bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Now—for a breath I tarry’: Breath, Desire, and Queer Materialism at the fin de siècle
Authors: Riddell Fraser
Published: October 2021

Riddell explores how tropes of breath and breathlessness articulate the relationship between materiality, desire, and loss for queer subjects in Victorian literature. The essay presents readings of A. E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad, John Addington Symonds’s Memoirs, and Walter Pater’s ‘Sebastian van Storck’ (from Imaginary Portraits). It also examines nineteenth-century sexology (including writings by Magnus Hirschfeld) to demonstrate how certain modes of breathing were directly associated with non-normative sexuality in the period. Riddell draws upon insights from contemporary queer theory, in its turns toward negative affect and phenomenology, to examine precarious forms of embodied subjectivity in the history of homosexuality. By doing so, he demonstrates how experiences of embodiment are never universal but closely bound up with individual subject positions (such as sexuality and gender).
Mysterious Gear: Modernist Mountaineering, Oxygen Rigs, and the Politics of Breath
Authors: Garrington Abbie
Published: October 2021

One year after the Hillary/Tenzing ascent of Everest, W. H. Auden’s ‘Mountains’ (1954) describes climbers as ‘those unsmiling parties, / Clumping off at dawn in the gear of their mystery / For points up’. By this time, such gear was likely to include an oxygen rig. Attitudes to support of the human breath ‘on the hill’ in the early twentieth century were fractured and controversial. Oxygen-less attempts were associated with fairness and a sense of the sporting, as pushing the body to un-assisted limits on the highest peaks became entangled with notions of masculinity, in a post-Great War era when younger generations sought challenges that their elders had found through conflict. Auden’s gear might be one of ‘mystery’, but it also brought a jarring modernity into atavistic struggles between body and rock. Mountain literature pre-1953 registers the imperfect incorporation of oxygen supply ‘gear’ in a poetic context, and a breathed line, where it has not been present. The deployment of oxygen brought issues now associated with modernist culture onto the mountainside, while debates raged about who got to breathe the air of the Himalayas, and who—having deployed air-in-a-bottle—might not be said to have climbed them at all.
Pneumatic Episodes from Homer to Galen
Authors: Long A. A.
Published: October 2021

The ‘pneumatic episodes’ of Long’s essay survey ancient Greek ideas about breath (pneuma) and respiration, starting from Homer’s epic poetry and concluding with Galen’s medical ideas about the uses of breathing, and the pathologies of breathlessness. These ancient authors explored vital connections between breath, heart, mind, and brain. They also considered how breath functions to control the body’s temperature, how animal life begins with breath, and why breath and breathing are symptomatic for health and sickness. Their influential thoughts resonate with this book’s generic themes, especially breath’s centrality to inhabiting and understanding the world.
Hearing the Form: Breath and the Structures of Poetry in Charles Olson and Paul Celan
Authors: Fuller David
Published: October 2021

This essay examines the ways in which the American poet Charles Olson, and the German-speaking Romanian Jewish poet Paul Celan, each in relation to specific post-war cultural circumstances, experimented with new ways of structuring poetry in relation to the breath: Olson in response to new global scientific, political, and intellectual currents; Celan in response to the Holocaust. The essay discusses not only how the poets wrote but also how they realised the printed forms of their poetry in performance, contrasting Olson’s literal performance of his theories with the different relation of print to performance of his contemporary and associate William Carlos Williams. It argues that Olson’s experiments, polemically formulated in his manifestoProjective Verse, while they have influenced central currents of American poetry since the 1950s, have remained largely American, whereas Celan’s, tentatively intimated in his anti-manifestoDer Meridian, and inimitably personal in their specific forms, can also be seen as modelling ways in which a wide range of twentieth- and twenty-first-century poetry can be realised in reading aloud.
A Panting Consciousness: Beckett, Breath, and Biocognitive Feedback
Authors: Bernini Marco
Published: October 2021

Booming Western interest in mindfulness and meditation has significantly mainstreamed breath and breathing practices, where focussed breathing is taken to be conducive to novel psychological states. Thanks to the regulation of breathing patterns, patterns in our thinking are not just affected but revealed, together with their entanglement with respiration (in a variety of looping effects here considered as ‘biocognitive feedback’). What makes this reciprocal feedback possible is the structural intimacy and co-dependency of breath and consciousness—a dyadic and dynamic relationship already conceptualised by William James, and today reappraised by contemporary, Buddhist-inspired cognitive sciences. Critically integrating psychological, cognitive, phenomenological, and narratological frameworks, this essay investigates the co-dependent intimacy between breath and cognition as represented, explored, and complicated in the narrative work of Samuel Beckett.
Visualising the Ephemeral
Authors: Wilton Jayne
Published: October 2021

This essay investigates breath as a fundamental unit of exchange between people and their environment as shown in two collections of Jayne Wilton’s work. The first is a series of technologically empowered portrayals of the breath using innovative scientific techniques to translate universal breathing gestures (the sigh, the laugh, the gasp) into images and objects which allow viewers to re-experience the often-overlooked breath in visual forms. The second, created through participatory workshops with patients and staff in a London hospital, explores the visualisation of breath to highlight ways in which meeting the breath visually can enhance breath awareness and help to articulate the experience of breathlessness. As context and background for this work the essay also discusses a range of depictions of breath in art from the images of the Cueva de las manos (ca. 7300 BCE) to Philippe Rahm’s ‘Pulmonary Space’ (2009).
Our Common Breath: ‘Conspiration’ from the Stoics to the Church Fathers
Authors: Horky Phillip Sidney
Published: October 2021

This essay tracks a brief history of the concept of ‘co-breathing’ or ‘conspiration’ (συμπνοία), from its initial conception in Stoic cosmology in the third century BCE to its appropriation in Christian thought at the end of the second century CE. This study focuses on two related strands: first, how the term gets associated anachronistically with two paradigmatic philosopher-physicians, Hippocrates and Pythagoras, by intellectuals in the Early Roman Empire; and second, how the same term provides the early Church Fathers with a means to synthesize and explain discrete notions of ‘breath’ (πνεῦμα) through a repurposing of the pagan concept. Sources discussed include figures associated with Stoic, Pythagorean, and early Christian cosmologies.
Late Antique Cultures of Breath: Politics and the Holy Spirit
Authors: Hunt Thomas E.
Published: October 2021

Using sources from the fourth century CE, Thomas E. Hunt analyses how people imagined breath in late antiquity. Breathing was a way to mark out and understand human difference in the complex social world of the late Roman Empire. In this context, a person’s breath was used to judge the quality of their social relationships. Breath also held cosmic import, for when a person drew in air they participated in the wider structure of the universe. Christian writers described the inner life of God by referring to these models of breath and breathing. In this essay, Hunt shows how social and theological accounts of breathy relation reinforced each other.
The Transformative Power of Breath: Music, Alternative Therapy, and Medieval Practices of Contemplation
Authors: Renevey Denis
Published: October 2021

In the absence of information about the role of breathing as part of the contemplative exercises of medieval English mystics, this essay investigates instead modern-day breathing practices as advocated by teachers of brass instruments and modern-day spiritual movements. Arnold Jacobs and Michel Ricquier offer information about breathing techniques for the use of brass musicians that share revealing characteristics with proponents of Holotropic Breathwork, itself influenced by pranayama, the art of breath control. The evidence gathered, once applied to the practice of short-word contemplative exercises encouraged by fourteenth-century mystics, provides ground-breaking information on the transformative power of breath in medieval contemplation.
‘Being Breathed’: From King Lear to Clinical Medicine
Authors: Craik Katharine A. , Chapman Stephen J.
Published: October 2021

This essay explores the therapeutic possibilities opened up by literature for breathless patients today. Focusing on King Lear, it considers Shakespeare’s suggestion that we do not breathe as isolated agents but are instead ‘breathed’ by those who know and observe us. Breath emerges as fundamental to early modern personhood. Many breathless patients today still experience the inseparability of breath and aliveness, and breathlessness becomes ‘a way of life’ as they adapt their sense of what is possible in order to accommodate their condition. This life belongs not only to sufferers, however, but also to those who care for them. Considering recent clinical research on vicarious dyspnoea alongside King Lear reveals the existential and therapeutic potential of breath’s intimate, under-recognised relationality.
Making Choices: Matching Sustainable Funding with Strategic Priorities in Higher Education
Authors: Hamdullahpur Feridun
Published: October 2021

Universities around the world—small, large, old, new, regardless of their country of origin—are in a consistent quest to differentiate themselves for global recognition and impact.
The Importance of Fundraising and Endowments: The Role of Private Philanthropy
Authors: Tierney William G.
Published: October 2021

Colleges and universities in the United States have a unique component as part of their fiscal resources. Most institutions throughout the world rely on (1) federal and/or state funding and (2) tuition revenue to support their university. Many countries also have largely federal funding for research that supports the institution through indirect costs, as well as off-sets for faculty salaries and laboratories.
Diversifying the Private Sector in Local Climate Commissions
Authors: Connell Robert , Lane Matthew
Published: October 2021

Highlights

We ask who exactly it is that represents the ‘place’-based interests of the private sector? Nuanced understanding of private sector required; beyond simply the biggest emitters and richest organisations.
Universities as Living Labs for Climate Praxis
Authors: Robinson Zoe P. , Catney Philip , Calver Philippa , Peacock Adam
Published: October 2021

Highlights

University living lab success relies on careful navigation of complex relationships between different actors. Maximising change through living labs requires educational objectives and learning processes embedded in governance.
Putting the ‘Place’ in Place-Based Climate Action: Insights from Climate Adaptation Initiatives Across Scotland
Authors: Murtagh Ellie , Lane Matthew
Published: October 2021

Highlights

Understanding and responding to the unique context and challenges of places is fundamental to the success of place-based adaptation projects.
Taking a Strength-Based Approach: Bringing Student Homes into Schools During a Pandemic
Authors: Hunter Jodie , Hunter Roberta , Tupouniua John , Leach Generosa
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused new ways of doing and being, both in education systems and beyond across the world. In the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the widely supported government approach focused on the well-being of the nation with a position that saving lives was more important than maintaining an open economy. As researchers and educators, we supported teachers as they worked with their students in their home settings. This provided us with an opportunity to explore a vision of a reinvented system of mathematics education beyond institutional and formal structures of schools. In this chapter, we present the analysis of the responses from 24 educators mainly from low socioeconomic urban settings as they reflected on how they enacted mathematics teaching and learning during the lockdown while connecting with students and their families as well as their subsequent learning from this experience. Results highlighted that the mathematical learning of students went beyond what was accessed by digital means and included parents drawing on rich everyday opportunities. A key finding was that by supporting and privileging the well-being of students and communities, the connections and relationships between educators and families were enhanced.
Educational Continuity During the COVID-19 Pandemic at Qatar Foundation’s MultiverCity
Authors: Al Nuaimi Buthaina Ali , Zainal Hend , Marmolejo Francisco
Published: October 2021

Since 1995, the Qatar Foundation (QF) has played a key role in the development of Qatar through education, science, and community development. QF is an “umbrella” array of more than 50 entities covering the entire educational system from PreK-12 schools to doctoral higher education, in addition to a variety of related organizations supporting innovation, health, culture, and community development. This case study examines how the QF Multiverse-city (MultiverCity) model has created synergies between Higher Education and Pre-University Education, which have contributed to support educational continuity during the pandemic across the Foundation and beyond. All the programs shifted to the online delivery mode and new professional development programs and online resources were designed and delivered to teachers to support them in this sudden transition. Also, QF organized a series of virtual global conferences addressing the impact of COVID-19 on education, the responses of schools and systems, and how to reimagine education postcrisis. An electronic publication discussing the different experiences shared in the conference with policy recommendations is being released with the aims of informing policymakers and educators in Qatar and globally.

The unique ecosystem of QF has shown its advantages by witnessing a significant proliferation of initiatives devoted to supporting the continuation of elementary and secondary education both in QF schools and nationwide. One of the success factors of these initiatives is the strong links and partnerships that QF has established between its entities and all the education stakeholders nationally and internationally over the past 25 years. Community outreach and support to PreK-12 education have always been integral to QF strategy. At the same time, the pandemic has provided opportunities for further impact research, and for further learning about the impact of contingencies, implementation of emergency plans, and best practices for more effective connectedness between different levels of the educational system.
Community Building in Times of Pandemic: University Camilo José Cela, Spain
Authors: Nieto Miguel Ángel Pérez , Bonet Nieves Segovia , Trujillo Ignacio Sell , Pérez Carlota Tovar
Published: October 2021

University Camilo José Cela (UCJC) is a private university located in Madrid (Spain) that belongs to the SEK Education Group, an institution with 125 years of tradition and a strong innovation identity. This case study presents the response that UCJC has given to facilitate the adaptation of the educational community (students, families, and teachers) to the situation arising from the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It will explain the coordination actions between students from the School of Education at UCJC and the impact derived from their interventions. Specifically, it will detail students’ participation as teacher assistants in online teaching within the IB pedagogical model to respond to the demands of primary and secondary teachers. This collaboration is the most outstanding due to the number of students and schools involved and the efficacy and efficiency of its implementation.

On the other hand, there were other interventions of a smaller scale but a high social impact committed to disadvantaged sectors of the population. For example, our students’ support gave refugee students from Syria reinforcing their training or the psycho-emotional, educational, and legal assistance that volunteers from the bachelor’s degree of law provided to children and families in social exclusion. It is also significant to highlight the UCJC international actions: the teacher training program, EachTeach, provided educational methodologies, resources, and media to refugee teachers at the Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), helping them to raise awareness about COVID-19, and the Cambodian program dedicated to training volunteers on how to combat the pandemic on these vulnerable contexts, where children live on the streets.

Finally, to define broader collaborations and scale these initiatives in the future, this case study will reflect on the reasons for the success achieved, especially in training and pedagogical innovation and in the use of educational technology. The UCJC and SEK Schools collaboration allowed the use of a common technological language, sharing values. The development of training, support, and advice, between the university community (professors and faculty students) and the schools’ community (teachers, students, and families), enabled a wide range of relevant issues to be addressed in dealing with COVID-19 by schools and the broader education community.
MIT Full STEAM Ahead: Bringing Project-Based, Collaborative Learning to Remote Learning Environments
Authors: Urrea Claudia , Delong Kirky , Diaz Joe , Klopfer Eric , Thompson Meredith , Wagh Aditi , Gardony Jenny , Anderson Emma , Kundargi Rohan
Published: October 2021

With schools and educational centers around the country moving from in-person to emergency remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education faces an unprecedented crisis (Hodges et al., Educause Review 27, 2020). This case study presents the efforts and impact of Full STEAM Ahead (FSA) launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in response to the pandemic to support remote collaborative learning for K-12 learners, parents, and educators. We present two FSA initiatives: (1) weekly themed packages with developmentally appropriate activities for K-12 remote learning and (2) Full STEAM Ahead Into Summer (FSAIS), an online summer program for middle school Massachusetts students, specifically targeting students who are at risk for “COVID Slide.” (Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education-Final Report: http://web.mit.edu/future-report/TaskForceFinal_July28.pdf?) Our operative theory of change is that we can improve K-12 remote collaborative learning experiences through developing and sharing a curriculum that exemplifies the minds-on and hands-on approach advocated by MIT, strategically leveraging existing structures and projects within MIT, and establishing partnerships with the local and international community. We gauge the effect of these efforts on contributing members of the MIT community and targeted learners by analyzing data gathered through participant surveys and artifacts such as the website, packages, modules, and student projects created during the summer programs. Our findings indicate that existing structures and resources – with community building – facilitated the achievement of our goal to develop and distribute problem-based learning activities and that interaction and community building were central in meeting those goals. This work contributes to the knowledge base regarding emergency online learning and the development of effective university outreach efforts.
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP). A Transversal Model to Support Educational Continuity Fostering Resilience, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Zepeda Rodolfo , Quintero Roberto
Published: October 2021

Throughout its history, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), a public institution, has always been a guide of social and economic development of the state of Puebla. From one moment to another, the state was unexpectedly immersed in the Covid-19 pandemic that caused the sudden migration from a mostly face-to-face instructional model to an online one. Immediately, the institution summoned different staff members to define and analyze the situation and then establish actions to guarantee educational continuity.

As part of this analysis, they identified opportunities specifically at the upper secondary level, which includes high school. In particular, one opportunity was to offer entrepreneurship courses in an online format, capitalizing on the experience gained from the undergraduate program. Given the characteristics of the pandemic, the analysis also highlighted that the crisis would have severe economic effects on the students and their families, diminishing their income.

It is estimated that the entrepreneurship education program reached 18,000 people, including students, faculty members, and parents. Over 10,000 more people will be reached throughout the rest of the year. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen the resilience, innovation, and entrepreneurial capacity of the university ecosystem.
The Future of Mobile Edge Computing
Authors: Zhang Yan
Published: October 2021

This chapter first introduces the fundamental principles of blockchain and the integration of blockchain and mobile edge computing (MEC). Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology with a few desirable security characteristics. The integration of blockchain and MEC can improve the security of current MEC systems and provide greater performance benefits in terms of better decentralization, security, privacy, and service efficiency. Then, the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and MEC is presented. A federated learning–empowered MEC architecture is introduced. To improve the performance of the proposed scheme, asynchronous federated learning is proposed. The integration of blockchain and federated learning is also presented to enhance the security and privacy of the federated learning–empowered MEC scheme. Finally, more MEC enabled applications are discussed.
“Central Nation-Peripheral Barbarians in Four Directions-Four Seas”: The Geopolitical Order of Land-Sea Interactions of Early Chinese Civilization
Authors: Wu Chunming
Published: October 2021

Despite being a coastal country located to the west of the Pacific, ancient China essentially had a continental cultural pattern, with its vision turned toward the mainland, and a geopolitical order of land-sea interactions of ancient civilization centered on the Central Plains (Zhongyuan, 中原) around the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and surrounded by “Peripheral Barbarians in Four Directions” (四方蛮夷) within “Four Seas” (四海). Nevertheless, these peripheral maritime “barbarian” Yi (夷) and Yue (越) and the oversea maritime Fan (番) had been active and developed along the southeast coast of China at the edge of these “Four Directions”. Here they had objectively played an important and indispensable role in the ancient history of Chinese civilization, from the native seafaring tradition of “being good at using boats” in the prehistoric and early historical period to the medieval and late historical “Maritime Silk Road” from Han (汉) to Tang (唐) dynasties.
A Brief Review on the Researches of Cultural Relationship Between Indigenous Bai Yue in Southeast of China and Pacific Austronesian
Authors: Wu Chunming
Published: October 2021

Ancient “Bai Yue” (百越) and “Austronesian” are indigenous peoples with very close relationship, distributing from south China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The relationship between Bai Yue and Proto-Austronesian has long been studied in both Chinese and Euro-American academies. During most of the twentieth century, Chinese historians and archaeologists mainly discussed the origins of Malay ethnics as one branch of Austronesian within the academic framework of the ethno-history of Bai Yue centering on the southeast coast of China, while western academic peers mainly based on the linguistic investigation of modern Austronesian and carried out multi-disciplines’ research on the origin of Proto-Austronesian.
Looking forward to lepton-flavor-violating ALPs
Authors: Calibbi Lorenzo , Redigolo Diego , Ziegler Robert , Zupan Jure
Published: October 2021

Abstract

We assess the status of past and future experiments on lepton flavor violating (LFV) muon and tau decays into a light, invisible, axion-like particle (ALP), a. We propose a new experimental setup for MEG II, the MEGII-fwd, with a forward calorimeter placed downstream from the muon stopping target. Searching for μ → ea decays MEGII-fwd is maximally sensitive to LFV ALPs, if these have nonzero couplings to right-handed leptons. The experimental set-up suppresses the (left-handed) Standard Model background in the forward direction by controlling the polarization purity of the muon beam. The reach of MEGII-fwd is compared with the present constraints, the reach of Mu3e and the Belle-II reach from τ → ℓa decays. We show that a dedicated experimental campaign for LFV muon decays into ALPs at MEG II and Mu3e will be able to probe the ALP parameter space in an unexplored region well beyond the existing astrophysical constraints. We study the implications of these searches for representative LFV ALP models, where the presence of a light ALP is motivated by neutrino masses, the strong CP problem and/or the SM flavor puzzle. To this extent we discuss the majoron in low-scale seesaw setups and introduce the LFV QCD axion, the LFV axiflavon and the leptonic familon, paying particular attention to the cases where the LFV ALPs constitute cold dark matter.
Neurochemical abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot magnetic resonance spectroscopy study at 7 Tesla
Authors: Godlewska Beata R. , Williams Stephen , Emir Uzay E. , Chen Chi , Sharpley Ann L. , Goncalves Ana Jorge , Andersson Monique I. , Clarke William , Angus Brian , Cowen Philip J.
Published: October 2021

Rationale

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a common and burdensome illness with a poorly understood pathophysiology, though many of the characteristic symptoms are likely to be of brain origin. The use of high-field proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) enables the detection of a range of brain neurochemicals relevant to aetiological processes that have been linked to CFS, for example, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Methods

We studied 22 CFS patients and 13 healthy controls who underwent MRS scanning at 7 T with a voxel placed in the anterior cingulate cortex. Neurometabolite concentrations were calculated using the unsuppressed water signal as a reference.

Results

Compared to controls, CFS patients had lowered levels of glutathione, total creatine and myo-inositol in anterior cingulate cortex. However, when using N-acetylaspartate as a reference metabolite, only myo-inositol levels continued to be significantly lower in CFS participants.

Conclusions

The changes in glutathione and creatine are consistent with the presence of oxidative and energetic stress in CFS patients and are potentially remediable by nutritional intervention. A reduction in myo-inositol would be consistent with glial dysfunction. However, the relationship of the neurochemical abnormalities to the causation of CFS remains to be established, and the current findings require prospective replication in a larger sample.
Bee Trypanosomatids: First Steps in the Analysis of the Genetic Variation and Population Structure of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia bombi and Crithidia mellificae
Authors: Bartolomé Carolina , Buendía-Abad María , Ornosa Concepción , De la Rúa Pilar , Martín-Hernández Raquel , Higes Mariano , Maside Xulio
Published: October 2021

Trypanosomatids are among the most prevalent parasites in bees but, despite the fact that their impact on the colonies can be quite important and that their infectivity may potentially depend on their genotypes, little is known about the population diversity of these pathogens. Here we cloned and sequenced three non-repetitive single copy loci (DNA topoisomerase II, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and RNA polymerase II large subunit, RPB1) to produce new genetic data from Crithidia bombi, C. mellificae and Lotmaria passim isolated from honeybees and bumblebees. These were analysed by applying population genetic tools in order to quantify and compare their variability within and between species, and to obtain information on their demography and population structure. The general pattern for the three species was that (1) they were subject to the action of purifying selection on nonsynonymous variants, (2) the levels of within species diversity were similar irrespective of the host, (3) there was evidence of recombination among haplotypes and (4) they showed no haplotype structuring according to the host. C. bombi exhibited the lowest levels of synonymous variation (πS= 0.06 ± 0.04 %) — and a mutation frequency distribution compatible with a population expansion after a bottleneck — that contrasted with the extensive polymorphism displayed by C. mellificae (πS= 2.24 ± 1.00 %), which likely has a more ancient origin. L. passim showed intermediate values (πS= 0.40 ± 0.28 %) and an excess of variants a low frequencies probably linked to the spread of this species to new geographical areas.
Correction to: Role of Endoluminal Techniques in the Management of Chronic Type B Aortic Dissection
Authors: Spanos Konstantinos , Kölbel Tilo
Published: October 2021

The article “Role of Endoluminal Techniques in the Management of Chronic Type B Aortic Dissection”, written by Konstantinos Spanos and Tilo Kölbel, was originally published Online First without Open Access.
Lung fibrosis in autoimmune diseases and hypersensitivity: how to separate these from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Popper Helmut , Stacher-Priehse Elvira , Brcic Luka , Nerlich Andreas
Published: October 2021

Lung involvement in autoimmune diseases (AID) is uncommon, but may precede other organ manifestations. A diagnostic problem is chronicity presenting with lung fibrosis. A new category of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features for patients with clinical symptoms of AID and presenting with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) enables antifibrotic treatment for these patients. Hypersensitivity pneumonia (HP) and other forms of lung fibrosis were not included into this category. As these diseases based on adverse immune reactions often present with unspecific clinical symptoms, a specified pathological diagnosis will assist the clinical evaluation. We aimed to establish etiology-relevant differences of patterns associated with AID or HP combined with lung fibrosis. We retrospectively evaluated 51 cases of AID, and 29 cases of HP with lung fibrosis, and compared these to 24 cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (UIP/IPF). Subacute AID and HP most often presented with organizing pneumonia (OP), whereas chronicity was associated with UIP. Unspecified fibrosis was seen in a few cases, whereas NSIP pattern was rare. In 9 cases, the underlying etiology could not be defined. Statistically significant features differentiating chronic AID or HP from UIP/IPF are lymphocytic infiltrations into myofibroblastic/fibroblastic foci. Other features significantly associated with AID and HP were granulomas, isolated Langhans giant cells, and protein deposits, but seen in only a minority of cases. A combination of UIP with one of these features enabled a specific etiology-based diagnosis. Besides the antifibrotic drug regimen, additional therapies might be considered.
Association of extended myositis panel results, clinical features, and diagnoses: a single-center retrospective observational study
Authors: Al Nokhatha Shamma Ahmad , Alfares Eman , Corcoran Luke , Conlon Niall , Conway Richard
Published: October 2021

Myositis-specific antibodies (MSA) and myositis-associated antibodies (MAA) are a feature of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), but are also seen in other rheumatic diseases, and in individuals with no clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical utility of MSA and MAA and in particular the clinical relevance of weakly positive results. We included all patients at our institution who had at least one positive result on the Immunoblot EUROLINE myositis panel over a 6-year period (2015–2020). Associations with clinical features and final diagnosis were evaluated. Eighty-seven of 225 (39%) myositis panel tests met the inclusion criteria. There were 52 strong positives and 35 weak positives for one or more MSA/MAAs. Among the strong positive group, 15% (8/52) were diagnosed with IIM, 34.6% (18/52) with interstitial lung disease, 7.7% (4/52) with anti-synthetase syndrome, 25% (13/52) with connective tissue disease, and others accounted for 25% (13/52). In weak-positive cases, only 14% (5/35) had connective tissue disease and none had IIM. 60% (21/35) of weak-positive cases were not associated with a specific rheumatic disease. A significant number of positive myositis panel results, particularly weak positives, are not associated with IIM or CTD.
Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on orofacial and respiratory infections in ear, nose, and throat and oral and maxillofacial surgery emergency departments: a retrospective study of 7900 patients
Authors: Haapanen Aleksi , Uittamo Johanna , Furuholm Jussi , Mäkitie Antti , Snäll Johanna
Published: October 2021

Objectives

The study purpose was to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rate and disease profile of orofacial and respiratory infections in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) and ear, nose, and throat (ENT) emergency units.

Materials and methods

Records of patients with orofacial or respiratory infection, or infectious symptoms, diagnosed in the OMFS or ENT Emergency Departments of the Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland between 1st March and 30th October 2020 and the corresponding periods in 2018 and 2019 were reviewed. The main outcome variable was the occurrence of studied infections during the evaluated periods. Other study variables were age, gender, residence area, speciality, specific cause for the emergency department visit and admission to ward.

Results

There was a significant 37% decrease in the number of infection patients in 2020 compared to the years 2019 and 2018 (1894 vs. 2929 and 3077, respectively, p < .001). A mean decrease of 51% (from 1319 and 1249 patients in 2018 and 2019, respectively, to 592 patients in 2020) was seen in the “Other ENT respiratory infection” category. ENT patients were 51% less likely to be admitted to the ward in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2018 (p = .013).

Conclusion

A significant decrease was observed in the volume of emergency department visits for orofacial and respiratory infections during the COVID-19-pandemic in 2020 compared to the non-COVID periods.

Clinical relevance

It seems that social distancing, facial mask wearing, and other infection prevention precautions have changed the accustomed patient profile in orofacial and respiratory infections.
Profile of a new extended range-of-vision IOL: a laboratory study
Authors: Tognetto Daniele , Giglio Rosa , De Giacinto Chiara , Pastore Marco R. , Cirigliano Gabriella , Piñero David P. , Turco Gianluca
Published: October 2021

Purpose

To evaluate the surface profile of a new-generation extended range-of-vision intraocular lens (IOL) and to compare it with that obtained for a monofocal IOL based on the same platform.

Methods

Prospective, experimental, laboratory study comparing the surface profile of the DFT015 (AcrySof IQ Vivity; Alcon Laboratories, Inc.), a new-generation presbyopia-correcting IOL, with the profile of the SN60WF (AcrySof IQ; Alcon Laboratories, Inc.), an aspheric monofocal IOL based on the same platform. Raw profiles were obtained using contact profilometry. The best-fit form was then subtracted from each raw profile to highlight potential differences.

Results

No significant differences were appreciated in raw profiles. On the contrary, after form removal, the new extended range-of-vision IOL showed a peculiar profile characterized by the presence of two altitudinal symmetrical changes in the order of 1 µm, localized in the central portion of the optic.

Conclusions

The new-generation extended range-of-vision IOL evaluated showed a smooth change of its surface compared to the same platform monofocal IOL. The altitudinal changes blended in the central design of the new presbyopia-correcting IOL, although micrometric, might play a crucial role in creating a continuous focal range while minimizing visual disturbances.
Hearing loss in Africa: current genetic profile
Authors: Adadey Samuel Mawuli , Wonkam-Tingang Edmond , Aboagye Elvis Twumasi , Quaye Osbourne , Awandare Gordon A. , Wonkam Ambroise
Published: October 2021

Hearing impairment (HI) is highly heterogeneous with over 123 associated genes reported to date, mostly from studies among Europeans and Asians. Here, we performed a systematic review of literature on the genetic profile of HI in Africa. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO, International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews with the registration number “CRD42021240852”. Literature search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Africa-Wide Information, and Web of Science databases. A total of 89 full-text records was selected and retrieved for data extraction and analyses. We found reports from only 17/54 (31.5%) African countries. The majority (61/89; 68.5%) of articles were from North Africa, with few reports found from sub-Saharan Africa. The most common method used in these publications was targeted gene sequencing (n = 66/111; 59.5%), and only 13.5% (n = 15/111) used whole-exome sequencing. More than half of the studies were performed in families segregating HI (n = 51/89). GJB2 was the most investigated gene, with GJB2: p.(R143W) founder variant only reported in Ghana, while GJB2: c.35delG was common in North African countries. Variants in MYO15A were the second frequently reported in both North and Central Africa, followed by ATP6V1B1 only reported from North Africa. Usher syndrome was the main syndromic HI molecularly investigated, with variants in five genes reported: USH2A, USH1G, USH1C, MYO7A, and PCDH15. MYO7A: p.(P1780S) founder variant was reported as the common Usher syndrome variant among Black South Africans. This review provides the most comprehensive data on HI gene variants in the largely under-investigated African populations. Future exomes studies particularly in multiplex families will likely provide opportunities for the discovery of the next sets of novel HI genes, and well as unreported variants in known genes to further our understanding of HI pathobiology, globally.
Mathematische Grundlagen der Künstlichen Intelligenz im Schulunterricht
Authors: Schönbrodt Sarah , Camminady Thomas , Frank Martin
Published: October 2021

Ein Anspruch des mathematischen Modellierungsunterrichts in der Schule sollte es sein, besonders aktuelle Probleme und interessante neue Technologien aus dem Alltag der Schüler/innen einzubeziehen. Dies gilt insbesondere, wenn sie eine didaktische Reduktion auf elementare (schul-)mathematische Inhalte leicht zulassen. Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) zieht sich durch verschiedene Bereiche von Wissenschaft und Technik und verbirgt sich insbesondere hinter zahlreichen Anwendungen unseres Alltags.

In diesem Beitrag wird diskutiert, wie ein zeitgemäßer Mathematikunterricht durch die Modellierung realer, schülernaher Probleme aus dem Bereich KI bereichert werden kann. Dazu werden zwei Methoden und deren didaktische Reduktion für den Einsatz in einem computergestützten Mathematikunterricht vorgestellt.

Bei der problemorientierten Diskussion beider Methoden werden zwei alltägliche Problemstellungen in den Blick genommen: Zum einen Klassifizierungsprobleme und deren Lösung mithilfe der sogenannten Stützvektormethode (SVM), die auf der Berechnung des Abstandes von Punkten zu Hyperebenen beruht; zum anderen Empfehlungssysteme, die auf einer Matrix-Faktorisierung basieren können.

Zu beiden Problemstellungen wurden digitale Lernmaterialien für Oberstufenschüler/innen entwickelt, die im Rahmen von eintägigen Workshops zur mathematischen Modellierung bereits mehrfach erprobt wurden. Die digitale Umsetzung als Jupyter Notebooks wird abschließend beschrieben und steht den Leser/innen als Open Educational Resources unter einer Creative Commons Lizenz zur Verfügung.
Risk of lower extremity amputations in patients with type 2 diabetes using sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors
Authors: Zerovnik Spela , Kos Mitja , Locatelli Igor
Published: October 2021

Aims

To compare the influence of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) on the risk of lower extremity amputations in patients with type 2 diabetes in Slovenia.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included patients aged 40 years or more who were administered a newly introduced SGLT2i or DPP-4i between June 2014 and June 2018. Patients treated with insulin at baseline and patients with a history of amputation were excluded. Patients were matched in a 1:1 ratio using propensity score matching. Survival analysis was performed; hazard ratio (HR) and ratios of cumulative hazards at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were estimated. On-treatment and intention-to-treat approaches were used.

Results

The study cohort (mean age: 64 years) consisted of 2,939 new users of SGLT2i (empagliflozin, 59%; dapagliflozin, 41%) matched to 2,939 new users of DPP-4i. In the on-treatment analysis (median follow-up of 2 years), the incidence of amputations was higher in SGLT2i than in DPP-4i users (4.2 vs. 2.7 per 1,000 patient years), resulting in a HR of 1.58 (95% CI 0.85–2.92; p = 0.145). An intention-to-treat analysis yielded to similar HR of 1.86 (95% CI: 1.10–3.14; p = 0.020). There was no difference in amputation rates in the first two years, but SGLT2i users had a 2.81-fold higher (95% CI: 1.63–4.84; p = 0.007) cumulative hazard of amputation at 4 years than did DPP-4i users.

Conclusions

Compared with DPP-4i use, SGLT2i use did not result in a statistically significant higher overall risk of lower extremity amputations. However, the results suggest that SGLT2i may increase the risk of amputation with long-term use.
Complete genome sequence and construction of an infectious full-length cDNA clone of a cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) isolate from Portugal
Authors: Cordes K. , Maiss E. , Winter S. , Rose H.
Published: October 2021

Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) is a member of the genus Ipomovirus in the family Potyviridae. In the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, three complete genome sequences of CVYV isolates from Spain (NC_006941), Israel (KT276369), and Jordan (JF460793) are available. In this study, we report the complete sequence of an isolate of CVYV from Portugal (DSMZ PV-0776) along with the construction of an infectious full-length cDNA clone via Gibson assembly. The sequence of CVYV Portugal shows the closest relationship to a CVYV isolate from Spain (genome, 99.7% identity; polyprotein, 99.7% identity). The CVYV full-length cDNA clone was introduced by electroporation into Rhizobium radiobacter and infiltrated into the cotyledons of Cucumis sativus plantlets, resulting in symptoms resembling those of the wild-type virus. Transmission of the infectious CVYV full-length clone by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci was confirmed. This first report confirming the infectivity of a CVYV cDNA clone provides the opportunity to study gene functions in a consistent genomic background.
European clinical guidelines for Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders—version 2.0. Part IV: deep brain stimulation
Authors: Szejko Natalia , Worbe Yulia , Hartmann Andreas , Visser-Vandewalle Veerle , Ackermans Linda , Ganos Christos , Porta Mauro , Leentjens Albert F. G. , Mehrkens Jan-Hinnerk , Huys Daniel , Baldermann Juan Carlos , Kuhn Jens , Karachi Carine , Delorme Cécile , Foltynie Thomas , Cavanna Andrea E. , Cath Danielle , Müller-Vahl Kirsten
Published: October 2021

In 2011 the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome (ESSTS) published its first European clinical guidelines for the treatment of Tourette Syndrome (TS) with part IV on deep brain stimulation (DBS). Here, we present a revised version of these guidelines with updated recommendations based on the current literature covering the last decade as well as a survey among ESSTS experts. Currently, data from the International Tourette DBS Registry and Database, two meta-analyses, and eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are available. Interpretation of outcomes is limited by small sample sizes and short follow-up periods. Compared to open uncontrolled case studies, RCTs report less favorable outcomes with conflicting results. This could be related to several different aspects including methodological issues, but also substantial placebo effects. These guidelines, therefore, not only present currently available data from open and controlled studies, but also include expert knowledge. Although the overall database has increased in size since 2011, definite conclusions regarding the efficacy and tolerability of DBS in TS are still open to debate. Therefore, we continue to consider DBS for TS as an experimental treatment that should be used only in carefully selected, severely affected and otherwise treatment-resistant patients.
Hierarchical Bayes modelling of penalty conversion rates of Bundesliga players
Authors: Hanck Christoph , Arnold Martin C.
Published: October 2021

Judging by its significant potential to affect the outcome of a game in one single action, the penalty kick is arguably the most important set piece in football. Scientific studies on how the ability to convert a penalty kick is distributed among professional football players are scarce. In this paper, we consider how to rank penalty takers in the German Bundesliga based on historical data from 1963 to 2021. We use Bayesian models that improve inference on ability measures of individual players by imposing structural assumptions on an associated high-dimensional parameter space. These methods prove useful for our application, coping with the inherent difficulty that many players only take few penalties, making purely frequentist inference rather unreliable.
Opioidrotation bei „mixed pain“ in der Tumorschmerztherapie
Authors: Demuth Magdalena
Published: October 2021

Im vorliegenden Fallbericht wird die Situation einer 67-jährigen chronischen Schmerzpatientin geschildert, die aufgrund eines Zufallsbefundes mit der Diagnose eines metastasierten kleinzelligen Bronchialkarzinoms konfrontiert wird. Bisher hatte sie mit einer chronischen Lumboischialgie zu kämpfen. Im Verlauf traten zunehmend therapieresistente Tumorschmerzen in den Vordergrund. Es wird beschrieben, wie wichtig es ist, die veränderte Schmerzqualität zu erkennen. Der Tumorschmerz mit neuropathischer Komponente beziehungsweise „mixed pain“ erschwerte im vorliegenden Fallbeispiel eine zufriedenstellende Symptomkontrolle. Es erfolgte ein Wechsel von transdermal appliziertem Fentanyl zu einem subkutanen Perfusorsystem mit Morphin und kurz darauf, aufgrund fehlender Schmerzkontrolle, auf ein orales retardiertes Oxycodonpräparat. Diese zweifache Opioidrotation wird im Folgenden diskutiert. Aspekte wie Resistenzentwicklung, inkomplette Kreuztoleranz und genetische Polymorphismen werden mithilfe wissenschaftlicher Literaturrecherche beleuchtet.