bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Popery, Arbitrary Government, and War, 1670–8
Authors: Smith Hannah
Published: October 2021

This chapter examines Charles II’s political and military problems during the Third Anglo-Dutch War as he once again attempted a policy of religious toleration. With the country at war, Charles was confronted with the dilemma of appointing a commander for his army and with the problem of how to discipline this newly increased force. But even more difficult was his relationship with parliament, which was intensely suspicious of the army. Parliament remained deeply concerned that the army had been infiltrated by Catholics. Moreover, parliament continued to be apprehensive of Charles’s plans for his army, particularly when the army was enlarged to fight a war with France in 1678.
Why Reform?
Authors: Calvo-Gonzalez Oscar
Published: October 2021

What drives economic policy reform? This is one of the most fundamental questions in the political economy of reform. This chapter tackles this question for the case of Spain. If economic crisis did not lead to the adoption of policy reforms, what did? The chapter provides archival and other evidence, including a novel quantitative analysis of public speeches, in support of an alternative explanation for why significant economic policy reforms were adopted. In contrast with most of the literature, this chapter argues that economic reforms in Spain can be better understood not as the result of economic instability but of political stability. The increase in stability extended the time horizons of policymakers, as well as reduced the perception of external threats. With security concerns minimized, one would expect the regime to be ready to trade off short-term costs for long-term gain. The result was a gradual shift of policies because the underlying political realities also changed gradually. As the political environment changed and the regime achieved greater stability, it paid increasing attention to economic issues.
Policy Tinkering
Authors: Calvo-Gonzalez Oscar
Published: October 2021

This chapter reconciles the conclusion that an increase in contestability played a role in Spain’s economic takeoff, as argued in the previous chapter, with the fact that much of the economy remained tightly controlled. The chapter provides an account of policy changes during the 1960s, described here as a period of policy tinkering, that contrasts with the standard view in the literature of a period of policy reversals. The chapter provides evidence that, while there was some backtracking in policy reforms, there were also numerous areas in which policies kept being finetuned but not reversed. The chapter speaks to the broader literature on the extent to which reforms are induced by crisis, and its corollary than in the absence of crisis, the reform momentum dissipates—a finding which is not confirmed in the case under study.
Interpersonal Epistemic Entitlements
Authors: Goldberg Sanford C.
Published: October 2021

This chapter argues that the nature of our epistemic entitlement to rely on certain belief-forming processes—perception, memory, reasoning, and perhaps others—is not restricted to one’s own belief-forming processes. It argues as well that we can have access to the outputs of others’ processes, in the form of their assertions. These two points support the conclusion that epistemic entitlements are “interpersonal.” It then proceeds to argue that this opens the way for a non-standard version of anti-reductionism in the epistemology of testimony, and a more “extended” epistemology—one that calls into question the epistemic significance that has traditionally been ascribed to the boundaries separating individual subjects.
The Epistemic Costs of Politeness
Authors: Goldberg Sanford C.
Published: October 2021

This chapter investigates some of the epistemic cost of politeness. One obvious cost has to do with lost opportunities for correcting errors: communities that are polite will tend to allow known falsehoods to pass without comment. But this chapter will focus on another, less familiar epistemic cost of politeness: communities that are polite sap the signaling potential of conversational silence, thereby losing out on the prospects of a cheap way to distribute the burden of testimonial monitoring. We do not claim that these costs should prompt us to give up our commitment to politeness; only to recognize the cost, in the spirit of an honest accounting.
Should Have Known
Authors: Goldberg Sanford C.
Published: October 2021

This chapter argues that there are cases in which a subject, S, should have known that p, even though, given her state of evidence at the time, she was in no position to know it. In particular, S should have known that p when (i) another person has, or would have, legitimate expectations regarding S’s epistemic condition, (ii) the satisfaction of these expectations would require that S knows that p, and (iii) S fails to know that p. I argue that these three conditions are sometimes jointly satisfied. There are (at least) two main sources of legitimate expectations regarding another’s epistemic condition: participation in a legitimate social practice; and moral and epistemic expectations more generally. In developing my position on this score, I will have an opportunity (i) to contrast practice-generated entitlements to expect with epistemic reasons to believe; (ii) to compare the “should have known” phenomenon with the phenomenon of culpable ignorance; and finally (iii) to suggest the bearing of the “should have known” phenomenon to epistemology itself.
Women’s Representation on High Courts
Authors: Escobar-Lemmon Maria C. , Hoekstra Valerie J. , Kang Alice J. , Kittilson Miki Caul
Published: October 2021

Chapter 1 poses the central question of the book: Why has women’s representation advanced on high courts worldwide? After theorizing why women’s presence is essential for the judicial process, the chapter argues that monocausal explanations for women’s representation on high courts are insufficient. The appointment of judges involves multiple sources of influence. This chapter builds an analytic framework to explain the gains women have made on high courts by focusing on three sets of explanations: pipelines to high courts, domestic institutions including selection mechanisms, and international influences. The book’s global lens and combination of quantitative time-serial analyses and five country studies (Canada, Colombia, Ireland, South Africa, the United States) allows for examining these influences across a variety of structures, institutions, and regional contexts. The chapter also lays out the plan of the book, with the first part highlighting the book’s cross-national quantitative comparisons, and the second part examining pathways and processes to investigate how and why women are appointed.
Pipelines to High Courts
Authors: Escobar-Lemmon Maria C. , Hoekstra Valerie J. , Kang Alice J. , Kittilson Miki Caul
Published: October 2021

Chapter 4 offers case study evidence to appraise whether and how the supply of women judges and lawyers corresponds with the appointment of women to high courts. Understanding that the typical career path differs across the cases, the chapter sketches the conventional pipeline to the supreme court or constitutional court in each country (Canada, Colombia, Ireland, South Africa, and the United States). The chapter examines the proportion of women in the feeder professions in each case, taking into account a lag in time from graduating from law school to becoming a judge. The efficacy of the pipeline theory varies substantially across the five countries. At certain points in time, the appointment of women to the highest court outpaced the presence of women in the typical feeder professions in Canada and South Africa. For many years, women were plentiful but were not selected to the highest bench in Colombia, Ireland, and the United States. It reveals that there is a rich and deep eligible pool of women qualified to sit on high courts.
Conclusion
Authors: Escobar-Lemmon Maria C. , Hoekstra Valerie J. , Kang Alice J. , Kittilson Miki Caul
Published: October 2021

The final chapter, chapter 7, weaves together the findings from both the cross-national, time-serial statistical analyses and the in-depth case studies to offer overarching arguments for why women’s representation advanced on high courts around the world. Despite differences in socioeconomic and legal contexts, a common denominator emerges: high courts are gendered. Taken together, both the cross-national and cross-temporal evidence shows that women’s appointments to the peak bench is not automatic, and that both domestic and international factors are influential. In general, despite relatively full pipelines, gendered institutions in the selection process have limited women’s advancement. In different ways, changing global norms have raised the profile of women’s appointments, placing pressure on those with the power to transform the bench, although with varying degrees of success. A chain of favorable influences emerge: new norms of gender equality encourage reimagining the composition of courts; advocacy organizations challenge the status quo; and windows of opportunity enable change. For women to make significant and sustainable strides, it is necessary to go beyond equal treatment and access to the same opportunities. Instead, what is needed is an equity-minded approach: a fundamental transformation of the processes that were built around the traditional all-men norm. The chapter offers a multi-pronged set of approaches for diversifying the judiciary. Reimagining high courts is not only about gender parity; it means building inclusive judiciaries that reflect the full range of lived experiences in society.
Capturing the Challenges in Assessing Writing
Authors: Dockrell Julie E. , Connelly Vincent
Published: October 2021

This chapter examines the assessment of writing as writers move from the initial stages of learning to write (novices) to becoming more proficient writers. Challenges in what to assess and how writing can be assessed are examined. Both writing product and process measures are considered and the impact of proximal and distal factors on writing outlined. Key decisions at all stages of the evaluation of the writing process are considered with a specific focus on the purpose of the assessment and current theories and models of writing development. Writing assessments need to capture writing proficiency in terms of fluency at word, sentence, and text level, efficiency of the translation process and flexibility across genres and purpose. The chapter ends by raising questions about the comparability of assessment measures across orthographies.
How Do Executive Functions Issues Affect Writing in Students with Neurodevelopmental Disorders?
Authors: Filipe Marisa
Published: October 2021

Given that deficits in executive functions (EF) and writing impairments are both characteristics of several neurodevelopmental disorders, this chapter explored how EF are related to writing performance in students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and specific learning disorders (i.e. dyslexia and dysgraphia). Although these neurodevelopmental disorders share similar features of executive dysfunction, the profiles between groups appear to differ, and different disorders have unique executive profiles. As these unique executive profiles have an impact on successful writing, it was intended to contribute to our understanding about the cognitive mechanisms (related with EF) that underlie writing development. Also, potential implications for clinical practice were discussed.
Broader Approaches to Defining, Assessing, and Strengthening Executive Control in Writing
Authors: McCloskey George
Published: October 2021

Narrow definitions of executive function (EF) are contrasted with a broad perspective on executive control that compares Olive’s description of executive control of the writing process and Graham’s Writing within Communities (WWC) model with the Holarchical Model of Executive Control (HMEC). Assessment of EFs is discussed within the context of writing tasks rather than a domain-general perspective. Examples are provided demonstrating a cascading production analysis method for comparing norm-referenced writing test subtest scores to identify cascading production decrements. The evidence-based self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach to strengthening executive control to improve writing is compared to a generalized approach to strengthening executive control for multiple purposes derived from the HMEC and EF intervention research reviews. The chapter closes with a brief commentary on the past, present and future of researching and applying broad and narrow perspectives on strengthening executive control to help improve writing skills.
Executive Functions
Authors: Georgiou George
Published: October 2021

Over the last decade a plethora of studies has explored the role of executive functions (EF) in academic achievement. The majority of these studies has focused on three subcomponents of EF: inhibition, shifting, and updating in working memory. As a result, much less attention has been paid to other subcomponents of EF, such as planning that is considered the pinnacle of EF. Thus, in this chapter, we turn to the origins of EF describing planning and how it fits within a broader model of writing. Finally, we describe a writing task (the Predicament Test) that allows individuals to integrate their plans of action with their feelings. In view of arguments that the nature of EF is ‘elusive’, planning is giving us a first-hand opportunity to rediscover EF by putting theory before factor analytic approaches.
The Future Role of Executive Functions in Education
Authors: Goldstein Sam , McGoldrick Keith D.
Published: October 2021

Educational institutions in the future will increasingly focus upon the development of executive functioning in educating and guiding students. It has been the case over the past 200 years that the responsibility for this important preparation has fallen increasingly upon our educational systems. To function effectively, the brain requires an executive system. There is an increasing awareness of the influence of this system and its importance in controlling and managing ability, knowledge, and capacity to problem solve. This chapter provides an overview of the science of executive functioning, in particular focusing upon the role of executive functioning in writing for meaning.
The Fantastical Empowered Patient
Authors: Gottlieb Samantha D.
Published: October 2021

In the United States, clinical interventions and regulatory health institutions promote patient engagement and empowerment as a novel transformation in healthcare delivery, with the promise of eliciting increased patient participation in their own health care. The concept of patient empowerment, however, obscures how closely related this discourse is to established doctrines of patient compliance/adherence. Empowerment reconstitutes the fundamentally authoritarian ideology of adherence and compliance into a neoliberal ideology of self-actualization and self-management. This chapter explores how communities of people living with type 1 diabetes have designed their own diabetes management tools, exemplifying empowered and self-managing patients. Their efforts are a patient-led response to significant gaps in diabetes care in current commercial devices and regulatory restrictions. These self-designed diabetes systems expose the limits of regulatory and commercial commitments to patient empowerment. Moreover, the institutional demands on the individual to achieve empowerment neglect the social, economic, and political obstacles for many to manage their chronic health conditions.
Intervals of Transition
Authors: Miller Tyrus
Published: October 2021

Like other modernist artists in their media, Dziga Vertov sought a new language of cinema that would expand the intrinsic technical, communicative, and social capacities of the medium. His 1929 masterpiece, The Man with a Movie Camera, brings these aspirations to bear on film with a maximum of intensity. Vertov programmatically asserted that cinema should develop according to its own material laws and sought in The Man with a Movie Camera to employ a “100 percent film language.” He also intended his film as a manifesto of cinema’s critical place within Soviet life in the 1920s, highlighting the process of film production and reception itself. Vertov embraced the chaos of potential meanings in film material drawn from “life caught unaware”; while he saw his compositional activity as giving form to that chaos, he left substantial latitude for an open-ended generation of meanings, respondent to different situations and audiences.
Strigolactone signaling regulates cambial activity through repression of WOX4 by transcription factor BES1
Authors: Hu Jie , Hu Xiaotong , Yang Yang , He Chunmei , Hu Jin , Wang Xuelu
Published: October 2021

During secondary growth, meristematic cells in the cambium can either proliferate to maintain the stem cell population or differentiate into xylem or phloem. The balance between these two developmental trajectories is tightly regulated by many environmental and endogenous cues. Strigolactones (SLs), a class of plant hormones, were previously reported to regulate secondary growth by promoting cambium activity. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of SL action in plant secondary growth are not well understood. We performed histological, genetic, and biochemical analyses using genetic materials in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) with altered activity of the transcription factors BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR1 (BES1) or WUSCHEL-related HOMEOBOX4 (WOX4) or lacking MORE AXILLARY SHOOT2 (MAX2), a key positive component in the SL signaling pathway. We found that BES1, a downstream regulator in the SL signaling pathway that promotes shoot branching and xylem differentiation, also inhibits WOX4 expression, a key regulator of cambium cell division in the intercellular TRACHEARY ELEMENT DIFFERENTIATION INHIBITORY FACTOR (TDIF)–TDIF RECEPTOR (TDR) signaling pathway. The antagonistic roles of BES1 and WOX4 in the regulation of cambium activity may integrate intercellular TDIF signals to efficiently and bidirectionally modulate cambium cell proliferation and differentiation. As both BES1 and WOX4 are widely involved in various endogenous signals and responses to environmental stimuli, these findings may provide insight into the dynamic regulation of cambium development.
Smoking enhances suicide risk—a significant role in the COVID-19 pandemic?
Authors: Sher L
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 outbreak has severely affected the whole world. Considerable evidence suggests that tobacco smoking is associated with increased severity of COVID-19 and death in COVID-19 patients. Tobacco smoking cessation is necessary to decrease COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths. In this commentary, I suggest that tobacco smoking cessation is also needed to reduce suicidal behavior during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic leads to increased tobacco consumption as smokers use more tobacco to cope with pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness. Multiple studies have demonstrated that tobacco smoking is associated with suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, suicide death and a contributing factor in the pathophysiology of suicide. Smoking may increase the probability of development of post-COVID syndrome because it increases severity of COVID-19. Suicide risk may be increased in individuals with post-COVID syndrome. Smoking prevention and cessation should be a target of suicide prevention interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic enhances the need to act to integrate tobacco smoking cessation in the health care as a standard of patient care.
Eigenvalues of Graph Laplacians Via Rank-One Perturbations
Authors: Klee Steven , Stamps Matthew T
Published: October 2021

We show how the spectrum of a graph Laplacian changes with respect to a certain type of rank-one perturbation. We apply our finding to give new short proofs of the spectral version of Kirchhoff’s Matrix Tree Theorem and known derivations for the characteristic polynomials of the Laplacians for several well-known families of graphs, including complete, complete multipartite, crown and threshold graphs.
Geometric Decompositions of Surfaces with Spherical Metric and Conical Singularities
Authors: Tahar Guillaume
Published: October 2021

We prove that any compact surface with constant positive curvature and conical singularities can be decomposed into irreducible components of standard shape, glued along geodesic arcs connecting conical singularities. This is a spherical analog of the geometric triangulations for flat surfaces with conical singularities. The irreducible components include not only spherical triangles but also other interesting spherical polygons. In particular, we present the class of half-spherical concave polygons that are spherical polygons without diagonals and that can be arbitrarily complicated. Finally, we introduce the notion of core as a geometric invariant in the settings of spherical surfaces. We use it to prove a reducibily result for spherical surfaces with a total conical angle at least $(10g-10+5n)2\pi$.
Bounded Conjugacy Classes, Commutators and Approximate Subgroups
Authors: Shumyatsky Pavel
Published: October 2021

Given a group G, we write gG for the conjugacy class of G containing the element g. A famous theorem of B. H. Neumann states that if G is a group in which all conjugacy classes are finite with bounded size, then the commutator subgroup Gʹ is finite. We establish the following results: Let $K,n$ be positive integers and G a group having a K-approximate subgroup A. If $|a^G|\leq n$ for each $a\in A$, then the commutator subgroup of $\langle A^G\rangle$ has finite (K, n)-bounded order. If $|[g,a]^G|\leq n$ for all $g\in G$ and $a\in A$, then the commutator subgroup of $[G,A]$ has finite (K, n)-bounded order.
MEASUREMENTS OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY IN SOIL SAMPLES FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND ESTIMATION OF THE ACTIVITY CONCENTRATION INDEX IN BUILDING MATERIAL OF LOCAL ORIGIN
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhang Weihua
Published: October 2021

This paper reports on the measurement of natural radionuclides in soil samples collected from southern Ontario, Canada. The mean activity concentrations in soil are 28, 28 and 641 Bq/kg for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. Assuming activity concentrations in masonry materials such as brick and concrete are similar to soil in the surrounding area, the activity concentration index for masonry materials of Southern Ontario origin is estimated as 0.45, ranging from 0.15 to 0.83. The results indicate that the annual effective dose from exposure to gamma radiation in buildings constructed using masonry materials of southern Ontario origin for all structures (floor, ceiling and walls) would be <1 mSv.
Increasing self–other similarity modulates ethnic bias in sensorimotor resonance to others’ pain
Authors: Harjunen Ville Johannes , Sjö Petja , Ahmed Imtiaj , Saarinen Aino , Farmer Harry , Salminen Mikko , Järvelä Simo , Ruonala Antti , Jacucci Giulio , Ravaja Niklas
Published: October 2021

The tendency to simulate the pain of others within our own sensorimotor systems is a vital component of empathy. However, this sensorimotor resonance is modulated by a multitude of social factors including similarity in bodily appearance, e.g. skin colour. The current study investigated whether increasing self–other similarity via virtual transfer to another colour body reduced ingroup bias in sensorimotor resonance. A sample of 58 white participants was momentarily transferred to either a black or a white body using virtual reality technology. We then employed electroencephalography to examine event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the sensorimotor beta (13–23 Hz) oscillations while they viewed black, white and violet photorealistic virtual agents being touched with a noxious or soft object. While the noxious treatment of a violet agent did not increase beta ERD, amplified beta ERD in response to black agent’s noxious vs soft treatment was found in perceivers transferred to a black body. Transfer to the white body dismissed the effect. Further exploratory analysis implied that the pain-related beta ERD occurred only when the agent and the participant were of the same colour. The results suggest that even short-lasting changes in bodily resemblance can modulate sensorimotor resonance to others’ perceived pain.
Experiencing happiness together facilitates dyadic coordination through the enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization
Authors: Li Yangzhuo , Chen Mei , Zhang Ruqian , Li Xianchun
Published: October 2021

Experiencing positive emotions together facilitates interpersonal understanding and promotes subsequent social interaction among individuals. However, the neural underpinnings of such emotional-social effect remain to be discovered. The current study employed the functional near-infrared spectroscopy–based hyperscanning to investigate the abovementioned relationship. After participants in dyad watched movie clips with happily or neutral emotion, they were asked to perform the interpersonal cooperative task, with their neural activation of prefrontal cortex being recorded simultaneously via functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results suggested that compared with the neutral movie watching together, a higher interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in left inferior frontal gyrus during participant dyads watching happiness movie together was observed. Subsequently, dyads in happiness showed more effective coordination interaction during the interpersonal cooperation task compared to those in the neutral condition, and such facilitated effect was associated with increased cooperation-related INS at left middle frontal cortex. A mediation analysis showed that the coordination interaction fully mediated the relationship between the emotion-induced INS during the happiness movie-viewing and the cooperation-related INS in interpersonal cooperation. Taken together, our findings suggest that the faciliatory effect experiencing happiness together has on interpersonal cooperation can be reliably reflected by the INS magnitude at the brain level.
Predicting Clinical Outcomes in a Diabetic Foot Ulcer Population Using Fluorescence Imaging
Authors: Lindberg John W.
Published: October 2021

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively evaluate a cohort of patients with diabetic foot ulcers to determine if the rate of microcirculatory flow detected by fluorescence imaging within the wound and surrounding tissue is associated with healing outcomes.

METHODS

Tissue perfusion parameters used for the current analysis were the ingress rate (IR) within the wound bed (R01) and in an area remote from the wound (REF), as well as time to first blush. Wounds were then categorized based on their outcome (healed, healing, chronic nonhealing, partial foot amputation, proximal amputation below the knee) and compared between patients with positive or negative wound healing outcomes.

RESULTS

The final study cohort included 61 wounds and demonstrated that a higher IR within R01 and REF areas was significantly associated with positive outcomes, whereas time to first blush was not. A two-predictor logistic model found a significant relationship between IR (R01 and REF) and odds of wound healing.

CONCLUSIONS

Fluorescence imaging evaluation of a diabetic foot ulcer can provide valuable information on healing outcomes that can help determine if a wound is progressing toward healing and therefore may help inform the need for advanced wound modalities, referrals, and amputation.
Xeroderma Pigmentosum Associated with Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinoma in Pakistan: A Case Series
Authors: Khan Mumtaz Ali , Akbar Nighat , Saeed Asim , Amir Afreenish , Ikram Aamer , Saleem Zikria
Published: October 2021

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is an autosomal recessive condition characterized by an extreme sensitivity to UV rays from sunlight. It presents clinically with progressive pigmentary abnormalities and an increased incidence of skin and mucous membrane cancers at sun-exposed sites. Parental consanguinity is a significant risk factor.

 Previously, cases of XP have been reported from various regions of Pakistan including Larkana, Sibbi, Karachi, Lahore, and District Dir in 1993, 2009, and 2010. Genetic studies have been conducted on seven consanguineous families with XP belonging to the Khosa tribe of Baloch ethnicity. In May 2018, XP was reported in four siblings in a family from a small village in Sindh Province, Pakistan.

 Current surveillance has been carried out in the tribal village of Lundi Khosa, District Kachhi at Baluchistan, Pakistan. The disease has been endemic in the tribe since 1986, although it was brought under control in the last few years. This case report describes five patients (aged 3–12 years) with XP who have developed nonmelanoma skin malignancies.
Maggot Debridement Therapy for Chronic Leg and Foot Ulcers: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Syam Kevin , Joiya Shaheer A. , Khan Sumayyah , Unnikrishnan P. Nithin
Published: October 2021

OBJECTIVE

To critically analyze the existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the clinical, economic, and psychological implications of maggot debridement therapy (MDT).

DATA SOURCES

An exhaustive literature search for English-language publications was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed.

STUDY SELECTION

Keywords used for the search were based on the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) framework. The titles, abstracts, and relevant full-text articles were screened. Seven RCTs were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data pertaining to the primary and secondary outcomes of each study were extracted.

DATA SYNTHESIS

The data extracted were evaluated and categorized into clinical, economic, and psychological outcomes pertaining to MDT. A judicious evaluation of these outcomes was made, and the following conclusions were drawn.

CONCLUSIONS

There exists heterogeneity in the extant RCTs, but MDT appears to be effective for a quick early debridement. For diabetic foot ulcers, MDT improves debridement, controls infection, and enhances wound healing. In chronic peripheral vascular disease ulcers, it aids in early debridement, but the final outcome is equivocal. Further robust integrated health economic and parallel qualitative assessment studies are recommended to understand the cost-effectiveness and patient acceptability and experience.
Skin Autofluorescence as a Novel and Noninvasive Technology for Advanced Glycation End Products in Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Varikasuvu Seshadri Reddy , Varshney Saurabh , Sulekar Harish
Published: October 2021

OBJECTIVE

Skin autofluorescence (SAF) has been suggested as a novel and noninvasive technique for assessing tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end products in diabetes and related complications. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the use of SAF in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).

DATA SOURCES

PubMed/MEDLINE and other digital databases.

STUDY SELECTION

The authors included studies comparing the SAF levels in patients with DFU with a non-DFU group to determine its association with DFU risk.

DATA EXTRACTION

Collected data included the SAF method and its values in DFU and non-DFU groups, covariates used in adjustment along with the unadjusted and/or multivariate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the association of SAF with DFU risk, and other study characteristics.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A total of six studies were included in this meta-analysis. Five studies that involved 611 participants were included to compare SAF methods. Compared with the non-DFU group, the DFU group showed a significantly increased level of SAF (standardized mean difference, 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32–1.01; P < .001). The results of meta-analysis of ORs revealed that the increased SAF level was independently associated with increased DFU risk in both unadjusted (OR, 3.16; 95% CI, 2.18–4.57; P < .001) and adjusted models (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.95–4.81; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that SAF could be useful as a novel and noninvasive technology to help determine DFU risk. However, further studies establishing its diagnostic and prognostic utilities are needed.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: O'Leary Geraldine M.
Published: October 2021

This article discusses the pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical manifestations, diagnostics, and pharmacologic treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, as well as nursing considerations for caring for patients with this rare disease.
Pharmacologic Recruitment of Endogenous Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Zabarsky Zachary K. , Luo Tianyi David , Ma Xue , Dean Gabriella M. , Smith Thomas L.
Published: October 2021

Study Design.

Laboratory study using a rat T9 contusion model of spinal cord injury.

Objective.

This study aims to examine whether a combinatory treatment of Pioglitazone (PGZ) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) can support neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) directly and provide a sustainable microenvironment through immunomodulatory mechanisms.

Summary of Background Data.

Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the progression of spinal cord injury (SCI) and hinders NSPC-mediated repair and regeneration. Broad acting drugs that mitigate inflammation and support NSPC proliferation have not been tested together in SCI research models.

Methods.

Isolated NSPCs were treated with vehicle control, PGZ, GCSF, or both PGZ and GSCF for 24 hours and stained with proliferation marker Ki67. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats sustained moderate-to-severe contusion-based SCI at T9 and were administered either vehicle control, PGZ, GCSF, or both PGZ and GCSF treatments.

Results.

Immunocytochemistry revealed that cultured NSPCs treated with both drugs produced higher numbers of actively proliferating cells and total cell numbers. ELISA on spinal cord tissue lysates at 1, 3, and 7 days post-injury (DPI) demonstrated that animals treated with PGZ, GCSF, or combination therapy showed significantly higher doublecortin levels at 7 DPI compared to control animals (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry of injured tissue at 3, 7, and 14 DPI revealed no difference of ependymal NSPC proliferation between groups, but showed a significant decrease in lesion size with combination therapy compared to controls. Functional recovery was assessed by the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan locomotor rating scale. Animals treated with both drugs had significantly higher levels of function at 1 (P < 0.001), 3 (P < 0.001), 7 (P < 0.05), and 14 (P < 0.05) DPI compared to controls.

Conclusion.

These results indicate that PGZ and GCSF treatment synergistically enhance NSPCs numbers and improve functional recovery after SCI. Our findings support an immunomodulatory strategy to recruit native NSPCs as a potential acute care intervention for SCI.

Level of Evidence: N/A
Interhospital Transfer Outcomes for Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Requiring Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: Chen Elaine , Longcoy Joshua , McGowan Samuel K. , Lange-Maia Brittney S. , Avery Elizabeth F. , Lynch Elizabeth B. , Ansell David A. , Johnson Tricia J.
Published: October 2021

IMPORTANCE:

Studying interhospital transfer of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia in the spring 2020 surge may help inform future pandemic management.

OBJECTIVES:

To compare outcomes for mechanically ventilated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 transferred to a tertiary referral center with increased surge capacity with patients admitted from the emergency department.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS:

Observational cohort study of single center urban academic medical center ICUs. All patients admitted and discharged with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia who received invasive ventilation between March 17, 2020, and October 14, 2020.

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES:

Demographic and clinical variables were obtained from the electronic medical record. Patients were classified as emergency department admits or interhospital transfers. Regression models tested the association between transfer status and survival, adjusting for demographics and presentation severity.

RESULTS:

In total, 298 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia were admitted to the ICU and received mechanical ventilation. Of these, 117 were transferred from another facility and 181 were admitted through the emergency department. Patients were primarily male (64%) and Black (38%) or Hispanic (45%). Transfer patients differed from emergency department admits in having English as a preferred language (71% vs 56%; p = 0.008) and younger age (median 57 vs 61 yr; p < 0.001). There were no differences in race/ethnicity or primary payor. Transfers were more likely to receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (12% vs 3%; p = 0.004). Overall, 50 (43%) transferred patients and 78 (43%) emergency department admits died prior to discharge. There was no significant difference in hospital mortality or days from intubation to discharge between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:

In a single-center retrospective cohort, no significant differences in hospital mortality or length of stay between interhospital transfers and emergency department admits were found. While more study is needed, this suggests that interhospital transfer of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 can be done safely and effectively.
Molecular genotyping of adrenocortical carcinoma: a systematic analysis of published literature 2019–2021
Authors: Grisanti Salvatore , Cosentini Deborah , Sigala Sandra , Berruti Alfredo
Published: October 2021

Purpose of review

comprehensive molecular characterization of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) through next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics analyses is expanding the number of targets with potential prognostic and therapeutic value. We performed a critical review of recent published literature on genotyping of ACC.

Recent findings

423 studies were published between 2019 and 2021. After manual curation we summarized selected evidence in two thematic areas: germline deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) variations, genomic alterations and prognosis.

the evolving genomic landscape of ACC requires target validation in terms of prognostic and predictive value within scientific consortia. Although the existing multiple driver genes are difficult targets in the perspective of precision oncology, alterations in DNA damage repair genes or in promoter hypermethylation could open new venues for repurposing of existing drugs in ACC.
Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase, Oxidative Stress, and Diabetic Endothelial Dysfunction
Authors: Zou Ming-Hui , Wu Shengnan
Published: October 2021

Endothelial dysfunction characterized by impaired endothelium-dependent vaso-relaxation is one of the earliest detectable pathological events in smoking, diabetes, and many cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis. Overwhelming data from human and animals demonstrate that the endothelial dysfunction associated with diabetes is due to the local formation of oxidants and free radicals. However, the mechanisms by which diabetes instigates oxidative stress, and those by which oxidative stress perpetuates endothelial dysfunction are the subjects of intensive research in the last 3 decades. The studies from us and others have demonstrated that adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a well-characterized energy sensor and modulator, serves as a highly efficient sensor as AMPK can be activated by very low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated by physiological, pharmacological, and pathologic stimuli (redox sensor). Interestingly, oxidants-activated AMPK feedback lowers the levels of ROS by either suppressing ROS/RNS from reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and mitochondria or by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes (redox modulator). Further, our studies demonstrate that AMPK's functions as a redox sensor and modulator are vital to maintain endothelial cell function under physiological conditions. Finally, we discover that under chronic oxidative stress or large influx of ROS, AMPK is particularly susceptible to inhibition by ROS. We conclude that oxidative inactivation of AMPK in diabetes perpetuates oxidative stress and accelerates atherosclerosis in diabetes.
Macrophages in Ischemic Heart Failure: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Authors: Liu Demin , Yan Wenjun , Huang Jingwen , Zhao Jianli , Kilby Houston , Christopher Theodore A. , Lopez Bernard , Tao Ling , Ma Xinliang , Gu Guoqiang , Wang Yajing
Published: October 2021

With continually improving reperfusion strategies and patient care, the overall mortality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been significantly reduced during the past two decades. However, this success is a double-edged sword, as many patients surviving an AMI will progress towards ischemic heart failure (HF) over time. The pathologic causes of ischemic HF are undoubtedly multifactorial. However, the inflammatory response is considered one of the most important causes of pathological remodeling because it spans the whole process of HF development. The macrophage-mediated inflammatory response was once considered a purely harmful factor leading to pathological remodeling and HF. However, growing evidence demonstrates that multiple subgroups of macrophage exist and contribute differently to ischemic HF development. Understanding macrophage populations and how they contribute to post-MI remodeling and consequent ischemic HF is, therefore, critical to understanding and treating the disease. This review focuses on different macrophage populations that regulate post-MI cardiac injury and how immunoregulation therapy may benefit patients with ischemic HF.
Clinical Advances in Congenital Long QT Syndrome
Authors: Li Kun , Zhang Ping
Published: October 2021

Long QT syndrome is an inherited arrhythmia characterized by a prolonged QT interval and increased risk of life-threatening cardiac events, including arrhythmogenic syncope, seizures, and sudden cardiac death with a structurally normal heart. Since its first description in the 1950s, extensive researches allowed a better understanding of the cause and mechanisms of this disease, which improved our ability of early diagnosis, risk stratification, and precise therapy of these patients. This article provides an updated review of the clinical and molecular profiles of this potentially lethal inherited disorder and summarizes current knowledge regarding diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapy.
Device-Based Treatment in Hypertension: At the Forefront of Renal Denervation
Authors: Kario Kazuomi , Hettrick Douglas A. , Esler Murray D.
Published: October 2021

Percutaneous renal denervation is a novel device therapy that modifies the circulatory regulatory system and has received considerable attention recently. This treatment partially blocks the renal sympathetic nervous system, which is an organ-connecting pathway between the brain and the kidney. Denervation techniques currently under clinical investigation include radiofrequency, ultrasonic, and chemical ablation with alcohol, all of which are executed through transcatheter access to the renal artery. All recently published randomized sham-controlled trials have shown a clear antihypertensive effect of renal denervation over 24 hours, including during the nighttime and early morning. This treatment has promise in the management of poorly controlled hypertension as well as in the prevention of the development or aggravation of arrhythmias and heart failure.
Insomnia and Coronary Artery Diseases: A Mendelian Randomisation Study
Authors: Zhang Wenjuan , Zha Lingfeng , Dong Jiangtao , Chen Qianwen , Wu Jianfei , Tang Tingting , Xia Ni , Zhang Min , Jiao Jiao , Xie Tian , Xu Chengqi , Tu Xin , Nie Shaofang
Published: October 2021

Objective:

Observational studies indicate that insomnia may increase the risk of developing and/or dying from cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary artery disease (CAD). Our purpose is to explore the underlying causal relationship between genetic variants susceptible to insomnia and the risk of CAD by Mendelian randomization analysis.

Methods:

The study was conducted using publicly available statistical data on genetic variants identified from a genome-wide association meta-analysis of insomnia (n = 113,006 individuals) and a genome-wide association meta-analysis of CAD (n = 184,305 individuals), which consisted of both cases and non-cases. The genetic association between variants and CAD was assessed by the variants’ association with insomnia, and estimations were integrated by an inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis.

Results:

Among the Mendelian randomized analytical sample, 8 variants were associated with insomnia complaints and CAD. And there was no pleiotropic association with the latent confounders. In addition, in the inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis (the estimations combined from the 8 variants), the odds ratio was 1.15 (95% CI: 1.05–1.25; P = 0.002) for CAD, and in the weighted method analysis, the odds ratio was 1.14 (95% CI: 1.03–1.27; P = 0.015) for CAD.

Conclusions:

All of the data indicated that some valuable variants might involve in the development of CAD by leading the insomnia. Therefore, insomnia might be a causal factor for CAD, and improving the quality of sleep might be a new way for populations with insomnia to prevent CAD.
Standard Operation Procedure of Percutaneous Endomyocardial Biopsy in Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Authors: Xu Xiqi , Tian Zhuang , Fang Quan , Jing Zhi-Cheng , Zhang Shuyang
Published: October 2021

Percutaneous endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a technique that biopsy samples are obtained using bioptome through peripheral blood vessel. This technique has been used and refined more than 50 years in clinical application. Now EMB has become an important diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. Department of cardiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) has performed more than 500 cases of EMB and accumulated abundant practical experience. The clinical practice guideline of percutaneous EMB in PUMCH was also established, including indications, contradictions, operation key points, sample handling and processing, post-procedure monitoring, and treatment strategy for potential complications, etc. Due to the limitation of EMB, cardiologists should collaborate with experts in echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac pathology to avoid missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. Cardiologists should pay more attention to the value of EMB and actively perform EMB to improve the diagnosis level for myocarditis and cardiomyopathy in China.