bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The efficacy and safety of tinengotinib in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Authors: Hongqian Guo , Subudhi Sumit Kumar , Han Weiqing , Liao Chih-Yi , Zhang Shun , Dai Tao , Peng Peng , Sun Caixia , Wang Hui , Hennessy Katie , Fu Ximei , Yu Yingying , Wu Yingtong , Li Qing , Xu Ruolan , Huang Peng , Neo Levin , Wu Frank , Fan Jean , Piha-Paul Sarina A.
Published: February 2024

133

Background: Tinengotinib is a spectrum-selective multi-kinase inhibitor that targets cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and immune-oncology pathways by inhibiting Aurora kinases A/B, Janus kinases (JAK), and receptor tyrosine kinases (FGFRs, VEGFRs). It has been reported that the activation of JAK/STAT and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling drives prostate tumor plasticity. Here we present the preliminary safety and efficacy data of tinengotinib in patients with mCRPC from three early phase clinical trials conducted in the US and China. Methods: Eligible mCRPC patients who have no available standard therapeutic treatment options were enrolled to the three studies. Tinengotinib was given as monotherapy at 8 mg QD, 10 mg QD and 12 mg QD. Efficacy tumor assessments were based on RECIST v1.1 for measurable disease and Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 criteria for non-measurable (bone) disease. PSA50 response was also evaluated. CTCAE v5.0 was used for safety assessments. Results: As of 28AUG2023, 30 patients with mCRPC were treated at dose levels of 8 mg QD (n=1), 10 mg QD (n=19) and 12 mg QD (n=10). Median age was 67 years (range 52-82) with ECOG performance status of 1 in 93% of patients. All patients had at least 2 prior therapies including 77% prior docetaxel, 87% prior abiraterone, and 30% prior enzalutamide. The median follow-up time is 5.4 months. Twenty-two (22) patients were efficacy evaluable, of which 13 were evaluable per RECIST v1.1. Fourteen (14) patients were PSA evaluable. The median radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) was 5.6 months (95% CI, 3.3-7.3). Overall response rate (ORR) was 46% (6/13) and the disease control rate (DCR) was 85% (11/13). Median duration of response (DoR) was 3.0 months. The PSA50 response rate was 50% (7/14). Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 28 patients (93%). The most common TRAEs (≥20%) included blood thyroid stimulating hormone increase (43%), anemia (37%), hypertension (27%), aspartate aminotransferase increase (23%), electrocardiogram QT prolongation (20%) and white blood cell count decrease (20%). Conclusions: Tinengotinib safety profile was tolerable and manageable. The preliminary efficacy data showed promising clinical benefit of tinengotinib monotherapy in patients with heavily pretreated mCRPC. Further study of tinengotinib in this disease is warranted. Clinical trial information: NCT03654547 , NCT04742959 , NCT05253053 .
Body Mass Index and Uterine Fibroid Development: A Prospective Study
Authors: Harmon Quaker E , Patchel Stacy , Denslow Sheri , Wegienka Ganesa , Baird Donna D
Published: February 2024

Objective

Fibroids are hormonally dependent uterine tumors. The literature on adiposity and fibroid prevalence is inconsistent. Previous work usually combined all those with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 into a single category and relied on clinically diagnosed fibroids, which misclassifies the many women with undiagnosed fibroids. We used a prospective cohort design with periodic ultrasound screening to investigate associations between repeated measures of BMI and fibroid incidence and growth assessed at each follow-up ultrasound.

Methods

The Study of Environment, Lifestyle & Fibroids followed 1693 Black/African American women, ages 23 to 35 years from Detroit, Michigan, with ultrasound every 20 months for 5 years. Measured height and repeated weight measures were used to calculate BMI. Fibroid incidence was modeled using Cox models among those who were fibroid free at the enrollment ultrasound. Fibroid growth was estimated for individual fibroids matched across visits as the difference in log-volume between visits and was modeled using linear mixed models. All models used time-varying BMI and adjusted for time-varying covariates.

Results

Compared with BMI <25 kg/m2, those with BMI 30 to <35 kg/m2 had increased fibroid incidence (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.96-1.94), those with BMI ≥40 kg/m2 had reduced incidence (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.41-0.90). Fibroid growth had mostly small magnitude associations with BMI.

Conclusion

BMI has a nonlinear association with fibroid incidence, which could be driven by effects of BMI on inflammation and reproductive hormones. More detailed measures of visceral and subcutaneous adiposity and their effects on hormones, DNA damage, and cell death are needed.
Conrad, Lawrence, and the Sabotage and Salvage of Genre
Authors: McGowan Christopher
Published: February 2024

This article considers Joseph Conrad's Nostromo and D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love as modernist reworkings of the industrial novels of the mid-nineteenth century, such as Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton and Charles Dickens's Hard Times. Conrad and Lawrence, the article argues, rework the industrial-novel genre as a way to figure a crisis of British culture—and of the novel as a form. In the era of British imperial decline, the apparent massification and globalization of modern Western culture, and revolutionary changes in gender relations and family life, the synoptic historical narratives of Nostromo and Women in Love describe the transformation of the earlier promise of development into an apocalyptic present, and, in turn, the dissolution of the progressive assurance of the realist novel. While the nineteenth-century novels plead for reform and paternalistic care to moderate but protect the free market and liberalism, Nostromo and Women in Love narrate precisely the historical fulfillment of this wish—but, then, in turn, also narrate the end of that reformist logic and the triumph of a fully globalized and “perfected” capitalism, which they characterize as worse than the free-market capitalism that the earlier novels both criticize and celebrate. Drawing on Marxist-feminist theories of “social reproduction,” the article describes especially how the modernist novels imagine the family as a machine for maintaining and servicing capitalist production: the regeneration of the family—a trope so important to the resolution of plot in the realist novel—is now a sign of decay instead of resilience.
Scenario Fiction and the Novel Claims of Insurance
Authors: Gutman Jennifer
Published: February 2024

Emerging during a Cold War era of nuclear uncertainty, refined in decades of neoliberal turbulence, and used today for modeling climate futures, scenario thinking has now entered the domain of the Anthropocene novel. This article argues for the adoption of scenarios as a formal strategy of two contemporary realist novels engaged in updating the genre to present scales of crisis: Tom McCarthy's Remainder (2005) and Ben Lerner's 10:04 (2014). As these novels process new forms of risk in a time of epochal fracture, they likewise signal a conceptual break in realism's capacity to imagine new configurations for the present based on the shape of things past. Scenarios prioritize plausibility over predictability, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in processing an age of planetary crisis while also showing the limits of statistical methods of world-building. By attending to the many configurations that could emerge from the volatile state of the present, scenario fiction seeks to preempt unmediated outcomes and insure the novel's critical extension into all possible futures.
Fire Dreams
Authors: McTighe Laura , Women With A Vision  , Haywood Deon
Published: February 2024

For thirty-five years, the New Orleans-based Black feminist collective Women With A Vision (WWAV) has fought for the liberation of their communities through reproductive justice, harm reduction, abolition feminism, racial justice, and sex workers' rights. In 2012, shortly after one of WWAV's biggest organizing victories, arsonists firebombed and destroyed its headquarters. Fire Dreams is an innovative collaboration between WWAV and Laura McTighe, who work in community to build a social movement ethnography of the organization’s post-arson rebirth. Rooting WWAV in the geography of the South and the living history of generations of Black feminist thinkers, McTighe and WWAV weave together stories from its founders’ pioneering work during the Black HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and its groundbreaking organizing to end criminalization in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina---with other movements for liberation as accomplices. Together, the authors refuse the logics of racial capitalism and share WWAV’s own world-building knowledges, as well as their methods for living these Black feminist futures now. Fire Dreams is a vital toolkit for grassroots organizers, activist-scholars, and all those who dream to make the world otherwise.
Closures
Authors: Lavery Grace
Published: February 2024

From The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Arrested Development to BoJack Horseman, the American sitcom revolves around crises that must be resolved by episode’s end, with a new crisis to come next week. In Closures, Grace Lavery reconsiders the genre’s seven-decade history as an endless cycle of crisis and closure that formally and representationally frames heterosexuality as constantly on the verge of both collapse and reconstitution. She shows that even the normiest family-based sitcoms rely on queer characters like Alice (The Brady Bunch) and Steve Urkel (Family Matters) who highlight how the family is perpetually incomplete and unstable. Analyzing the genre’s techniques and devices such as the laugh track and the cringe pan, Lavery also charts the shift to friend-group and workplace sitcoms like Friends and The Office, which she contends reflect a weakening of social ties in ways that place characters in an unending state of becoming. With this capacious yet svelte queer and trans theorization of the sitcom, Lavery demonstrates that the family ties that bind the genre’s normative heterosexuality are far more tenuous than we have been led to believe.
Algorithm Versus Expert: Machine Learning Versus Surgeon-Predicted Symptom Improvement After Carpal Tunnel Release
Authors: Loos Nina Louisa , Hoogendam Lisa , Souer John Sebastiaan , van Uchelen Jeroen Hein , Slijper Harm Pieter , Wouters Robbert Maarten , Selles Ruud Willem
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Surgeons rely on clinical experience when making predictions about treatment effects. Incorporating algorithm-based predictions of symptom improvement after carpal tunnel release (CTR) could support medical decision-making. However, these algorithm-based predictions need to outperform predictions made by surgeons to add value. We compared predictions of a validated prediction model for symptom improvement after CTR with predictions made by surgeons.

METHODS:

This cohort study included 97 patients scheduled for CTR. Preoperatively, surgeons estimated each patient's probability of improvement 6 months after surgery, defined as reaching the minimally clinically important difference on the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptom Severity Score. We assessed model and surgeon performance using calibration (calibration belts), discrimination (area under the curve [AUC]), sensitivity, and specificity. In addition, we assessed the net benefit of decision-making based on the prediction model's estimates vs the surgeon's judgement.

RESULTS:

The surgeon predictions had poor calibration and suboptimal discrimination (AUC 0.62, 95%-CI 0.49-0.74), while the prediction model showed good calibration and appropriate discrimination (AUC 0.77, 95%-CI 0.66-0.89, P = .05). The accuracy of surgeon predictions was 0.65 (95%-CI 0.37-0.78) vs 0.78 (95%-CI 0.67-0.89) for the prediction model (P = .03). The sensitivity of surgeon predictions and the prediction model was 0.72 (95%-CI 0.15-0.96) and 0.85 (95%-CI 0.62-0.97), respectively (P = .04). The specificity of the surgeon predictions was similar to the model's specificity (P = .25). The net benefit analysis showed better decision-making based on the prediction model compared with the surgeons' decision-making (ie, more correctly predicted improvements and/or fewer incorrectly predicted improvements).

CONCLUSION:

The prediction model outperformed surgeon predictions of improvement after CTR in terms of calibration, accuracy, and sensitivity. Furthermore, the net benefit analysis indicated that using the prediction model instead of relying solely on surgeon decision-making increases the number of patients who will improve after CTR, without increasing the number of unnecessary surgeries.
Grainyhead-like 2 interacts with noggin to regulate tissue fusion in mouse
Authors: de Vries Michael E. , Carpinelli Marina R. , Fuller Jarrad N. , Sutton Yindi , Partridge Darren D. , Auden Alana , Anderson Peter J. , Jane Stephen M. , Dworkin Sebastian
Published: February 2024

Defective tissue fusion during mammalian embryogenesis results in congenital anomalies, such as exencephaly, spina bifida and cleft lip and/or palate. The highly conserved transcription factor grainyhead-like 2 (Grhl2) is a crucial regulator of tissue fusion, with mouse models lacking GRHL2 function presenting with a fully penetrant open cranial neural tube, facial and abdominal clefting (abdominoschisis), and an open posterior neuropore. Here, we show that GRHL2 interacts with the soluble morphogen protein and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) inhibitor noggin (NOG) to impact tissue fusion during development. The maxillary prominence epithelium in embryos lacking Grhl2 shows substantial morphological abnormalities and significant upregulation of NOG expression, together with aberrantly distributed pSMAD5-positive cells within the neural crest cell-derived maxillary prominence mesenchyme, indicative of disrupted BMP signalling. Reducing this elevated NOG expression (by generating Grhl2−/−;Nog+/− embryos) results in delayed embryonic lethality, partial tissue fusion rescue, and restoration of tissue form within the craniofacial epithelia. These data suggest that aberrant epithelial maintenance, partially regulated by noggin-mediated regulation of BMP-SMAD pathways, may underpin tissue fusion defects in Grhl2−/− mice.
Validity of Xiphophorus fish as models for human disease
Authors: Schartl Manfred , Lu Yuan
Published: February 2024

Platyfish and swordtails of the genus Xiphophorus provide a well-established model for melanoma research and have become well known for this feature. Recently, modelling approaches for other human diseases in Xiphophorus have been developed or are emerging. This Review provides a comprehensive summary of these models and discusses how findings from basic biological and molecular studies and their translation to medical research demonstrate that Xiphophorus models have face, construct and predictive validity for studying a broad array of human diseases. These models can thus improve our understanding of disease mechanisms to benefit patients.
Cycling temperature treatments affect estimates of digestive performance in prairie lizards (Sceloporus consobrinus)
Authors: Litmer Allison R. , Beaupre Steven J.
Published: February 2024

In nature, many organisms experience a daily range of body temperatures. Thermal performance at stable temperatures is often extrapolated to predict function in cyclical environments. However, temperature order and cyclicity may influence physiological processes. The current study compared energy intake, digestive passage time and energy budgets at a stable temperature (33°C) and two temperature cycles in lizards (Sceloporus consobrinus), to determine (1) whether stable treatments adequately project performance in a cycling environment and (2) whether temperature order influences performance. Cycles had a mean temperature of 33°C, and rotated through 30°C, 33°C and 36°C daily, with equal durations of time at each temperature but differing temperature order, with warm days and cool nights in cycle 1 and cool days and warm nights in cycle 2. For analyses, performance in the stable treatment was compared with that during cycles. If temperature is the primary factor regulating performance, then performance from the stable treatment and cycles should compare favorably. However, physiological performance varied based on temperature treatment. Energy intake and budgets were similar between the stable trial and cycle 1 but not cycle 2. However, passage time did not differ. Notably, the two cycling regimes consistently varied in performance, indicating that temperature order plays a primary role in regulating performance. Physiological data collection requires careful consideration of effects of cycling versus stable temperature treatments. Stable temperatures do not consistently represent performance in cycling regimes and consideration should be paid not only to which temperatures animals experience but also to how temperature is experienced in nature.
Završnik, A. and Simončič, K. (Εds.) (2023). Artificial Intelligence, social harms and human rights. Palgrave Macmillan (XIV+276 pages). ISBN: 978-3-031-19148-0. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19149-7.
Authors: Gotsis George
Published: February 2024

Ν/Α
7.R.3. Talbert, Richard; Brodersen, Kai (eds.) (2004) Space in the Roman world: its perception and presentation
Authors: Novikov Kadri
Published: February 2024

Talbert, Richard; Brodersen, Kai (eds.) (2004) Space in the Roman world: its perception and presentation. Münster: LIT. (Antike Kultur und Geschichte; 5.) 154 p. ISBN 3-8258-7419-2. Price: €14.90.
9.R.3. Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald (ed.) (2006) Greek literature in late antiquity: dynamism, didacticism, classicism
Authors: Näripä Neeme
Published: February 2024

Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald (ed.) (2006) Greek literature in late antiquity: dynamism, didacticism, classicism. Aldershot etc: Ashgate. XII, 215 p. ISBN-10 0-7546-5683-7, ISBN-13 978-07546-5683-8.
9.R.6. Gregory, Justina (ed.) (2005) A companion to Greek tragedy
Authors: Lill Anne
Published: February 2024

Gregory, Justina (ed.) (2005) A companion to Greek tragedy. Oxford: Blackwell. XVIII, 552 p. ISBN-10 1-4051-0770-7, ISBN-13 978-1-4051-0770-9.
CZWARTY REDAKTOR ZYGMUNT NOWAKOWSKI A MIECZYSŁAW GRYDZEWSKI I JEGO MEDIA (STUDIUM CONVERSATION PIECE)
Authors: Chojnacki Paweł
Published: February 2024

W artykule omówiono współpracę Zygmunta Nowakowskiego z Mieczysławem Grydzewskim w latach 1924–1945. Wykazano, że przed II wojną światową Nowakowski współpracował z „Wiadomościami Literackimi” (m.in. popularne Listy z Krakowa) i „Przyjacielem Psa”. Ściślejszy kontakt z Grydzewskim nawiązał na emigracji. W latach 1940–1944 Nowakowski formalnie występował jako redaktor (naczelny) i – praktycznie – wraz z Grydzewskim kierował pismem. Obecny był również w większości inicjatyw wydawniczych (almanachy, antologie) w okresie nieukazywania się tygodnika. W pierwszej fazie (1946–1950) jego reinkarnacji, do czasu nawiązania regularnej współpracy z „Dziennikiem Polskim i Dziennikiem Żołnierza” oraz RWE, był jednym z najważniejszych autorów „Wiadomości”. Jedną z ważniejszych podstaw źródłowych opracowania jest korespondencja znajdująca się w zbiorach Archiwum Emigracji.
WIT TARNAWSKI I „WIADOMOŚCI”
Authors: Pasterski Janusz
Published: February 2024

W artykule omówiona została aktywność pisarska i krytycznoliteracka Wita Tarnawskiego na łamach londyńskiego czasopisma „Wiadomości”. Tarnawski był współpracownikiem tygodnika w latach 1947–1980 i publikował w nim swoje utwory prozatorskie, przekłady na język polski, eseje, felietony, recenzje, aforyzmy i wiersze. W kręgu czytelników „Wiadomości” znany był przede wszystkim jako znawca i badacz twórczości Josepha Conrada, krytyk literacki oraz prozaik. Przez wszystkie lata współpracy z czasopismem pozostawał wierny swojej wizji literatury i rozumieniu roli krytyka jako partnera pisarza, którego zadaniem jest „rozmowa z autorem”. Ukształtowanie takiego rozumienia sztuki i rzeczywistości zawdzięczał fascynacji twórczością Conrada oraz personalistycznemu sposobowi myślenia o świecie i człowieku.
The Impact of Marketing Strategy on the Sales Performance: A study of Micro and Small enterprises’ owners
Authors: Abdullah Ali Kawar , Mustafa Ameen Ameen Ayoub A. , Farhad Ali Tirwanshi Kawar
Published: February 2024

The marketing strategies (7Ps) are the cornerstone of any enterprise. Therefore, the current research was designed to investigate the impact of marketing strategies on the sales performance of small and micro-scale enterprises in Duhok Province. In this regard, the research aims to test the impact of relationship marketing strategies (product, price, place, promotion, process, people, and physical evidence) on sales performance, as well as how they can be implemented and managed. Undoubtedly, the current research relied on descriptive and analytical method to conduct this research. For this purpose, the data collection technique included a central and secondary source in order to provide a theoretical framework. As for data analysis tools consist of validity and reliability tests, descriptive statistics of participants and variables, correlation analysis, and impact factor analysis via using the most recent version of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V. 28). Nevertheless, the present research employed a random sampling that consists of business owners of micro and small scale businesses in Iraq-Kurdistan region, which this research just selected Duhok governorate out of 4 cities. In contrast, the questionnaire survey is the key tool of this research, which was distributed to (150) business leaders (130) questionnaires were gathered, (123) surveys were validated and ready for data analysis and research tests with a response rate valued (82%) of the targeted sample, and reliability factor was (0.928). As a result, several conclusions and suggestions were deduced from this research with an enormous majority of respondents of agreement scales valued (74%). Furthermore, the research concluded that there is a positive significant relationship and impact between marketing strategies (MS) and sales performance (SP) it infers this link is critical to expand profitability, productivity, and growth rates of micro and small areas.
Atividade física, comportamento sedentário e saúde da mulher: um mapa de evidências
Authors: Loro Fernanda Laís , Ostolin Thatiane Lopes Valentim Di Paschoale
Published: February 2024

A atividade física (AF) regular contribui para prevenção e controle de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis, auxilia na manutenção do peso corporal e previne declínio cognitivo e sintomas depressivos. Diante de maior prevalência de inatividade física no sexo feminino, assim como as particularidades da mulher que interferem na condição de saúde, surge a necessidade de identificar e sumarizar os efeitos de intervenções para mudança de estilo de vida (MEV) na saúde da mulher. O objetivo do estudo foi mapear a literatura sobre AF, comportamento sedentário e saúde da mulher a partir da elaboração de um mapa de evidências. Após a busca na literatura em 7 bases de dados em abril de 2022, foram selecionadas 29 revisões sistemáticas e metanálises sobre intervenções de MEV com ênfase em incentivo à prática de AF e treinamento com exercício em mulheres. Ao todo, foram avaliados os efeitos de 22 tipos de intervenções distribuídos em 7 grupos para 159 desfechos em saúde. Os efeitos das intervenções associadas aos desfechos foram classificados como positivo (n = 83), potencialmente positivo (n = 20), inconclusivo (n = 10) e sem efeito (n = 42). O nível de confiança foi baixo para 12 estudos, médio para 10 e alto somente em 7 estudos. As evidências foram mais consistentes e robustas em relação a AF, treinamento concorrente e/ou combinado, exercício aeróbio, exercício para musculatura do assoalho pélvico e exercício multicomponente, sobretudo durante os cuidados pré-natais e para o manejo de incontinência urinária e câncer.
The power of a cup of tea: psychosocial interventions in dementia
Authors: Rose Tom , Spencer-Davies Christa
Published: February 2024

Dementia is a condition that affects the psychological and emotional wellbeing of not only the person with the diagnosis but also those around them. Therefore, providing holistic support and care to the entire family is essential. Psychosocial interventions have a significant impact on families living with dementia. They are a broad category of strategies and approaches that support the whole person by recognising their inherent strengths, and acknowledging and addressing the challenges they face. These interventions can range from a simple conversation over a cup of tea to more structured forms of psychotherapy.
A trainee's passion!
Authors: Silver Rebecca
Published: February 2024

Rebecca Silver sits down with Sarah Anuyah, a trainee dental nurse to hear her thoughts on dentistry and a future dental career.
Influences on Maternal Mortality in Pakistan: Insights from the 2019 Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey
Authors:   Applied Economics Research Center, University of Karachi, Pakistan, Sheikh Qurra-tul-ain Ali
Published: February 2024

This article analyzes data from the 2019 Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey to identify factors influencing maternal mortality in Pakistan. Factors like living in rural areas, in lower wealth quintiles, with limited access to media, of younger maternal age, of lower education level, lacking antenatal care, and having limited access to cesarean sections, are all associated with higher maternal mortality rates in the survey data. Increased paternal age, inadequate family planning utilization, and delays in accessing care, show a positive relationship with maternal deaths. The study highlights the complex interactions between demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and healthcare system-related factors and the influence of three health care access delays on maternal mortality. Policymakers should consider improving access to quality healthcare services, promoting the education and empowerment of women, enhancing antenatal care coverage, and reducing delays when people seek and receive care. These are crucial steps to reducing maternal mortality in Pakistan. Targeted policies must be developed to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce maternal deaths. Keywords: Maternal mortality rate, Contributory factors, Maternal health care, Bivariate and multivariable analyses, Logistic method, Pakistan.
Does the intercondylar approach provide a better outcome for chondroblastoma of the distal femur in skeletally immature patients?
Authors: Jamshidi Khodamorad , Kargar Shooroki Khalil , Ammar Wael , Mirzaei Alireza
Published: February 2024

Aims

The epiphyseal approach to a chondroblastoma of the intercondylar notch of a child’s distal femur does not provide adequate exposure, thereby necessitating the removal of a substantial amount of unaffected bone to expose the lesion. In this study, we compared the functional outcomes, local recurrence, and surgical complications of treating a chondroblastoma of the distal femoral epiphysis by either an intercondylar or an epiphyseal approach.

Methods

A total of 30 children with a chondroblastoma of the distal femur who had been treated by intraregional curettage and bone grafting were retrospectively reviewed. An intercondylar approach was used in 16 patients (group A) and an epiphyseal approach in 14 (group B). Limb function was assessed using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system and Sailhan’s functional criteria.

Results

At final follow-up, the mean MSTS score was 29.1 (SD 0.9) in group A and 26.7 (SD 1.5) in group B (p = 0.006). According to Sailhan’s criteria, the knee function was good and fair in 14 (87.5%) and two (12.5%) patients of group A, and eight (57.1%) and six (42.9%) patients of group B, respectively (p = 0.062). The lesion had recurred in one patient (6.2%) in group A and four patients (28.6%) in group B. Limb shortening > 1 cm was recorded in one patient (6.2%) from group A and six patients (42.8%) from group B. Joint degeneration was noted in one patient from group A and three patients from group B.

Conclusion

An intercondylar approach to a chondroblastoma of the middle two-quarters of the distal femoral epiphysis results in better outcomes than a medial or lateral epiphyseal approach: specifically, better limb function, a lower rate of recurrence, and a lower rate of physeal damage and joint degeneration.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2024;106-B(2):195–202.
Predicted Contribution of Snowmelt to Subsurface Drainage Discharge in Two Subsurface-Drained Fields in Southern Quebec and Ontario
Authors: Li Ziwei , Qi Zhiming , Madramootoo Chandra A. , Zhang Tiequan
Published: February 2024

Highlights

RZ-SHAW model delivered a satisfactory simulation for winter subsurface drainage discharge.

Snowmelt dominated the drainage discharge during the winter and spring snowmelt seasons in southern Quebec.

Snowmelt contributed to 29% and 18% of winter and annual drainage discharge, respectively, in southern Ontario.

Abstract. Late winter/early spring has been recognized as a critical period for subsurface drainage discharge and associated nutrient losses due to snowmelt and rainfall in croplands under cold, humid climates in North America and Europe. Although the detachment and transport processes of soil particles under snowmelt and rainfall are known to be different, studies quantifying the contribution of snowmelt to winter drainage discharge are limited. This study aims to investigate the contribution of snowmelt to subsurface drainage discharge at two winterized experimental sites in southern Quebec and Ontario, Canada, using observed data and the Root Zone Water Quality Model-Simultaneous Heat and Water model (RZ-SHAW model). The RZ-SHAW model was calibrated and validated against the measured snow depth and year-round subsurface drainage discharge data from 2021 to 2023 at St. Emmanuel, Quebec, and from 2000 to 2003 at Harrow, Ontario. RZ-SHAW demonstrated satisfactory Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency values (NSE = 0.50) for simulating snow depth, soil temperature, and winter subsurface drainage discharge. The calibrated RZ-SHAW model was used to simulate the contribution of snowmelt to subsurface drainage for the two sites from 1990 to 2022. The snowmelt was predicted to contribute 55% and 44% of the winter and annual subsurface drainage discharge for the cropland in Southern Quebec. In contrast, for the southern Ontario site, the contribution of snowmelt to winter and annual subsurface drainage discharge was 29% and 18%, respectively. Considering that snowmelt in Southern Quebec contributed a significant fraction of winter and annual subsurface drainage discharge, more attention should be devoted to adapting and developing new winter management for nutrient loss in future research in the region. Keywords: Cold region, Cropland drainage, Drainage partition, RZ-SHAW, RZWQM2, Snowmelt, Soil freeze and thaw, Winter subsurface drainage.
From Rights to Beliefs: The Geopolitics of Securitising AIDS
Authors: Kearns Gerry , Tucker Andrew
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT: This essay extends research on the relationships between human security, bio-politics and geopolitics by examining the securitisation of HIV/AIDS. Taking the geopolitical moment of the end of the Cold War, we put forward two competing framings of AIDS as a geopolitical concern. One of these was liberal multiculturalism via an acceptance of a multilateral rights-based international framework, while the other was a form of unipolar colonialism whereby global governance was based on a subset of US national values. We then critically engage with both in relation to the development of international AIDS policies throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. We conclude by reflecting on the wide-ranging implications of these pathways today.
Deep learning-assisted smartphone-based quantitative microscopy for label-free peripheral blood smear analysis
Authors: Huang Bingxin , Kang Lei , Tsang Victor T. C. , Lo Claudia T. K. , Wong Terence T. W.
Published: February 2024

Hematologists evaluate alterations in blood cell enumeration and morphology to confirm peripheral blood smear findings through manual microscopic examination. However, routine peripheral blood smear analysis is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Here, we propose using smartphone-based autofluorescence microscopy (Smart-AM) for imaging label-free blood smears at subcellular resolution with automatic hematological analysis. Smart-AM enables rapid and label-free visualization of morphological features of normal and abnormal blood cells (including leukocytes, erythrocytes, and thrombocytes). Moreover, assisted with deep-learning algorithms, this technique can automatically detect and classify different leukocytes with high accuracy, and transform the autofluorescence images into virtual Giemsa-stained images which show clear cellular features. The proposed technique is portable, cost-effective, and user-friendly, making it significant for broad point-of-care applications.
Model and data-centric machine learning algorithms to address data scarcity for failure identification
Authors: Khan Lareb Zar , Pedro João , Costa Nelson , Sgambelluri Andrea , Napoli Antonio , Sambo Nicola
Published: February 2024

The uneven occurrence of certain types of failures in optical networks results in a scarcity of data for less frequent failures, leading to imbalanced datasets for training machine learning (ML) models. This poses a significant bottleneck in terms of reliability and practical implementation of ML for failure management. Existing research works often overlook this aspect while demonstrating high accuracies by utilizing sufficiently balanced training datasets collected in controlled laboratory setups and simulations. However, this approach does not reflect a realistic network scenario. To address this issue, different model-centric and data-centric approaches have been investigated in this work to determine their potential for improving the learning of ML models, specifically neural networks (NNs), on less frequent failures with such imbalanced training datasets. For failure identification, the obtained results suggest that data-centric approaches tend to perform better in terms of classification accuracy, with an improvement of up to 5.5% in F1-score observed on less frequent failures compared to a baseline NN (i.e., without any model-centric or data-centric treatment). However, some data-centric approaches may also have significant additional computational complexity associated with them, and, therefore, a suitable approach should be chosen based on the desired classification performance and available computational resources.
SESAM mode-locked Yb:GdScO3 laser
Authors: Guo Jie , Li Shanming , Zhao Chengchun , Hang Yin , Zeng Huang-Jun , Lin Zhang-Lang , Zhang Ge , Elabedine Ghassen Zin , Mateos Xavier , Loiko Pavel , Petrov Valentin , Chen Weidong , Liang Xiaoyan
Published: February 2024

We report on the investigation of continuous-wave (CW) and SEmiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror (SESAM) mode-locked operation of a Yb:GdScO3 laser. Using a single-transverse-mode, fiber-coupled InGaAs laser diode at 976 nm as a pump source, the Yb:GdScO3 laser delivers 343 mW output power at 1062 nm in the CW regime, which corresponds to a slope efficiency of 52%. Continuous tuning is possible across a wavelength range of 84 nm (1027–1111 nm). Using a commercial SESAM to initiate mode-locking and stabilize soliton-type pulse shaping, the Yb:GdScO3 laser produces pulses as short as 42 fs at 1065.9 nm, with an average output power of 40 mW at 66.89 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of passively mode-locking with Yb:GdScO3 crystal.
Vector-guided Fourier single-pixel imaging
Authors: He RuiQing , Zhang Shuting , Li Xiaoqian , Kong Tao , Chen Qian , Zhang Wenwen
Published: February 2024

The Fourier single-pixel imaging technique exhibits great potential for compressive imaging. However, the utilization of low sampling ratio can introduce unwanted ringing artifacts, thereby compromising the fidelity of reconstructed image detail. To address this issue, Vector guided Fourier single-pixel imaging (V-FSI) has been proposed. We analyze the statistical properties in the edge vector field derived from images with low sampling ratio. Based on this information, a tailored sampling map is designed to acquire the significant high-frequency components for image reconstruction. Experimental results demonstrate the remarkable effectiveness of the proposed V-FSI method in enhancing image quality. Notably, V-FSI exhibits exceptional capabilities in perceiving and preserving the details of the objects, particularly for objects characterized by pronounced periodicity and directionality.
Directional emission of a three-dimensional connection-type metamaterial
Authors: Liu Jia-Yi , Dong Jian-Wen , Chen Wen-Jie
Published: February 2024

Directional emission of electromagnetic waves plays an essential role in laser radar and free-space communication. For most directional antennas, bandwidth and miniaturization are a pair of contradictions due to their underlying interference mechanism. Connection-type metamaterials exhibit exotic electromagnetic response near zero-frequency, which relies on the global topology of mesh connectivity rather than resonance and thus has a broad working bandwidth. In this Letter, we investigate the broadband orientation-dependent coupling effect of a 3D double mesh metamaterial. Based on this effect, we achieve a broadband directional emission (relative bandwidth of 37.72%) using a compact structure (compared to twice working wavelength). Our work provides a novel, to the best of our knowledge, scheme to manipulate a long-wavelength wave and may pave the way to a miniaturized directional antenna.
Monolayer directional metasurface for all-optical image classifier doublet
Authors: Yang Zhen Yu , Xia Rui , Wu Lin , Tao Jin , Zhao Ming
Published: February 2024

Diffractive deep neural networks, known for their passivity, high scalability, and high efficiency, offer great potential in holographic imaging, target recognition, and object classification. However, previous endeavors have been hampered by spatial size and alignment challenges. To address these issues, this study introduces a monolayer directional metasurface, aimed at reducing spatial constraints and mitigating alignment issues. and eliminate the effects of alignment. Utilizing this methodology, we reveal that the metasurface trained by the diffractive deep neural network can achieve excellent digital classification results, and the classification accuracy of ideal phase mask plates and metasurface can reach 84.73% and 84.85%, respectively. Despite a certain loss of degrees of freedom compared to multi-layer phase mask plates, the single-layer metasurface is easier to fabricate and alignment, thereby improving spatial utilization efficiency.
Cellular arrangement impacts metabolic activity and antibiotic tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms
Authors: Dayton Hannah , Kiss Julie , Wei Mian , Chauhan Shradha , LaMarre Emily , Cornell William Cole , Morgan Chase J. , Janakiraman Anuradha , Min Wei , Tomer Raju , Price-Whelan Alexa , Nirody Jasmine A. , Dietrich Lars E. P.
Published: February 2024

Cells must access resources to survive, and the anatomy of multicellular structures influences this access. In diverse multicellular eukaryotes, resources are provided by internal conduits that allow substances to travel more readily through tissue than they would via diffusion. Microbes growing in multicellular structures, called biofilms, are also affected by differential access to resources and we hypothesized that this is influenced by the physical arrangement of the cells. In this study, we examined the microanatomy of biofilms formed by the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa and discovered that clonal cells form striations that are packed lengthwise across most of a mature biofilm’s depth. We identified mutants, including those defective in pilus function and in O-antigen attachment, that show alterations to this lengthwise packing phenotype. Consistent with the notion that cellular arrangement affects access to resources within the biofilm, we found that while the wild type shows even distribution of tested substrates across depth, the mutants show accumulation of substrates at the biofilm boundaries. Furthermore, we found that altered cellular arrangement within biofilms affects the localization of metabolic activity, the survival of resident cells, and the susceptibility of subpopulations to antibiotic treatment. Our observations provide insight into cellular features that determine biofilm microanatomy, with consequences for physiological differentiation and drug sensitivity.
Feasibility of post-exposure-prophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin and identification of high prevalent clusters in villages’ hyperendemic for leprosy in Senegal
Authors: Batista Gilbert , Dioussé Pauline , Diagne Papa Mamadou , Cissé Mahamat , Tamba Ibrahima Tito , Diop Fatou , Diop Fanta , Fall Lahla , Sakho Diama , Bammo Mariama , Guèye Ndiaga , Kasang Christa , Ortuño-Gutiérrez Nimer , Zoubi Louis Hyacinthe , Diop Madoky Magatte
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Senegal is a leprosy low-endemic country with nine villages known to be hyperendemic with a leprosy incidence rate above 1,000 per million inhabitants. We aim to implement a door-to-door screening strategy associated with the administration of a single-dose-rifampicin (SDR) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to household and social contacts in these villages and to identify spatial clustering and assess the risk of leprosy in population according to the physical distance to the nearest index-case.

Methods

From October/2020 to February/2022 active door-to-door screening for leprosy was conducted in nine villages. Using an open-source application, we recorded screening results, demographic and geographic coordinate’s data. Using Poisson model we analysed clustering and estimated risk of contracting leprosy in contacts according to the distance to the nearest new leprosy patient.

Results

In nine villages, among 9086 contacts listed, we examined 7115. Among 6554 eligible contacts, 97.8% took SDR. We found 39(0.64%) new leprosy cases among 6,124 examined in six villages. Among new cases, 21(53.8%) were children, 10(25.6%) were multibacillary and 05(12.8%) had grade 2 disability. The prevalent risk ratio and 95% confidence intervale(95%CI) adjusted by village were 4.2(95%CI 1.7–10.1), 0.97(95%CI 0.2–4.4), 0.87(95%CI 0.2–25), 0.89(95%CI 0.3–2.6) and 0.70(95%CI 0.2–2.5) for the contacts living in the same household of an index case, 1-25m, 26-50m, 51-75m and 76-100m compared to those living at more than 100m respectively. We identified nine high prevalent clusters including 27/39(69%) of new cases in 490/7,850(6%) inhabitants, with relative risks of 46.6(p-value = 0.01), and 7.3, 42.8, 8.2, 12.5, 11.4, 23.5, 22.3, and 14.6 (non-significant p-values).

Conclusions

Our strategy has proved the feasibility of active screening for leprosy in contacts and the introduction of PEP for leprosy under programmatic conditions. Only individuals living in the same household as the leprosy patient had a significant risk of contracting leprosy. We documented nine clusters of leprosy that could benefit from tailored control activities while optimizing resources.
Assessment of health-related quality of life among Afghan refugees in Quetta, Pakistan
Authors: Kaleem Shoaib , Ahmad Tawseef , Wahid Abdul , Khan Hamad Haider , Mallhi Tauqeer Hussain , Al-Worafi Yaser Mohammed , Alam Anila , Khan Asad , Khan Yusra Habib , Khan Faiz Ullah
Published: February 2024

The study aims to assess the health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and its association with socio-demographic factors among the Afghan refugees residing in Quetta, Pakistan. For this purpose, a cross-sectional, descriptive study design by adopting Euro QOL five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) for the assessment of HRQOL was conducted by approaching Afghan refugees from the camp and other areas of Quetta, Pakistan. Furthermore, this study also involved descriptive analysis to expound participant’s demographic characteristics while inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann–Whitney test, P < 0.05) were used to compare EQ-5D scale scores. All analyses were performed using SPSS v 20. Herein, a total of 729 participants were enrolled and were subsequently (n = 246, 33.7%) categorized based on their age of 22–31 years (31.30 ± 15.40). The results of mean EQ-5D descriptive score (0.85 ± 0.20) and EQ-VAS score (78.60 ± 11.10) indicated better HRQOL in the current study respondents as compared to studies conducted in other refugee camps around the globe. In addition, demographic characteristics including age, marital status, locality, years of living as refugees, life as a refugee residing out of Pakistan, place of residence in Afghanistan, educational qualification, occupation, and arrested for crime were the statistically significant predictors (P < 0.05) of EQ-5D index scores. However, gender, living status, monthly income, preferred place of treatment were non-significant predictors (P > 0.05). The results of current study provided evidence for a model that correlated with participant’s socio-demographic information and HRQOL. Moreover, this study also revealed a baseline assessment for the health status of Afghan refugees, interestingly, these results could be applied for improving HRQOL of the given participants. In conclusion, the HRQOL of Afghan refugees residing in Quetta, Pakistan can largely be improved by providing adequate healthcare facilities, education and employment opportunities, mental and social support, and providing adequate housing and basic necessities of life.
Community support for injured patients: A scoping review and narrative synthesis
Authors: Jhunjhunwala Rashi , Jayaram Anusha , Mita Carol , Davies Justine , Chu Kathryn
Published: February 2024

Background

Community-based peer support (CBPS) groups have been effective in facilitating access to and retention in the healthcare system for patients with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Given the high incidence of morbidity that results from traumatic injuries, and the barriers to reaching and accessing care for injured patients, community-based support groups may prove to be similarly effective in this population.

Objectives

The objective of this review is to identify the extent and impact of CBPS for injured patients.

Eligibility

We included primary research on studies that evaluated peer-support groups that were solely based in the community. Hospital-based or healthcare-professional led groups were excluded.

Evidence

Sources were identified from a systematic search of Medline / PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science Core Collection.

Charting methods

We utilized a narrative synthesis approach to data analysis.

Results

4,989 references were retrieved; 25 were included in final data extraction. There was a variety of methodologies represented and the groups included patients with spinal cord injury (N = 2), traumatic brain or head injury (N = 7), burns (N = 4), intimate partner violence (IPV) (N = 5), mixed injuries (N = 5), torture (N = 1), and brachial plexus injury (N = 1). Multiple benefits were reported by support group participants; categorized as social, emotional, logistical, or educational benefits.

Conclusions

Community-based peer support groups can provide education, community, and may have implications for retention in care for injured patients.