bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Normobaric Oxygen (NBO) Therapy Reduces Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury through Inhibition of Early Autophagy
Authors: Wang Meng , Geng Xiaokun , Dandu Chaitu , Patel Radhika , Ding Yuchuan
Published: June 2021

Objectives. Normobaric oxygen (NBO) therapy has great clinical potential in the treatment of ischemic stroke, but its underlying mechanism is unknown. Our study aimed to investigate the role of autophagy during the application of NBO on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods. Male Sprague Dawley rats received 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), followed by 2, 6, or 24 hours of reperfusion. At the beginning of reperfusion, rats were randomly given NBO (95% O2) or room air (21% O2) for 2 hours. In some animals, 3-methyladenine (3-MA, autophagy inhibitor) was administered 10 minutes before reperfusion. The severity of the ischemic injury was determined by infarct volume, neurological deficit, and apoptotic cell death. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression of autophagy and apoptosis, while mRNA expression of apoptotic molecules was detected by real-time PCR. Results. NBO treatment after ischemia/reperfusion significantly decreased infarct volume and neurobehavioral defects. The increased expression of the autophagy markers, including microtubule-associated protein 1A light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin 1, after ischemia/reperfusion was reversed by NBO, while promoting Sequestosome 1 (p62/SQSTM1) expression. In addition, NBO reduced cerebral apoptosis in association with alleviated BAX expression and increased BCL-2 expression. 3-MA reduced autophagy and apoptotic death but did not further improve NBO-attenuated ischemic damage. Conclusion. NBO induced remarkable neuroprotection from ischemic injury, which was correlated with blocked autophagy activity.
Surface Roughness and Electrochemical Performance Properties of Biosynthesized α-MnO2/NiO-Based Polyaniline Ternary Composites as Efficient Catalysts in Microbial Fuel Cells
Authors: Dessie Yilkal , Tadesse Sisay , Eswaramoorthy Rajalakshmanan
Published: June 2021

In this study, biosynthesized α-MnO2/NiO NPs and chemically oxidative polyaniline (PANI) were synthesized to form ternary composite anode material for MFC. The synthesized materials were characterized with different materials (UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, TGA-DTA-DSC, SEM-EDX-Gwyddion, CV, and EIS) to deeply examine their optical, structural, morphological, thermal, roughness, and electrocatalytic properties. The degree of surface roughness for α-MnO2/NiO/PANI was23.65±5.652 nm. This value was higher than the pure α-MnO2, pure PANI, and even α-MnO2/PANI nanocomposite due to surface modification. The total charge storing performance for bare PGE, α-MnO2/PGE, PANI/PGE, α-MnO2/PANI/PGE, and α-MnO2/NiO/PANI/PGE were 5.291, 17.267, 20.659, 23.258, and 24.456 mC. From this, the charge storing performance formed by α-MnO2/NiO/PANI-modified PGE was highest, indicating that this electrode is best in cycle stability and increases its life cycle during energy conversion time in MFC. This is also supported by its effective surface area, having a value of 0.00984 cm2. From this, it is evidenced that the ternary composite catalyst-modified anode facilitates the fast electrocatalytic activity as observed from its high peak current and lower peak-to-peak potential separation (ΔEp=0.216 V) than other electrodes. Such surface modification helps to store more electrical charge by increasing electrical conductivity during its charge/discharge processing time. In addition, the lower charge transfer resistance property with a value of 788.9 Ω and the fast heterogeneous electron transfer rate of ~2.92 s-1 enable to facilitate glucose oxidation, and this enhances to produce high power output and increase wastewater treatment efficiency. As a result, the bioelectrical activity of α-MnO2/NiO/PANI composite-modified PGE was very effective in producing a maximum power density of 506.96 mW m-2 with COD of 81.92%. The above observations justified that α-MnO2/NiO/PANI/PGE serves as an effective anode material in double-chambered MFC application.
The Interaction between E‐Shopping and Shopping Trips: An Analysis with 2017 NHTS
Authors: Xue Chenlei , Wu Qunqi , Sun Maopeng , Bai Pengxia , Chen Yang
Published: June 2021

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have dramatically changed the nature of shopping and the way people travel. As this technology becomes deeply rooted in people’s lives, understanding the interplay between this way and personal travel is becoming increasingly important for planners. Using travel diary data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data for structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, it revealed the interaction between e‐shopping and shopping trips and the factors that affect this bidirectional relationship. Results show that e‐shopping motivates shopping trips, and in‐store shopping inhibits online shopping. It can be obtained that the increase of one standard deviation of e‐shopping will increase the shopping trip by 0.17 standard deviation. When shopping trips increase by one standard deviation, e‐shopping behavior also decreases by 0.12 standard deviation. The results also demonstrated that e‐shopping and shopping travel behavior is heterogeneous across a variety of exogenous factors such as personal attributes, household characteristics, geography, travel distance/duration, and travel mode. Identifying the interaction may help formulate better transportation policies and lay the foundation for travel demand management strategies to reduce the stress on the transportation system and meet individual travel needs.
Baicalein, Baicalin, and Wogonin: Protective Effects against Ischemia‐Induced Neurodegeneration in the Brain and Retina
Authors: Pan Li , Cho Kin-Sang , Yi Irvin , To Chi-Ho , Chen Dong Feng , Do Chi-Wai
Published: June 2021

Ischemia is a common pathological condition present in many neurodegenerative diseases, including ischemic stroke, retinal vascular occlusion, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, threatening the sight and lives of millions of people globally. Ischemia can trigger excessive oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular dysfunction, leading to the disruption of tissue homeostasis and, ultimately, cell death. Current therapies are very limited and have a narrow time window for effective treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop more effective therapeutic options for ischemia‐induced neural injuries. With emerging reports on the pharmacological properties of natural flavonoids, these compounds present potent antioxidative, anti‐inflammatory, and antiapoptotic agents for the treatment of ischemic insults. Three major active flavonoids, baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin, have been extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (S. baicalensis); all of which are reported to have low cytotoxicity. They have been demonstrated to exert promising pharmacological capabilities in preventing cell and tissue damage. This review focuses on the therapeutic potentials of these flavonoids against ischemia‐induced neurotoxicity and damage in the brain and retina. The bioactivity and bioavailability of baicalein, baicalin, and wogonin are also discussed. It is with hope that the therapeutic potential of these flavonoids can be utilized and developed as natural treatments for ischemia‐induced injuries of the central nervous system (CNS).
Gasotransmitter CO Attenuates Bleomycin‐Induced Fibroblast Senescence via Induction of Stress Granule Formation
Authors: Chen Yingqing , Jiang Feng , Kong Guangyao , Yuan Shuo , Cao Yuying , Zhang Qinggao , Wang Qianqian , Liu Liping
Published: June 2021

Cellular senescence is recognized as a phenomenon wherein a proliferative cell undergoes a permanent growth arrest. The accumulation of senescent cells over time can become harmful and result in diseases and physiological decline. Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI‐1) is considered as a critical marker and mediator of cellular senescence. The formation of stress granules (SGs) could prevent senescence through the sequestration of PAI‐1, and we previously suggested that exogenous carbon monoxide (CO) could induce SG assembly via integrated stress response (ISR). Although CO is known to possess anti‐inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic properties, whether it exerts antisenescent effect is still not well defined. Here, to address whether CO‐induced SGs could protect against cellular senescence, we first treated lung fibroblasts with bleomycin (BLM) to establish DNA damage‐induced cellular senescence, and observed a significant increase of several hallmarks of senescence through SA‐β‐gal staining, immunofluorescence, qRT‐PCR, and Western blot assay. However, pre‐ and posttreatment of CO could remarkably attenuate these senescent phenotypes. According to our immunofluorescence results, CO‐induced SGs could inhibit BLM‐induced cellular senescence via sequestration of PAI‐1, while it was abolished after the cotreatment of ISR inhibitor (ISRIB) due to the inhibition of SG assembly. Overall, our results proposed a novel role of CO in suppressing bleomycin‐induced lung fibroblast senescence through the assembly of SGs.
Interstitial Cells of Cajal: Potential Targets for Functional Dyspepsia Treatment Using Medicinal Natural Products
Authors: Joung Jin-Yong , Choi Seo-Hyung , Son Chang-Gue
Published: June 2021

Introduction. The pathophysiology of functional dyspepsia (FD) remains uncertain, but the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs), pacemakers that regulate gastrointestinal motility, are garnering attention as key modulators and therapeutic targets in FD. This review comprehensively discusses the involvement of ICCs in the pharmacologic actions of FD and as therapeutic targets for herbal products for FD. Methods. A search of the literature was performed using PubMed by pairing “interstitial cells of Cajal” with “medicinal plant, herbal medicine, phytotherapy, flavonoids, or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).” Results. From the 55 articles screened in the initial survey, 34 articles met our study criteria. The search results showed that herbal products can directly depolarize ICCs to generate pacemaker potentials and increase the expression of c-kit and stem cell factors, helping to repair ICCs. Under certain pathological conditions, medicinal plants also protect ICCs from oxidative stress and/or inflammation-induced impairment. Two representative herbal decoctions (Banhasasim-tang, 半夏泻心汤, and Yukgunja-tang, 六君子汤) have been shown to modulate ICC functions by both clinical and preclinical data. Conclusion. This review strongly indicates the potential of herbal products to target ICCs and suggests that further ICC-based studies would be promising for the development of FD treatment agents.
Immunotherapy in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Beyond “Copy/Paste”
Authors: Hester Robert , Mazur Pawel K. , McAllister Florencia
Published: June 2021

Immunotherapy has dramatically changed the cancer treatment landscape during the past decade, but very limited efficacy has been reported against pancreatic cancer. Several factors unique to pancreatic cancer may explain the resistance: the well-recognized suppressive elements in the tumor microenvironment, the functional and structural barrier imposed by the stroma components, T-cell exhaustion, the choice of perhaps the wrong immune targets, and microbial factors including gut dysbiosis and the unexpected presence of tumor microbes. Furthermore, we discuss various strategies to overcome these barriers.
Toxicity and Efficacy of Concurrent Androgen Deprivation Therapy, Pelvic Radiotherapy, and Radium-223 in Patients with De Novo Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
Authors: Turner Philip G. , Jain Suneil , Cole Aidan , Grey Arthur , Mitchell Darren , Prise Kevin M. , Hounsell Alan R. , McGarry Conor K. , Biggart Sandra , O'Sullivan Joe M.
Published: June 2021

Purpose:

Radium-223 is an alpha-emitting radionuclide associated with overall survival (OS) improvement in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to prostate extends OS in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) limited to less than 4 metastases. We hypothesized that combination radium-223 + pelvic EBRT could safely deliver maximal radiotherapy doses to primary and metastatic prostate cancer and may improve disease control.

Patients and Methods:

Thirty patients with de novo bone metastatic mHSPC who had commenced androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and docetaxel were recruited to this single-arm, open-label, prospective clinical trial: Neo-adjuvant Androgen Deprivation Therapy, Pelvic Radiotherapy and RADium-223 (ADRRAD; for new presentation T1–4 N0–1 M1B adenocarcinoma of prostate). Study treatments were: ADT, 6 cycles of radium-223 q28 days, conventionally fractionated prostate radiotherapy (74 Gy) and simultaneous integrated boost to pelvic lymph nodes (60 Gy).

Results:

No grade 4/5 toxicity was observed. Three patients experienced grade 3 leukopenia, and 1 each experienced grade 3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia; all were asymptomatic. One patient each experienced grade 3 dysuria and grade 3 urinary infection. No grade 3 gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity was observed. On treatment completion, there was a signal of efficacy; 24 (80%) patients had whole-body MRI evidence of tumor response or stability. Twenty-seven (90%) patients showed a reduction in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) compared with pretreatment levels. Median progression-free survival was 20.5 months.

Conclusions:

This is the first trial of combination ADT, radium-223, and EBRT to pelvis, post docetaxel. The combination was safe, with an efficacy signal. Multicenter randomized controlled trials (RCT) are warranted.
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Associated with Precursor Lesions
Authors: McCord Christina , Kiss Alex , Magalhaes Marco A. , Leong Iona T. , Jorden Tanya , Bradley Grace
Published: June 2021

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) may be associated with precursor lesions known as oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). Few studies have reported on how OPMD diagnosis affects early detection and outcome of OSCC. We reviewed a large series of OSCC to determine the proportion that was associated with preceding OPMD and to compare the outcome of OSCC with or without precursor. Cases of oral–oropharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed between 2005 and 2015 were retrieved from the Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) and matched to records of OPMD between 2001 and 2015 in two large oral pathology diagnostic services and the pathology databases of two hospitals with oral pathology services, to identify cases with precursor. Of 10,987 cancer cases, 378 (3.44%) had a preceding OPMD. Patients living in Central Ontario were more likely to have OPMD diagnosed before carcinoma than those in North Ontario (4.73% vs. 1.63%, P = 0.05). 329 of 5,257 cases of oral cancer were linked to a precursor, compared with 24 of 4,174 cases of oropharyngeal cancer (6.26% vs. 0.57%, P < 0.0001). Oral cancers with precursor were predominantly diagnosed at stage I (49.30%), compared with those without precursor, where stage IV disease predominated (41.28%). Sixty-nine of 309 (22.33%) patients with precursor-associated oral cancer have died of disease, compared with 1,551 of 4,656 (33.31%) patients without a precursor (P = 0.02). We conclude that patients with OSCC associated with a precursor had significantly lower odds of dying from disease. The beneficial effect of precursor lesion diagnosis on outcome is related to a higher proportion of stage I disease.

Prevention Relevance:

OSCC causes significant morbidity and mortality, especially if diagnosed at late stages. Precursor lesions to OSCC can be recognized by clinical examination. Our study shows that early diagnosis of OSCC at the precursor stage can improve the outcome of oral cancer.
Association of Appendicular Skeletal Muscle to Trunk Fat Ratio with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Older Adults
Authors: Cheng Jie , Wang Xuena , Gan Shinan , Zhang Qing , Meng Ge , Liu Li , Wu Hongmei , Gu Yeqing , Zhang Shunming , Wang Yawen , Górska Magdalena J. , Zhang Tingjing , Ye Mingxu , Ji Tong , Sun Shaomei , Wang Xing , Zhou Ming , Jia Qiyu , Song Kun , Niu Kaijun
Published: June 2021

Introduction: Mounting evidence has demonstrated that skeletal muscle and visceral adiposity play crucial roles in glucose metabolism. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) to trunk fat mass (TFM) ratio (ASMI/TFM) is a more specific and identifiable factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in older adults than conventional anthropometric measures. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,370 older adults from the Tianjin Chronic Low-Grade Systemic Inflammation and Health (TCLSIH) cohort. ASMI and TFM were measured by using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer, and T2DM was defined with the criteria of the American Diabetes Association. Odds ratios (ORs) were evaluated using multivariable logistic analysis. Results: The prevalence of T2DM is 20.0% in this study. The multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% confidence interval) of T2DM for increasing categories of ASMI/TFM, BMI, and waist circumference (WC) were 1.00 (reference), 0.70 (0.49, 1.02), 0.61 (0.42, 0.89), and 0.45 (0.30, 0.67; p for trend <0.0001); 1.00 (reference), 1.15 (0.83, 1.60), and 1.37 (0.94, 2.01; p for trend = 0.10); and 1.00 (reference) and 1.78 (1.19, 2.74; p < 0.01), respectively. Conclusions: Higher ASMI/TFM was associated with a lower prevalence of T2DM in this study of older adults. The T2DM predictive value of ASMI/TFM may be stronger than BMI and WC in this population.
COVID-19 Virtual Care for the Geriatric Population: Exploring Two Sides of the Coin
Authors: Senderovich Helen , Wignarajah Shaira
Published: June 2021

Virtual care (VC) continues to gain attention as we make changes to the way we deliver care amidst our current COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring various ways of delivering care is of importance as we try our best to ensure we prioritize the health and safety of every one of our patients. One mode of care that is continuing to garner attention is telemedicine – the use of virtual technology to deliver care to our patients. The geriatric population has been of particular focus during this time. As with any new intervention, it is important that both the benefits and challenges are explored to ensure that we are finding ways to accommodate the patients we serve while ensuring that they receive the care that they require. This study aims to explore the various benefits and challenges to implementing VC in our day-to-day care for the geriatric population.
Immunotherapy in Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasia
Authors: Popa Ilie Ioana Rada , Georgescu Carmen Emanuela
Published: June 2021

The worldwide prevalence and incidence of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) and of NENs, in general, have been increasing recently. While valuing the considerable progress made in the treatment strategies for GEP-NEN in recent years, patients with advanced, metastasized disease still have a poor prognosis, which calls for urgent novel therapies. The immune system plays a dual role: both host-protecting and “tumor-promoting.” Hence, immunotherapy is potentially a powerful weapon to help NEN patients. However, although recent successes with checkpoint inhibitors have shown that enhancing antitumor immunity can be effective, the dynamic nature of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment presents significant hurdles to the broader application of these therapies. Studies led to their approval in NEN of the lung and Merkel cell carcinoma, whereas results in other settings have not been so encouraging. Oncolytic viruses can selectively infect and destroy cancer cells, acting as an in situ cancer vaccine. Moreover, they can remodel the tumor microenvironment toward a T cell-inflamed phenotype. Oncolytic virotherapy has been proposed as an ablative and immunostimulatory treatment strategy for solid tumors that are resistant to checkpoint inhibitors alone. Future efforts should focus on finding the best way to include immunotherapy in the GEP-NEN treatment scenario. In this context, this study aims at providing a comprehensive generalized review of the immune checkpoint blockade and the oncolytic virotherapy use in GEP-NENs that might improve GEP-NEN treatment strategies.
АНАЛІЗ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕНОСТІ МЕДИЧНИМИ СЕСТРАМИ ВІДДІЛЕНЬ КОМУНАЛЬНОГО НЕКОМЕРЦІЙНОГО ПІДПРИЄМСТВА «ОБЛАСНА ЛІКАРНЯ ІНТЕНСИВНОГО ЛІКУВАННЯ м. МАРІУПОЛЬ»
Authors: Коноп В. Ю. , Рега Н. І. , Ястремська С. О.
Published: June 2021

У статті наведено динаміку показників забезпеченості медичними сестрами відділень Комунального некомерційного підприємства «Обласна лікарня інтенсивного лікування м. Маріуполь» за 2017–2019 рр. у загальному та в розрізі різних відділень, запропоновано заходи щодо покращення організації роботи медичних сестер та збільшення їх мотивації.
ПРОБЛЕМА КОНФЛІКТІВ У СЕСТРИНСЬКИХ КОЛЕКТИВАХ
Authors: Ширяєва А. С.
Published: June 2021

Одним з найголовніших завдань реформування сестринської справи є зміна ставлення медичних сестер до професії, свого місця в лікувальному закладі. Успіх діяльності організації значною мірою залежить від відносин, що складаються між колегами, керівництвом і підлеглими. Тому керівники середнього медичного персоналу повинні значну увагу приділяти своєчасному виявленню та вирішенню конфліктних ситуацій, сприяти розвитку неформальних відносин у колективі.
ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION AND ITS MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION COMBINED WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME
Authors: Yastremska I. O.
Published: June 2021

Background. Oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, dyslipidemia and low-grade inflammation induce the disorders of energy metabolism and ischemic damage to cardiomyocytes. It is an essential issue in pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome/myocardial infarction (ACS/MI).

Objective. The aim of the study was to improve the existing pharmacological therapy in patients with ACS/MI combined with metabolic syndrome (MS).

Methods. The study enrolled 95 patients with acute myocardial infarction. The patients were divided into 2 groups depending on concomitant metabolic syndrome. All groups were divided to subgroups, where patients received typical standard treatment according to the Ukrainian unified and modified treatment regimen with addition of L-arginine and L-carnitine.

Results. In 79.2% of patients with ACS/MI + MS the course of underlying disease was associated with various complications: pericarditis epistenocardica was diagnosed in 39.8% of patients; arrhythmias were present in 35.5% of patients of the main group; left ventricular aneurysm was present in 15.9% of patients. At the same time, significant changes in the indicators of vascular endothelial function in patients with ACS (MI) were revealed (the level of endothelin-1 in the blood plasma was in 2.1 times higher than the reference norm) that was the justification for inclusion of L-arginine and L-carnitine in the complex therapy of comorbid patients.

Conclusions. The multi-modality treatment with inclusion of L-arginine and L-carnitine facilitated restoration of energy supply of myocardial contractility, endothelial function of blood vessels, and antioxidant protection of the body and ultimately resulted in a more favorable course of this comorbid problem.
João Canavilhas: pontuações e revisões sobre o jornalismo em uma cultura midiática digital
Authors: Horn Aline Tainá Amaral , Lima Myrian Regina Del Vecchio de
Published: June 2021

No final de 2019, durante o XI Congreso de Ciberperiodismo, em Bilbao, na Espanha,  o pesquisador João Manuel Messias Canavilhas, da Universidade da Beira Interior (Covilhã, Portugal), concedeu esta entrevista.
Crítica e contágio: comunicação assignificante em Lazzarato e Preciado
Authors: Pereira Demétrio Rocha , Silva Alexandre Rocha da
Published: June 2021

Este artigo aborda a distinção entre semiologias significantes e semióticas assignificantes, concebida por Félix Guattari e retomada por Maurizio Lazzarato no escopo de uma crítica dos modos contemporâneos de produção capitalista. Para o italiano, investigar o nível significante não apenas é insuficiente como ajuda a dissimular a eficácia maquínica do nível assignificante. Reconhecendo nisso um problema epistemológico, discutimos a importância de considerar articulações entre esses níveis, sob pena de manter-se o assignificante aquém do conhecível. Em um exercício comparativo, sugerimos que a atitude laboratorial de Paul B. Preciado fornece rota profícua para a investigação e a tradução de operações assignificantes específicas.
A raça e o gênero da estética e dos afetos: algoritmização do racismo e do sexismo em bancos contemporâneos de imagens digitais
Authors: Carrera Fernanda
Published: June 2021

Este artigo questiona os processos de algoritmização do racismo e sexismo em bancos de imagem digitais. Dispositivos essenciais para a manutenção da engrenagem midiática e comunicacional, estes bancos ajudam a guiar os sentidos sobre ser mulher e ser negro por meio de modos sutis de construção de subjetivação. Foram analisadas as palavras-chaveaggressiveness, kindness, beauty e ugliness, nos bancos de imagem Getty Images e Shutterstock, abrangendo as dimensões estética e afetiva dos vieses discriminatórios impregnados nestes mecanismos. Entende-se que os resultados evidenciam a opacidade tecnológica que permeia o campo produtivo destes aparatos e a algoritmização das desigualdades de gênero e raça constituídas no seio social.
Sobre a natureza da mídia e os protocolos de leitura do livro digital
Authors: Flexor Carina Ochi
Published: June 2021

O artigo discute as implicações da materialidade dos livros-aplicativos na experiência da leitura, reconhecendo atores que impõem a atualização dos protocolos de leitura propostos por Chartier. Partindo da natureza da mídia livro digital, o artigo avança apresentando os protocolos do sistema, na leitura e no espaço. Articulam-se operadores conceituais da literatura livresca e da mídia, sobretudo, as noções acerca dos protocolos de leitura e da pragmática computacional da new media. De abordagem exploratória, a partir da revisão de literatura, o artigo aponta para resultados que indicam a natureza da mídia como propulsora de protocolos que colocam a materialidade como ponto central das transformações leitoras em ambiente digital.
Como ser cidadão: política, globalização e algoritmos
Authors: Rocha Larissa Leda F.
Published: June 2021

Este trabalho trata-se de uma resenha crítica do livro Ciudadanos reemplazados por algoritmos, escrito por Néstor García Canclini, em 2019. Na obra, o autor discute, em forma de ensaio, como ser cidadão no capitalismo global e eletrônico, em um contexto no qual se reorganizam conceitos, antes seguros, de cidadania, política e globalização. Quando os sistemas tradicionais de fazer política parecem falhar, o autor busca compreensão, respostas e saídas nas novas formas de participação e reinvindicação, nos jovens e nas culturas do hackeamento, atentando para a perigosa combinação da opacidade dos algoritmos e da transparência dos nossos dados.
A “televisão do futuro”? Netflix, qualidade e neofilia no debate sobre TV
Authors: Castellano Mayka , Meimaridis Melina
Published: June 2021

Neste artigo, investigamos a Netflix, colocando em questão as expectativas do público e da crítica a respeito de mudanças advindas com a introdução do serviço. A partir da análise de matérias jornalísticas, dados de acesso e tendências de investimento da empresa, averiguamos que tipos de experiência sobre o consumo de TV estão em jogo no discurso propalado por analistas e entusiastas do novo. Debatemos, também, como as avaliações sobre as plataformas de streaming renovam as permanentes controvérsias sobre a qualidade televisiva. A despeito do tipo de elucubração despertada pela sensação de ubiquidade e de revoluções estilísticas, defendemos que as práticas relacionadas ao streaming funcionam, na verdade, como atualizações de modelos consagrados na TV linear.
A “mulher louca” em Game of Thrones: gênero e a crítica do pop no jornalismo
Authors: Mendonça Felipe Viero Kolinski Machado , Gonzatti Christian
Published: June 2021

Game of Thrones é uma série que revela complexidades na representação de personagens femininas. Tal percepção explodiu simbolicamente através do destino dado à personagem Daenerys Targaryen. Empreendemos, aqui, a partir da leitura de gênero, um mapeamento dos jornalismos que construíram críticas sobre a problemática implicada no destino da personagem. A partir da análise do discurso francesa, mapeamos e analisamos 49 textos. Percebemos como o feminino e o masculino atravessam a cultura pop, operacionalizada pelo jornalismo, acionando saberes sobre o gênero. Por fim, destacamos o jornalismo de cultura pop feminista como um espaço potente para discutir criticamente como o gênero está implicado na série.
Olhares intrusos: reflexões e miradas sobre um mundo ch’ixi
Authors: Jácome Phellipy , Kabalin Campos Julieta Karol , Leal Bruno Souza
Published: June 2021

Esse trabalho reflete sobre articulações entre imagem e imaginário através da problematização do olhar como categoria epistêmica. Diante de realidades complexas e temporalmente diversas, defende-se a contradição como condição produtiva. No percurso argumentativo, fazemos um breve incurso nas reflexões do olhar propostas por Gonzalo Abril. Em seguida, buscamos, sinteticamente, explicitar o que Cornelius Castoriadis entende por lógica conjuntista-identitária para, então, situar algumas proposições da obra de Rivera Cusicanqui. No diálogo e contraposição entre esses autores, busca-se destacar as contribuições da produção intelectual da socióloga boliviana, explorando as potências e a complexidade da sua proposta ch’ixi.
Effect of Liraglutide on Arterial Inflammation Assessed as [
18
F]FDG Uptake in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Ripa Rasmus S. , Zobel Emilie H. , von Scholten Bernt J. , Jensen Jacob K. , Binderup Tina , Diaz Lars J. , Curovic Viktor R. , Hansen Tine W. , Rossing Peter , Kjaer Andreas
Published: June 2021

Background:

The mechanism behind the cardiovascular protection observed with human GLP-1 RA (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) in type 2 diabetes is unknown. We hypothesized that treatment with the GLP-1 RA liraglutide had a positive effect on vascular inflammation.

Methods:

LIRAFLAME (Effect of liraglutide on vascular inflammation in type-2 diabetes: A randomized, placebocontrolled, double-blind, parallel clinical PET/CT trial) was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial performed at a single university hospital clinic in Denmark. Patients with type 2 diabetes were via computer-generated randomization list assigned (1:1) liraglutide up to 1.8 mg or placebo once daily for 26 weeks. The primary end point was change in vascular inflammation over 26 weeks assessed by [
18
F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Analyses were based on intention-to-treat. Key secondary outcomes included change in other indices of atherosclerosis.

Results:

Between October 26, 2017, and August 16, 2019, 147 patients were screened and 102 were randomly assigned to liraglutide (n=51) or placebo (n=51) and 99 (97%) completed the trial. Change in the [
18
F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography measure of vascular inflammation (active-segment target-to-background ratio) did not differ between treatment groups: change from baseline to 26 weeks was −0.04 (95% CI, −0.17 to 0.08) in the liraglutide group compared with −0.09 (−0.19 to 0.01) in the placebo group (mean difference, 0.05 [95% CI, −0.11 to 0.21],
P
=0.53). Secondary analyses restricted to [
18
F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography of the carotid arteries as well as other indices of atherosclerosis confirmed the primary result. We performed an explorative analysis of interaction between treatment group and history of cardiovascular disease (
P
=0.052).

Conclusions:

In this low to moderate risk population with type 2 diabetes, liraglutide did not change vascular inflammation assessed as [
18
F]-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake compared with placebo. An explorative analysis indicated a possible effect in persons with history of cardiovascular disease, in line with current guidelines where liraglutide is recommended to patients with history of cardiovascular disease.

Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT03449654.
Mitral Regurgitation International Database (MIDA) Score Predicts Outcome in Patients With Heart Failure Undergoing Transcatheter Edge‐to‐Edge Mitral Valve Repair
Authors: Kavsur Refik , Spieker Maximilian , Iliadis Christos , Metze Clemens , Transier Moritz , Tiyerili Vedat , Horn Patrick , Baldus Stephan , Kelm Malte , Nickenig Georg , Westenfeld Ralf , Pfister Roman , Becher Marc Ulrich ,   of the Heart Failure Network Rhineland
Published: June 2021

Background

Optimizing risk stratification in patients undergoing transcatheter mitral valve repair is an ongoing challenge. The Mitral Regurgitation International Database (MIDA) score represents a user‐friendly mortality risk stratification tool that is validated on a large‐scale registry of patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR). We here assessed the potential benefit of the MIDA risk score for patients with functional or degenerative MR undergoing transcatheter mitral valve repair.

Methods and Results

In total, 680 patients undergoing MitraClip implantation were stratified according to MIDA score tertiles into a low (0–7), intermediate (8–9), and a high (10–12) MIDA score group. MR was assessed in follow‐up echocardiograms in 416 patients at 323±169 days after transcatheter mitral valve repair. During 2‐year follow‐up, 8.2% (15/182) of patients with low, 21.3% (64/300) with intermediate, and 26.3% (52/198) with high MIDA score died (log‐rank test
P
<0.001). Hazard of all‐cause mortality increased by 13% (95% CI, 3%–25%) with every additional point of the MIDA score. Subanalysis of 431 patients with functional MR showed similar results. Furthermore, rates of a combined end point of mortality and hospitalization for heart failure were higher with increasing MIDA score (30% [54/182], 38% [113/300] and 48% [94/198], respectively, log‐rank test
P
=0.001). Frequency of residual MR ≥II at follow‐up increased with increasing MIDA score group (33%, 44%, and 59%, respectively,
P
<0.001).

Conclusions

The MIDA mortality risk score maintains its predictive utility in patients undergoing transcatheter mitral valve repair, regardless of MR cause. Moreover, it was predictive of worse event‐free survival regarding a combined end point of mortality and hospitalization for heart failure, and was associated with postprocedural residual MR ≥II and MR recurrence.
Adenosine‐Induced Coronary Steal Is Observed in Patients Presenting With ST‐Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Aetesam‐ur‐Rahman Muhammad , Brown Adam J. , Jaworski Catherine , Giblett Joel P. , Zhao Tian X. , Braganza Denise M. , Clarke Sarah C. , Agrawal Bobby S. K. , Bennett Martin R. , West Nick E. J. , Hoole Stephen P.
Published: June 2021

Background

Adenosine is used to treat no‐reflow in the infarct‐related artery (IRA) during ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction intervention. However, the physiological effect of adenosine in the IRA is variable. Coronary steal—a reduction of blood flow to the distal coronary bed—can occur in response to adenosine and this is facilitated by collaterals. We investigated the effects of adenosine on coronary flow reserve (CFR) in patients presenting with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction to better understand the physiological mechanism underpinning the variable response to adenosine.

Methods and Results

Pressure‐wire assessment of the IRA after percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in 93 patients presenting with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction to calculate index of microvascular resistance, CFR, and collateral flow index by pressure. Modified collateral Rentrop grade to the IRA was recorded, as was microvascular obstruction by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Coronary steal (CFR <0.9), no change in flow (CFR=0.9–1.1), and hyperemic flow (CFR >1.1) after adenosine occurred in 19 (20%), 15 (16%), and 59 (63%) patients, respectively. Patients with coronary steal had higher modified Rentrop score to the IRA (1 [0, 1.75] versus 0 [0, 1],
P
<0.001) and a higher collateral flow index by pressure (0.25±0.10 versus 0.15±0.10,
P
=0.004) than the hyperemic group. The coronary steal group also had significantly higher index of microvascular resistance (61.68 [28.13, 87.04] versus 23.93 [14.67, 37.00],
P
=0.006) and had more disease (stenosis >50%) in the donor arteries (52.63% versus 22.03%,
P
=0.02) than the hyperemic group.

Conclusions

Adenosine‐induced coronary steal may be responsible for a reduction in coronary flow reserve in a proportion of patients presenting with ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction.

Registration

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT03145194. URL:
https://www.isrctn.com
; Unique identifier: ISRCTN3176727.
Left Atrial Strain to Predict Stroke in Patients With Acute Heart Failure and Sinus Rhythm
Authors: Park Jae‐Hyeong , Hwang In‐Chang , Park Jin Joo , Park Jun‐Bean , Cho Goo‐Yeong
Published: June 2021

Background

Stroke is a major comorbidity in patients with heart failure (HF), especially in those with decreased left atrial (LA) function, and thus, identifying patients highly at risk of stroke can prevent its occurrence. We evaluated the predictive value of global longitudinal strain of LA (LAGLS) in patients with acute HF and sinus rhythm.

Methods and Results

In this retrospective study, 2461 patients (53.3% men, 69.7±14.4 years old) with sinus rhythm and LAGLS among 4312 consecutive patients with acute HF from 3 tertiary hospitals were included. HF phenotypes were defined as HF with reduced ejection fraction (EF) (left ventricular EF ≤40%), HF with midrange EF (40% <left ventricular EF <50%), and HF with preserved ejection fraction (left ventricular EF ≥50%). Primary outcome was new‐onset stroke. The mean left ventricular EF was 39.4%±15.6%. Moreover, 1388 (57.5%), 342 (14.2%), and 682 (28.3%) were classified with HF with reduced EF, HF with midrange EF, and HF with preserved EF, retrospectively. LAGLS was 17.2%±10.4%. During the follow‐up duration (mean: 30.3±25.4 months), 100 patients experienced stroke. Patients with stroke had higher LA diameter (
P
=0.031) and lower LAGLS (
P
=0.010) than those without stroke. In the univariate analysis, age, diabetes mellitus, LA diameter, LA volume index, and LAGLS were significant risk factors for stroke. In the multivariate analysis, each 1% decrease in LAGLS was associated with a 3.8% increased risk for stroke (hazard ratio [HR], 1.038; 95% CI, 1.013–1.065;
P
=0.003). When applying a LAGLS cutoff point of 14.5%, patients with LAGLS <14.5% had approximately twice the risk for stroke after adjusting other significant variables (HR, 1.940; 95% CI, 1.269–2.965;
P
=0.002).

Conclusions

In patients with acute HF and sinus rhythm, decreased LAGLS (<14.5%) was associated with an increased risk for stroke, with an annual incidence of 2.38%.
Generalizing Cross-Document Event Coreference Resolution Across Multiple Corpora
Authors: Bugert Michael , Reimers Nils , Gurevych Iryna
Published: June 2021

Cross-document event coreference resolution (CDCR) is an NLP task in which mentions of events need to be identified and clustered throughout a collection of documents. CDCR aims to benefit downstream multidocument applications, but despite recent progress on corpora and system development, downstream improvements from applying CDCR have not been shown yet. We make the observation that every CDCR system to date was developed, trained, and tested only on a single respective corpus. This raises strong concerns on their generalizability—a must-have for downstream applications where the magnitude of domains or event mentions is likely to exceed those found in a curated corpus. To investigate this assumption, we define a uniform evaluation setup involving three CDCR corpora: ECB+, the Gun Violence Corpus, and the Football Coreference Corpus (which we reannotate on token level to make our analysis possible). We compare a corpus-independent, feature-based system against a recent neural system developed for ECB+. Although being inferior in absolute numbers, the feature-based system shows more consistent performance across all corpora whereas the neural system is hit-or-miss. Via model introspection, we find that the importance of event actions, event time, and so forth, for resolving coreference in practice varies greatly between the corpora. Additional analysis shows that several systems overfit on the structure of the ECB+ corpus. We conclude with recommendations on how to achieve generally applicable CDCR systems in the future—the most important being that evaluation on multiple CDCR corpora is strongly necessary. To facilitate future research, we release our dataset, annotation guidelines, and system implementation to the public.1
Do Neural Networks for Segmentation Understand Insideness?
Authors: Villalobos Kimberly , Štih Vilim , Ahmadinejad Amineh , Sundaram Shobhita , Dozier Jamell , Francl Andrew , Azevedo Frederico , Sasaki Tomotake , Boix Xavier
Published: June 2021

The insideness problem is an aspect of image segmentation that consists of determining which pixels are inside and outside a region. Deep neural networks (DNNs) excel in segmentation benchmarks, but it is unclear if they have the ability to solve the insideness problem as it requires evaluating long-range spatial dependencies. In this letter, we analyze the insideness problem in isolation, without texture or semantic cues, such that other aspects of segmentation do not interfere in the analysis. We demonstrate that DNNs for segmentation with few units have sufficient complexity to solve the insideness for any curve. Yet such DNNs have severe problems with learning general solutions. Only recurrent networks trained with small images learn solutions that generalize well to almost any curve. Recurrent networks can decompose the evaluation of long-range dependencies into a sequence of local operations, and learning with small images alleviates the common difficulties of training recurrent networks with a large number of unrolling steps.
On Neural Associative Memory Structures: Storage and Retrieval of Sequences in a Chain of Tournaments
Authors: Mofrad Asieh Abolpour , Mofrad Samaneh Abolpour , Yazidi Anis , Parker Matthew Geoffrey
Published: June 2021

Associative memories enjoy many interesting properties in terms of error correction capabilities, robustness to noise, storage capacity, and retrieval performance, and their usage spans over a large set of applications. In this letter, we investigate and extend tournament-based neural networks, originally proposed by Jiang, Gripon, Berrou, and Rabbat (2016), a novel sequence storage associative memory architecture with high memory efficiency and accurate sequence retrieval. We propose a more general method for learning the sequences, which we call feedback tournament-based neural networks. The retrieval process is also extended to both directions: forward and backward—in other words, any large-enough segment of a sequence can produce the whole sequence. Furthermore, two retrieval algorithms, cache-winner and explore-winner, are introduced to increase the retrieval performance. Through simulation results, we shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm.
Bilingualism: A Neurocognitive Exercise in Managing Uncertainty
Authors: Gullifer Jason W. , Titone Debra
Published: June 2021

Bilinguals have distinct linguistic experiences relative to monolinguals, stemming from interactions with the environment and the individuals therein. Theories of language control hypothesize that these experiences play a role in adapting the neurocognitive systems responsible for control. Here we posit a potential mechanism for these adaptations, namely that bilinguals face additional language-related uncertainties on top of other ambiguities that regularly occur in language, such as lexical and syntactic competition. When faced with uncertainty in the environment, people adapt internal representations to lessen these uncertainties, which can aid in executive control and decision-making. We overview a cognitive framework on uncertainty, which we extend to language and bilingualism. We then review two “case studies,” assessing language-related uncertainty for bilingual contexts using language entropy and network scientific approaches. Overall, we find that there is substantial individual variability in the extent to which people experience language-related uncertainties in their environments, but also regularity across some contexts. This information, in turn, predicts cognitive adaptations associated with language fluency and engagement in proactive cognitive control strategies. These findings suggest that bilinguals adapt to the cumulative language-related uncertainties in the environment. We conclude by suggesting avenues for future research and links with other research domains. Ultimately, a focus on uncertainty will help bridge traditionally separate scientific domains, such as language processing, bilingualism, and decision-making.
Moving From Bilingual Traits to States: Understanding Cognition and Language Processing Through Moment-to-Moment Variation
Authors: Salig Lauren K. , Valdés Kroff Jorge R. , Slevc L. Robert , Novick Jared M.
Published: June 2021

The study of how bilingualism is linked to cognitive processing, including executive functioning, has historically focused on comparing bilinguals to monolinguals across a range of tasks. These group comparisons presume to capture relatively stable cognitive traits and have revealed important insights about the architecture of the language processing system that could not have been gleaned from studying monolinguals alone. However, there are drawbacks to using a group-comparison, or Traits, approach. In this theoretical review, we outline some limitations of treating executive functions as stable traits and of treating bilinguals as a uniform group when compared to monolinguals. To build on what we have learned from group comparisons, we advocate for an emerging complementary approach to the question of cognition and bilingualism. Using an approach that compares bilinguals to themselves under different linguistic or cognitive contexts allows researchers to ask questions about how language and cognitive processes interact based on dynamically fluctuating cognitive and neural states. A States approach, which has already been used by bilingualism researchers, allows for cause-and-effect hypotheses and shifts our focus from questions of group differences to questions of how varied linguistic environments influence cognitive operations in the moment and how fluctuations in cognitive engagement impact language processing.
The Neue Marx-Lektüre and the ‘Monetary Theory of Value’ in the East German Labour-Value Measurement Debate
Authors: Rauhala Paula Maria
Published: June 2021

Proponents of a monetary interpretation of Marx’s theory of value (monetäre Werttheorie) argue that one cannot estimate the amounts of socially necessary labour time that lie behind the prices, an interpretation usually ascribed to the West German Neue Marx‑Lektüre. As Hans-Georg Backhaus began fleshing out his monetary interpretation in the early 1970s, he referred explicitly to debate among economists in early‑1960s East Germany about the possibility of estimating quantities of labour value in terms of commodities’ labour content. In fact, scholars who articulated a powerful position in the latter discussion closely approximated the Neue Marx-Lektüre’s ‘monetary interpretation’. They held that expressing labour value in terms of labour time is impossible: the substance of value is not a measurable quantity of labour time but, rather, a social relation. Hence, it is problematic that Neue Marx-Lektüre adherents today should maintain an inaccurate contrast between their reading of Capital and that of ‘traditional Marxism’.