bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statistical techniques used in analysing simultaneous continuous glucose monitoring and ambulatory electrocardiography in patients with diabetes: A systematic review
Authors: Charamba Beatrice , Liew Aaron , Nadeem Asma , Newell John , O’Keeffe Derek T. , O’Brien Timothy , Wijns William , Shahzad Atif , Simpkin Andrew J.
Published: February 2023

Objectives

There has been a steady increase in the number of studies of the complex relationship between glucose and electrical cardiac activity which use simultaneous continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and continuous electrocardiogram (ECG). However, data collected on the same individual tend to be similar (yielding correlated or dependent data) and require analyses that take into account that correlation. Many opt for simplified techniques such as calculating one measure from the data collected and analyse one observation per subject. These simplified methods may yield inconsistent and biased results in some instances. In this systematic review, we aim to examine the adequacy of the statistical analyses performed in such studies and make recommendations for future studies.

Research questions

What are the objectives of studies collecting simultaneous CGM and ECG data? Do methods used in analysing CGM and continuous ECG data fully optimise the data collected?

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

PubMed and Web of Science.

Methods

A comprehensive search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases to June 2022 was performed. Studies utilising CGM and continuous ECG simultaneously in people with diabetes were included. We extracted information about study objectives, technologies used to collect data and statistical analysis methods used for analysis. Reporting was done following PRISMA guidelines.

Results

Out of 118 publications screened, a total of 31 studies met the inclusion criteria. There was a diverse array of study objectives, with only two studies exploring the same exposure-outcome relationship, allowing only qualitative analysis. Only seven studies (23%) incorporated methods which fully utilised the study data using methods that yield the correct power and minimize type I error rate. The rest (77%) used analyses that summarise the data first before analysis and/or totally ignored data dependency. Of those who applied more advanced methods, one study performed both simple and correct analyses and found that ignoring data structure resulted in no association whilst controlling for repeated measures yielded a significant relationship.

Conclusion

Most studies underutilised statistical methods suitable for analysis of dynamic continuous data, potentially attenuating their statistical power and overall conclusions. We recommend that aggregated data be used only as exploratory analysis, while primary analysis should use methods applied to the raw data such as mixed models or functional data analyses. These methods are widely available in many free, open source software applications.
Development, promotion, and application of online OvAge calculator based on the WeChat applet: Clinical prediction model research
Authors: Xu Wenwen , Wang Hui , Han Linting , Zhao Xueli , Chen Panpan , Zhao Haiyang , Jin Jing , Zhu Zheng , Shao Fang , Ren Qingling
Published: February 2023

Ovarian age assessment is an important indicator to evaluate the ovarian reserve function and reproductive potential of women. At present, the application of ovarian age prediction model in China needs further improvement and optimization to make it more suitable for the actual situation of women in China. In this study, we collected subjects and their data in three ways: firstly, we collected clinical data from a number of women go to local hospital, including healthy women and women with DOR or PCOS; secondly, we obtained data by recruited healthy women through CRO companies for a fee; thirdly, we collected data from a number of healthy women using WeChat applet. Using the data collected by CRO company and WeChat applet, we applied the generalized linear model to optimize the ovarian age prediction model. The optimized formula is: OvAge = exp (3.5254–0.0001*PRL-0.0231*AMH), where P = 0.8195 for PRL and P = 0.0003 for AMH. Applying the formula to the hospital population data set for testing, it showed that the predicted ovarian age in the healthy women was comparable to their actual age, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) = 5.6324. The prediction accuracy was high. These data suggest that our modification of the ovarian age prediction model is feasible and that the formula is currently a more appropriate model for ovarian age assessment in healthy Chinese women. This study explored a new way to collect clinical data, namely, an online ovarian age calculator developed based on a WeChat applet, which can collect data from a large number of subjects in a short period of time and is more economical, efficient, and convenient. In addition, this study introduced real data to optimize the model, which could provide insights for model localization and improvement.
A push-pull strategy to control the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, using alarm and aggregation pheromones
Authors: Kim Chul-Young , Khan Falguni , Kim Yonggyun
Published: February 2023

Since the first report in 1993 in Korea, the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, has been found in various crops throughout the country. Although more than 20 different chemical insecticides are registered to control this insect pest, its outbreaks seriously damage crop yields, especially in greenhouses. This study developed a non-chemical technique to control F. occidentalis infesting hot peppers cultivated in greenhouses. The method was based on behavioral control using an alarm pheromone (“Push”) to prevent the entry of the thrips into greenhouses and an aggregation pheromone (“Pull”) for mass trapping inside the greenhouses. The greenhouse fences were treated with a wax formulation of the alarm pheromone and a yellow CAN trap covered with sticky material containing the aggregation pheromone was constructed and deployed inside the greenhouses. Field assay demonstrated the efficacy of the push-pull tactics by reducing thrips density in flowers of the hot peppers as well as in the monitoring traps. Especially, the enhanced mass trapping to the CAN trap compared to the conventional yellow sticky trap led to significant reduction in the thrips population. This novel push-pull technique would be applicable to effectively control F. occidentalis in field conditions.
Cryo-electron microscopy of adipose tissue extracellular vesicles in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Miroshnikova Valentina V. , Dracheva Kseniya V. , Kamyshinsky Roman A. , Yastremsky Evgeny V. , Garaeva Luiza A. , Pobozheva Irina A. , Landa Sergey B. , Anisimova Kristina A. , Balandov Stanislav G. , Hamid Zarina M. , Vasilevsky Dmitriy I. , Pchelina Sofya N. , Konevega Andrey L. , Shtam Tatiana A.
Published: February 2023

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane vesicles which play an important role in cell-to-cell communication and physiology. EVs deliver biological information from producing to recipient cells by transport of different cargo such as proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs, non-coding RNAs and lipids. Adipose tissue EVs could regulate metabolic and inflammatory interactions inside adipose tissue depots as well as distal tissues. Thus, adipose tissue EVs are assumed to be implicated in obesity-associated pathologies, notably in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study we for the first time characterize EVs secreted by visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) of patients with obesity and T2DM with standard methods as well as analyze their morphology with cryo-electron microscopy. Cryo-electron microscopy allowed us to visualize heterogeneous population of EVs of various size and morphology including single EVs and EVs with internal membrane structures in samples from obese patients as well from the control group. Single vesicles prevailed (up to 85% for SAT, up to 75% for VAT) and higher proportion of EVs with internal membrane structures compared to SAT was typical for VAT. Decreased size of single and double SAT EVs compared to VAT EVs, large proportion of multilayered EVs and all EVs with internal membrane structures secreted by VAT distinguished obese patients with/without T2DM from the control group. These findings could support the idea of modified biogenesis of EVs during obesity and T2DM.
High glucose induces an activated state of partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human primary tubular cell cultures
Authors: Torsello Barbara , De Marco Sofia , Bombelli Silvia , Cifola Ingrid , Morabito Ivana , Invernizzi Lara , Meregalli Chiara , Zucchini Nicola , Strada Guido , Perego Roberto A. , Bianchi Cristina
Published: February 2023

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is observed in diabetic nephropathy. It is still debated whether tubular cells, undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in high glucose (HG) conditions, may contribute to interstitial fibrosis development. In this study, we investigated the phenotypic and molecular EMT-like changes and the alteration of inflammatory and fibrogenic secretome induced by HG in human primary tubular cell cultures. Taking advantage of this in vitro cell model composed of proximal and distal tubular cells, we showed that HG-treated tubular cells acquired a fibroblast-like morphology with increased cytoplasmic stress fibers, maintaining the expression of the epithelial markers specific of proximal and distal tubular cells. HG increased Snail1, miRNA210 and Vimentin mesenchymal markers, decreased N-cadherin expression and migration ability of primary tubular cells, while E-cadherin expression and focal adhesion distribution were not affected. Furthermore, HG treatment of tubular cells altered the inflammatory cytokine secretion creating a secretome able to enhance the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts. Our findings show that HG promotes an activated state of partial EMT in human tubular primary cells and induces a pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrogenic microenvironment, supporting the active role of tubular cells in diabetic nephropathy onset.
α-Tubulin acetylation at lysine 40 regulates dendritic arborization and larval locomotion by promoting microtubule stability in Drosophila
Authors: Niu Xiaoxiao , Mao Chuan-Xi , Wang Shan , Wang Xiongxiong , Zhang Youyu , Hu Juncheng , Bi Ran , Liu Zhihua , Shan Jin
Published: February 2023

Posttranslational modification of tubulin increases the dynamic complexity and functional diversity of microtubules. Acetylation of α-tubulin at Lys-40 is a highly conserved posttranslational modification that has been shown to improve the flexibility and resilience of microtubules. Here we studied thein vivofunctions of α-tubulin acetylation by knocking-out Atat, theDrosophilaα-tubulin acetyltransferase, and by mutating Lys-40 to Arg in α1-tubulin. We found a reduction in the dendritic arborization of larval class I dendritic arborization (da) neurons in both mutants. The dendritic developmental defects inatatmutants could be reversed by enhancing the stability of microtubules either through knocking down the microtubule severing protein Katanin 60 or through overexpressing tubulin-specific chaperone E, suggesting that α-tubulin deacetylation impairsed dendritic morphology by decreasing the stability of microtubules. Using time-lapse recordings, we found thatatatandα1-tubulinK40Rmutations dramatically increased the number of dendritic protrusions that were likely to be immature dendritic precursors. Finally, we showed that both Atat and α-tubulin acetylation were required in class I da neurons to control larval locomotion. These findings add novel insight into the current knowledge of the role of α-tubulin acetylation in regulating neuronal development and functions.
Direct selection of functional fluorescent-protein antibody fusions by yeast display
Authors: Velappan Nileena , Ferrara Fortunato , D’Angelo Sara , Close Devin , Naranjo Leslie , Bolding Madeline R. , Mozden Sarah C. , Troup Camille B. , McCullough Donna K. , Gomez Analyssa , Kedge Marijo , Bradbury Andrew R. M.
Published: February 2023

Antibodies are important reagents for research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Many examples of chimeric proteins combining the specific target recognition of antibodies with complementing functionalities such as fluorescence, toxicity or enzymatic activity have been described. However, antibodies selected solely on the basis of their binding specificities are not necessarily ideal candidates for the construction of chimeras. Here, we describe a high throughput method based on yeast display to directly select antibodies most suitable for conversion to fluorescent chimera. A library of scFv binders was converted to a fluorescent chimeric form, by cloning thermal green protein into the linker between VH and VL, and directly selecting for both binding and fluorescent functionality. This allowed us to directly identify antibodies functional in the single chain TGP format, that manifest higher protein expression, easier protein purification, and one-step binding assays.
A multi-scale approach to detecting standing dead trees in UAV RGB images based on improved faster R-CNN
Authors: Jiang Xiangtao , Wu Zhenyu , Han Siyu , Yan Hui , Zhou Bo , Li Jianjun
Published: February 2023

The health of the trees in the forest affects the ecological environment, so timely detection of Standing Dead Trees (SDTs) plays an important role in forest management. However, due to the large spatial scope of forests, it is difficult to find SDTs through conventional approaches such as field inventories. In recent years, the development of deep learning and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has provided technical support for low-cost real-time monitoring of SDTs, but the inability to fully utilize global features and the difficulty of small-scale SDTs detection have brought challenges to the detection of SDTs in visible light images. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-scale attention mechanism detection method for identifying SDTs in UAV RGB images. This method takes Faster-RCNN as the basic framework and uses Swin-Transformer as the backbone network for feature extraction, which can effectively obtain global information. Then, features of different scales are extracted through the feature pyramid structure and feature balance enhancement module. Finally, dynamic training is used to improve the quality of the model. The experimental results show that the algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively identify the SDTs in the visible light image of the UAV with an accuracy of 95.9%. This method of SDTs identification can not only improve the efficiency of SDTs exploration, but also help relevant departments to explore other forest species in the future.
Optimal COVID-19 testing strategy on limited resources
Authors: Tatsuki Onishi , Naoki Honda , Igarashi Yasunobu
Published: February 2023

The last three years have been spent combating COVID-19, and governments have been seeking optimal solutions to minimize the negative impacts on societies. Although two types of testing have been performed for this—follow-up testing for those who had close contact with infected individuals and mass-testing of those with symptoms—the allocation of resources has been controversial. Mathematical models such as the susceptible, infectious, exposed, recovered, and dead (SEIRD) model have been developed to predict the spread of infection. However, these models do not consider the effects of testing characteristics and resource limitations. To determine the optimal testing strategy, we developed a testing-SEIRD model that depends on testing characteristics and limited resources. In this model, people who test positive are admitted to the hospital based on capacity and medical resources. Using this model, we examined the infection spread depending on the ratio of follow-up and mass-testing. The simulations demonstrated that the infection dynamics exhibit an all-or-none response as infection expands or extinguishes. Optimal and worst follow-up and mass-testing combinations were determined depending on the total resources and cost ratio of the two types of testing. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the cumulative deaths varied significantly by hundreds to thousands of times depending on the testing strategy, which is encouraging for policymakers. Therefore, our model might provide guidelines for testing strategies in the cases of recently emerging infectious diseases.
Analysis of the spatio-temporal coupling coordination mechanism supporting economic resilience and high-quality economic development in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River
Authors: Ma Shenglan , Huang Junlin
Published: February 2023

The coupling coordination mechanism between economic resilience and high-quality economic development is clarified not only to improve the capacity of economies to withstand external shocks but also to boost the level of sustainable economic development. However, economic resilience and economic quality research are still in their infancy. This study constructs an economic resilience indicator system based on the data of 28 prefecture-level cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR) from 2010–2019. The entropy approach was then coupled with the coupling coordination model to determine the level of coupling coordination between the two. Finally, the geographical detector was employed to reveal the coupling coordination process and driving elements. This study demonstrates that: (1) The economic resilience and high-quality economic development of the UAMRYR are on the rise; (2) The coupling coordination degree between economic resilience and high-quality economic development is improving, with the average value increasing from 0.33 in 2010 to 0.46 in 2019, exhibiting a Core-Periphery spatial distribution pattern with Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang as the core; (3) The economic resilience resistance subsystem plays a substantial role in the driving influence of the coupling coordination degree, where the total retail sales of consumer goods indicator have an explanatory power of 0.8 or higher for coupled coordination. Innovation and inclusiveness thoroughly drive the coupling coordination degree among the five subsystems of high-quality economic development, where the q-value of the number of urban basic endowment insurance participants index is at least 0.9. Additionally, the interplay of the components demonstrates a complementary enhancement impact and a two-factor enhancement effect; (4) Economic resilience and high-quality economic development are complementary and provide a powerful incentive for the sustainable development of urban economic systems to achieve higher quality, more efficient, more egalitarian, and more sustainable economic development. Overall, this study improves the analysis of mechanism between economic resilience and high-quality economic development, and it provides more targeted guidance for economic development in the UARMRYR.
The role of gestures in autobiographical memory
Authors: Aydin Cagla , Göksun Tilbe , Otenen Ege , Tanis Selma Berfin , Şentürk Yağmur Damla
Published: February 2023

Speakers employ co-speech gestures when thinking and speaking; however, gesture’s role in autobiographical episodic representations is not known. Based on the gesture-for-conceptualization framework, we propose that gestures, particularly representational ones, support episodic event representations by activating existing episodic elements and causing new ones to be formed in the autobiographical recollections. These gestures may also undertake information-chunking roles to allow for further processing during remembering, such as a sense of recollective experience. Participants (N = 41) verbally narrated three events (a past autobiographical, a future autobiographical, and a non-autobiographical event) and then rated their phenomenological characteristics. We found that, even though gesture use was not different across the three event conditions, representational gestures were positively associated with the episodic event details as well as their recollective quality within the past autobiographical event narratives. These associations were not observed in future event narrations. These findings suggest that gestures are potentially instrumental in the retrieval of details in autobiographical memories.
Neck CT angiography in acute stroke: An open window for fast detection of COVID-19 lung involvement? Applicability in telemedicine
Authors: Uclés Jorge , Cuesta Emilio , Rigual Ricardo , Rodríguez-Pardo Jorge , Ruiz-Ares Gerardo , Navía Pedro , Fernández-Prieto Andrés , Álvarez-Muelas Alberto , de Leciñana María Alonso , Fuentes Blanca
Published: February 2023

Background

Chest CT has been proposed as a screening test to rule out SARS-CoV-2 lung infection in acute stroke. Our objectives are to analyze the predictive value of neck CT angiography (CTA) source images compared with conventional chest CT, the interobserver concordance and the reliability of the diagnosis using a mobile app.

Methods

A retrospective observational study that included acute stroke patients admitted to a stroke center. Two raters blinded to the clinical data evaluated and classified the pulmonary findings in chest CT and neck CTA source images according to the COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS). CTA findings were evaluated using a conventional workstation and the JOIN mobile app. Scores of 3–5 were grouped as appearing typical or indeterminate for COVID-19 lung involvement and 0–2 as appearing atypical or negative for pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results

A total of 242 patients were included (42 with PCR-confirmed COVID-19). In the cohort of 43 patients with both neck CTA and chest CT, the predictive value for COVID-19 was equivalent (sensitivity, 53.8%; specificity, 92.9%). The interobserver agreement in the classification into CO-RADS 3–5 or 1–2 in CTA was good (K = 0.694; standard error, 0.107). In the cohort of 242 patients with neck CTA, the intraobserver agreement between the workstation and the JOIN app was perfect (K = 1.000; standard error 0.000).

Conclusions

Neck CTA enables the accurate identification of COVID-19-associated lung abnormalities in acute stroke. CO-RADS evaluations through mobile applications have a predictive value similar to the usual platforms.
The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire–Revised– 7 (RFQ-R-7): A new measurement model assessing hypomentalization
Authors: Horváth Zsolt , Demetrovics Orsolya , Paksi Borbála , Unoka Zsolt , Demetrovics Zsolt
Published: February 2023

Although it is a widely used questionnaire, limitations regarding the scoring procedure and the structural validity of the eight-item Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8) were raised. The present study aimed to examine further the latent dimensionality of the RFQ-8 and to examine linear and non-linear associations between mentalization difficulties and maladaptive psychological characteristics. Data from two separate representative samples of young adults (N = 3890; females: 51.68%; mean age: 27.06 years [SD = 4.76]) and adults (N = 1385; females: 53.20%; mean age: 41.77 years [SD = 13.08]) were used. In addition to the RFQ-8, standardized questionnaires measured the levels of impulsivity, sensation seeking, rumination, worry and well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the model fit of competing measurement models. CFA revealed that a revised, seven-item version of the RFQ (RFQ-R-7) with a unidimensional structure showed the most optimal levels of model fit in both samples. Impulsivity, sensation seeking, rumination and worry consistently presented significant, positive, linear associations with general mentalization difficulties in both samples. Significant quadratic associations were also identified, but these relationships closely followed the linear associations between the variables and increased only marginally the explained variance. The supported unidimensional measurement model and the associations between the general mentalization difficulties factor and maladaptive psychological characteristics indicated that the RFQ-R-7 captures a dimension of hypomentalization ranging between low and high levels of uncertainty. Increasing levels of hypomentalization can indicate a risk for less adaptive psychological functioning. Further revisions of the RFQ-8 might be warranted in the future to ensure adequate measurement for hypermentalization.
How to estimate body condition in large lizards? Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae, Duméril and Bibron, 1839) as a case study
Authors: McCaffrey Kelly R. , Balaguera-Reina Sergio A. , Falk Bryan G. , Gati Emily V. , Cole Jenna M. , Mazzotti Frank J.
Published: February 2023

Body condition is a measure of the health and fitness of an organism represented by available energy stores, typically fat. Direct measurements of fat are difficult to obtain non-invasively, thus body condition is usually estimated by calculating body condition indices (BCIs) using mass and length. The utility of BCIs is contingent on the relationship of BCIs and fat, thereby validation studies should be performed to select the best performing BCI before application in ecological investigations. We evaluated 11 BCIs in 883 Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae) removed from their non-native range in South Florida, United States. Because the length-mass relationship in tegus is allometric, a segmented linear regression model was fit to the relationship between mass and length to define size classes. We evaluated percent, residual, and scaled fat and determined percent fat was the best measure of fat, because it was the least-associated with snout-vent length (SVL). We evaluated performance of BCIs with the full dataset and within size classes and identified Fulton’s K as the best performing BCI for our sampled population, explaining up to 19% of the variation in fat content. Overall, we found that BCIs: 1) maintained relatively weak relationships with measures of fat and 2) splitting data into size classes reduced the strength of the relationship (i.e., bias) between percent fat and SVL but did not improve the performance of BCIs. We postulate that the weak performance of BCIs in our dataset was likely due to the weak association of fat with SVL, the body plan and life-history traits of tegus, and potentially inadequate accounting of available energy resources. We caution against assuming that BCIs are strong indicators of body condition across species and suggest that validation studies be implemented, or that alternative or complimentary measures of health or fitness should be considered.
Surveillance of communicable diseases using social media: A systematic review
Authors: Pilipiec Patrick , Samsten Isak , Bota András
Published: February 2023

Background

Communicable diseases pose a severe threat to public health and economic growth. The traditional methods that are used for public health surveillance, however, involve many drawbacks, such as being labor intensive to operate and resulting in a lag between data collection and reporting. To effectively address the limitations of these traditional methods and to mitigate the adverse effects of these diseases, a proactive and real-time public health surveillance system is needed. Previous studies have indicated the usefulness of performing text mining on social media.

Objective

To conduct a systematic review of the literature that used textual content published to social media for the purpose of the surveillance and prediction of communicable diseases.

Methodology

Broad search queries were formulated and performed in four databases. Both journal articles and conference materials were included. The quality of the studies, operationalized as reliability and validity, was assessed. This qualitative systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results

Twenty-three publications were included in this systematic review. All studies reported positive results for using textual social media content to surveille communicable diseases. Most studies used Twitter as a source for these data. Influenza was studied most frequently, while other communicable diseases received far less attention. Journal articles had a higher quality (reliability and validity) than conference papers. However, studies often failed to provide important information about procedures and implementation.

Conclusion

Text mining of health-related content published on social media can serve as a novel and powerful tool for the automated, real-time, and remote monitoring of public health and for the surveillance and prediction of communicable diseases in particular. This tool can address limitations related to traditional surveillance methods, and it has the potential to supplement traditional methods for public health surveillance.
Can low-carbon pilot policies improve the efficiency of urban carbon emissions?——A quasi-natural experiment based on 282 prefecture-level cities across China
Authors: Wang Jian , Song Zhihui , Zhang Yuzhen , Hussain Rana Yassir
Published: February 2023

Low-carbon pilot policies are an important way to achieve the goal of "peak carbon neutrality" and are of great significance to China’s international commitments. Based on a sample of 282 prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2020, this paper investigates the impact of low-carbon pilot policies on urban carbon efficiency using a quasi-natural experiment with three batches of low-carbon pilot cities in 2010, 2012, and 2017, respectively. It is found that: (1) low-carbon pilot cities can improve urban carbon emission efficiency, which is still valid after a series of robustness tests such as the parallel trend test, placebo test, PSM-DID, and counterfactual test; (2) low-carbon pilot cities can enhance urban carbon emission efficiency by promoting the level of urban innovation and advanced urban industrial structure; and (3) the impact of low-carbon pilot policies on urban carbon emission efficiency is heterogeneous across cities with different geographical locations, population sizes, and resource endowment types. The findings provide policy insights for the promotion of low-carbon pilot policies and strengthening the construction of low-carbon pilot cities.
Depression in association with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte, platelet-to-lymphocyte, and advanced lung cancer inflammation index biomarkers predicting lung cancer survival
Authors: Andersen Barbara L. , Myers John , Blevins Tessa , Park Kylie R. , Smith Rachel M. , Reisinger Sarah , Carbone David P. , Presley Carolyn J. , Shields Peter G. , Carson William E.
Published: February 2023

Lung cancer is a product of inflammation and a dysfunctional immune system, and depression has similar dysregulation. Depression disproportionately affects lung cancer patients, having the highest rates of all cancers. Systemic inflammation and depression are both predictive of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survival, but the existence and extent of any co-occurrence is unknown. Studied is the association between systemic inflammation ratio (SIR) biomarker levels and patients’ depressive symptoms, with the hypothesis that depression severity would be significantly associated with prognostically poor inflammation. Newly diagnosed stage-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; N = 186) patients were enrolled (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03199651) and blood draws and depression self-reports (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were obtained. For SIRs, cell counts of neutrophils (N), lymphocytes (L), and platelets (P) were abstracted for ratio (R) calculations for NLR, PLR, and the Advanced Lung cancer Inflammation Index (ALI). Patients were followed and biomarkers were tested as predictors of 2-year overall survival (OS) to confirm their relevance. Next, multivariate linear regressions tested associations of depression with NLR, PLR, and ALI. Overall 2-year mortality was 61% (113/186). Cox model analyses confirmed higher NLR [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.91; p = 0.001] and PLR (HR = 2.08; p<0.001), along with lower ALI (HR = 0.53; p = 0.005), to be predictive of worse OS. Adjusting for covariates, depression was reliably associated with biomarker levels (p ≤ 0.02). Patients with moderate/severe depressive symptoms were 2 to 3 times more likely to have prognostically poor biomarker levels. Novel data show patients’ depressive symptoms were reliably associated with lung-relevant systemic inflammation biomarkers, all assessed at diagnosis/pretreatment. The same SIRs were found prognostic for patients’ 2-year OS. Intensive study of depression, combined with measures of cell biology and inflammation is needed to extend these findings to discover mechanisms of depression toxicity for NSCLC patients’ treatment responses and survival.
Management practices in hospitals: A public-private comparison
Authors: Lucifora Claudio
Published: February 2023

We use information on management practices in 1,183 hospitals in 7 different countries, collected in 2010 within the “World Management Survey” initiative, to estimate the role of public ownership on different management dimensions, such as monitoring performance, setting targets and incentivizing employees. A significant variation in management practices both between countries and, within countries, across hospitals is found. We show that managers in public sector hospitals tend to underperform, relative to private hospitals, in all the countries considered. Larger hospitals appear to be better managed, while there is no difference between teaching and other type of hospitals. Publicly owned hospitals appear less efficient in the provision of incentive schemes to promote and reward highly motivated employees, or remove poor performers. Overall, public ownership is associated with a reduction of about 10% in management score, which corresponds approximately to a half-standard deviation.
BA.1, BA.2 and BA.2.75 variants show comparable replication kinetics, reduced impact on epithelial barrier and elicit cross-neutralizing antibodies
Authors: Singh Janmejay , Anantharaj Anbalagan , Panwar Aleksha , Rani Chitra , Bhardwaj Monika , Kumar Parveen , Chattopadhyay Partha , Devi Priti , Maurya Ranjeet , Mishra Pallavi , Pandey Anil Kumar , Pandey Rajesh , Medigeshi Guruprasad R.
Published: February 2023

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is capable of infecting unvaccinated, vaccinated and previously-infected individuals due to its ability to evade neutralization by antibodies. With multiple sub-lineages of Omicron emerging in the last 12 months, there is inadequate information on the quantitative antibody response generated upon natural infection with Omicron variant and whether these antibodies offer cross-protection against other sub-lineages of Omicron variant. In this study, we characterized the growth kinetics of Kappa, Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Calu-3 cells. Relatively higher amounts infectious virus titers, cytopathic effect and disruption of epithelial barrier functions was observed with Delta variant whereas infection with Omicron sub-lineages led to a more robust induction of interferon pathway, lower level of virus replication and mild effect on epithelial barrier. The replication kinetics of BA.1, BA.2 and BA.2.75 sub-lineages of the Omicron variant were comparable in cell culture and natural infection in a subset of individuals led to a significant increase in binding and neutralizing antibodies to the Delta variant and all the three sub-lineages of Omicron but the level of neutralizing antibodies were lowest against the BA.2.75 variant. Finally, we show that Cu2+, Zn2+ and Fe2+ salts inhibited in vitro RdRp activity but only Cu2+ and Fe2+ inhibited both the Delta and Omicron variants in cell culture. Thus, our results suggest that high levels of interferons induced upon infection with Omicron variant may counter virus replication and spread. Waning neutralizing antibody titers rendered subjects susceptible to infection by Omicron variants and natural Omicron infection elicits neutralizing antibodies that can cross-react with other sub-lineages of Omicron and other variants of concern.
HBZ upregulates myoferlin expression to facilitate HTLV-1 infection
Authors: Polakowski Nicholas , Sarker Md Abu Kawsar , Hoang Kimson , Boateng Georgina , Rushing Amanda W. , Kendle Wesley , Pique Claudine , Green Patrick L. , Panfil Amanda R. , Lemasson Isabelle
Published: February 2023

The complex retrovirus, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), primarily infects CD4+ T-cells in vivo. Infectious spread within this cell population requires direct contact between virally-infected and target cells. The HTLV-1 accessory protein, HBZ, was recently shown to enhance HTLV-1 infection by activating intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) expression, which promotes binding of infected cells to target cells and facilitates formation of a virological synapse. In this study we show that HBZ additionally enhances HTLV-1 infection by activating expression of myoferlin (MyoF), which functions in membrane fusion and repair and vesicle transport. Results from ChIP assays and quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR indicate that HBZ forms a complex with c-Jun or JunB at two enhancer sites within the MYOF gene and activates transcription through recruitment of the coactivator p300/CBP. In HTLV-1-infected T-cells, specific inhibition of MyoF using the drug, WJ460, or shRNA-mediated knockdown of MyoF reduced infection efficiency. This effect was associated with a decrease in cell adhesion and an intracellular reduction in the abundance of HTLV-1 envelope (Env) surface unit (SU) and transmembrane domain (TM). Lysosomal protease inhibitors partially restored SU levels in WJ460-treated cells, and SU localization to LAMP-2 sites was increased by MyoF knockdown, suggesting that MyoF restricts SU trafficking to lysosomes for degradation. Consistent with these effects, less SU was associated with cell-free virus particles. Together, these data suggest that MyoF contributes to HTLV-1 infection through modulation of Env trafficking and cell adhesion.
MONOGRAPHIC: Testimony and Trust in Contemporary Epistemology
Authors: BRONCANO Fernando , VEGA ENCABO Jesús
Published: February 2023

Introduction
Fenomenotecnia y conceptualización en la epistemología de Gaston Bachelard
Authors: Torretti Roberto
Published: February 2023

Se explican dos ideas capitales de la epistemología de Bachelard y su relación mutua: la ciencia es fenomenotécnica, la ciencia inventa sus conceptos La producción de fenómenos con arreglo a esos conceptos certifica su idoneidad
Giving Reasons, A Contribution to Argumentation Theory
Authors: Bermejo-Luque Lilian
Published: February 2023

In Giving Reasons: A Linguistic-pragmatic-approach to Argumentation Theory (Springer, 2011), I provide a new model for the semantic and pragmatic appraisal of argumentation. This model is based on a characterization of argumentation as a second order speech-act complex. I explain the advantages of this model respecting other proposals within Argumentation Theory, such as Pragma-dialectics, Informal Logic, the New Rhetoric or the Epistemic Approach.
Expertise and Intuitions about Reference
Authors: Machery Edouard
Published: February 2023

Many philosophers hold that experts' semantic intuitions are more reliable and provide better evidence than lay people's intuitions—a thesis commonly called "the Expertise Defense." Focusing on the intuitions about the reference of proper names, this article critically assesses the Expertise Defense.
La regla de la aseveración y las implicaturas argumentativas
Authors: Perez Otero Manuel
Published: February 2023

Williamson defiende la regla del conocimiento, RK, sobre las aseveraciones: debemos aseverar que p sólo si sabemos que p. En este trabajo exploro algunas consecuencias interesantes de RK: (a) en ocasiones, al hacer una aseveración correcta transmitimos (como implicatura) un significado no literal verdadero, que -sin embargo- no podría ser correctamente aseverado; (b) ese tipo de implicatura se da, entre otros casos, en una cierta subclase de las implicaturas: las implicaturas argumentativas; (c) RK y la noción de implicatura argumentativa permiten explicar la tendencia a tratar de forma equivalente diferentes tipos de argumentos antiescépticos inspirados en Moore.Williamson defends the knowledge rule, KR, about assertions: one must: assert p only if one knows p. In this work I explore some interesting consequences of KR: (a) sometimes, when making a correct assertion we transmit (as an implicature) a true non-literal meaning which -nevertheless- could not be rightly asserted; (b) this kind of implicatures are present, for instance, in a certain subclass of implicatures: argumentative implicatures; (c) KR and the notion of argumentative implicature allow for an explanation of the tendency to treat different kinds of Moore-like antiskeptical arguments as if they were equivalent.
Interpretando la Paradoja de Moore:
la irracionalidad de una oración mooreana
Authors: Borgoni Cristina
Published: February 2023

Este trabajo ofrece una lectura de la Paradoja de Moore que pone énfasis en su relevancia para nuestra comprensión de la racionalidad y de la interpretación lingüística. Mantiene que las oraciones que dan origen a la paradoja no necesitan entenderse en términos de ausencia de una contradicción, sino más bien en términos de ausencia de racionalidad, entendida esta como un término más amplio que el de coherencia y consistencia lógica. Se defenderá tal posición por medio de tres tesis, dos de las cuales se derivan de los enfoques dominantes (aunque insuficientes) a la paradoja: el de Moore, el de Wittgenstein y el de Shoemaker || This paper offers an interpretation of Moore's Paradox that emphasizes its relevance for our understanding of rationality and linguistic interpretation. The sentences that originate the paradox do not need to be thought of in terms of the absence of a contradiction, but in terms of absence of rationality, where rationality is understood as a broader notion than coherence and logical consistency. This is defended through three theses, two of which stem from the dominant (but insufficient) approaches to the paradox: Moore's, Wittgenstein's and Shoemaker's.
In Memoriam: Igor Aristegi (1980-2008) From Literature to Science – through Philosophy
Authors: Ibarra Andoni
Published: February 2023

Obituary
Recent Computability Models Inspired from Biology: DNA and Membrane Computing
Authors: Păun Gheorghe , Pérez-Jiménez Mario J.
Published: February 2023

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Gómez-Torrente on Modality and Tarskian Logical Consequence
Authors: García-Carpintero Manuel
Published: February 2023

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Logic, the A Priori, and the Empirical,
Authors: Hanson William H.
Published: February 2023

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Goodman's Extensional Isomorphism and
Syntactical Interpretations
Authors: Polanski Marek
Published: February 2023

The aim of the present paper is to provide a model-theoretic explication of Goodman's concept
of extensional isomorphism. After some conceptual clarifications Goodman's concept of isomorphy
turns out to be closely related to some variant of set-theoretic definability and some variants
of syntactical interpretability.
Evolution Nodes in Newtonian
Supertasks
Authors: Medina Luis Carlos
Published: February 2023

The present article provides an analysis of the instants of a system that performs a Newtonian
supertask. For each instant it studied the possibility of the system having, from the instant in
question, more than one possible course of evolution. This analysis shows that some supertasks
presented as deterministic by Pérez Laraudogoitia are in fact indeterministic and specifies the difficulties
ahead in showing the radical indeterminism suggested by Atkinson and Johnson.
Un argumento trascendental para la inducción
Authors: Pinto Silvio
Published: February 2023

El problema de la justificación de la inducción requiere, en mi opinión, la distinción entre justificación persuasiva y justificación explicativa. Manifiesto mi acuerdo con David Hume en que no hay justificación persuasiva posible de la inducción y encuentro una justificación explicativa para el razonamiento inductivo en la filosofía de Donald Davidson.
The Authority of Reflection
Authors: Bagnoli Carla
Published: February 2023

Richard Moran defends the irreducible authority of the first-person in a deliberative perspective. This article argues that authority of self-reflection is best understood as a relation of mutual recognition between self and others, hence from a second-person stance.
El sistema Bp+: una lógica positiva mínima para la negación mínima
Authors: José M. Méndez , Salto Francisco , Robles Gemma
Published: February 2023

La lógica Bp+ es B+ más el axioma de "prefijación". Entendemos "negación mínima" en el sentido de Johansson. Nuestro objetivo es probar que que la negación mínima puede introducirse en Bp+; el resultado es el sistema Bpmcr. Mostramos también cómo extender Bpmcr a cualquier sistema incluido en la lógica intuicionista mínima
Simple or simplistic? Scientists' views on Occam's razor
Authors: Riesch Hauke
Published: February 2023

This paper presents a discourse analysis of 30 popular science books and 40 semi-structured interviews with scientists on their views of Occam's razor and simplicity. It finds that there are many different interpretations and thoughts about the precise meaning of the principle as well as many scientists who reject it outright, or only a very limited version. In light of the variation of scientists' opinions, the paper asks what use it has as a rhetorical device and how scientists' interpretation of Occam's razor impacts on the study of popular science and affects the communication between philosophy and science.
Por qué la aposterioridad no (basta, según Kripke, ni) basta*
(Why Aposteriority Is Not (Enough according to Kripke, Nor Is) Enough)
Authors: LÓPEZ DE SA Dan
Published: February 2023

Kripke famously argued that the illusion of contingency cannot be explained away, in the case of consciousness, in the way it is explained away in the rest of familiar cases of necessary aposteriori statements. In a recent paper, Pérez Otero (2002) argues that there is an alternative way of explaining it a way, in terms of mere aposteriority. I argue against the exegetical accuracy and the truth of this contention.
Camouflaged Physical Objects: The Intentionality of Perception
Authors: LIZ Manuel
Published: February 2023

The notion of "camouflage" offers a new way to articulate some central ideas of direct realism. Through a certain natural history, physical objects would be able to adopt as a "second skin" the qualitative appearances they have when they are perceived. This entails the rejection of the "things-having-effects-on-us" model for perception. The physical objects themselves would be crucially involved in the constitution of the intentionality of perception.
On the Analogy between Cognitive Representation and Truth
Authors: SUÁREZ Mauricio , SOLÉ Albert
Published: February 2023

We defend the claim that the inferential conception of representation is generally deflationary; and we show that deflationism is consistent with pluralism regarding the notion of cognitive representation. The nature and extent of this pluralism is explored by means of an analogy with the minimalist conception of truth.
On the Evidence for Prelinguistic Concepts
Authors: GAUKER Christopher
Published: February 2023

Language acquisition is often said to be a process of mapping words into pre-existing concepts. If that is right, then we ought to be able to obtain experimental evidence for the existence of concepts in prelinguistic children, as intended in the work of Paul Quinn. This paper argues that Quinn's results have an alternative explanation.