bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proton Beam Therapy versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Patients with Treatment-Naïve Single Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Propensity Score Analysis
Authors: Sekino Yuta , Tateishi Ryosuke , Fukumitsu Nobuyoshi , Okumura Toshiyuki , Maruo Kazushi , Iizumi Takashi , Numajiri Haruko , Mizumoto Masashi , Minami Tatsuya , Nakagomi Ryo , Sato Masaya , Asaoka Yoshinari , Nakagawa Hayato , Hayata Yuki , Fujiwara Naoto , Shiina Shuichiro , Koike Kazuhiko , Sakurai Hideyuki
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Proton beam therapy (PBT) is known to be an effective locoregional treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, few comparative studies in treatment-naïve cases have been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the survival outcomes of PBT with those of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with treatment-naïve solitary HCC. Methods: Ninety-five consecutive patients with treatment-naïve HCC, a single nodule measuring ≤5 cm in diameter, and a Child-Pugh score of ≤8 who were treated with PBT at the University of Tsukuba Hospital between 2001 and 2013 were enrolled in the study. In addition, 836 patients with treatment-naïve HCC treated by RFA at the University of Tokyo Hospital during the same period were analyzed as controls. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared in 83 patient pairs after propensity score matching. Results: The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year RFS rates were 86.6%, 49.5%, and 35.5%, respectively, in the PBT group and 59.5%, 34.0%, and 20.9% in the RFA group (p = 0.058); the respective OS rates were 97.6%, 77.8%, and 57.1% in the PBT group and 95.1%, 81.7%, and 67.7% in the RFA group (p = 0.16). Regarding adverse effects, no grade 3 or higher adverse events were noted in the PBT; however, two grade 3 adverse events occurred within 30 days of RFA in the RFA group: one hemoperitoneum and one hemothorax. Discussion: After propensity score matching, PBT showed no significant difference in RFS and OS compared to RFA. PBT can be an alternative for patients with solitary treatment-naïve HCC.
Intelligence and Visual Mismatch Negativity: Is Pre-Attentive Visual Discrimination Related to General Cognitive Ability?
Authors: Hilger Kirsten , Euler Matthew J.
Published: December 2022

EEG has been used for decades to identify neurocognitive processes related to intelligence. Evidence is accumulating for associations with neural markers of higher-order cognitive processes (e.g., working memory); however, whether associations are specific to complex processes or also relate to earlier processing stages remains unclear. Addressing these issues has implications for improving our understanding of intelligence and its neural correlates. The MMN is an ERP that is elicited when, within a series of frequent standard stimuli, rare deviant stimuli are presented. As stimuli are typically presented outside the focus of attention, the MMN is suggested to capture automatic pre-attentive discrimination processes. However, the MMN and its relation to intelligence has largely only been studied in the auditory domain, thus preventing conclusions about the involvement of automatic discrimination processes in humans' dominant sensory modality—vision. EEG was recorded from 50 healthy participants during a passive visual oddball task that presented simple sequence violations and deviations within a more complex hidden pattern. Signed area amplitudes and fractional area latencies of the visual MMN were calculated with and without Laplacian transformation. Correlations between visual MMN and intelligence (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices) were of negligible to small effect sizes, differed critically between measurement approaches, and Bayes Factors provided anecdotal to substantial evidence for the absence of an association. We discuss differences between the auditory and visual MMN, the implications of different measurement approaches, and offer recommendations for further research in this evolving field.
Draw Me a Flower: Processing and Grounding Abstraction in Natural Language
Authors: Lachmy Royi , Pyatkin Valentina , Manevich Avshalom , Tsarfaty Reut
Published: December 2022

Abstraction is a core tenet of human cognition and communication. When composing natural language instructions, humans naturally evoke abstraction to convey complex procedures in an efficient and concise way. Yet, interpreting and grounding abstraction expressed in NL has not yet been systematically studied in NLP, with no accepted benchmarks specifically eliciting abstraction in NL. In this work, we set the foundation for a systematic study of processing and grounding abstraction in NLP. First, we deliver a novel abstraction elicitation method and present Hexagons, a 2D instruction-following game. Using Hexagons we collected over 4k naturally occurring visually-grounded instructions rich with diverse types of abstractions. From these data, we derive an instruction-to-execution task and assess different types of neural models. Our results show that contemporary models and modeling practices are substantially inferior to human performance, and that model performance is inversely correlated with the level of abstraction, showing less satisfying performance on higher levels of abstraction. These findings are consistent across models and setups, confirming that abstraction is a challenging phenomenon deserving further attention and study in NLP/AI research.
Geographical distribution and phylogenic relationships of Hirschmanniella diversa Sher (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae) in Japan
Authors: Takagi Motonori , Sekimoto Shigeyuki , Mizukubo Takayuki , Wari David , Akiba Mitsuteru , Perry Roland N. , Toyota Koki
Published: December 2022

Hirschmanniella diversa and H. imamuri parasitise the lotus, Nelumbo nucifera. Hirschmanniella spp. are the most important pests of lotus cultivation in Japan, but the distribution and species dominancy are not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to collect Hirschmanniella spp. individuals from lotus roots in the major lotus cultivation areas in Japan and identify them morphologically and molecularly using the 18S, D2-D3 regions of rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI). Hirschmanniella oryzae, commonly known to cause damage on rice in Japan, was also obtained and analysed for inter- and intraspecies sequence variations. All individuals of the genus Hirschmanniella extracted from lotus roots in 16 fields in ten prefectures were identified as H. diversa morphologically and molecularly. This result revealed that H. diversa is a dominant Hirschmanniella species parasitising lotus in Japan. Meanwhile, intraspecific sequence variations in H. diversa were relatively higher in the mtCOI (1-21 bases, ≦5.3%) than in the 18S rRNA and D2-D3 of 28S rRNA (0.0-0.3% and 0.0-0.4%, respectively) and in those of H. oryzae. Based on the mtCOI sequences, five haplotypes were identified and each haplotype was distributed in relatively close regions or regions in which the same lotus cultivars were grown, although further studies are required to verify this assertion. The morphological and genetic variations were higher in H. diversa than in H. oryzae (no intraspecific sequence variation in mtCOI), suggesting that H. diversa was not a recent invasive species.
How to Send a Secret Message from Rome to Paris in the Early Modern Period: Telegraphy between Magnetism, Sympathy, and Charlatanry
Authors: Sander Christoph
Published: December 2022

In 1558, the famous natural magician Giambattista della Porta was the first to allude to a method of transmitting secret messages by using manipulated magnetic compasses. Soon thereafter, this idea, known in modern historiography as ‘magnetic telegraphy’, was spelled out and advertised by many early modern scholars as a promising technology of communication by action at a distance. In 1609, Daniel Schwenter created the most sophisticated design for the fulfillment of this potential: two compass needles were to be magnetized in a highly codified procedure to establish a sympathetic bond between them. Used in a compass circumscribed by an alphabet, one needle would turn to a certain letter whenever the other needle was moved to that same letter. Through ‘sympathy’, it was thought that this could made to occur even over a distance of many miles. The idea’s first critic, the Jesuit, Leonardo Garzoni, was quick to dismiss it as charlatanry, and many later authors argued that the device could not work as there was no such ‘sympathy’ or magnetism between the two devices. Though only a fanciful pipe dream of natural magic, this pseudo-technology of a magnetic telegraph yet testifies to the imagination of early modern scholars in having prefigured the modern reality of instantaneous global communication.
The Survival of Ossetians in Turkey
Authors: Foltz Richard
Published: December 2022

The migration of North Caucasian peoples into Ottoman Anatolia during the early 1860s included some five thousand Muslim Ossetes who settled first in the Sarıkamış district and later moved further west. While today the descendants of these migrants may number as many as 60,000, most now live in the major urban centres of Istanbul and Ankara and have largely become assimilated into modern Turkish society. However, three villages in the Yozgat district east of Ankara, Boyalık, Karabacak and Poyrazli, have remained Ossetian-speaking up to the present day. This paper explores the circumstances though which the Ossetian language has survived in these villages 160 years after the migration, and what prospects exist for the continuation of a distinct Ossetian communal identity in Turkey.
Understanding the Hidden Emotional Labour of Migrant Women Doing Domestic Cleaning Work in England
Authors: Chanamuto Nicola J. C.
Published: December 2022

This essay explores the emotional labour of women migrants working as domestic cleaners in a small city in England. Drawing on qualitative data gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews, the essay foregrounds the narratives of a group whose perspectives have not been widely captured. In order to provide a good service, cleaners in the sample modified and mobilised their emotions, conveying friendliness and expressing empathy when faced with clients’ vulnerabilities. Framing domestic cleaning as relational, ‘intimate labour’ allows a better understanding of the role of migrant women in providing practical and emotional care. The analysis contributes to studies of migrant emotionality by situating cleaners’ emotional labour in the context of their transnational lives.
Becoming Respectable: Material, Symbolic and Emotional Aspects of Hospital Cleaning Work
Authors: Stournara Nefeli
Published: December 2022

This essay explores the working experiences of twenty-four women cleaners in two public hospitals in Athens, Greece. The participants are Albanian and ethnic Greek Albanian. It focuses on the intersectionalities of gender, ethnicity and class, drawing from ethnographic research during the period 2017–2018 in two hospital sites, which included interviews and observations with women migrant workers. The essay is structured around two key research questions: how both groups of migrant women cleaners experienced material, emotional and symbolic aspects of cleaning at the hospital, mobilising their gendered and ethnicised bodies at work; and how both groups narrated their experiences of their embodied gendered, ethnicised and classed selves, on individual as well as collective levels, to give meaning, to create a process of valuation and to construct formations of respectability. I reveal how the process of cleaning is caught between material, symbolic, emotional and embodied aspects, with migrant women cleaners forming ways of feeling respectable.
The faculty-focused model of information literacy
Authors: Hammons Jane
Published: December 2022

In a faculty-focused, or “teach the teachers” (TTT) model of information literacy (IL), librarians would spend a significant portion of their time on faculty development. To support the adoption of this approach, there needs to be evidence that librarians can act effectively as faculty developers and that faculty development (also referred to as academic or educational development) can produce positive changes in teaching practices and student learning. This paper explores the faculty development literature in order to better understand the potential of the faculty-focused model of IL. Two research questions guided the review. What can the literature on the effectiveness of faculty development tell us about the potential of the faculty development approach to IL? Additionally, what insight can the literature on the background, experiences, and identity of faculty developers provide to our understanding of librarians acting as faculty developers? The analysis provides indications that a model of IL instruction focused on faculty could support increased integration of IL into the curriculum, as well as additional evidence that faculty development should be considered a viable role for librarians. However, the review also surfaced concerns about the identity and status of developers and the challenges of assessing faculty development that are relevant to librarians’ adoption of the faculty-focused model of IL. By exploring the faculty development literature as part of a consideration of the TTT approach to IL, this paper provides a valuable perspective to the ongoing debates about the future of IL.
The genus Cangshanaltica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae): overview, new species, and notes on species complexes
Authors: DAMAŠKA ALBERT FRANTIŠEK , RUAN YONGYING , FIKÁČEK MARTIN
Published: December 2022

Moss-inhabiting flea beetles form a diversified ecological group of beetles with a number of recently described new species. Here, we present an overview of known species of the moss-inhabiting flea beetle genus Cangshanaltica Konstantinov, Chamorro, Prathapan, Ge & Yang, 2013 which is distributed in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. We describe three new species: Cangshanaltica guanxiensis sp. nov. from Guanxi, China, C. marginata sp. nov. from Yunnan, China, and C. javana sp. nov., from Java, Indonesia. Additionally, we redescribe Cangshanaltica castanea (Gruev, 1985) comb. nov., a species formerly placed in Ivalia. Based on our studies of the morphological characters, we assume that some of the currently recognized species may in fact represent species complexes. Our findings also extend the known distribution of Cangshanaltica to Indonesia. A key of all described Cangshanaltica species, and an annotated checklist are provided.
Description of the mature larva and pupa of Synchroa chinensis Nikitsky, 1999 (Coleoptera, Synchroidae)
Authors: JIANG RI-XIN , HUANG XIU-DONG , YANG LIN , CHANG ZHI-MIN , LONG JIAN-KUN , CHEN XIANG-SHENG
Published: December 2022

During our field work, a series of larvae of the family Synchroidae was collected under the bark of dead trees. Subsequently, most larvae were reare to adults in a lab and were identified as Synchroa chinensis Nikitsky, 1999. In the present paper, we describe the mature larva and pupa of S. chinensis for the first time.
5 Animal “Musicality” and Animal “Music”
Authors: Jan Steven
Published: December 2022

Chapter 5: examines the extent to which certain animals might be understood to possess musicality and music. After a general discussion of creativity in the light of Margaret Boden’s (and others’) ideas, the vocalisations of a number of animal species – certain primates, birds, and cetaceans – are considered in terms of their evolutionary origins, adaptive function, and relation-ship to human music and language. It is argued that the vocalisations of certain birds and certain whales are memetic/musilinguistic in the way that the vocalisations of early humans may have been – there are indeed striking structural correspondences between bird and whale song and human music – and thus these animal species appear to be at the threshold of the music-language bifurcation that occurred in our own species. The implications of this for thought and consciousness in those species are also considered here, revisiting an issue first discussed in Chapter 3 in the context of the relationship between human language and thought.
6 Computer Simulation of Musical Evolution
Authors: Jan Steven
Published: December 2022

Chapter 6: surveys a number of computer systems developed over the last 20 years or so that attempt to generate music, many of which use evolutionary algorithms. As examples of the radical AI field of computational creativity, or musical metacreation, evolutionary-generative systems relate closely to systems for simulating/emulating language evolution (such as those developed by Simon Kirby), in that they generate music by means of the recombination of discrete patterns occurring in some selective environment. The most sophisticated of these systems, as represented by the work of Eduardo Miranda, emulate societies of virtual musical agents (some use robots as physical manifestations of those virtual agents) and allow for model-ling of both biological (via quasi-genetic inheritance between ‘generations’ of virtual agents) and cultural (via memetic transmission of musical patterns) coevolution. They suggest, as does the consideration of animal ‘musics’ in Chapter 5, that creativity, and the associated issue of taste-judgment, is not exclusively the preserve of our own species.
Assessment of Large-Scale Indices of Surface Temperature during the Historical Period in the CMIP6 Ensemble
Authors: Bodas-Salcedo A. , Gregory J. M. , Sexton D. M. H. , Morice C. P.
Published: December 2022

We develop a statistical method to assess CMIP6 simulations of large-scale surface temperature change during the historical period (1850–2014), considering all time scales, allowing for the different unforced variability of each model and the observations, observational uncertainty, and variable ensemble size. The generality of this method, and the fact that it incorporates information about the unforced variability, makes it a useful model assessment tool. We apply this method to the historical simulations of the CMIP6 multimodel ensemble. We use three indices that measure different aspects of large-scale surface air temperature change: global mean, hemispheric gradient, and a recently developed index that captures the sea surface temperature (SST) pattern in the tropics (SST#; see Fueglistaler and Silvers). We use the following observations: HadCRUT5 for the first two indices, and AMIPII and ERSSTv5 for SST#. In each case, we test the hypothesis that the model’s forced response is compatible with the observations, accounting for unforced variability in both models and observations as well as measurement uncertainty. This hypothesis is accepted more often (75% of the models) for the hemispheric gradient than for the global mean, for which half of the models fail the test. The tropical SST pattern is poorly simulated in all models. Given that the tropical SST pattern can strongly modulate the relationship between energy imbalance and global-mean surface temperature anomalies on annual to decadal time scales (short-term feedback parameter), we suggest this should be a focus area for future improvements due to its potential implications for the global-mean temperature evolution in decadal time scales.
Leadership, Legitimacy and Community: Representing a Heterogenous, Urban Informal Settlement in New Delhi, India
Authors: Chowdhury Rajarshee Narayan
Published: December 2022

This article seeks to theorise power and change within informal settlements, manifesting across twin functions of leadership and representation. Adapting the Bourdieusian framework of class-formation, this research locates disproportionate concentration of symbolic resources that initially influence leadership roles but are soon subject to (re)evaluation following the emergence of an educated, dynamic and youthful class. Failure to coherently outline leadership functions de-stabilises the system and prompts multiple nodes of leadership/representation to emerge. Lessons from the paper are consistent with findings around informal settlements that privilege intra-settlement contradictions as key variable(s) in frustrating efforts by planning agencies to consistently apply uniform standards of negotiations. Equally, multiple points of representation prompt a (re)conceptualisation of the margins as rigidly opposed to the local state, instead highlighting tendencies of collaboration/contestation that underline the objective of the urban-poor to get by.
Design of size uniform and controllable covalent organic framework nanoparticles for high-performance anticancer drug delivery
Authors: Han Guangze , Xiang Shuo , Jiang Kang , Zhang Wei , Weng Qunhong
Published: December 2022

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) receive much attention in biomedicine because of their unique adsorption, optical and biological properties, as well as highly variable structures. However, preparation of nanosized COFs with uniform and controllable size is still a challenge. Herein, we develop a facile interfacial method to prepare the COF nanoparticles (COFNPs) with the uniform size of 30–50 nm from p-benzoquinone (BQ) and 4-[1,2,2-tris(4-aminophenyl)ethenyl]aniline (TPEA) by Michael addition. The TPEA-BQ COFNPs show positive zeta potential and effectively load the hydrophobic anticancer drug camptothecin (CPT) with the capacity of up to 127wt%, and remarkably improved the CPT dispersibility in water due to the retention of quinone structure. In vitro assay reveals CPT@ TPEA-BQ significantly reduced cell viability to 29% after 24 h incubation, much lower than that of free CPT (51%) at the same concentration of 10 μg mL−1. Further in vivo experiment confirms the high anticancer drug delivery performance of the designed TPEA-BQ COFNPs. After 20 days of injection treatment, the CPT loaded in TPEA-BQ COFNPs inhibits the tumor growth by 60%, much higher than that of free CPT group (23%). This work demonstrates the feasibility to design advanced drug delivery systems based on highly structure-tunable COF system.
The Incidence and Outcomes for Children with Cleft Palate and/or Lip and CHARGE Syndrome
Authors: Farid Mohammed , Cafferky Louise , Kirk Jeremy , Kershaw Melanie , Slator Rona
Published: December 2022

Objectives

Published literature on children with cleft palate and/or lip (CP + /-L) and CHARGE syndrome (CS) is limited. This study investigated cleft characteristics including surgery, and feeding and communication outcomes in children identified with CP + /-L and CS.

Design

Retrospective cross-sectional review.

Setting

Regional Referral Centre for Paediatric Cleft Surgery.

Patients

All children diagnosed with CP + /-L and CS (based on clinical features and/or CHD7 mutation testing) between 1989–2019.

Main Outcome Measures

Cleft type, timing of CP + /-L repair, reasons for ‘delayed’ repair, feeding methods and communication modality.

Results

Twenty-two children with CP + /-L and CS were identified. Cleft sub-types (%) were: Eleven (50%) had bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), six (27%) had unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and five (23%) had cleft palate (CP). Cleft repair was delayed compared to protocol care for non-syndromic children with CP + /-L. Median age for lip repair + /- vomerine flap was 9 months (range 4–22 months), and palate repair was 21 months (range 11–40 months). Median age for isolated CP repair was 13 months (range 7–23). Surgery for cardiac anomalies (36%) before cleft repair, and (59%) were classed as having severe systemic disease at the time of cleft surgery. Only 27% of the children in this study had both full oral feeding and verbal communication.

Conclusions

Children with CP + /-L and CS had severe cleft types and complex medical problems leading to delayed cleft surgery. Feeding and speech outcomes were better in the children aged over ten years.
Why the Public Supports the Human Rights of Prisoners and Asylum Seekers: An Experimental Approach
Authors: Crabtree Charles , Koo Jeong-Woo , Murdie Amanda , Tsutsui Kiyoteru
Published: December 2022

What factors shape support for the human rights of prisoners and asylum seekers at the individual level? Although the human rights literature has expanded greatly in the last 30 years, comparatively little attention has been paid to (a) the many human rights outside of a very small set of physical or bodily integrity rights and (b) the role of public opinion. We build a theoretical model of various human rights as public opinion-related policy choices, developing the micro-foundations of public support for the human rights of vulnerable subpopulations. Drawing on the broader literature on public policy and international norms, we use experimental methods to test whether calls to rational effectiveness or international norm cascades improve support for the rights of prisoners and asylum seekers. Although we find baseline support for these rights in the United States and Canada, our findings also imply that rhetoric on the potential costs of human rights policy could reduce popular support, even when such policy is consistent with international norms.
Part A. Decision-making and path planning based on skilled driver’s performance for emergency obstacle avoidance
Authors: Neisy Minaei Samir , Ghaffari Ali
Published: December 2022

Emergency Lane Change (ELC) is a strategic maneuver for collision avoidance (CA) at high speeds where there is an accident risk. In this paper, two algorithms are designed for CA at high speeds based on the vehicle’s initial speed and the distance of the obstacle. The first algorithm selects the more suitable case between Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and ELC systems to prevent an accident. Suppose there was no choice except a rapid Lane Change (LC); the second algorithm does path planning for an ELC. The most critical issue in the ELC is time because this maneuver’s duration is less than 2 or 3 s on the dry or wet road. So, designing a fast and safe path planning algorithm is very important. To solve this problem, with a seven-degrees of freedom vehicle dynamic’s equations and the skilled driver behavior manner in the ELC maneuver, scrollable and stable paths for initial speeds of 75–125 km/h are extracted. Then, a neural network (NN) is trained based on this simulated data. The main feature of this network is to design stable paths as fast as possible. Also, this network can plan the paths in the various road friction coefficients between 0.5 and 1. The trajectory is selected based on two geometric constraints including, including (1) not colliding with obstacles and (2) not crossing the road boundary.
Nonclinical Safety Assessment of Lipid Nanoparticle-and Emulsion-Based Self-Amplifying mRNA Vaccines in Rats
Authors: Donahue Douglas A. , Ballesteros Cristina , Maruggi Giulietta , Glover Christiana , Ringenberg Michael A. , Marquis Miriam , Ben Abdeljelil Nawel , Ashraf Asma , Rodriguez Luis-Alexander , Stokes Alan H.
Published: December 2022

Vaccines containing mRNA with the capacity to self-amplify represent an alternative to the mRNA vaccines that came to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. To gain further insights on the safety profile of self-amplifying mRNA- (SAM-) vaccines, this preclinical toxicology study in rats evaluated the effect of (i) the type of delivery system (lipid nanoparticle [LNP] vs cationic nano-emulsion [CNE]); (ii) antigen-encoding sequence (rabies glycoprotein G vs SARS-CoV-2 Spike); and (iii) RNA amplification. Further analyses also evaluated gene expression in peripheral blood after vaccination, and the biodistribution of vaccine RNA. The SAM vaccines administered as two doses 2-weeks apart had acceptable safety profiles in rats, with respect to clinical signs, blood biochemistry, and macroscopic and microscopic pathology. A transient increase in ALT/AST ratio occurred only in female rats and in the absence of muscle and liver damage was dependent on RNA amplification and appeared related to the greater quantities of vaccine RNA in the muscle and livers of female rats vs male rats. The RNA and delivery-vehicle components, but not the nature of the antigen-coding sequence or the requirement for RNA amplification, affected aspects of the stimulation of innate-immune activity, which was consistent with the transient activation of type I and type II interferon signaling. The delivery vehicle, LNP, differed from CNE as vaccine RNA in CNE compositions appeared independently to stimulate innate-immune activity at 4 hours after vaccination. Our analysis supports further studies to assess whether these differences in innate-immune activity affect safety and efficacy of the SAM vaccine.
A comprehensive investigation of the impacts of discovery time and fire brigade response time on life safety and property protection in England
Authors: Manes Martina , Rush David
Published: December 2022

The investigation of fire incidents in buildings is essential in understanding the consequences on occupants and property. Moreover, a fundamental role in life safety and property protection is represented by the minutes after the fire ignition. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the effects that the discovery time of occupants and response time of the fire brigades have on a successful evacuation, reduction of fatalities and fire confinement in buildings. The Dwellings and Other buildings fire statistical databases published by the Home Office in England with data from 2010/11 to 2016/17 are investigated to determine how the fatality/casualty rates vary with different discovery times in Dwellings according to the methodology provided by Ramachandran, and adopted in the PD 7974-7:2003. Furthermore, the average response time of the fire brigades for Dwellings and Other buildings appears to be between 7-8 and 8-9 minutes, respectively. When the response times are analyzed in terms of the fatality/casualty rate, there is an upward trend in Other buildings. Finally, response time is also examined considering fire spread, fire and total damage showing that in Other buildings the classes of more severe fire damage increase for a response time between 6 and 8 minutes.
Safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombolysis in patients with acute cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: A systematic review
Authors: Paybast Sepideh , Mohamadian Reza , Emami Ali , Jameie Melika , Shahrab Fereshteh , Zamani Farideh , Sharifipour Ehsan
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is an uncommon but fatal cause of stroke worldwide. Endovascular treatments could be life-saving in patients who don't treat with anticoagulants as a mainstay of treatment. Currently, there is no consensus considering the safety, efficacy, and also selected approaches of endovascular intervention for these patients. This systematic review evaluates the literature on endovascular thrombolysis (EVT) in CVST patients.

Materials and Methods

A comprehensive search was conducted through PubMed and Scopus databases between 2010 and 2021, with additional sources identified through cross-referencing. The primary outcomes were the safety and efficacy of EVT in CVST, including catheter-related and non-catheter-related complications, clinical outcomes, and radiological outcomes.

Results

A total of 10 studies comprising 339 patients were included. Most of the patients presented with headaches (86.72%) and/or focal neurologic deficits (45.43%) (modified Rankin Scale of 5 in 55.88%). Acquired coagulopathy and/or consuming estrogen/progesterone medication were the most frequent predisposing factors (45.59%). At presentation, 68.84% had multi-sinus involvement, and 28.90% had venous infarcts and/or intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). The overall complication rate was 10.3%, with a 2.94%, 1.47%, and 1.17% rate of ICH, herniation, and intracranial edema, respectively. The complete and partial postoperative radiographic resolution was reported in 89.97% of patients, increasing to 95.21% during the follow-up. Additionally, 72.22% of patients had no or mild neurologic deficit at discharge, rising to 91.18% at the last follow-up. The overall mortality rate was 7.07%.

Conclusions

EVT can be an effective and safe treatment option for patients with refractory CVST or contraindications to systemic anticoagulation.
Multi-breath and single breath helium dilution lung volumes as a test of airway obstruction
Authors: Roberts CM , MacRae KD , Seed WA
Published: December 2022

Total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) measurements derived from multi-breath and single breath helium dilution methods were combined to produce four indices of gas mixing: single breath volume/multi-breath volume ratio (TLCr, RVr) or multi-breath volume minus single breath volume difference (TLCd, RVd). The reproducibility of these indices and their sensitivity and specificity in discriminating between normal subjects and those with mild asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was assessed. The total lung capacity ratio (TLCr) was the superior variable overall, providing a single range for both sexes with a specificity and sensitivity similar to that of the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in the diagnosis of airflow obstruction. Despite the similar sensitivity, correlation between TLCr and FEV1 was only moderate (r = 0.56). This may reflect greater influence of peripheral rather than central airflow obstruction on TLCr. Combining both tests improved sensitivity in the detection of airways obstruction in the asthmatic and COPD groups studied.
Genome-wide differential DNA methylation analysis of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells treated with curcumin derivatives, ST08 and ST09
Authors: Nirgude Snehal , Desai Sagar , Choudhary Bibha
Published: December 2022

ST08 and ST09 are potent curcumin derivatives with antiproliferative, apoptotic, and migrastatic properties. Both ST08 and ST09 exhibit in vitro and in vivo anticancer properties. As reported earlier, these derivatives were highly cytotoxic towards MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells with IC50 values in the nanomolar (40-80nM) range.In this study,we performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing(WGBS) of untreated (control), ST08 and ST09 (treated) triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 to unravel epigenetic changes induced by the drug. We identified differentially methylated sites (DMSs) enriched in promoter regions across the genome. Analysis of the CpG island promoter methylation identified 12 genes common to both drugs, and 50% of them are known to be methylated in patient samples that were hypomethylated by drugs belonging to the homeobox family transcription factors.Methylation analysis of the gene body revealed 910 and 952 genes to be hypermethylatedin ST08 and ST09 treated MDA-MB-231 cells respectively. Correlation of the gene body hypermethylation with expression revealed CACNAH1 to be upregulated in ST08 treatment and CDH23 upregulation in ST09.Further, integrated analysis of the WGBS with RNA-seq identified uniquely altered pathways - ST08 altered ECM pathway, and ST09 cell cycle, indicating drug-specific signatures.
Prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging parameters in left ventricular noncompaction with left ventricular dysfunction
Authors: Bai Wei , Xu Rong , Li Xiao , Xu Huayan , Fu Hang , Hou Ruilai , Zhou Ziqi , Huang Wei , Wang Yining , Guo Yingkun
Published: December 2022

Background

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been used to diagnose and risk-stratify patients with left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). The prognostic value of CMR parameters for LVNC, especially feature tracking (CMR-FT), is not well known in LVNC patients with left ventricular dysfunction. The present study aimed to investigate whether the combination of CMR-FT with traditional CMR parameters can increase the prognostic value of CMR for LVNC patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Methods

A total of 123 candidates were retrospectively included in this multicenter study and 55 LVNC patients (mean age, 45.7 ± 16.2 years; 61.8% men) remained after applying the exclusion criteria. Clinical features, left ventricular (LV) function parameters, global and segment myocardial strain, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) were evaluated. The outcomes include the composite events of cardiovascular death, heart transplantation, hospitalization for heart failure, thromboembolic events, and ventricular arrhythmias.

Results

After a median follow-up of 5.17 years (interquartile range: 0.17 to 10.58 years), 24 (36.8%) patients experienced at least one major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). The myocardial strain parameters of patients with events were lower than those of patients without events. In the univariable Cox analysis, LVEF, the presence of LGE, global longitudinal strain (GLS) and segmental strains, including longitudinal strain at the apical level and radial and circumferential strain at the basal level, were significantly associated with MACEs. In the multivariate analysis, LGE (hazard ratio (HR) 3.452, 95% CI 1.133 to 10.518, p = 0.029) was a strong predictor of MACEs and significantly improved the predictive value (chi-square of the model after adding LGE: 7.51 vs. 13.47, p = 0.009). However, myocardial strain parameters were not statistically significant for the prediction of MACEs after adjusting for age, body mass index, LVEF and the presence of LGE and did not increase the prognostic value (chi-square of the model after adding GLS: 13.47 vs. 14.14, p = 0.411) in the multivariate model.

Conclusions

The combination of CMR-FT with traditional CMR parameters may not increase the prognostic value of CMR in LVNC patients with reduced LVEF, while the presence of LGE was a strong independent predictor of MACEs and significantly improved the predictive value.
The clinical prediction factors for non-culprit lesion progression in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction after primary percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Wang Jian , Yan Cheng-ying , Wang Wu , Wang Tian-zhen
Published: December 2022

Background

To investigate the relationship between the clinical features and progression of non-culprit lesions in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Methods

A total of 480 patients (57.1 ± 9.2 y) with STEMI who underwent PPCI between January 2016 and December 2017 in Beijing Anzhen Hospital were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent PPCI as a treatment for culprit lesions. Clinical and angiographic follow-up were performed for 12 months. All patients were divided into a non-culprit lesions (NCL) progression group (205 cases) and a control group (275 cases) based on angiographic follow-up outcomes at 12 months. The clinical and angiographic features were analyzed.

Results

Body mass index (BMI), serum creatinine (Scr), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated serum albumin, glycated hemoglobin and homocysteine levels in the NCL progression group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). A logistic regression analysis showed that FBG (odds ratio 1.274, 95% confidence interval 1.077–1.505, P = 0.005) and Scr (odds ratio 1.020, 95% confidence interval 1.002–1.038, P = 0.027) were independent predictors of NCL progression. A partial correlation analysis showed that FBG was positively correlated with NCL progression (r = 0.231, P = 0.001). A receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the boundary point of FBG to predict NCL progression was 5.715 mmol/L, and the sensitivity was 74.4% and the specificity was 46.4%.

Conclusion

FBG is a valuable predictor for NCL progression in patients with STEMI after PPCI.
The association between systemic inflammatory response index and new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with ST-elevated myocardial infarction treated with percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Wang Jingfeng , Hu Sisi , Liang Cheng , Ling Yang
Published: December 2022

Background

New-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) complicating with ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with worse prognosis. The systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), serves as a novel inflammatory indicator, is found to be predictive of adverse outcomes. The aim of this study is to explore the association between NOAF and SIRI.

Methods

A retrospective data included 616 STEMI participants treated with PCI in our cardiology department had been analyzed in present investigation, of which being divided into a NOAF or sinus rhythm (SR) group based on the presence or absence of atrial fibrillation. The predictive role of SIRI for in detecting NOAF had been evaluated by the logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Additionally, long-term all-cause mortality between both groups was compared using the Kaplan–Meier test.

Results

NOAF during hospitalization developed in 7.6% of PCI-treated individuals. After multivariate regression analyses, SIRI remains to be an independently predictor of NOAF (odds ratio 1.782, 95% confidence interval 1.675–1.906, P = 0.001). In the ROC curve analysis, SIRI with a cut-off value of 4.86 was calculated to predict NOAF, with 4.86, with a sensitivity of 80.85% and a specificity of 75.57%, respectively (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.826, P < 0.001). Furthermore, pairwise compassion of ROC curves displayed the superiority of SIRI in the prediction of NOAF in comparison with that of neutrophil/lymphocyte or monocyte/lymphocyte (P < 0.05). In addition, the participants in NOAF group had a significantly higher incidence of all-cause death compared to those in SR group after a median of 40-month follow-up (22.0% vs 5.8%, log-rank P < 0.001).

Conclusion

SIRI can independently predict NOAF in patients with STEMI after PCI, with being positively correlated to worsened outcomes.
What improves access to primary healthcare services in rural communities? A systematic review
Authors: Gizaw Zemichael , Astale Tigist , Kassie Getnet Mitike
Published: December 2022

Background

To compile key strategies from the international experiences to improve access to primary healthcare (PHC) services in rural communities. Different innovative approaches have been practiced in different parts of the world to improve access to essential healthcare services in rural communities. Systematically collecting and combining best experiences all over the world is important to suggest effective strategies to improve access to healthcare in developing countries. Accordingly, this systematic review of literature was undertaken to identify key approaches from international experiences to enhance access to PHC services in rural communities.

Methods

All published and unpublished qualitative and/or mixed method studies conducted to improvement access to PHC services were searched from MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, WHO Global Health Library, and Google Scholar. Articles published other than English language, citations with no abstracts and/or full texts, and duplicate studies were excluded. We included all articles available in different electronic databases regardless of their publication years. We assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT) version 2018 to minimize the risk of bias. Data were extracted using JBI mixed methods data extraction form. Data were qualitatively analyzed using emergent thematic analysis approach to identify key concepts and coded them into related non-mutually exclusive themes.

Results

Our analysis of 110 full-text articles resulted in ten key strategies to improve access to PHC services. Community health programs or community-directed interventions, school-based healthcare services, student-led healthcare services, outreach services or mobile clinics, family health program, empanelment, community health funding schemes, telemedicine, working with traditional healers, working with non-profit private sectors and non-governmental organizations including faith-based organizations are the key strategies identified from international experiences.

Conclusion

This review identified key strategies from international experiences to improve access to PHC services in rural communities. These strategies can play roles in achieving universal health coverage and reducing disparities in health outcomes among rural communities and enabling them to get healthcare when and where they want.
Evaluating cost per remission and cost of serious adverse events of advanced therapies for ulcerative colitis
Authors: Jairath Vipul , Cohen Russell D. , Loftus Edward V. , Candela Ninfa , Lasch Karen , Schultz Bob G.
Published: December 2022

Background

Determining the relative cost-effectiveness between advanced therapeutic options for ulcerative colitis (UC) may optimize resource utilization. We evaluated total cost per response, cost per remission, and cost of safety events for patients with moderately-to-severely active UC after 52 weeks of treatment with advanced therapies at standard dosing.

Methods

An analytic model was developed to estimate costs from the US healthcare system perspective associated with achieving efficacy outcomes and managing safety outcomes for advanced therapies approved for the treatment of UC. Numbers needed to treat (NNT) for response and remission, and numbers needed to harm (NNH) for serious adverse events (SAEs) and serious infections (SIs) were derived from a network meta-analysis of pivotal trials. NNT for induction and maintenance were combined with drug regimen costs to calculate cost per clinical remission. Cost of managing AEs was calculated using NNH for safety outcomes and published costs of treating respective AEs.

Results

Costs per remission were $205,240, $249,417, $267,463, $365,050, $579,622, $750,200, and $787,998 for tofacitinib 10 mg, tofacitinib 5 mg, infliximab, vedolizumab, golimumab, adalimumab, and ustekinumab, respectively. Incremental costs of SAEs and SIs collectively were $136,390, $90,333, $31,888, $31,061, $20,049, $12,059, and $0 for tofacitinib 5 mg, golimumab, adalimumab, tofacitinib 10 mg, infliximab, ustekinumab, and vedolizumab (reference), respectively.

Conclusions

Tofacitinib was associated with the lowest cost per response and cost per remission, while vedolizumab had the lowest costs related to SAEs and SIs. Balancing efficacy versus safety is important when evaluating the costs associated with treatment of moderate-to-severe UC.