bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Politics of Cultural Production
Authors: Dag Veysi
Published: August 2022

This article examines the politics of cultural production in the Kurdish diaspora in Berlin and Stockholm. The paper argues that Kurdish cultural actors deploy various forms of cultural production as a strategy to restore Kurdish collective heritage and cultural identities and achieve visibility for the Kurdish cause. Furthermore, the politics of cultural production serves to promote universal solidarity for particularistic Kurdish agendas and challenges oppressive policies of ruling Turkish, Iranian and Arab governments. Finally, this article aims to address the integration of Kurdish refugees and boost cohesive diasporic communities to overcome exilic conditions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews with twenty-five Kurdish artists and intellectuals, and participant observations in Berlin and Stockholm, the paper sheds light on how Kurdish cultural production in the diaspora offers an alternative approach to understanding and tackling complex matters. However, at the same time, cultural production can become an object of contention and political mobilisation.
In an Age of Populism
Authors: Punt Jeremy
Published: August 2022

Populism on political, economic and various other levels, has become part of the discourse of the contemporary world, and in its intersections with race, has led to various mutations which also impact on scholarly tendencies within and perceptions about biblical studies. The many entanglements of populism with religion, often under the guise of secularism include also its engagement with the Bible as cultural artifact. The legacy of a deracialised Bible has meant that the value of the category of race, was until recently not considered for the study of the Bible, and race denied as factor to be considered in academic scholarship with the assumption that Jesus follower- or Christian identity excluded racial connotations. Re-introducing categories of race and ethnicity in biblical studies, in their intersections with whiteness and white privilege studies, resonates with but also stands in tension with the current age of populism.
The Dwindling and Haunting Persistence of Ancient Religions
Authors: Frankfurter David
Published: August 2022

Considering recent ‘Death of Religion’ literature, this essay concludes that ‘death’ is not a particularly helpful metaphor to describe historical changes in the area of religion. A human lifespan metaphor is inappropriate for understanding the transformation of religion on the ground. The question should rather center on the transformation of religion as a feature of real, historical cultures. This essay explores what this means for the study of transformations of religions in Late Antiquity by focusing on materiality of religion and the enduring agency of religious spaces. In the larger context of religious change in history, the ‘presences,’ the ghosts and powers, radiated by places – by temples and caves, hillsides and springs – should be given more prominence in this discussion of religious twilights and religious demise.
Does Charco-Dam Technology Affect Production Efficiencies? Evidence from Small-Scale Vegetable Farmers in Nzega District, Tanzania
Authors: Timothy Shauri , Lokina Razack , Chegere Martin
Published: August 2022

Water for irrigation is an essential and primary factor influencing crop productivity. However, there is limited information on how availability of irrigation water guarantees efficient use of inputs in farm production, especially for the rainwater harvesting technologies managed at household level. This study employed survey method to collect data from 528 small scale vegetable farmers, randomly selected from 5 wards and 5 villages, among the farmers 220 were adopters of Charco-Dam Technology (CDT) and 308 were non-adopters. Technical Efficiency Model was used to estimate production efficiencies of 528 small-scale vegetable producers, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) Approach employed to evaluate the influence of adopting charco-dam technology on the production efficiencies of these farmers located in Nzega district, Tanzania. Results from the analysis present the essential intuitions about adoption of CDT and its effects on production efficiencies. It was observed that there was inefficient use of inputs (land-size, labour, quantity of improved seeds, amount of chemical used and amount of fertilizer used) among small-scale vegetable producers in the study area. The inefficiency was basically observed to be caused by household-size, cost of farm labour as well as growing cabbages and scarlet-eggplants. It is further observed that, farming experience, number of farm workers and radio listening behaviour reduced technical inefficiency (i.e., improve technical efficiency). Further analysis using PSM method, found that the adopters of charco-dam technology in the study area significantly increased the efficient use of inputs as compared to non-adopters, and hence realised high yields. This study recommends that, technologies like charco-dam should be encouraged, especially to small-scale farmers in arid and semi-arid areas. Furthermore, experienced farmers should share expertise on the use of inputs, with other less experienced farmers. In line with this, the role of agricultural information on improvement of production efficiency should not be undermined in improving efficient use of inputs. Hence, programmes and intervention that focus on encouraging farmers to listen to radio programmes related to agriculture, particularly those covering specific crop and location, are recommended.
International Criminal Justice
Authors: Adigun Muyiwa
Published: August 2022

Some critics contend that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is selective in its approach to international criminal justice. Thus, they called for withdrawal from the Rome Statute. This call is reflective of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) to the extent that it constitutes a protest against unequal treatment of the Third World. But what is somewhat overlooked is that the ICC is a court of last resort and that state parties to the Rome Statute are required to prosecute unless they are unwilling or unable. This is called the principle of complementarity. This study therefore examines TWAIL and the Rome Statute complementarity principle within the context of international criminal justice. It finds that the ICC is too eager to intervene and that in the process the Third World is being used as a guinea pig even though selectivity cannot be unequivocally established. It argues that this is hegemonic. To obviate this situation, it is argued that Third World states can prosecute for one another through direct transfer of criminal jurisdiction or through an international organization to prosecute on their behalf. Whenever the ICC wants to intervene in respect of any crime that the state party concerned is required to prosecute, the state party will indicate that another state or an international organization to which it has transferred its jurisdiction is acting as its agent and that it is the one doing the prosecution as the principal. With this, the internal situation of Third World states would have changed as envisaged in the third objective of TWAIL and they will be able to operate within international criminal justice system without being at its receiving end.
A Deweyan Ethic for Human/Nonhuman Animal Relationships
Authors: Humbert Emily
Published: August 2022

In this article, I propose that the ethical work of John Dewey can better evaluate, enhance, and nurture human/nonhuman animal relationships. While Peter Singer’s utilitarianism and Tom Regan’s deontology are considered the dominant ethical theories in the field of animal ethics and have provided indispensable scholarship to the field, I argue that they cannot fully attend to the complexities of human/nonhuman animal relationships. Some of the shortcomings of Singer’s and Regan’s theories are the absence of context, the dichotomization of reason/emotion and human/animal, the calculative sterility of moral deliberation, and the problematic language of ‘rights.’ A supplemented Deweyan ethic—enhanced by care ethics and ecofeminism—can better attend to the ethical messiness of human/nonhuman animal relationships. I offer five characteristics of Dewey’s ethical work—naturalism, ethical pluralism, experimentalism, fallibilism, and meliorism—as an alternative way to evaluate and nurture these relationships.
A Responsum by the Fifth/Eleventh-Century Imāmī Theologian Abū Yaʿlā Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Ḥamza al-Jaʿfarī on the Number of the Imams
Authors: Ansari Hassan , Nazari Hamid Ataei , Schmidtke Sabine
Published: August 2022

MS Tehran, Dānishgāh-i Tihrān 5396, a multitext codex dating to the eleventh/seventeenth century, includes a tract entitled Risālat al-ḥujja fī l-imāma by the little-known fifth/eleventh-century Imāmī theologian Abū Yaʿlā Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Ḥamza al-Jaʿfarī. The text is transmitted in two additional witnesses, and in both it is attributed to al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (d. 436/1044). The tract was recently published as a work by al-Murtaḍā on the basis of one of these witnesses, which was believed to be a unique copy. The present study discusses the scarce available data about Abū Yaʿlā al-Jaʿfarī and shows that he, rather than al-Murtaḍā, is the author of the tract, which circulated under titles such as Risālat al-ḥujja fī l-imāma and Masʾala fī bayān imāmat al-aʾimma al-ithnay ʿashar ʿalayhim ṣalawāt Allāh wa-l-malāʾika wa-l-bashar. Finally, we present a critical edition of the tract, one of the earliest extant Imāmī writings on the question of the number of the imams, on the basis of all three witnesses.
Health Apartheid during covid-19: A Decolonial Critique of Racial Politics between Taiwan and the who
Authors: Lee Po-Han , Kao Ying-Chao
Published: August 2022

While racism has spread rapidly as the covid-19 pandemic disrupted global health systems, this study focuses on the case of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first African Director-General of the who, and his allegations of racism against Taiwan, which has been excluded from the who for decades. This study theorises ‘health apartheid’ as a conceptual framework to critically analyse three forces—global racial politics, imperial logics of global health, and state-centrism of international institutions—that relate to Taiwan’s exclusion in various ways. We argue that Tedros’s allegation was instrumentalised to overshadow the systemic, structural, and institutional racism reproduced by the who during the competition between Chinese and American hegemonies. This study shows that the pandemic exacerbates health apartheid against unrecognised nations, like Taiwan, when global solidarity is desperately needed. We call for a systematic transformation of the who to resist racist state-centrism and pursue a people-centred approach to global health governance.
The Textual Development of Hos 10:6a in the Septuagint and the Old Latin
Authors: Catalano Alfio Giuseppe
Published: August 2022

Although it seems clear that Septuagint’s doublet reading εἰς Ἀσσυρίους δήσαντες in Hos 10:6a was the product of a double translation of the Hebrew Vorlage ‮לאשור‬‎, we propose that the original Old Greek reading here was the participle δήσαντες alone, a non-isomorphic translation of the same. Christian authors from the second to the fifth century consistently quote this verse in association with the Gospel passages related to Jesus’ trial (Mark 15:1 and Matt 27:2) without the complement εἰς Ἀσσυρίους, which seems to have entered the Greek text through the kaige revision (cf. Justin Martyr, Dial. 103.4). Independent support for this hypothesis may be adduced from the Old Latin version, whereof Mss La173 and La176 attest to two distinct textual forms, with the latter witnessing the singlet Old Greek translation alligantes (= δήσαντες).
Populism and Transnational Projection: The Legitimation Strategies of Pink Tide Neo-Populist Leaderships in Latin America
Authors: Wajner Daniel F. , Roniger Luis
Published: August 2022

This article attempts to engage the burgeoning research on the transnational dimensions of populism with recent theorization on legitimation strategies in international politics. Focusing on the performative practices of the wave of Pink Tide neo-populist leaders in Latin America (also called “Chavista” or “Bolivarian”), this work identifies three main strategies of legitimation – affective, normative, and institutional – and tracks their transnational resonance. Indications of these strategies include the extrapolation of strong emotional attachments with supporters abroad, the empowerment of identity-based solidarities, and the reconstruction of regionalist projects. Their drive to mobilize transnational support has been complemented by a normative flipside – the discursive attack on rival “anti-national” elites and the readiness to use national revenues for demonstrating solidarity with international allies. Analysis details how these strategies projected the populists’ legitimacy onto the regional and global arena. This inquiry may contribute policy-oriented hindsight on the rise of populists worldwide and their potential effects on transnational practices of cooperation and defiance, primarily on regional integration, global governance, and international conflicts.
Advancing Weather and Climate Forecasting for Our Changing World
Authors: Brunet Gilbert , Parsons David B. , Ivanov Dimitar , Lee Boram , Bauer Peter , Bernier Natacha B. , Bouchet Veronique , Brown Andy , Busalacchi Antonio , Flatter Georgina Campbell , Goffer Rei , Davies Paul , Ebert Beth , Gutbrod Karl , Hong Songyou , Kenabatho P. K. , Koppert Hans-Joachim , Lesolle David , Lynch Amanda H. , Mahfouf Jean-François , Ogallo Laban , Palmer Tim , Petty Kevin , Schulze Dennis , Shepherd Theodore G. , Stocker Thomas F. , Thorpe Alan , Yu Rucong
Published: August 2022

Our world is rapidly changing. Societies are facing an increase in the frequency and intensity of high-impact and extreme weather and climate events. These extremes together with exponential population growth and demographic shifts (e.g., urbanization, increase in coastal populations) are increasing the detrimental societal and economic impact of hazardous weather and climate events. Urbanization and our changing global economy have also increased the need for accurate projections of climate change and improved predictions of disruptive and potentially beneficial weather events on kilometer scales. Technological innovations are also leading to an evolving and growing role of the private sector in the weather and climate enterprise. This article discusses the challenges faced in accelerating advances in weather and climate forecasting and proposes a vision for key actions needed across the private, public, and academic sectors. Actions span (i) utilizing the new observational and computing ecosystems; (ii) strategies to advance Earth system models; (iii) ways to benefit from the growing role of artificial intelligence; (iv) practices to improve the communication of forecast information and decision support in our age of internet and social media; and (v) addressing the need to reduce the relatively large, detrimental impacts of weather and climate on all nations and especially on low-income nations. These actions will be based on a model of improved cooperation between the public, private, and academic sectors. This article represents a concise summary of the white paper on the Future of Weather and Climate Forecasting (2021) put together by the World Meteorological Organizations’ Open Consultative Platform.
Who Lost Afghanistan? Samuel Huntington and the Decline of Strategic Thinking
Authors: Atkins Will
Published: August 2022

Numerous reflections exist regarding who should be held accountable and what lessons should be learned from the military withdrawal and political collapse of Afghanistan. This essay argues that the failures in Afghanistan are second- and third-order effects of a failure of strategic thinking on behalf of civilian and military leadership alike. I argue that this failure of strategic thinking is caused, in part, by the overreliance on concepts of civil–military relations espoused by Samuel Huntington. These concepts have been inculcated by a professional military education system that has subsequently developed a generation of officers with an atrophied appreciation for the political aspects of war, and an inability to link operational prowess to the achievement of strategic objectives. This dilemma is aggravated by a similar overreliance on systematic thinking, which further obscures the linkages between the military and political aspects of strategy.
Protein intake, chronic renal disease progression and cardiovascular morbidity
Authors: Raikou Vaia D.
Published: August 2022

We commented the recently reported insights about the equivocal role of protein intake in the progression of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular morbidity.

Summary statement

It has been suggested that the lowering of dietary protein reduces the progression of CKD, despite it has been also reported that higher intake of total protein was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular morbidity. The role of protein intake is equivocal in clinical outcomes including the renal and cardiovascular disease worsening, metabolic acidosis and bone abnormalities. The modification of both amount and sources of protein intake could influence the renal and cardiovascular deterioration.
Coronary perfusion pressure is associated with adverse outcomes in advanced heart failure
Authors: Mazimba Sula , Jeukeng Christiana , Ondigi Olivia , Mwansa Hunter , Johnson Amber E , Elumogo Comfort , Breathett Khadijah , Kwon Younghoon , Mubanga Mwenya , Mwansa Victor , Baldeo Cherisse , Ibrahim Sami , Selinski Christian , Mehta Nishaki , Bilchick Kenneth
Published: August 2022

Background

Myocardial perfusion is an important determinant of cardiac function. We hypothesized that low coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) would be associated with adverse outcomes in heart failure. Myocardial perfusion impacts the contractile efficiency thus a low CPP would signal low myocardial perfusion in the face of increased cardiac demand as a result of volume overload.

Methods

We analyzed patients with complete hemodynamic data in the Evaluation Study of Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Artery Catheterization Effectiveness trial using Cox Proportional Hazards regression for the primary outcome of the composite risk of death, heart transplantation, or left ventricular assist device [(LVAD). DT × LVAD] and the secondary outcome of the composite risk of DT × LVAD and heart failure hospitalization (DT × LVADHF). CPP was calculated as the difference between diastolic blood pressure and pulmonary artery wedge pressure. Heart failure categories (ischemic vs non-ischemic) were also stratified based on CPP strata.

Results

The 158 patients (56.7 ± 13.6 years, 28.5% female) studied had a median CPP of 40 mmHg (IQR 35–52 mmHg). During 6 months of follow-up, 35 (22.2%) had the composite primary outcome and 109 (69.0%) had the composite secondary outcome. When these outcomes were then stratified based on the median, CPP was associated with these outcomes. Increasing CPP was associated with lower risk of both the primary outcome of DT × LVAD (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.99 p = .002) and as well as the secondary outcome of DT × LVADHF ( p = .0008) There was significant interaction between CPP and ischemic etiology ( p = .04).

Conclusion

A low coronary artery perfusion pressure below (median) 40mmHg in patients with advanced heart failure undergoing invasive hemodynamic monitoring with a pulmonary artery catheter was associated with adverse outcomes. CPP could useful in guiding risk stratification of advanced heart failure patients and timely evaluation of advanced heart failure therapies.
Dialectical relation of temporal domination and class exploitation in Marx’s value theory
Authors: Najafi Zohre
Published: August 2022

In this article, I demonstrate that temporal domination over subjects and producers in capitalist society is Marx’s central category in the critique of political economy. Hartmut Rosa who is well known in the critical tradition for his works on social acceleration refers to Marx’s value theory to explain the economic motor of social acceleration in the sphere of production and distribution, but he does not reach the very depth of Marx’s critique of abstract time domination and considered it as a subordinate and marginal aspect of Marx’s theory. I argue that Marx’s critique of class exploitation and commodification of social relations, in the final analysis, consists in the critique of domination of time over man. In particular, I articulate their relationship by representing the Hegelian onto-logical couple of essence and appearance; it is demonstrated that class exploitation as an internal and substantial structure of capitalism posits the temporal domination as an form of appearance which presupposes the first. Moreover, this article shows that class domination has taken a more inverted and mysterious form in digital capitalism through new time appropriation strategies. This implies that in contrast to Rosa who considers social acceleration above and beyond class boundaries, it still reinforces class exploitation and acts through it.
Within-Person Dynamics of Objective and Subjective Social Isolation in Midlife and Later Life
Authors: Luo Mengsha , Li Lydia W.
Published: August 2022

Objectives

To investigate the within-person dynamics of objective and subjective social isolation among U.S. middle-aged and older adults and to explore gender differences in this relationship. Methods: Four waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2006–2018, N = 5437) and the multiple group random intercept cross-lagged panel model were used. Results: Within-person deviation in expected subjective isolation predicted deviation in expected objective isolation years later. No corresponding cross-lagged effect of objective isolation on subjective isolation was found. Gender differences were detected: the within-person cross-lagged positive effect of subjective isolation on objective isolation was significant for men but not for women. Discussion: This study provides evidence for a unidirectional relationship between subjective and objective isolation at the within-person level: higher than expected increase in subjective isolation predicts higher than expected increase in subsequent objective isolation. This within-person process is more salient in men than in women.
Clinical, Radiographic and Histologic Evaluation of 40 Cystic Oral Lesions in 37 Cats
Authors: Clayton Daniel J. , Bell Cindy , Feigin Kristina , Shope Bonnie
Published: August 2022

Feline cystic oral lesions are uncommon and include odontogenic cysts and cystic odontogenic tumors. Accurate diagnosis requires close collaboration between the clinician's clinical and radiographic findings and the pathologist's histologic interpretations. The odontogenic cysts identified in this series include a periapical cyst, dentigerous cysts and a type of unclassified collateral cyst that appears to be a previously undefined, distinct entity in cats (UCC). Many of the cysts (52%) were unable to be classified due to insufficient diagnostic information, which often related to the associated tooth being unavailable for evaluation. Cystic odontogenic tumors included ameloblastomas, amyloid producing ameloblastomas (APA), and feline inductive odontogenic tumors (FIOT). The purpose of this case series was to assess correlations between clinical and radiographic findings, histopathologic interpretation and signalment to identify common characteristics and provide recommendations for clinicians and pathologists to optimize diagnostic efficiency and accuracy for cystic oral lesions in cats.
Energy consumption inequality in China: What can an agent-based model tell us?
Authors: Liu Yong
Published: August 2022

China is a major energy consumer, however, related empirical research on China's unequal energy consumption is very limited. Therefore, according to the data from 30 provinces and cities, this study aims to establish a simulation model to analyse the Gini coefficient (the Lorenz curve) of China's energy consumption, and identify the main factors affecting the Gini coefficient through dynamic scenario analysis. During the simulation cycle (from 2022 to 2081), the average Gini coefficient of energy consumption fluctuates between 0.30 and 0.41, which indicates the inequality is slightly high. But the maximum value fluctuation ranges from 0.40 to 0.50, which indicates the inequality is high. The author also found that three factors—technological level, government subsidies, and growth rate of energy supply—can significantly affect the Gini coefficient of energy consumption. It is necessary to promote the technological level, increase subsidies for energy production, and promote the growth of total energy supply to significantly reduce inequity in energy consumption.
Silence and Voice in Oral Hearings: Spatial, Temporal, and Relational Conditions for Communication in Asylum and Compulsory Care Hearings
Authors: Johannesson Livia
Published: August 2022

The legal right to be heard by a judge is an important human right. However, what happens if a claimant does not meet the requirements of legal communication when given the opportunity to be heard in court? In this article, I address this question by exploring how temporal, spatial, and relational conditions encourage or silence vulnerable claimants’ voices in asylum hearings and compulsory psychiatric care hearings in Swedish administrative courts. In addition, I analyze the multiple functions orality has when judges make decisions in these case types. The results provide nuance to claims in previous studies about the importance of enough time, spaces that signal solemnity, and flexibility in judges’ approaches to vulnerable claimants’ voices by demonstrating how these conditions interact with each other and generate different communicative atmospheres. Moreover, this study challenges the idea that oral hearings are necessarily beneficial for claimants as it demonstrates that under certain conditions orality can place claimants at a disadvantage and amplify their defenselessness. However, orality brings legitimacy to court proceedings even in these cases as it communicates justice to the public evaluating these procedures from a distance.
Analyzing Attention to Scandal on Twitter: Elites Sell What Supporters Buy
Authors: Warner Seth B.
Published: August 2022

Scandal has been described as socially constructed, in that some combination of the public, the media, and the political elite agrees that a transgression has occurred. This study is among the first to directly observe the “scandal as a construct” premise, using time-series data to estimate how each group’s attention to scandal affects that of every other. These data, collected from Twitter by Barberá et al. (2019) , measure the daily tweet volume of media outlets, Members of Congress, and samples of the public in relation to four Obama Administration scandals. Granger causality testing and impulse response functions show, as expected, that a jump in scandal-related tweets by one group affects the tweet volume of every other. But the groups wield unequal influence. Over the long-run, elites drive their supporters’ attention to scandal more than vice-versa. However, in two of the four scandals, the opposite effect was seen in the short-run, opening the possibility of a “sounding board” effect where elites are responsive to the initial reactions of their supporters but lead the conversation thereafter. These results encourage further study into how short- and long-term information flows differ, and why groups may lead in some issue areas but follow in others.
Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma and Additional Rare Pathologic Findings in Multi-Organs in a Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome Patient: With an Emphasis on the Molecular Characteristics of Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma
Authors: Kim David , Murvelashvili Natia , Hamidi Oksana , Jia Liwei
Published: August 2022

Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder caused by germline alterations in the FLCN gene. We report a 38-year-old man with BHD syndrome presenting with multiple rare pathologic findings involving various organs, including adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC). Initially, he presented with severe cholestatic jaundice and was found to have a 25 cm left adrenal mass with radiologic evidence of lung metastases, which was diagnosed as ACC on resection. Concurrently, pigmented, bile-stained granular casts were present within the kidney and diffuse cholestasis of the liver consistent with Stauffer syndrome was identified. Subsequent staging workup detected a 1.2 cm tubulovillous adenoma in the distal ascending colon and an incidental 1.2 cm thyroid nodule. Germline genetic testing revealed a pathogenic FLCN c.1285dup. Targeted DNA next generation sequencing of ACC revealed FLCN c.1285dup, IDH2 c.5332C>T, PRKAR1A c.1074del, and PDGFRB c.3282C>A and concurrent transcriptomic analysis demonstrated VEGFA overexpression. Fourteen months after resection, follow-up computerized tomography (CT) identified the progression of lung metastases and chemotherapy with etoposide doxorubicin and cisplatin was initiated. Here, we report the first ACC with the molecular characteristics in a BHD syndrome patient, although 5 adrenal lesions, including ACC, adenomas or neoplasm with malignant potential due to higher Ki67 labelling index, have been reported in the literature and no somatic analysis in these tumors were performed. Despite the rarity, our case potentially expands the tumor spectrum of BHD patients, helps to solidify possible association with adrenal cortical tumors and reiterates the value of genetic counseling in patients with ACC.
A Rare Case of Primary Epithelioid Hemangioma of Bone with WWTR1::FOSB Fusion: A Benign Lesion with the Potential to Mimic Malignancy
Authors: Yuen Leslie C. , Baker Michael L. , Sin Jessica M. , Linos Konstantinos , Kerr Darcy A.
Published: August 2022

Epithelioid hemangioma of bone is a rare benign, locally aggressive vascular tumor that can be particularly challenging to diagnose given its frequent multifocality, non-specific imaging findings, and wide range of morphologic appearances. Additionally, some epithelioid hemangiomas demonstrate atypical histologic features including increased cellularity, necrosis, and moderate cytologic atypia – characteristics that may raise concern for malignancy. Molecular studies can serve as a powerful, objective tool in the differential diagnosis of diagnostically challenging epithelioid vascular tumors. Importantly, FOS and FOSB gene rearrangements have been identified as the genetic hallmarks of osseous epithelioid hemangioma, present in greater than 70% of cases. FOSB-fusion-positive epithelioid hemangioma, in particular, may display atypical histologic features. While ZFP36 is the typical FOSB fusion partner in epithelioid hemangioma, we herein present a case of epithelioid hemangioma of bone with a rare WWTR1::FOSB fusion. This case demonstrates the diagnostic challenges associated with epithelioid hemangioma, especially in the setting of FOSB gene rearrangements, and the importance of genomic studies in the work up of these vascular tumors.
Ciliated Cells in Renal Calyx mucosa: Metaplastic Change or Developmental Abnormality? Immunohistochemical Study of one Case and Review of the Literature
Authors: Rullo Emma , Pecorella Irene , Pernazza Angelina , Carletti Raffaella , Tornese Andrea , Larghi Laureiro Zoe
Published: August 2022

Ciliated epithelial cells have been rarely observed in urothelium lined mucosa. Only extremely rare reports in the literature have described this phenomenon and no cases have been described in other sites than the male urethra. Herein, we illustrate the finding of ciliated pseudostratified columnar cells in the renal calyx mucosa adjacent to an area of urothelial invasive carcinoma in an 82 year-old man with previous history of nephrolithiasis. The ciliated cells covered a linear extension of 0.5 cm: they were positive for keratin 7 and keratin 8/18 and negative for keratin 20. Alcian blue staining was positive in some vacuoles in the apical cytoplasm of the same cells whereas PAS (Periodic Acid-Schiff) staining was negative. GATA3 resulted negative in ciliated cells except for a layer in the basal portion of the epithelium, just above the basal membrane. The actual prevalence of ciliated epithelia in the urinary tract is not well documented and the current knowledge on the subject is limited to electron scanning microscopy studies. The significance of this phenomenon remains unknown: it could be either a developmental abnormality or more probably a metaplastic change. Associated urolithiasis, which has been described in both a previous report and in the present one, could hypothetically represent a possible trigger for this unusual cell change. However, this hypothesis needs to be confirmed through further investigation.
The Drug Coated Balloon-Only Strategy for Treatment of de Novo Left Main Coronary Artery Bifurcation Lesion: Stentless Strategy
Authors: Liu Hengdao , Zhao Yanyan , Lu Yang , Zhou Shilong , Zhang Yubin , Zhao Junwei , Yang Huilin , Xing Junhui , Feng Ruihan , Xue XiaoFei , Tao Hailong , Song Ruipeng , Gu Heping
Published: August 2022

The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug coated balloon-only strategy (DCB-only) in the treatment of de novo left main coronary artery (LM) bifurcation lesions. 85 patients were enrolled in this study and classified them into two groups: DCB-only group (n = 36) and DES group (n = 49). The MLD of target vessels was measured before and immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and late luminal loss (LLL) were also calculated. And the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) was also evaluated. Compared with that before PCI, the MLD of target lesions significantly increased immediately after PCI ( P < .05) and no MACE was recorded during the perioperative period both in two groups. The MLD at follow-up was significantly higher than that before both DCB and DES treatment. Compared with the DES group, the MLD of the DCB group was smaller than immediately after PCI in the LM and LAD ( P < .05). The LLL of LAD in DCB group was smaller than that in DES group ( P < .05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of luminal restenosis at the target lesion between the two groups, and no significant difference in the incidence of MACE ( P > .05). The use of DCB-only to treat de novo LM bifurcation lesions is effective and relatively safe, which provides new ideas for the treatment of LM coronary artery bifurcation lesions in the future.
Local Functional Connectivity as a Parsimonious Explanation of the Main Frameworks for ADHD in Medication-Naïve Adults
Authors: Marcos-Vidal Luis , Martínez-García Magdalena , Martín-de Blas Daniel , Navas-Sánchez Francisco J. , Pretus Clara , Ramos-Quiroga Josep Antoni , Richarte Vanesa , Vilarroya Óscar , Sepulcre Jorge , Desco Manuel , Carmona Susanna
Published: August 2022

Objective:

Neuroimaging studies in children with ADHD indicate that their brain exhibits an atypical functional connectivity pattern characterized by increased local connectivity and decreased distant connectivity. We aim to evaluate if the local and distant distribution of functional connectivity is also altered in adult samples with ADHD who have never received medication before.

Methods:

We compared local and distant functional connectivity between 31 medication-naïve adults with ADHD and 31 healthy controls and tested whether this pattern was associated with symptoms severity scores.

Results:

ADHD sample showed increased local connectivity in the dACC and the SFG and decreased local connectivity in the PCC.

Conclusion:

Results parallel those obtained in children samples suggesting a deficient integration within the DMN and segregation between DMN, FPN, and VAN. These results are consistent with the three main frameworks that explain ADHD: the neurodevelopmental delay hypothesis, the DMN interference hypothesis and multi-network models.
Can (A)I Give You a Ride? Development and Validation of the CRUISE Framework for Autonomous Vehicle Services
Authors: Osburg Victoria-Sophie , Yoganathan Vignesh , Kunz Werner H. , Tarba Shlomo
Published: August 2022

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly enabling firms to develop services that utilize autonomous vehicles (AVs). Yet, there are significant psychological barriers to adoption, and insights from extant literature are insufficient to understand customer emotions regarding AV services. To allow for a holistic exploration of customer perspectives, we synthesize multidisciplinary literature to develop the Customer Responses to Unmanned Intelligent-transport Services based on Emotions (CRUISE) framework, which lays the foundation for improved strategizing, targeting, and positioning of AV services. We subsequently provide empirical support for several propositions underpinning the CRUISE framework using representative multinational panel data ( N = 27,565) and an implicit association test ( N = 300). We discover four distinct customer segments based on their preferred degree of service autonomy and service risk. The segments also differ in terms of the valence and intensity of emotional responses to fully autonomous vehicle services. Additionally, exposure to positive information about AV services negatively correlates with the likelihood of membership in the two most resistant segments. Our contribution to service research is chiefly twofold; we provide: 1) a formal treatise of AV services, emphasizing their uniqueness and breadth of application, and 2) empirically validated managerial directions for effective strategizing based on the CRUISE framework.
Stent migration as complication of endovascular treatment of vascular access stenosis: A systemic review
Authors: Franchin Marco , Coppola Andrea , Muscato Paola , Cervarolo Maria Cristina , Piffaretti Gabriele , Venturini Massimo , Tozzi Matteo
Published: August 2022

Outflow vein stenosis is one of the commonest complications of both native and prosthetic vascular access. Together with angioplasty, first-line treatment is stenting. Although it has been described as a uncommon complication, the risk of stent migration should be always considered. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of literature concerning stents migration in vascular access, the possible outcomes and treatments. This study was performed applying Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches were conducted in PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Google scholar databases. Studies selection, data abstraction was done by two different reviewers. We identified 17 studies, comprising 18 cases (M:F 1:1, mean age 56 ± 18 (range 33–88)). All the patients underwent stenting for vascular access outflow stenosis. The commonest type of device reported was self expandible bare-metal stent. Intraoperative evidence of stent migration occurred in six cases at the final quality control, or for intraprocedure dyspnea onset. In two patients it was a incidental diagnosis. In the remaining cases, chest pain or dyspnea were the common delayed presentation symptoms. Even if stent migration is an uncommon event, it is burdened with low mortality and morbidity. Literature provide only few and frequently inadequate data. Stent removal is the treatment of choice when severe symptoms or cardiopulmonary complication are present. Endovascular procedures demonstrated to be an effective and safe alternative, while open surgical treatment is preferred whenever endovascular therapy failed or in selected cases.
Early Age of Cannabis Initiation and Its Association With Suicidal Behaviors
Authors: Ahuja Manik , Awasthi Manul , Gim Suzanna , Records Kathie , Cimilluca Johanna , Al-Ksir Kawther , Tremblay Johnathan , Doshi Riddhi P , Sathiyasaleen Thiveya , Fernandopulle Praveen
Published: August 2022

Background:

Suicide rates in the U.S. have continued to rise over the last 2 decades. The increased availability and broader legalization of cannabis is a public health concern, particularly among adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the age of cannabis initiation and lifetime suicidal ideations and attempts in a sample of adults aged 18 or older.

Methods:

Data are from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001 to 2003 (N = 15 238). The primary objective of the CPES was to collect data about the prevalence of mental disorders, impairments associated with these disorders, and their treatment patterns from representative samples of majority and minority adult populations in the U.S. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between cannabis initiation age (early ⩽14 years old; later >14 years old) and outcomes of lifetime suicide ideation and attempts. Cigarette use, cannabis use, gender, income, race, education, and age were controlled for the analyses.

Results:

Overall, 12.5% of participants reported suicide ideation, while 4.2% reported attempt. Early cannabis use was associated with a higher risk of suicide ideation (AOR = 3.32, 95% CI [2.75, 3.80]) than later cannabis use (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI [1.92, 2.39]). Early cannabis use was associated with a higher risk of suicide attempt (AOR = 4.38, 95% CI [3.48, 5.52]) than later cannabis use (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI [2.14, 3.06]). Wald chi-squared tests revealed significant differences between the early and late initiation for both ideation (χ2 = 26.99; P < .001) and attempts (χ2 = 26.02; P < .001).

Conclusions:

Significant associations were found between early initiation of cannabis and suicide behaviors. As suicide rates continue to rise, it is recommended that clinicians, treatment providers, and other professionals consider the use of cannabis at an early age as a risk for subsequent suicide behaviors.
Serum neurofilament light and MRI predictors of cognitive decline in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: Analysis from the MS-STAT randomised controlled trial
Authors: Williams Thomas , Tur Carmen , Eshaghi Arman , Doshi Anisha , Chan Dennis , Binks Sophie , Wellington Henny , Heslegrave Amanda , Zetterberg Henrik , Chataway Jeremy
Published: August 2022

Background:

Cognitive impairment affects 50%–75% of people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (PwSPMS). Improving our ability to predict cognitive decline may facilitate earlier intervention.

Objective:

The main aim of this study was to assess the relationship between longitudinal changes in cognition and baseline serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in PwSPMS. In a multi-modal analysis, MRI variables were additionally included to determine if sNfL has predictive utility beyond that already established through MRI.

Methods:

Participants from the MS-STAT trial underwent a detailed neuropsychological test battery at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Linear mixed models were used to assess the relationships between cognition, sNfL, T2 lesion volume (T2LV) and normalised regional brain volumes.

Results:

Median age and Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS) were 51 and 6.0. Each doubling of baseline sNfL was associated with a 0.010 [0.003–0.017] point per month faster decline in WASI Full Scale IQ Z-score ( p = 0.008), independent of T2LV and normalised regional volumes. In contrast, lower baseline volume of the transverse temporal gyrus was associated with poorer current cognitive performance (0.362 [0.026–0.698] point reduction per mL, p = 0.035), but not change in cognition. The results were supported by secondary analyses on individual cognitive components.

Conclusion:

Elevated sNfL is associated with faster cognitive decline, independent of T2LV and regional normalised volumes.
Kelly Needs a New Coat: Views on Compensating Altruistic Surrogacy in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Shaw Rhonda M , Gibson Hannah
Published: August 2022

There is little research documenting the experience of surrogate mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, and no published studies to date have asked surrogates about the significance of financial benefit or compensation for their moral decision-making. In this article, we draw on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 20 traditional and gestational surrogates, 20 intended parents, and 46 experts in the field of assisted reproduction about their views and experiences of surrogacy both within the national boundaries of the New Zealand fertility clinic setting and offshore. While altruistic procurement of reproductive materials and services is legally mandated in New Zealand, compensation and payment is prohibited. To support our analysis, we draw on the concept of bio-intimacy to discuss the production and management of relational work involved in altruistic surrogacy arrangements. We conclude that the economic circumstances for surrogates, where compensation for direct and indirect costs is absent or insufficient, need to be reconsidered.
Towards increasing regime complexity? Why member states drive overlaps between international organisations
Authors: Panke Diana , Stapel Sören
Published: August 2022

Multilateral cooperation in international organisations is characterised by regime complexity. The literature usually adopts a policy-focused perspective studying the properties, effects, and dynamics within given regime complexes for different policy areas. Yet few accounts of why states drive regime complexity have been provided in the literature. Therefore, we adopt a state-focused perspective and observe how states differ in the extent to which they foster complexity through overlapping memberships and policy competencies in international organisations. In order to explain this variation, we extract state motivations from the regime complexity literature, but also incorporate the role of geopolitical opportunity structures for complexity as well as interactions between both elements. The empirical analysis reveals that the power to pursue self-interests leads to duplicated policy competencies, whereas duplicating international organisation memberships by creating new international organisations or joining existing ones is costly and a less favoured route towards pursuing substantive gains. The motivation to gain external reputation also positively influences the overlap in membership and policy competencies. Moreover, the number of neighbouring states and the disappearance of deep-rooted ideological cleavages are important opportunity structures for states furthering complexity. Opportunity structures also reinforce the positive effect of power to pursue self-interests and external reputation motivations on complexity. Thus, we contribute to regime complexity research in showing that not all states equally foster regime complexity and this relationship is dependent on a specific context.
Insightful and comprehensive formularization of frequency–amplitude formula for strong or singular nonlinear oscillators
Authors: El-Dib Yusry O
Published: August 2022

The comprehensive formularization of the frequency–amplitude formula is the main interest in this work to cover higher powers of the restoring force which are not limited to cubic powers. Three equivalent styles of the generalized frequency amplitude have been performed. In addition, the restoring force is not restricted to an odd function in which the non-secular forces are included. Three forms of the non-secular forces have been formulated for the first time and treated as non-homogenous of the linearized Duffing oscillator. The modified style of He’s formula has been applied to the singular oscillator using the enhanced potential function. The simplicity of the present approach provides extra advantages for high nonlinearity vibration. This method enriches the analysis with more details in new dimensions.