bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Roberto Bolaño, Solar Anus of World Literature
Authors: Hoyos Héctor
Published: December 2019

This chapter studies the effects of Roberto Bolaño on world literature, notably his politicization of the paradigm. Heuristically, it casts the inclusion of the late Latin American expatriate author into a transnational hypercanon as a Trojan horse maneuver. This phenomenon brought about the reconsideration of Latin American authors (often parodized), a revitalization of global 1968 youth‐politics, and a revision of historical avant‐gardes. Among the latter, Georges Bataille's base materialism, reflected in his motif of the solar anus, plays a particularly important role. Whether in the character Auxilio Lacouture's bathroom‐stall account of the breach in university autonomy that accompanied the Tlatelolco massacre, in the autobiographical character “Belano” (beautiful anus), or in the short story “Silva, the Eye,” the recurrent motif shows how Bolaño sexualizes and abjectifies political events and global transactions. The Chilean's less‐than‐heteronormative take on base materialism and his anti‐systemic appropriation of Wallerstein invites world literature to become politically engaged.
Bridge Essay: Modern Poetry as a Global Phenomenon
Authors: Lupke Christopher
Published: December 2019

Modernism is the first truly global literary movement in history and thus difficult to encapsulate in ideological or stylistic terms. Throughout the world, foundations of thought and aesthetics were undermined in the late nineteenth century. As a result, in places as far flung as France, Germany, and Great Britain on the one hand, and Japan, China, and Taiwan in East Asia on the other, as well as in Eastern Europe, Latin America, South Asia, and the Middle East, emerging writers everywhere were overturning received forms, contesting received notions of epistemology and morality, and creating poetry anew. In continental Europe, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard leveled devastating critiques upon state religion, metaphysics, and moral philosophy. The implications of this radical philosophical and religious break from established thinking reverberated through literary circles. In Japan, Masaoka Shiki and Yosano Akiko revamped haiku andtanka. In England and the United States, poets rewrote the rulebook for what constituted imagery and prosodic structures. In Chinese, traditional structures such as “regulated verse”shipoetry andcilyrics were largely shunted aside in favor of free verse. These changes came in response to rapid industrialization and urbanization, innovations that made communication around the globe much quicker and easier, and sentiments of alienation and exile throughout the world.
Fernando Pessoa, Singular Modernity, and World Literature
Authors: de Medeiros Paulo
Published: December 2019

Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) wrote using a variety of heteronyms and is widely recognized as the most important Portuguese poet of the twentieth century. After a belated reception he can now be seen as a key figure in European modernism and in world literature. His fragmentary
Book of Disquiet
has been especially influential across various media. Pessoa's writing, directed to the future, is indicative of a modernity that is still in the process of coming.
Yearning for the “West”: Osanai Kaoru and the Concept of Stand‐Alone Dramas in Modern Japan
Authors: Isaka Maki
Published: December 2019

One of the founders of Japanese
shingeki
(“New Theater”), Osanai Kaoru (1881–1928) was a versatile and prolific writer of plays, translations, critical essays, etc., presenting various ideas critical to
shingeki
and modernity. Among them was his notion of dramatic texts (scripts) that were superior to – and independent of – performance. Osanai saw in the “West”
shingeki
's home country and requested that
shingeki
present theatrical productions identical to their original dramatic texts. His concept of “a‐play‐as‐is” presupposes immediacy between texts and stage productions, bypassing performance. This “immediacy” is mediated in multiple ways. Yet not only is it unfeasible to erase “performance” completely from the equation above, Osanai's way of achieving such “immediacy” also involves complicated matters including translation, creation of the self by otherization, negotiation with the past, and a universalist/particularist aporia. This aporia remains productive for our thinking of “world literature.”
“And I Have the Same Restlessness Today”: Vijay Tendulkar ‐ A Connected Reading
Authors: Bhatawadekar Sai
Published: December 2019

Vijay Tendulkar (1928–2008) was a game‐changing Marathi playwright who brought unprecedented themes and genre experiments to Indian theater. His disturbingly bare depiction of violence and cruelty in power‐ and gender‐relations was both controversial and ground‐breaking. His gritty Hindi screenplays also changed the aesthetics and politics of Indian parallel cinema. In this chapter, I present Tendulkar's work within the concerns of world literature: his universal insights that transcend boundaries, yet linguistic and cultural specificity that grounds him in his region, the continuing circulation, translation, and consumption of his work nation‐ and worldwide, and also his connections to non‐Indian (German) theater. Moreover, I consider Tendulkar's symbiotic and epicentral impact on other artists who went on to establish themselves on the international scene. Finally, to provide a global reader an entry‐point into the vast and shape‐shifting paradigm of world literature, I develop Connected Reading by giving biographical glimpses into Tendulkar's literary obsession and into his reader, in whose global flow Tendulkar is a strong current.
Saʿdallah Wannous: Syria's Premier Political Playwright and Social Critic
Authors: Myers Robert
Published: December 2019

Saʿdallah Wannous, a Syrian playwright (1941–1997), is one of the most significant writers from the Arab world in the twentieth century. His first major play,
An Evening's Entertainment for the Fifth of June
(1968), is a critique of the duplicity of Arab officials during the June 1967 War. A Marxist and Arab nationalist, his principal early theatrical influence was Bertold Brecht. Other plays from this period include
The King's Elephant
(1969) and
The Adventure of the Head of Mamlouk Jabir
(1969). After suffering a breakdown in 1977, he wrote no plays until
The Rape
(1990), an adaptation of an Antonio Buero Vallejo play. In 1992, he was diagnosed with cancer and, from then until his death in 1997, he wrote over half a dozen plays in a variety of styles including
Historical Miniatures
,
Rituals of Signs and Transformations
, and
Drunken Days
. Like Václav Havel and Wole Soyinka, he not only wrote a half‐dozen of the most vital plays in the canon of twentieth‐century world theater, he was also an important political thinker.
Bridge Essay: Literature and Liberalism: An Evolving Symbiosis
Authors: Seigneurie Ken
Published: December 2019

Liberalism is a moral and political ideology based on the conviction that a rational, self‐creating individual is the most meaningful unit of social organization and that society should therefore promote freedom, equality, and tolerance among individuals. These ideas are at the heart of modernity and look like the fountain of all that's sweet and good in the modern world, but they are also prone to reification and leveraging in the interests of exploitative ideologies such as imperialism. This chapter argues that literature and especially the realist novel has played a crucial role in managing the tensions between individual and social rights within liberalism. The focus expands to contexts beyond Euro‐North America to the Arab world in the early twentieth century to suggest that a symbiosis between literature and liberalism obtains throughout the world in ways that vary according to translational contexts.
Nadine Gordimer: Between South Africa and the World
Authors: Lewis Simon
Published: December 2019

This chapter attempts to problematize a simplistic view of Nadine Gordimer as literary chronicler of South African history in the apartheid and immediately post‐apartheid eras. Pointing out the tensions in Gordimer's work between her sense of belonging in South Africa or in a world defined by European culture, the chapter suggests that Gordimer has a kind of “split position” vis‐à‐vis her readers, implicating them, no less than apparently apolitical white South Africans, as passive enablers of apartheid, and subsequently as complicit in unthinking middle‐class consumerism that puts the planet at risk. Ultimately, however, the fact that Gordimer physically lived in South Africa throughout the apartheid era right up until her death in 2014 indicates her underlying commitment to the nation of her birth, no matter how problematic her whiteness may have been.
Gnostic Myths
Authors: Edwards Mark
Published: December 2019

After some brief remarks on the definition of Gnosticism and our sources of information, this chapter sketches five theories which purport to account for its emergence in the Roman world. The seminal myth of Sophia's fall is summarized in the second section, with commentary on its antecedents and probable import; the third section examines variants of the same myth, while the fourth considers others in which erotic themes are more dominant. The chapter concludes with comments on the survival of gnostic themes in the modern era.
The “Dreaded Comparison” Revisited: Animal and Black Human Rights
Authors: Boisseron Bénédicte
Published: December 2019

This chapter looks at the intersection between human and animal rights within the context of the French and Haitian Revolutions. As Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated slavery in the French colonies in 1802, France turned to the question of animal rights as a diversion from, but also a bridge to, the more pressing issue of human rights in the post‐1789 era. TheCode Noirhelps us understand to what extent slave and animal law serve a similar purpose of hiding the overall barbaric nature of the French deemed unfit for the Enlightenment.
The English Lake Poets of the World
Authors: L. Sanchez Juan
Published: December 2019

Few writers appear at first glance so fundamentally resistant to the globalizing contexts of world literature as the so‐called English “Lake school” of poets. A designation for a group of writers who first gathered in Bristol in 1795 and later resided in the Lake District in northwest England, the very term itself calls attention to the group's localized attachment to the English landscape and the apparent insularity of their writing. Recent work committed to exploring the “extra‐English tendencies” of Romantic literature, however, have created new critical perspectives for reassessing late eighteenth‐ and early nineteenth‐century British literature as “pervasively global and international in its concerns,” rather than isolated and insular. This chapter explores some of the new areas of research in a field commonly referred to as Global Romanticism in order to discuss the complex engagements of early Romantic writing with geographies around the world, including North America, China, Africa, and Mexico.
The Margins of Literary History: Sagas, Eddic Poetry, and World Literature
Authors: Rikhardsdottir Sif
Published: December 2019

This chapter addresses the relevance of the medieval Nordic genres of the sagas of Icelanders and eddic poetry to a global audience and to the field of world literature. It considers factors such as cultural and historical contingencies and how the gap can be bridged between the modern (international) reader and geographically and temporally distant literary works. It features some recent theoretical approaches to the sagas and the eddic poems along with textual examples of their simultaneous untranslatability and universality. Ultimately, it suggests a mode for reading medieval literature in a global context, featuring the reading experience both as an aesthetic process and as a cultural encounter.
James Joyce‐ing World Literature
Authors: Ito Eishiro
Published: December 2019

James Joyce devoted his life to writing fiction set in Dublin in the fin‐de‐siècle and early twentieth century, incorporating the real people living there at that time as supporting characters. However, with numerous literary and historical allusions and compound‐complex words from an infinite number of languages, he made his native city universal. In comparison with two living writers of world literature, Joyce's novels are conspicuous for their modernity. Kazuo Ishiguro and Joyce place much importance on memories and narrative techniques. Joyce'sUlyssescan be compared with Haruki Murakami's1Q84in many ways, for example the use of a classical framework. Joyce has been a very influential writer and stimulated so many authors and scholars that his works have even generated “the Joyce industry.”
Egesta (Segesta)
Authors: De Vido Stefania
Published: December 2019

Egesta was one of the three poleis of the Elymian ethnos in northwest Sicily: according to tradition this population descended from a group of Trojans or originated from southern Italy.
Euripides
Authors: Medda Enrico
Published: December 2019

Profile of the Athenian tragedian Euripides (ca. 485–407/6bce): life, works, dramaturgy.
Pentekontaetia
Authors: Sickinger James P.
Published: December 2019

The term
Pentekontaetia
refers to the roughly fifty‐year period between the end of the Persian Wars in 479
bce
and the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431, and to the section of Thucydides’
History of the Peloponnesian War
(1.89–118) that describes those years. Thucydides’ narrative does not provide a comprehensive history of the period but aims to provide an account of the growth of Athenian power leading up to the Peloponnesian War. Hence, his account is selective and sometimes chronologically vague. His picture can be supplemented by later sources and contemporary inscriptions, although they too present interpretive problems.
Persepolis tablets
Authors: Henkelman Wouter F. M.
Published: December 2019

Two archives of clay tablets were excavated at Persepolis, a major Achaemenid residence in southwestern Iran: the Persepolis Fortification archive (PFA), in the northeastern Fortification (1933), and the Persepolis Treasury archive (PTA), in the Treasury building (1936/38). They are a cornerstone of primary evidence on the Persian Empire (ca. 550–330
bce
).
Astronomy, Egyptian
Authors: Symons Sarah
Published: December 2019

Ancient Egyptian engagement with celestial phenomena is attested through a variety of sources, primarily surviving in religious and funerary contexts. Examples of astronomical activity include knowledge of star names and movements, depictions and explanations of celestial bodies, use of astronomical phenomena for timekeeping, creation of tables and instruments, observations for architectural purposes, and astrological practices.
Commius
Authors: Nice Alex
Published: December 2019

Commius (ca. 90–ca. 30
bce
) was a Gallic chieftain and king of the Atrebates who played an important role in Caesar's invasions of Britain and the revolt of Vercingetorix.
Globalization
Authors: Pitts Martin
Published: December 2019

“Globalization” is a term that describes processes by which localities perceived to be separate or disparate become increasingly inter‐connected, typically on a pan‐regional or global scale.
Comitatenses
Authors: Whately Conor
Published: December 2019

Comitatenses
, originally from
comitatus
, the companions of the emperor, were the soldiers who accompanied the Roman emperor; it later meant the regional mobile field armies of the Late Empire, usually based in the interior and under senior generals, consisting of both cavalry and infantry. Although there is a tendency to see the
comitatenses
as a creation of Constantine I on the evidence of Zosimus (Zos. 2.34.1; cf. Aur. Vict.
Caes
. 41.12; John Lydus
Mag
. 2.10, 3.31), it should be understood as the end product of a long process which began in the second century
ce
.
Comites
Authors: Whately Conor
Published: December 2019

Comites
, singular
comes
, literally “counts,” could be a number of things, from officials and commanders to elite cavalry regiments. Originally, the term applied to high‐ranking senators and
equites
who accompanied the emperor, and it was only later that it was applied to military officers, officials, and cavalry regiments. The term seems to have become formalized under Constantine I.
Hannibal
Authors: Hoyos Dexter
Published: December 2019

Eldest son of Hamilcar Barca (
see
Punic Wars), and in Spain with his father from 237
bce
, Hannibal (247–183) held military commands from youth, revealing both ability and charisma. He himself became general and leader of Carthage and Punic Spain in 221.
Athletes
Authors: Poliakoff Michael B.
Published: December 2019

The ancient world has left illuminating, albeit incomplete, records of its athletes. Inscriptions, monuments, and texts document who participated and sometimes their career records and socioeconomic backgrounds. Not unlike modern societies, ancient cultures differ widely, even within themselves, regarding the appropriateness of the athletes’ regimen and the rewards and emoluments they receive.
Nea Paphos
Authors: Barker Craig
Published: December 2019

Nea Paphos was the capital city of Cyprus during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Founded in the late fourth century
bce
, it was closely associated with the sanctuary dedicated to Aphrodite at Palaipaphos. Culturally and architecturally the city demonstrates close ties with Ptolemaic Alexandria in the Hellenistic period and with Rome during the centuries of Roman control of Cyprus. Its geographic position and natural harbor meant the city developed as an important trade center. Archaeological investigations of the city have uncovered a series of public buildings, and significant domestic structures with incredibly well‐preserved figurative mosaics.
Porosity‐ and Graphitization‐Controlled Fabrication of Nanoporous Silicon@Carbon for Lithium Storage and Its Conjugation with MXene for Lithium‐Metal Anode
Authors: An Yongling , Tian Yuan , Wei Hao , Xi Baojuan , Xiong Shenglin , Feng Jinkui , Qian Yitai
Published: December 2019

Silicon (Si) and lithium metal are the most favorable anodes for high‐energy‐density lithium‐based batteries. However, large volume expansion and low electrical conductivity restrict commercialization of Si anodes, while dendrite formation prohibits the applications of lithium‐metal anodes. Here, uniform nanoporous Si@carbon (NPSi@C) from commercial alloy and CO2 is fabricated and tested as a stable anode for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). The porosity of Si as well as graphitization degree and thickness of the carbon layer can be controlled by adjusting reaction conditions. The rationally designed porosity and carbon layer of NPSi@C can improve electronic conductivity and buffer volume change of Si without destroying the carbon layer or disrupting the solid electrolyte interface layer. The optimized NPSi@C anode shows a stable cyclability with 0.00685% capacity decay per cycle at 5 A g−1 over 2000 cycles for LIBs. The energy storage mechanism is explored by quantitative kinetics analysis and proven to be a capacitance‐battery dual model. Moreover, a novel 2D/3D structure is designed by combining MXene and NPSi@C. As lithiophilic nucleation seeds, NPSi@C can induce uniform Li deposition with buffered volume expansion, which is proven by exploring Li‐metal deposition morphology on Cu foil and MXene@NPSi@C. The practical potential application of NPSi@C and MXene@NPSi@C is evaluated by full cell tests with a Li(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)O2 cathode.
A Magnetic Drug Delivery System with “OFF–ON” State via Specific Molecular Recognition and Conformational Changes for Precise Tumor Therapy
Authors: Liu Junjie , Liu Wei , Zhang Kaixiang , Shi Jinjin , Zhang Zhenzhong
Published: December 2019

To enhance the tumor‐targeting and tumor cell‐specific drug‐release capacity of nano drug delivery systems, a magnetic resonance imaging‐traceable, magnetic‐targeted nanoplatform is developed, and the nanoplatform is prepared by capping mesoporous silica (MSN)‐coated iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with programmable DNA hairpin sensor “gates.” In normal cells (HL‐7702, human liver cells), the nanoplatform is able to entrap the loaded drugs, showing an “OFF” state; the nanoplatform is activated by endogenous miRNA‐21 overexpressed in tumor cells (HepG2, human liver tumor cells), which serve as an exclusive key to unlock the nanoplatform through hybridization with programmable DNA hairpin, leading to a rapid drug release, showing an “ON” state. The nanoplatform exhibits high antitumor efficacy and low toxicity in in vitro and in vivo studies owing to its magnetic targeting and tumor cell‐activated properties, paving the way for targeted and personalized tumor treatment and showing potential for clinical applications.
Self‐Assembly of Highly Stable Zirconium(IV) Coordination Cages with Aggregation Induced Emission Molecular Rotors for Live‐Cell Imaging
Authors: Dong Jinqiao , Pan Yutong , Wang Heng , Yang Kuiwei , Liu Lingmei , Qiao Zhiwei , Yuan Yi Di , Peh Shing Bo , Zhang Jian , Shi Leilei , Liang Hong , Han Yu , Li Xiaopeng , Jiang Jianwen , Liu Bin , Zhao Dan
Published: December 2019

The self‐assembly of highly stable zirconium(IV)‐based coordination cages with aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecular rotors for in vitro bio‐imaging is reported. The two coordination cages, NUS‐100 and NUS‐101, are assembled from the highly stable trinuclear zirconium vertices and two flexible carboxyl‐decorated tetraphenylethylene (TPE) spacers. Extensive experimental and theoretical results show that the emissive intensity of the coordination cages can be controlled by restricting the dynamics of AIE‐active molecular rotors though multiple external stimuli. Because the two coordination cages have excellent chemical stability in aqueous solutions (pH stability: 2–10) and impressive AIE characteristics contributed by the molecular rotors, they can be employed as novel biological fluorescent probes for in vitro live‐cell imaging.
Small‐Molecule Modulation of Soft‐Matter Frank–Kasper Phases: A Method for Adding Function to Form
Authors: Lachmayr Kätchen K. , Sita Lawrence R.
Published: December 2019

Incorporation of small amounts of α‐tocopherol (vitamin E) in blends with the cellobiose–triazole‐linked atactic poly(4‐methyl‐1‐pentene) (CB‐aPMP) sugar–polyolefin conjugate can be used to exert external control over thermotropic phase behavior and provide access to non‐canonical soft matter Frank–Kasper A15 and σ phases. These results establish a paradigm that can be used for the further design and development of scalable quantities of soft matter FK phases of increased structural complexity and functional capability.
Catalytic activity of Pd dithiolate complexes with large‐bite‐angle diphosphines in Heck coupling reactions
Authors: Mane Pravin A. , Neogy Suman , Dey Sandip
Published: December 2019

Palladium(II) complexes of aryl dithiolates and wide‐bite‐angle diphosphines Xantphos and dppf have been developed as efficient catalysts in Suzuki and Suzuki carbonylation reactions. The catalytic activity of these highly stable, discrete and charged complexes was investigated in Heck coupling reactions of styrene and a variety of aryl bromides. Under optimized reaction conditions these palladium complexes showed excellent activity with high turnover number (6 × 106) and high turnover frequency (4 × 105 h−1). The effect of bite angle of diphosphines on the catalytic activity of the complexes [Pd2(P∩P)2(SC12H8S)]2(OTf)4 followed the trend P∩P = Xantphos > dppf > dppe as the order of their bite angles. The catalyst could be reused, and after three cycles the formation of significant amount of Pd nanoparticles was noticed, which were characterized using powder X‐ray diffraction, energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis and transmission electron microscopy. The high catalytic activity has been attributed to the Pd nanoparticles.
Hydroxyethyl starch with high surface activity via ethylene carbonate functionalization
Authors: Zhong Sheng , Zhang Shufen , Ma Wei , Zhu Jianmin
Published: December 2019

Biosurfactants‐hydroxyethyl starches (HES‐EC) with the total degree of substitution (DSt) of 26, 37, and 46% are prepared via ethylene carbonate functionalization. GC–MS semi‐quantitative analysis results show that monosubstituents, especially, C‐2 monosubstituents are predominant in all substituents. A small amount of disubstituents with O(CH2CH2O)2H group per polyethylene chain exist in HES‐EC. The structural characteristics of HES‐EC demonstrate that hydroxyethyl groups distribute more uniformly on starch main chains as compared with corresponding HES‐EO. The even distribution of hydroxyethyl groups further promotes the formation of the hydrophilic–hydrophobic structure inside HES‐EC. HES‐EC exhibits lower surface tension and more notable emulsion ability than HES‐EO and traditional petroleum‐based surfactant NP‐10. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48807.
A Physiological Marker of Recognition Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder? ‐ The Pupil Old/New Effect
Authors: Ring Melanie , Bowler Dermot M. , Gaigg Sebastian B.
Published: December 2019

This study investigated the pupil Old/New effect in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typical development (TD). Participants studied verbal and visual meaningful and meaningless materials in black and white on a computer screen. Pupil sizes were measured while participants performed a Remember (episodic memory with context)/Know (semantic memory, no context) recognition memory test. ASD compared to TD individuals showed significantly reduced recognition rates for all materials. Both groups showed better memory for visual compared to verbal (picture superiority effect) and meaningful compared to meaningless materials. A pupil size ratio (pupil size for test item divided by baseline) for old (studied) and new (unstudied) materials indicated larger pupils for old compared to new materials only for the TD but not the ASD group. Pupil size in response to old versus new items was positively related to recognition accuracy, confirming that the pupil Old/New effect reflects a memory phenomenon in the ASD group. In addition, this study suggests an involvement of the noradrenergic neurotransmitter system in the abnormal hippocampal functioning in ASD. Implications of these findings, as well as their underlying neurophysiology, will be discussed in relation to current theories of memory in ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 627–640. © 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC

Lay Summary

Most measures of memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) depend on verbal answers. In addition to these verbal answers, this study measured the size of the participants' pupil in response to studied and unfamiliar materials revealing memory difficulties in ASD. Measuring pupil size works nonverbally, outside of conscious awareness and forms the basis of studies on less verbal persons with ASD. Mechanisms and brain regions underlying memory differences in ASD are discussed.
Absence of developmental and reproductive toxicity in animals exposed to dolutegravir
Authors: Stanislaus Dinesh J. , Posobiec Lorraine M. , Laffan Susan B. , Solomon Howard M. , Ziejewski Mary K. , Romach Elizabeth H.
Published: December 2019

The success of new antiretroviral medicines for HIV resulted in a change to guidelines of standard therapy where continuation of antiretroviral therapy is recommended to maintain the low viral load during pregnancy, thereby preventing transmission of the virus to the fetus. As a result, pregnancy related exposure to HIV medicines has increased. Understanding the safety of these medicines during pregnancy is of paramount importance to ensure health of mothers and their offspring; well‐designed animal studies that evaluate the reproductive life cycle play a key role in this effort. As part of the medicine development program for dolutegravir (DTG), a series of reproductive and developmental toxicity studies were conducted using rats and rabbits. In a fertility study, where exposure to DTG occurred in female rats before mating through conception and up to implantation of the embryo, no effects on reproductive cycles, ovulation, fertility) or preimplantation embryonic growth were observed. In rat and rabbit embryo–fetal development studies, where exposure to DTG occurred during organogenesis, no malformations or other developmental abnormalities were observed. In a rat pre‐ and post‐natal development study, where DTG exposure to the pups occurred during pregnancy and postnatally via milk, no malformations or other developmental abnormalities were observed. In these studies, no DTG‐related effects occurred on fertility, embryonic (pre‐ and post‐implantation loss, resorptions, abortions, and malformations) or fetal development where the multiples of exposure at the maximum recommended human dose were up to 27 times higher in rats or below the human exposure in rabbits.
Osteogenesis and bone remodeling: A focus on growth factors and bioactive peptides
Authors: Toosi Shirin , Behravan Javad
Published: December 2019

Bone is one of the most frequently transplanted tissues. The bone structure and its physiological function and stem cells biology were known to be closely related to each other for many years. Bone is considered a home to the well‐known systems of postnatal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These bone resident MSCs provide a range of growth factors (GF) and cytokines to support cell growth following injury. These GFs include a group of proteins and peptides produced by different cells which are regulators of important cell functions such as division, migration, and differentiation. GF signaling controls the formation and development of the MSCs condensation and plays a critical role in regulating osteogenesis, chondrogenesis, and bone/mineral homeostasis. Thus, a combination of both MSCs and GFs receives high expectations in regenerative medicine, particularly in bone repair applications. It is known that the delivery of exogenous GFs to the non‐union bone fracture site remarkably improves healing results. Here we present updated information on bone tissue engineering with a specific focus on GF characteristics and their application in cellular functions and tissue healing. Moreover, the interrelation of GFs with the damaged bone microenvironment and their mechanistic functions are discussed.
Biosensing in Smart Engineered Probiotics
Authors: Rottinghaus Austin G. , Amrofell Matthew B. , Moon Tae Seok
Published: December 2019

Engineered microbes are exciting alternatives to current diagnostics and therapeutics. Researchers have developed a wide range of genetic tools and parts to engineer probiotic and commensal microbes. Among these tools and parts, biosensors allow the microbes to sense and record or to sense and respond to chemical and environmental signals in the body, enabling them to report on health conditions of the animal host and/or deliver therapeutics in a controlled manner. This review focuses on how biosensing is applied to engineer “smart” microbes for in vivo diagnostic, therapeutic, and biocontainment goals. Hurdles that need to be overcome when transitioning from high‐throughput in vitro systems to low‐throughput in vivo animal models, new technologies that can be implemented to alleviate this experimental gap, and areas where future advancements can be made to maximize the utility of biosensing for medical applications are also discussed. As technologies for engineering microbes continue to be developed, these engineered organisms will be used to address many medical challenges.
Long noncoding RNA cytoskeleton regulator RNA promotes cell invasion and metastasis by titrating miR‐613 to regulate ANXA2 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Chen Wei , Du Mingyu , Hu Xinyu , Ma Hongxia , Zhang Erbao , Wang Tingting , Yin Li , He Xia , Hu Zhibin
Published: December 2019

Background

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most frequent head and neck malignant tumors. Long noncoding RNAs play critical roles in tumorigenesis.

Methods

Real‐time quantitative PCR arrays were used to evaluate the expression levels of cytoskeleton regulator RNA (CYTOR) in NPC tissues and cells. Cell counting kit‐8 and colony formation analyses were used to test the NPC cell viability, while wound healing and transwell assays were employed to detect cell invasion and migration ability. Luciferase reporter assay and Western blot analyses were employed to explore the relationships among CYTOR, miR‐613, and ANXA2.

Results

We found that CYTOR expression was elevated both in NPC tissues and cells. Functional assays revealed that CYTOR promoted the invasion and migration of NPC cells. The established spontaneous lymph node metastasis model also confirmed that CYTOR promoted NPC cell metastasis in vivo. Mechanically, we found that the subcellular localization of CYTOR mostly occurred in the cell cytoplasm. Luciferase reporter and RIP assays confirmed that CYTOR functioned as the molecular sponge of miR‐613. Subsequent experiments confirmed that ANXA2 was directly targeted by miR‐613. Gain‐ and loss‐of‐function studies further confirmed that CYTOR induced the upregulation of ANXA2 by competitively binding to miR‐613, thus leading to NPC metastasis.

Conclusion

Our results highlight the importance of CYTOR in NPC development and provide new insights into potential therapeutic targets for NPC.
Deep learning pathological microscopic features in endemic nasopharyngeal cancer: Prognostic value and protentional role for individual induction chemotherapy
Authors: Liu Kuiyuan , Xia Weixiong , Qiang Mengyun , Chen Xi , Liu Jia , Guo Xiang , Lv Xing
Published: December 2019

Background

To explore the prognostic value and the role for treatment decision of pathological microscopic features in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using the method of deep learning.

Methods

The pathological microscopic features were extracted using the software QuPath (version 0.1.3. Queen's University) in the training cohort (Guangzhou training cohort, n = 843). We used the neural network DeepSurv to analyze the pathological microscopic features (DSPMF) and then classified patients into high‐risk and low‐risk groups through the time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC). The prognosis accuracy of the pathological feature was validated in a validation cohort (n = 212). The primary endpoint was progression‐free survival (PFS).

Results

We found 429 pathological microscopic features in the H&E image. Patients with high‐risk scores in the training cohort had shorter 5‐year PFS (HR 10.03, 6.06‐16.61; P < .0001). The DSPMF (C‐index: 0.723) had the higher C‐index than the EBV DNA (C‐index: 0.612) copies and the N stage (C‐index: 0.593). Furthermore, induction chemotherapy (ICT) plus concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) had better 5‐year PFS to those received CCRT (P < .0001) in the high‐risk group.

Conclusion

The DSPMF is a reliable prognostic tool for survival risk in patients with NPC and might be able to guide the treatment decision.
The importance of background checks
Authors: Miles David
Published: December 2019

Recently, we had a disturbing report on our campus that has prompted discussions about the need for university contractors to perform background checks. A female student reported that an individual was looking into her residence hall window from the exterior of the building. Although we did not have a camera outside the building pointed at her room, we were able to see from video from other cameras in the area that the only individuals present on the date and time the student reported the incident were contractors. We interviewed the contractor and he denied the report.
Learn how to effectively manage conflicts with supervisors
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: December 2019

The role of a midlevel professional has its challenges, including knowing how to effectively manage conflict with supervisors. Conflict with supervisors might stem from a lack of autonomy, differing or changing expectations, miscommunication, different leadership styles, philosophical differences, or failing to explain the rationale behind decisions, according to Marcy Louis, Associate Director of Campus Life and Student Development at Texas A&M University‐Commerce; and Anton Ward‐Zanotto, Associate Director of Community Standards and Student Conduct at the University of Washington. They spoke at the annual conference for the Association for Student Conduct Administration.
Streamlined reverse wire technique for the treatment of complex bifurcated lesions
Authors: Hasegawa Katsuyuki , Yamamoto Wataru , Nakabayashi Sho , Otsuji Satoru
Published: December 2019

Inserting a guidewire into an extremely angulated side branch (SB) is difficult. Reverse wire technique (RWT) method was developed to specifically overcome this challenging situation, and it has become common among operators performing percutaneous coronary intervention. The first step of RWT involves the delivery of a reverse wire (RW) beyond the bifurcation, together with dual lumen catheter (DLC). This step is sometimes difficult, due to the stenosis proximal to bifurcation. Balloon dilatation of the stenosis is sometimes required to make space for the RW passage, but this lesion modification involves a potential risk of vessel damage, plaque shift, or carina shift, which results in the occlusion of the target SB. Streamlined RWT is a novel method we developed to facilitate RW delivery. It consists of the following three steps: (a) Advancing a DLC alone beyond the occlusion and inserting a preshaped RW into a non‐target SB distal to the bifurcation. (b) Adjusting the position of the bending part of RW and the exit port of DLC together at the ostium of the non‐target SB. (c) Advancing the RW and DLC simultaneously, while holding them both together. All procedures subsequent to the delivery of RW are the same as those required in conventional RWT. This technique enables us to deliver a RW through severe stenosis without the risk of either vessel injury or the occlusion of target SB. It also helps us to save time and effort in accomplishing SB access, even during the treatment of complex bifurcated lesions.
Impact of structural features of very thin stents implanted in unprotected left main or coronary bifurcations on clinical outcomes
Authors: Iannaccone Mario , D'Ascenzo Fabrizio , Gallone Guglielmo , Mitomo Satoru , Parma Radosław , Trabattoni Daniela , Ryan Nicola , Muscoli Saverio , Venuti Giuseppe , Montabone Andrea , De Lio Francesca , Zaccaro Lorenzo , Quadri Giorgio , De Filippo Ovidio , Wojakowski Wojciech , Rognoni Andrea , Helft Gerard , Gallo Diego , De Luca Leonardo , Figini Filippo , Imori Yoichi , Conrotto Federico , Boccuzzi Giacomo , Mattesini Alessio , Wańha Wojciech , Smolka Grzegorz , Huczek Zenon , Rolfo Cristina , Pennone Mauro , Cortese Bernardo , Capodanno Davide , Chieffo Alaide , Nuñez‐Gil Ivan , Morbiducci Umberto , D'Amico Maurizio , Varbella Ferdinando , Romeo Francesco , Sheiban Imad , Escaned Javier , Garbo Roberto , Moretti Claudio , di Mario Carlo , De Ferrari Gaetano M.
Published: December 2019

Objectives

To evaluate the independent clinical impact of stent structural features in a large cohort of patients undergoing unprotected left main (ULM) or coronary bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a range of very thin strut stents.

Background

Clinical impact of structural features of contemporary stents remains to be defined.

Methods

All consecutive patients enrolled in the veRy thin stents for patients with left mAIn or bifurcatioN in real life (RAIN) registry were included. The following stent structural features were studied: antiproliferative drugs (everolimus vs. sirolimus vs. zotarolimus), strut material (platinum‐chromium vs. cobalt‐chromium), polymer (bioresorbable vs. durable), number of crowns (<8 vs. ≥8) and number of connectors (<3 vs. ≥3). For small diameter stents (≤2.5 mm), struct thickness (74 vs. 80/81 μm) was also tested. Target lesion failure (TLF), a composite of target lesion revascularization and stent thrombosis, was the primary endpoint. Multivariate analysis was performed with Cox regression models.

Results

Out of 2,707 patients, 110 (4.1%) experienced a TLF event after 16 months (12–18). After adjustment for confounders, an increased number of connectors (adjusted hazard ratio [adj‐HR] 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39–0.99, p = .04) reduced risk of TLF, driven by stents with ≥2.5 mm diameter (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.32–0.93, p = .02). This independent relationship was lost for stents with diameter <2.5 mm, where only strut thickness appeared to impact. Conversely, no independent relationship of polymer type, number of crowns, and the specific limus‐family eluted drug with outcomes was observed.

Conclusions

Among a range of contemporary very thin stent models, an increased number of connectors improved device‐related outcomes in this investigated high‐risk procedural setting.
Aryl–Aryl Interactions in (Aryl‐Perhalogenated) 1,2‐Diaryldisilanes
Authors: Linnemannstöns Marvin , Schwabedissen Jan , Neumann Beate , Stammler Hans‐Georg , Berger Raphael J. F. , Mitzel Norbert W.
Published: December 2019

Three 1,2‐diaryltetramethyldisilanes X5C6‐(SiMe2)2‐C6X5 with two C6H5, C6F5, or C6Cl5 groups were studied concerning the importance of London dispersion driven interactions between their aryl groups. They were prepared from 1,2‐dichlorotetramethyldisilane by salt elimination. Their structures were determined in the solid state by X‐ray diffraction and for free molecules by gas electron‐diffraction. The solid‐state structures of the fluorinated and chlorinated derivatives are dominated by aryl–aryl interactions. Unexpectedly, Cl5C6‐(SiMe2)2‐C6Cl5 exists exclusively as an eclipsed syn‐conformer in the gas phase with strongly distorted Si‐C6Cl5 units due to strong intramolecular interactions. In contrast, F5C6‐(SiMe2)2‐C6F5 reveals weaker interactions. The contributions to the total interaction energy were analyzed by SAPT calculations.
A middleware approach for reliable resource selection on Internet‐of‐Things
Authors: Bharti Monika , Saxena Sharad , Kumar Rajesh
Published: December 2019

Decision making plays a vital role in the selection of resources so that they actively participate for communication and computation on the Internet‐of‐Things platform. For the same, they require the elimination of the challenges related to knowledge representation, discovery, trust, and security due to continuously changing mobility patterns, heterogeneity, interoperability, and scalability on the network. To address the challenges, a novel three‐layered approach, namely, middleware approach for reliable resource selection on Internet‐of‐Things (MARRS‐IoT), is proposed. It performs a search through neighbor discovery algorithm and evaluates trust score of the discovered resources, both locally and globally using fuzzy‐decision algorithm and performs efficient communication among resources via hybrid M‐gear protocol. The approach is simulated and compared against algorithms, namely, particle swarm optimization, ants colony optimization, and binary genetic to evaluate its performance. The obtained results support the efficacy of the MARRS‐IoT with respect to throughput and execution time.
Cytological diagnosis in a clinically unsuspected case of disseminated BCGosis: A case report
Authors: Mittal Medha , Mahajan Nidhi , Khatri Arti , Rai Anuradha , Saigal Karnika
Published: December 2019

Bacille Calmette‐Guerin (BCG) vaccine is administered worldwide to neonates and considered safe. Serious complications like disseminated BCGosis are extremely rare occurrences (<1 per million vaccinations). A 6 months male was brought to paediatric outpatient department with fever and swelling over the dorsum of the left hand for 5 days. On examination, he was febrile and had hepatosplenomegaly. X‐ray of the hand showed lytic lesions in the first and second metacarpals. Provisional clinical diagnosis included Langerhans cell histiocytosis, congenital syphilis, and haematological malignancy. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) was done from the swelling and showed diffuse sheets of histiocytes with both intracellular and extracellular rod‐shaped unstained structures along with inflammatory cells. These ghost images stained positive with ZN stain. A cytological diagnosis of atypical mycobacteria vs leprosy was made. Child was revisited and found to have an active BCG scar. Further investigations showed low serum IgM and positive AFB culture. These bacilli were confirmed by GenoType MTBDR plus test as Mycobacterium bovis. Despite Antitubercular therapy, the patient succumbed to death. This case highlights the variable clinical presentation of BCGosis. Its occurrence may unmask any underlying immunodeficiency. If unfamiliar with the above cytological features and in absence of routinely performed special stains, the cytopathologist may miss these notorious organisms and treat such cases like suppurative lesions. To conclude, an early and definitive diagnosis of BCGosis can be established on FNAC which would ensure timely management and better outcome in this highly lethal entity.
Effect of surface wetting behavior of ceramic proppant on the two‐phase flow across the interface of sandstone and fracture
Authors: Xiao Dong , Wang Ming , Guo Boyun , Weng Dingwei
Published: December 2019

The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of water‐oil two‐phase flow from sandstone reservoirs to propped hydraulic fractures. The effects of PC (code for provider) oil‐wet and water‐wet fracture proppants on the competing flow of water and oil from Parker Berea and Upper Gray Berea sandstones to proppant‐packed fractures were experimentally investigated in this study. Water and oil were simultaneously injected into core sample, and the injection volume at water breakthrough was used as a measure of phase flow efficiency. The PC oil‐wet ceramic proppants were found to have the property of attracting‐oil‐repelling‐water (AORW) effect on the water‐oil two‐phase flow from sandstones to proppant‐packed fractures. This effect is explained by the theory of oil and water channels in the sandstones. Oil‐wet proppant particles contact oil channels in the sandstone and attract oil into the fracture owing to the affinity between the oil‐wet surface and the oil in the oil channel. The AORW effect of PC oil‐wet proppant was found to drop as the water cut in the sandstone increases. This is attributed to the fact that there are more water channels in high water‐cut sandstones than in low water‐cut sandstones, reducing the chance for the oil‐wet proppant to contact oil channels and attract oil. The PC oil‐wet proppant was found to behave differently in different types of sandstones. Its AORW effect is higher in low‐permeability sandstones than in high‐permeability sandstones. This may be because there are more oil channels in low‐permeability sandstones than in high‐permeability sandstones, increasing the chance for the oil‐wet proppant to contact oil channels and attract oil.
Research on a noble extinguish material for the underground fire prevention
Authors: Lu Xin‐Xiao , Han Yu , Xue Xue , Wang De‐Ming
Published: December 2019

The three‐phase foam consisted of solid, liquid and gas is regarded as a highly effective measure for the underground mine fire prevention. In this study, the three‐phase foam technology is introduced and a visualization platform is established to exhibit the foam flow in a physical goaf. The diffusion rule and extinguishing performance for three‐phase foam are researched. Test results show that the three‐phase foam has a superior heat resistance than expansion foam in the top goaf. The coal heating rate is postponed after the three‐phase foam processing and the active functional groups are suppressed effectively. Increasing the foam expansion ratio is adverse to the three‐phase foam stability. The field application of three‐phase foam was evaluated via the practical extinguishment effect. The marked reduction in the sealed zone temperature and CO concentration proved that the proposed three‐phase foam technology was effective on controlling the concealed goaf fire.