expression showed no significant association with clinicopathological parameters; while, CK20 was associated with tumor size, and CK5/6 with T, N classification, and lymphovascular invasion. Significant differences in clinicopathological parameters were observed when subtypes were defined by CK5/6, GATA3 or CK20, particularly in tumor grade, T and N classification, and gender. Basal molecular subtypes was correlated with poor prognostic parameters.

Conclusions

This study documented that use of triple markers could define the luminal and basal subtypes of urothelial carcinoma. Basal tumors have shown to be associated with the aggressive behavior and future studies may allow the development of new therapies in the context of molecular subtypes.
ESR1 Fusions Invoke Breast Cancer Subtype-Dependent Enrichment of Ligand-Independent Oncogenic Signatures and Phenotypes
Authors: Yates Megan E , Waltermire Hunter , Mori Kanako , Li Zheqi , Li Yiting , Guzolik Hannah , Wang Xiaosong , Liu Tiantong , Atkinson Jennifer M , Hooda Jagmohan , Lee Adrian V , Oesterreich Steffi
Published: August 2024

Breast cancer is a leading cause of female mortality and despite advancements in personalized therapeutics, metastatic disease largely remains incurable due to drug resistance. The estrogen receptor (ER, ESR1) is expressed in two-thirds of all breast cancer, and under endocrine stress, somatic ESR1 mutations arise in approximately 30% of cases that result in endocrine resistance. We and others reported ESR1 fusions as a mechanism of ER-mediated endocrine resistance. ER fusions, which retain the activation function 1- and DNA-binding domains, harbor ESR1 exons 1 to 6 fused to an in-frame gene partner resulting in loss of the ER ligand-binding domain (LBD). We demonstrate that in a no-special type (invasive ductal carcinoma [IDC]-NST) and an invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) cell line, ER fusions exhibit robust hyperactivation of canonical ER signaling pathways independent of estradiol or antiendocrine therapies. We employ cell line models stably overexpressing ER fusions with concurrent endogenous ER knockdown to minimize endogenous ER influence. Cell lines exhibited shared transcriptomic enrichment in pathways known to be drivers of metastatic disease, notably MYC signaling. Cells expressing the 3′ fusion partners SOX9 and YAP1 consistently demonstrated enhanced growth and cell survival. ILC cells expressing the DAB2 fusion led to enhanced growth, survival, and migration, phenotypes not appreciated in the IDC-NST DAB2 model. Herein, we report that cell line activity is subtype-, fusion-, and assay-specific, suggesting that LBD loss, the fusion partner, and the cellular landscape all influence fusion activities. Therefore, it will be critical to assess fusion frequency in the context of the clinicopathology.
A genetically small fetus impairs placental adaptations near term
Authors: Sandovici Ionel , Knee Olatejumoye , Lopez-Tello Jorge , Shreeve Norman , Fowden Abigail L. , Sferruzzi-Perri Amanda N. , Constância Miguel
Published: August 2024

The placenta is a gatekeeper between the mother and fetus, adapting its structure and functions to support optimal fetal growth. Studies exploring adaptations of placentae that support the development of genetically small fetuses are lacking. Here, using a mouse model of impaired fetal growth, achieved by deleting insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2) in the epiblast, we assessed placental nutrient transfer and umbilical artery (UA) blood flow during late gestation. At embryonic day (E) 15.5, we observed a decline in the trans-placental flux of glucose and system A amino acids (by using 3H-MeG and 14C-MeAIB), proportionate to the diminished fetal size, whereas UA blood flow was normal. However, at E18.5, the trans-placental flux of both tracers was disproportionately decreased and accompanied by blunted UA blood flow. Feto-placental growth and nutrient transfer were more impaired in female conceptuses. Thus, reducing the fetal genetic demand for growth impairs the adaptations in placental blood flow and nutrient transport that normally support the fast fetal growth during late gestation. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the pathophysiology of pregnancies afflicted by fetal growth restriction.
Axolotl mandible regeneration occurs through mechanical gap closure and a shared regenerative program with the limb
Authors: Kramer Julia , Aires Rita , Keeley Sean D. , Schröder Tom Alexander , Lauer Günter , Sandoval-Guzmán Tatiana
Published: August 2024

The mandible plays an essential part in human life and, thus, defects in this structure can dramatically impair the quality of life in patients. Axolotls, unlike humans, are capable of regenerating their lower jaws; however, the underlying mechanisms and their similarities to those in limb regeneration are unknown. In this work, we used morphological, histological and transcriptomic approaches to analyze the regeneration of lateral resection defects in the axolotl mandible. We found that this structure can regenerate all missing tissues in 90 days through gap minimization, blastema formation and, finally, tissue growth, differentiation and integration. Moreover, transcriptomic comparisons of regenerating mandibles and limbs showed that they share molecular phases of regeneration, that these similarities peak during blastema stages and that mandible regeneration occurs at a slower pace. Altogether, our study demonstrates the existence of a shared regenerative program used in two different regenerating body structures with different embryonic origins in the axolotl and contributes to our understanding of the minimum requirements for a successful regeneration in vertebrates, bringing us closer to understand similar lesions in human mandibles.
Intermediate filaments at a glance
Authors: Coelho-Rato Leila S. , Parvanian Sepideh , Andrs Salajkova Sarka , Medalia Ohad , Eriksson John E.
Published: August 2024

Intermediate filaments (IFs) comprise a large family of versatile cytoskeletal proteins, divided into six subtypes with tissue-specific expression patterns. IFs have a wide repertoire of cellular functions, including providing structural support to cells, as well as active roles in mechanical support and signaling pathways. Consequently, defects in IFs are associated with more than 100 diseases. In this Cell Science at a Glance article, we discuss the established classes of IFs and their general features, their functions beyond structural support, and recent advances in the field. We also highlight their involvement in disease and potential use as clinical markers of pathological conditions. Finally, we provide our view on current knowledge gaps and the future directions of the IF field.
Electromyography of Sedentary Behavior: Identifying Potential for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction
Authors: LAMBERG SUVI , BRAKENRIDGE CHRISTIAN J. , DUNSTAN DAVID W. , FINNI TAIJA , HEALY GENEVIEVE N. , OWEN NEVILLE , PESOLA ARTO J.
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Muscle activation during interruptions to prolonged sedentary time is a hypothesized mechanism underlying observed cardiometabolic benefits. We examined associations of quadriceps and hamstring muscle activity patterns with cardiometabolic risk markers and how these patterns varied between different sitting-interruption countermeasures.

Methods

Electromyographic (EMG) data (shorts) were gathered for 1 to 2 d from healthy adults in a free-living study (n = 172, age 40.9 ± 12.9, BMI 23.6 ± 1.3) and a laboratory-based study (n = 12, age 47.0 ± 7.7, BMI 30.0 ± 4.7). Patterns examined were average EMG (aEMG;%EMGMVC); EMG activity duration (% above signal baseline 3 μV); and usual (weighted medians) EMG activity bout amplitude (%EMGMVC) and duration (s). In the free-living study, these were regressed against risk markers (waist, fat percentage, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipid cholesterol, low-density lipid cholesterol, triglycerides); in the laboratory study, EMG patterns for the muscle groups were compared between sitting and the active countermeasures.

Results

In the free-living study, lower-extremity muscles displayed minimal overall activity, with hamstrings and quadriceps using only 2.6% and 2.0% of their capacity (%EMGMVC), respectively, and being active for 30% and 25% of the time. Higher hamstring aEMG and EMG activity duration were beneficially associated with waist, high-density lipid cholesterol and fat percentage (duration only) and a longer quadriceps usual EMG activity bout duration was beneficially associated with fasting plasma glucose. In the laboratory study, compared with prolonged sitting, active seated or upright active-interruption countermeasures modified these EMG patterns; brief (6 min) walking and simple resistance activities (SRA) were more beneficial than was a bout of standing (30 min) with the SRAs being the only intervention that matched daily aEMG levels.

Conclusions

Upright and physically active interruptions to sitting appear to be required to increase the typically low muscle engagement observed in free-living contexts, promoting muscle activity patterns that may help ameliorate cardiometabolic risk.
Revealing Choice Bracketing
Authors: Ellis Andrew , Freeman David J.
Published: August 2024

Experiments suggest that people fail to take into account interdependencies between their choices—they do not broadly bracket. Researchers often instead assume people narrowly bracket, but existing designs do not test it. We design a novel experiment and revealed preference tests for how someone brackets their choices. In portfolio allocation under risk, social allocation, and induced-value shopping experiments, 40–43 percent of subjects are consistent with narrow bracketing, and 0–16 percent with broad bracketing. Adjusting for each model’s predictive precision, 74 percent of subjects are best described by narrow bracketing, 13 percent by broad bracketing, and 6 percent by intermediate cases. (JEL D12, D81, D91)
The small noncoding RNAVaultrc5is dispensable to mouse development
Authors: Prajapat Mahendra , Sala Laura , Vidigal Joana A.
Published: August 2024

Vault RNAs (vtRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved small noncoding RNAs transcribed by RNA polymerase III. Vault RNAs were initially described as components of the vault particle, but have since been assigned multiple vault-independent functions, including regulation of PKR activity, apoptosis, autophagy, lysosome biogenesis, and viral particle trafficking. The full-length transcript has also been described as a noncanonical source of miRNAs, which are processed in a DICER-dependent manner. As central molecules in vault-dependent and independent processes, vtRNAs have been attributed numerous biological roles, including regulation of cell proliferation and survival, response to viral infections, drug resistance, and animal development. Yet, their impact to mammalian physiology remains largely unexplored. To study vault RNAs in vivo,we generated a mouse line with a conditionalVaultrc5loss-of-function allele. BecauseVaultrc5is the sole murine vtRNA, this allele enables the characterization of the physiological requirements of this conserved class of small regulatory RNAs in mammals. Using this strain, we show that mice constitutively null forVaultrc5are viable and histologically normal but have a slight reduction in platelet counts, pointing to a potential role for vtRNAs in hematopoiesis. This work paves the way for further in vivo characterizations of this abundant but mysterious RNA molecule. Specifically, it enables the study of the biological consequences of constitutive or lineage-specificVaultrc5deletion and of the physiological requirements for an intactVaultrc5during normal hematopoiesis or in response to cellular stresses such as oncogene expression, viral infection, or drug treatment.
Facial edema associated to central vein stenosis in a chronic kidney disease patient
Authors: Linhares Rafaela Jucá , De Araújo Júnior Darlan Alves , Athayde Lima Rafael Siqueira
Published: August 2024

Introduction: central vein stenosis (CVS) is a common complication in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, leading to vascular complications and higher mortality. Exposure to catheters is an important risk factor, and there is a wide spectrum of clinical presentation, including edema of the upper arm, neck, upper chest, and face, impairment of dialysis efficiency, and reduction of vascular accesses. Case report: a 41-year-old woman with CKD on dialysis and a history of multiple vascular accesses was admitted with a 3-month history of cervical and left hemiface edema. An angiotomography revealed marked stenosis in the proximal segment of the left brachiocephalic vein, and a venography confirmed the diagnosis of CVS, with subocclusive stenosis of the venous trunk and significant collateral veins. An endovascular treatment was performed with balloon angioplasty. She presented considerable improvement in the edema after the procedure. Conclusion: to avoid the development of central vein obstruction, it is important to enhance our knowledge about the main risk factors associated with this pathology. Although it is a treatable condition, recurrence of symptoms may occur, and subsequent vascular interventions may be needed. Therefore, prevention strategies are the most efficient approach.
Altered coagulation profile of patients with high-grade glioma: clinical study with control group.
Authors: Quispe-Pastor Natalia Jeanette , Gorritti-Rubio Ana Paula , Fernández-Rodríguez Lissett Jeanette
Published: August 2024

Background Activation of coagulation is a common phenomenon in patients with high-grade glioma, a primary malignant brain tumor. Objective Identify if there is an alteration in the coagulation profile in patients with high-grade glioma compared to other patients with benign brain tumors. Methods Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, ECOG at admission, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, platelet count, and blood panel results of 21 high-grade glioma patients (cases) and 42 meningioma patients (controls) from northern Peru were reviewed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis with logistic regression were performed to determine which factors are associated with glioma. Results Both groups had high proportions of high blood pressure (29%) and diabetes mellitus (14%). According to multivariate analysis, altered values for prothrombin time, platelet count, and ECOG score were associated with glioma (p=0.01). Furthermore, alterations in the blood panel were observed in both cases and controls but failed to reach statistical significance. Conclusion Patients with high-grade glioma seem to suffer more from hypercoagulable states than other patients with benign brain tumors, suggesting careful vigilance and anticoagulant treatment for these patients.
Addressing violence and victimization in a school setting in Greece
Authors: Daskalou Vassiliki , Sygkollitou Efthymia
Published: August 2024

The phenomenon of school violence has increasingly become the focus of research in Greece, especially during the last two decades, and includes online involvement in violence, mainly for students in middle and high school grades. In addition to the violent events that occur in school settings, adolescents are more active online than any other group and are therefore increasingly exposed to cybervictimization. The research data indicate that although cyberbullying increasingly occurs in Greece, young people, parents and educators are not aware of the extent of the problem of cybervictimization, of its main characteristics and, most importantly, of the ways to prevent it. In this article, recent data are presented on violence expressed and its implications, with an emphasis on the Greek school setting, concerning the involvement of adolescent students in incidents of bullying, cyberbullying, cybergrooming and cyber-hate speech as perpetrators, victims and bystanders. We outline the factors that lead to violence within the school setting, such as those that lead to the expression of violence and the strategies that adolescents adopt to cope with incidents of violence. Finally, the implications of this paper highlight that significant changes should be made in the field of education within school settings by recognizing the hidden structures that may sustain the phenomenon of violence to ensure that all students are reflected in the educational curriculum and supported by the institution of the school. The school setting should include initiatives to empower students to be protected and to develop critical thinking and active coping strategies against episodes of violence and bullying.
Self-Preferencing and Search Neutrality in Online Retail Platforms
Authors: Zou Tianxin , Zhou Bo
Published: August 2024

Recent regulations on search neutrality prohibit retail platforms from self-preferentially prioritizing their first-party products over those of third-party sellers in consumers’ search rankings. This paper shows that, despite its good intention, search neutrality may unintendedly harm consumers and third-party sellers because of the strategic decisions of the platform and third-party sellers. In the short term, search neutrality can weaken the price competition between the platform and third-party sellers, which will hurt consumers if many of them ex ante prefer the third-party product, and can increase the platform’s profit if many consumers ex ante prefer the first-party product. In the long term, search neutrality can incentivize the platform to preempt the entry of third-party sellers if their entry cost is intermediate, further harming consumers and third-party sellers. Both unintended harms stem from two unique features of online retailing platforms: platforms personalize consumers’ search rankings, and consumers observe product prices before searching a product in depth. Alternative formulations of search neutrality, consumers’ search costs, and their product match likelihoods are considered to demonstrate the robustness of the main results.

This paper was accepted by Dmitri Kuksov, marketing.

Conflict of Interest Statement: All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or nonfinancial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01795 .
The Role of Social Media Marketing and Website Quality (Webqual) To Increasing Customer Loyalty with Trust and Image as Moderation at Skynet Entertainment Surabaya
Authors: Setiawan Erryx , Hartini Sri
Published: August 2024

Skynet Entertainment is a company engaged in lighting rental services, sound systems, event organizers, etc. However, from 2019 to 2023, the number of consumers has decreased. This study aims to determine the effect of social media marketing and website quality as promotional media on customer loyalty with the variables trust and image as moderators. This study used a structural equation model method, with 220 consumers as respondents who were selected through purposive sampling. The results of this study indicate that the indicator of the social media marketing variable with the lowest loading value is communication (x1.2). On website quality, the weakest hand is the security (x2.2), so website security, customer privacy protection and being able to filter disturbances needed, such as phishing and fraud. Regarding brand personality, Skynet's company can still not compete with similar companies at a lower level, so Skynet must be able to increase consumer preference by carrying out lots of promotions and price discounts for the lower middle class. As for the brand attitude, Skynet can improve its performance and continually evaluate it so that consumers' evaluation of the company increases and can create loyalty and increase a broader market.
Meditations on Migrations of Gender, Mobility, and Movement from the Commonwealth Caribbean
Authors: Barriteau Violet Eudine
Published: August 2024

Abstract: This article constitutes a multilayered feminist analysis of the intertwining of gender, mobility, and migration in the post-emancipation, Commonwealth Caribbean. In interrogating the nexus of gender and migration the article exposes how migration narratives have become misgendered through a linear equation of gender in migration with the physical presence of migrating women in receiving countries or with migration policies overtly encouraging women's migration. This results in an incorrect knowledge claim that gender became a factor in Caribbean migration in the post–World War II period, thus ignoring centuries long formations of gendered migrations. The article demonstrates that both the concept of the social relations of gender and embodied beings known as women have always migrated, have always traveled through historical and contemporary migration flows and studies. What changes and acquires new manifestations is the social relations of gender, seemingly appearing and disappearing, but instead is ever present since Columbus's Caribbean intrusion. I theorize and define two new feminist concepts—the misgendering of migration and mobilized sexual autonomy . I examine the enduring longing for belonging, the search for "home" that haunts Caribbean migrants and their expanding diasporas. I conclude by observing that Caribbean people must come to terms with our unending search for home by coming home to who we are, wherever we are.
Gendered Violence and Gender as a Site of Violence: Reflections from the Caribbean
Authors: Deshong Halimah A.F.
Published: August 2024

Abstract: Sociological research on enactments of gendered violence against women and girls tend to prioritize analysis at the interpersonal and familial levels. While necessary, this often amounts to a focus that occludes historical, systemic, and broader instantiations of violence. For countries in the Caribbean, embedded in the making and remaking of the colonial state, there remains a history of labor exploitation, maintained by racial, sexual, and gendered stratification that profoundly shapes how we live. Gender, in its multiple registers, emerges as a key relation of power and difference in these arrangements. In this article, I probe a central question: how might we consider gendered violence and gender as a site of violence in ways that bear witness to their spatial and temporal durability, while also avoiding the dangers of homogenizing their specific manifestations in the lives of differently located women and girls? Inspired by the analyses produced by racialized people, particularly racialized women under settler colonial regimes, I reflect on how we might more expansively read narratives produced about violence in research with state and non-state agents. Citing data from a study of violence against women in Grenada, I consider both those challenges and possibilities when applying a more expansive conceptualization of gendered violence.
Beer, “Waste,” and One Enslaved Women’s Currency in the Lower Mississippi Valley
Authors: Blake Jessica
Published: August 2024

Abstract: This article examines the life of Marton, an enslaved woman living in eighteenth-century Louisiana. Through her biography, this article uncovers how women of African descent developed marketplaces using the leftovers of the plantation economy. Marton produced beer from scavenged rice. She sold her beer so successfully that enslavers eventually allowed her to sell it outside of the plantation setting. Her materials—fragments of grain—enslavers considered “waste,” yet she repurposed the kernels into a commodity, thus opening a narrow avenue of increased autonomy within a repressive slave regime. This work broadens historiographies in economic and women’s histories as well as studies of enslavement, revealing how enslaved women adapted to material scarcity.
Transnational Community Building through Women and Girls: Constructing an Intergenerational Girls’ Mission School Network Across Borders in 1920s and 1930s Japan
Authors: Dugal Alexandria
Published: August 2024

Abstract: This article illuminates how and why students, graduates, and educators of the Tōyō Eiwa Jogakkō girls’ mission school network developed a transnational community in 1920s and 1930s Japan. It reveals the methods through which Japanese and Western women and girls created links to the wider world across nations and empires to build connections and knowledge in a turbulent and nationalistic time. Using a transnational approach to examine the activities of actors generally not viewed as engaging in internationalism reveals networking and ideas that did not necessarily align with period social and intellectual trends and state ideology, and in fact sought to address and temper these and build the world they envisioned. Thus, this networking widens our understanding of women’s internationalism by looking beyond diplomacy and prominent intellectuals to illuminate adult women and girls’ engagement with, and mobility into, the wider world across borders in 1920s and 1930s Japan and beyond.
Women and Rural Protest in Colonial Eastern Nigeria: The 1929 Women’s Revolt (Ogu Umunwanyi) Reexamined
Authors: Korieh Chima J. , Onogwu Elizabeth
Published: August 2024

Abstract: This article explores the economic roots of the 1929 Women’s War in colonial Nigeria. It analyzes the dynamics of women’s social mobilization and its link to the imposition of British indirect rule and the economic crisis of the Great Depression. It relates how the Great Depression, colonial economic structure and organization, political culture, and gender ideology provide a more complex understanding of the causes of the revolt. The article suggests that these factors informed the tactics women employed in mass mobilization and protests against the British colonial institutions and their African agents. The article argues that the conjuncture-based articulation of resources and political opportunity underlying the movement set the case of women in Eastern Nigeria apart, but it occurred in the context of the global dynamics of colonial transformation of rural societies and the Great Depression, which squeezed rural income in the period.
Love, Death, and—No Hospital!: Assisted Dying, "Liebestod," and Existential Suffering
Authors: Keller Marc
Published: August 2024

Abstract: Contemporary literature about assisted dying in Germany, Switzerland, and France repeatedly explores the impact of illness on romantic relationships. Faced with the imminent or experienced death of their loved one, the healthy partner is affected by existential suffering and refuses to outlive the other. This dynamic leads to (joint) suicide, echoing the literary tradition of the Liebestod , where lovers prefer death over separation. This paper examines three contemporary texts on this theme. It illustrates that while the Liebestod is depicted as a romantic death, it inherently rejects a medicalized end of life. Despite overlaps between palliative care and the notion of a "good death," palliative care is absent, as the focus is on avoiding the existential suffering from losing a beloved partner, making suicide the only viable option.
Looking beyond the Mutoscope: Cinematicity in "Nausicaa"
Authors: Williams Keith
Published: August 2024

abstract: The sole direct reference to moving picture technology in Ulysses names the mutoscope, hand-cranked alternative to Edison's peepshow kinetoscope which spurred the Lumières to solve the problem of projection with their 1895 Cinématographe. Joyce's reference highlights how "Nausicaa" critiques modernity's "media-cultural imaginary," particularly its objectifying consumerist gaze for both sexes. The mutoscope is framed within a wider cinematic structure which engages with how film culture and narrative had developed by 1922, long after Ulysses ' diegetic present (1904). Hence the overall "cinematicity" of "Nausicaa" epitomizes Joyce's ongoing engagement with moving image media. The 1930s Reisman-Zukofsky film treatment sheds valuable light on this process.
The Unpastoral: Walter Ruttmann and the Politics of Symphonic Form
Authors: Pourciau Sarah
Published: August 2024

abstract: The musical analogy that underpins Walter Ruttmann's Weimar-era city film Berlin. Die Sinfonie der Großstadt has generally been understood as a cipher for his uncritical, quietist political perspective—the idea being that Ruttmann aestheticizes rather than analyzes the formal harmonies of the modern capitalist metropolis. I argue here that the musical analogy has precisely the opposite function. The symphonic form has a longstanding tradition as the emblem of bourgeois humanist societal ideals: the symphonic "sounding together" of multiple, heterogeneous voices, together with the temporal development from harmony, through dissonance, back to higher-level harmony, combine to represent a particularly nineteenth century, geschichtsphilosophical understanding of humanity's inherent tendency to harmoniously commune. As both a classical musician and an educated member of the German bourgeoisie, Ruttmann would have been intimately familiar with this musico-political tradition, which makes the question of what he does to it inherently political as well—and what he does is subject it to the most deflationary of parodic inversions. The result is a radical critique of modernity that differs profoundly from the critiques of Ruttmann's Marxist contemporaries, and which may be all the more contemporarily relevant for this difference.
Efficient Super-resolution of Phase Images Encoded with Random Phase Mask by machine learning techniques
Authors: Yamada Yu , Okamoto Atsushi , Tomita Akihisa
Published: August 2024

We encoded the complex amplitude information of the measurement target into a phase image using a random phase mask (RPM) and performed super-resolution using both a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a vision transformer (ViT). This super-resolution process allowed us to encode and decode complex amplitude information into the phase image, surpassing the pixel count limitations of optical devices such as spatial light modulators (SLM) and charge-coupled devices (CCD). By applying this proposed method to virtual phase-conjugation-based optical tomography (VPC-OT), a type of optical tomography technique, we demonstrated a reduction in noise and an improvement in measurement accuracy at all depth positions of the measurement target.
Rapid quench annealing of Er implanted Si for quantum networking applications
Authors: Hughes Mark , Liu Huan , Brookfield Adam , Wang Tianrui , Crowe Iain , Dan Yaping
Published: August 2024

Erbium-implanted silicon (Er) holds promise for quantum networking, but the formation of multiple Er centres poses a challenge. We show that the cubic centre (Er-C) has C2v or lower symmetry, with Er centres ranging from fully Si- to fully O-coordinated. By co-implanting Si with Er and O (each at 1019 cm-3) and increasing the thermal anneal quenching rate from ~100 °C/s to ~1000 °C/s, we shifted the dominant optically active centre from Er2O3 clusters to the less stable Er-C centre with mixed Si and O coordination. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence reveals Er2O3 clusters and Er-C centres have O-related defect states at ~200 and 90 meV above the 4I13/2 Er manifold, respectively.
Recent research advances in the development of Dabie Banda virus vaccines
Authors: Yu Chenyang , Lin Yuxiang , Dai Yixin , Wu Bingan , Qi Zhongtian , Qian Xijing
Published: August 2024

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a newly identified tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever caused by Dabie Banda virus (DBV). The virus was first discovered in eastern China in 2009 and is now considered an infectious disease with a mortality rate ranging from 6.3% to 30%. The best strategy for controlling SFTS is to develop effective vaccines. However, no approved vaccines are currently available to prevent this disease, despite the number of extensive and in-depth studies conducted on DBV in the past few years. This review focuses on the structure of DBV and the induced host immune responses which are the fundamental factors in vaccine development, and thoroughly summarizes the current research progress on DBV vaccines. The developing DBV vaccines include protein subunit vaccines, live attenuated vaccines, recombinant virus vector vaccines, and DNA vaccines. At present, almost all candidate vaccines for DBV are in the laboratory development or preclinical stages. There remain challenges in successfully developing clinically approved DBV vaccines.
National diagnostic reference levels for digital diagnostic and screening mammography in Uganda
Authors: Odongo Denish , Musisi Alen , Okello Richard Omara , Bongomin Felix , Erem Geoffrey
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Screening and diagnostic mammography are associated with some risk of radiation-induced breast cancer. This study was conducted to establish the National Diagnostic Reference Levels (NDRLs) for digital diagnostic and screening mammography in Uganda to achieve breast radiation dose optimization.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among female participants recruited by consecutive sampling from three selected hospitals with digital mammography in Uganda. The study variables extracted from the mammography machines were exposure factors, compressed breast thickness (CBT), and Average Glandular Dose (AGD) of two standard mammogram views. The stratified National DRL was derived by calculating the 75th percentile of the AGD across all the samples at various CBT ranges for both screening and diagnostic mammography in craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) views.

Results

We included 300 participants with mean ages of 50.28±9.32 and 47.45±13.45 years for the screening and diagnostic mammography, respectively. There were statistically significant positive correlations between AGD and exposure factors (mAs, kVp) (all p-values<0.0001). For screening mammography, mAs demonstrated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.8369 in CC, 0.8133 in MLO), whereas kVp showed a positive correlation with relatively lower coefficients (r = 0.3700 in CC, 0.3080 in MLO). For diagnostic mammography, mAs exhibited an even stronger positive correlation (r = 0.8987 in CC, 0.8762 in MLO), and kVp maintained a positive correlation with somewhat lower coefficients (r = 0.4954 in CC, 0.3597 in MLO). In screening mammography, for CBT within the range of (7–39) mm, the NDRLs were (1.5mGy, 1.66mGy) in CC) and MLO views. For CBT in the range of (40–59) mm, the NDRLs were (1.78mGy, 1.87mGy), and for CBT in the range of (60–99) mm, the NDRLs were (2.18mGy, 2.22mGy). For diagnostic mammography, the NDRLs were established as (1.7mGy, 1.91mGy), (2.00mGy, 2.09mGy), and (2.63mGy, 2.81mGy) for CBT ranges of (7–39) mm, (40–59) mm, and (60–99) mm, respectively.

Conclusion

The NDRLs for digital screening and diagnostic mammography in Uganda have been proposed for the first time. The NDRL values in mammography should be specific to CBT ranges and mammographic views for both diagnostic and screening mammography.
C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio is a novel biomarker for predicting the long-term efficacy of ustekinumab treatment in ulcerative colitis
Authors: Koshiba Ryoji , Kakimoto Kazuki , Mizuta Noboru , Numa Keijiro , Kinoshita Naohiko , Nakazawa Kei , Hirata Yuki , Miyazaki Takako , Higuchi Kazuhide , Nakamura Shiro , Nishikawa Hiroki
Published: August 2024

Background and aim

Ustekinumab, a new anti-interleukin-12/23 antibody, is an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis; however, data regarding predictive factors of its efficacy are limited. Predicting treatment efficacy in advance would be useful for selecting a therapeutic agent. This study aimed to identify biomarkers that can predict the long-term outcome of ustekinumab treatment.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with active ulcerative colitis treated with ustekinumab at Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital from June 2020 to January 2023. We divided patients into non-remission and remission groups, and examined whether baseline biomarkers, including C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio, and early treatment response could predict clinical remission at week 48 of ustekinumab treatment.

Results

Of the 33 patients included in the study, 21 (63.6%) were in clinical remission at week 48 of ustekinumab treatment. Baseline C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio values were significantly higher in the non-remission than in the remission group. The baseline C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio value was identified as an independent prognostic factor for clinical remission at week 48 (odds ratio: 10, 95% confidence interval: 1.6–62.4, p = 0.014), with the cutoff value of 3.353 showing excellent prognostic performance (sensitivity: 71.4%, specificity: 83.3%). Furthermore, the clinical response at week 4 (odds ratio: 10, confidence interval: 1.78–56.1, p = 0.009) and that at week 8 (odds ratio: 12, confidence interval: 2.16–66.5, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with clinical remission at week 48.

Conclusions

The baseline C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio value and early treatment response are useful biomarkers to predict the long-term efficacy of ustekinumab treatment.
Bioinformatics analysis to identify the relationship between human papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer, toll-like receptors and exomes: A genetic epidemiology study
Authors: Gomes Fabiana de Campos , Galhardo Deizyane dos Reis , Navegante Aline Carvalho Gonçalves , Santos Gabriela Sepêda dos , Dias Helana Augusta Andrade Leal , Dias Júnior José Ribamar Leal , Pierre Marie Esther , Luz Marlucia Oliveira , de Melo Neto João Simão
Published: August 2024

Introduction

Genetic variants may influence Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in the immune response to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and lead to cervical cancer. In this study, we investigated the pattern of TLR expression in the transcriptome of HPV-positive and HPV-negative cervical cancer samples and looked for variants potentially related to TLR gene alterations in exomes from different populations.

Materials and methods

A cervical tissue sample from 28 women, which was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, was used to examine TLR gene expression. Subsequently, the transcripts related to the TLRs that showed significant gene expression were queried in the Genome Aggregation Database to search for variants in more than 5,728 exomes from different ethnicities.

Results

Cancer and HPV were found to be associated (p<0.0001). TLR1(p = 0.001), TLR3(p = 0.004), TLR4(221060_s_at)(p = 0.001), TLR7(p = 0.001;p = 0.047), TLR8(p = 0.002) and TLR10(p = 0.008) were negatively regulated, while TLR4(1552798_at)(p<0.0001) and TLR6(p = 0.019) were positively regulated in HPV-positive patients (p<0.05). The clinical significance of the variants was statistically significant for TLR1, TLR3, TLR6 and TLR8 in association with ethnicity. Genetic variants in different TLRs have been found in various ethnic populations. Variants of the TLR gene were of the following types: TLR1(5_prime_UTR), TLR4(start_lost), TLR8(synonymous;missense) and TLR10(3_prime_UTR). The “missense” variant was found to have a risk of its clinical significance being pathogenic in South Asian populations (OR = 56,820[95%CI:40,206,80,299]).

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that the variants found in the transcriptomes of different populations may lead to impairment of the functional aspect of TLRs that show significant gene expression in cervical cancer samples caused by HPV.