bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant, Anticancer, and Neuroprotective Activities and Phytochemical Analysis of Germinated Shoots
Authors: Kim Juree , Choi Chung Ho , Lee Ah Young , Lee Sanghyun
Published: November 2023

This study evaluated the antioxidant, anticancer, and neuroprotective activities of germinated shoots (cotyledon and true leaves) of wild plants and measured their total phenol, flavonoid, quercetin, and vitamin C contents. The ethanol extract of Geum aleppicum (GA) showed high DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. GA treatment also significantly increased cell viability against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells, indicating that GA had antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. In AGS gastric cancer cells, the cotyledon of Pinus densiflora (PD1) and the true leaves of Chamaecyparis obtusa (CHA2) significantly inhibited cell proliferation, showing that PD1 and CHA2 elicited anticancer effect. The total phenol content was the highest in the shoots of GA, and the total flavonoid content was the highest in the shoots of true leaves of P. densiflora. The quercetin and vitamin C contents were the highest in the CHA2 and the cotyledon of GA, respectively. In conclusion, this study suggested the antioxidant, anticancer, and neuroprotective activities of the germinated shoots of wild plants and their high total phenol, flavonoid, quercetin, and vitamin C contents. These findings were noteworthy in the case of the germinated shoot of GA and provided a basis for studying functional forestry income resources. Practical Applications. Our results demonstrated that GA exerts strong DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. It also plays a neuroprotective role in oxidative stress-induced cell damage. These effects can be linked to their polyphenol and flavonoid contents in the extract. Moreover, PD1 treatment has inhibitory effect on gastric tumor cells growth and exhibited an effective ∙OH radical scavenging property. These findings indicated that germinated shoot extracts have potential for development of functional food with therapeutic applications.
A Scoping Review of the Smart Irrigation Literature Using Scientometric Analysis
Authors: Gurmessa Daraje Kaba , Assefa Shimelis G.
Published: November 2023

Background. Smart irrigation is a research field which grows very fast. It facilitates the contribution of technologies on smart agriculture. Smart irrigation is a broad topic with overwhelming literature published and available semantic ambiguity, so covering such a vast topic is not easy without scoping reviews. To enable researchers to gain a deep knowledge of structure of the field, a scientometric-based scoping review was conducted. Methods. The bibliometric data focused on smart irrigation from databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were downloaded, thoroughly merged, and cleaned to meet the inclusion criteria. These data were analyzed and clustered using K-means from VOSviewer. VOSviewer is used to create coauthor and coword occurrence network graphs from keywords, titles, and abstracts. Results. The findings highlight the broad scope of the research field, the ambiguity of the terminology, the lack of collaboration, and the absence of research into the impact of smart irrigation on agriculture. The leading institutions and researchers in the field and geographical distribution are from China, Israel, Australia, and Egypt. The leading main topics addressed in the field are IOT, smart irrigation, irrigation, water stress, energy, deep learning, soil moisture, and relations in the network. Conclusion. Smart irrigation (drip irrigation + IoT) in agriculture increases crop yield, increases water use efficiency, and decreases costs. In future work, large studies need to be conducted to establish and investigate the scope of smart irrigation research to reveal the knowledge structure, current state of practice, and key actors in the field.
Hybrid Time‐Series Prediction Method Based on Entropy Fusion Feature
Authors: Zhang Jing , Yang Yang , Feng Yong
Published: November 2023

High‐precision time sequence forecasting is a complicated cyber‐physical system (CPS) task. Due to the diversity of data scales and types, the classic time‐series prediction model meets the challenge to deliver accurate prediction results for many forms of time‐series data. This work proposes a hybrid model with long short‐term memory (LSTM) and embedded empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) based on the entropy fusion feature. First, we apply EEMD in entropy fusion feature long short‐term memory (ELSTM) to lessen pattern confusion and edge effects in traditional empirical mode decomposition (EMD). The sequence is then divided into intrinsic mode functions (IMF) by using EEMD. Then, feature vectors are constructed between IMFs and their respective information entropy for feature merging. LSTM is used to build a full connection network for each entropy fusion feature IMF subsequence for prediction and each type of IMF subsequence as the feature dimension to obtain its prediction results. Finally, the output results of all IMF subsequences are reconstructed to obtain the final prediction result. Compared with the LSTM method, the performance of the proposed method has been improved 64.33% on the evaluation metric MAPE. The proposed model has also delivered the best prediction outcomes across four different time‐series datasets. The experimental results conclusively show that the proposed method outperforms other models compared.
Algebraic Techniques for Canonical Forms and Applications in Split Quaternionic Mechanics
Authors: Jiang Tongsong , Zhang Dong , Guo Zhenwei , Wang Gang , Vasil’ev V. I.
Published: November 2023

The algebra of split quaternions is a recently increasing topic in the study of theory and numerical computation in split quaternionic mechanics. This paper, by means of a real representation of a split quaternion matrix, studies the problem of canonical forms of a split quaternion matrix and derives algebraic techniques for finding the canonical forms of a split quaternion matrix. This paper also gives two applications for the right eigenvalue and diagonalization in split quaternionic mechanics.
Effects of Fermented Soybean Meal Substituting Plant Protein and Fish Meal on Growth, Flesh Quality, and Intestinal Microbiota of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Authors: Guo Beibei , Huang Lingling , Li Xiaoqin , Chen Yunfeng , Huang Tianyu , Ma Lizhou , Leng Xiangjun
Published: November 2023

This study investigated the effects of replacing soybean meal (SM), corn gluten meal (CGM), and fish meal (FM) with fermented soybean meal (FSM) on growth performance, flesh quality, and intestinal microbiota of largemouth bass. In a diet with 400 g/kg FM inclusion (FSM-0), FSM was used to substitute 120 g/kg SM, 120 g/kg SM + 80 g/kg CGM, and 65 g/kg FM at the inclusion of 100 g/kg (FSM-10-SM), 200 g/kg (FSM-20), and 100 g/kg (FSM-10-FM), respectively. Then, largemouth bass weighing 225.7 ± 2.6 g was fed the four diets for 60 days. The WG of FSM-20 group was increased by 11.8% (P<0.05), while FSM-10-SM and FSM-10-FM groups did not differ significantly from FSM-0 group in growth performance. Compared with the FSM-0 group, the flesh hardness, shear force, total collagen, hot soluble collagen, and total free amino acid contents of FSM-20 group were significantly increased, and FSM-10-SM group also presented higher flesh hardness and shear force. The flesh superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) activities in FSM-20 and FSM-10-FM groups and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in FSM-10-FM group were increased (P<0.05), while the lactic acid content in FSM-20 group was decreased, when compared to FSM-0 group (P<0.05). In serum biochemical indexes, the glucose, total protein, cholesterol and malondialdehyde contents in the three FSM groups, and the triglyceride content in FSM-10-SM and FSM-20 groups were significantly lower than those of FSM-0 group (P<0.05). In intestinal histology, the intestinal villus width, muscle thickness in FSM-10-SM group and intestinal villus width in FSM-20 group were significantly higher than those of FSM-0 group. In intestinal microbiota, the three FSM groups showed higher abundance of Firmicutes and lower abundance of Proteobacteria than FSM-0 group. In summary, the replacement of 120 g/kg SM or 65 g/kg FM with 100 g/kg FSM (FSM-10-SM and FSM-10-FM groups) did not exhibit significant effect on growth performance, but partially improved the flesh quality of largemouth bass. The substitution of 120 g/kg SM + 80 g/kg CGM with 200 g/kg FSM (FSM-20 group) significantly improved weight gain and flesh quality of largemouth bass.
The Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome (Extracellular Microvesicles and Exosomes) in Animals’ Musculoskeletal and Neurologic‐Related Disorders
Authors: Caliani Carrera Alefe Luiz , Minto Bruno Watanabe , Malard Patrícia , Brunel Hilana dos Santos Sena
Published: November 2023

The advances in regenerative medicine are very important for the development of medicine and the discovery of stem cells has shown a greater capacity to raise the level of therapeutic quality while their use becomes more accessible, especially in their mesenchymal form. In veterinary medicine, it is not different. The use of those cells, as well as recent advances related to the use of their extracellular vesicles, demonstrates a great opportunity to enhance therapeutic methods and ensure more life quality for patients, which can be in clinical or surgical treatments. Knowing the advances in these modalities and the growing clinical and surgery research and demands for innovations in orthopedic and neurology medicines, this paper aimed to review the literature about the methodologies of use and applications such as the pathways of action and the advances that were postulated for microvesicles and exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in veterinary medicine, especially for musculoskeletal disorders and related injuries.
Four Weeks of Incline Water Treadmill Exercise Can Contribute to Increase Epaxial Muscle Profile in Horses
Authors: Fair Natalie , Blake Scott , Blake Roberta
Published: November 2023

Background. Water treadmill (WT) exercise is a popular modality for the training and rehabilitation of horses. However, evidence‐based literature regarding the use of WT exercise, particularly using inclines, is lacking. Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of recurring inclined WT sessions on equine epaxial muscle development. Methods. Six horses completed 24 sessions of 15 minutes of WT activity over four weeks. Horses walked with water at the midcannon level at a treadmill incline of 4%. Back traces were measured at three and seven centimetres ventral to the dorsal midline at T5, T9, T14, and T18, prior to the first session (W0) and weekly for 4 weeks (W1–4). Results. Overall, the back traces demonstrated progressive increases in muscle development (p < 0.05), starting at W2 up to W4. At three centimetres ventral to the dorsal midline, the most to least significant increases in gross muscle development were at T18, T5, T9, and T14, respectively, and when measured at seven centimetres ventrally, the most to least significant increases were demonstrated at T5, T18, and T14. It was noted that increases in thoracic back profile musculature were mainly observed within two to four weeks of the WT intervention. Conclusions. It has been concluded that repeated WT exercise on an inclined setting has a significant effect on the rate and size of growth of equine thoracic back profile musculature. Muscle hypertrophy due to resistance training in the WT starts at 2 weeks within the programme, and it progresses as exercise continues to be performed.
A Two-Phase Pattern Generation and Production Planning Procedure for the Stochastic Skiving Process
Authors: Karaca Tolga Kudret , Samanlioglu Funda , Altay Ayca
Published: November 2023

The stochastic skiving stock problem (SSP), a relatively new combinatorial optimization problem, is considered in this paper. The conventional SSP seeks to determine the optimum structure that skives small pieces of different sizes side by side to form as many large items (products) as possible that meet a desired width. This study studies a multiproduct case for the SSP under uncertain demand and waste rate, including products of different widths. This stochastic version of the SSP considers a random demand for each product and a random waste rate during production. A two-stage stochastic programming approach with a recourse action is implemented to study this stochastic

N
P

-hard problem on a large scale. Furthermore, the problem is solved in two phases. In the first phase, the dragonfly algorithm constructs minimal patterns that serve as an input for the next phase. The second phase performs sample-average approximation, solving the stochastic production problem. Results indicate that the two-phase heuristic approach is highly efficient regarding computational run time and provides robust solutions with an optimality gap of 0.3% for the worst-case scenario. In addition, we also compare the performance of the dragonfly algorithm (DA) to the particle swarm optimization (PSO) for pattern generation. Benchmarks indicate that the DA produces more robust minimal pattern sets as the tightness of the problem increases.
Glucose Deprivation Promotes Pseudohypoxia and Dedifferentiation in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Saggese Pasquale , Pandey Aparamita , Alcaraz Martín , Fung Eileen , Hall Abbie , Yanagawa Jane , Rodriguez Erika F. , Grogan Tristan R. , Giurato Giorgio , Nassa Giovanni , Salvati Annamaria , Shirihai Orian S. , Weisz Alessandro , Dubinett Steven M. , Scafoglio Claudio
Published: November 2023

Increased utilization of glucose is a hallmark of cancer. Sodium-glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) is a critical player in glucose uptake in early-stage and well-differentiated lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). SGLT2 inhibitors, which are FDA approved for diabetes, heart failure, and kidney disease, have been shown to significantly delay LUAD development and prolong survival in murine models and in retrospective studies in diabetic patients, suggesting that they may be repurposed for lung cancer. Despite the antitumor effects of SGLT2 inhibition, tumors eventually escape treatment. Here, we studied the mechanisms of resistance to glucose metabolism-targeting treatments. Glucose restriction in LUAD and other tumors induced cancer cell dedifferentiation, leading to a more aggressive phenotype. Glucose deprivation caused a reduction in alpha-ketoglutarate (αKG), leading to attenuated activity of αKG-dependent histone demethylases and histone hypermethylation. The dedifferentiated phenotype depended on unbalanced EZH2 activity that suppressed prolyl-hydroxylase PHD3 and increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), triggering epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Finally, a HIF1α-dependent transcriptional signature of genes upregulated by low glucose correlated with prognosis in human LUAD. Overall, this study furthers current knowledge of the relationship between glucose metabolism and cell differentiation in cancer, characterizing the epigenetic adaptation of cancer cells to glucose deprivation and identifying targets to prevent the development of resistance to therapies targeting glucose metabolism.

Significance:

Epigenetic adaptation allows cancer cells to overcome the tumor-suppressive effects of glucose restriction by inducing dedifferentiation and an aggressive phenotype, which could help design better metabolic treatments.
ETV4-Dependent Transcriptional Plasticity Maintains MYC Expression and Results in IMiD Resistance in Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Neri Paola , Barwick Benjamin G. , Jung David , Patton Jonathan C. , Maity Ranjan , Tagoug Ines , Stein Caleb K. , Tilmont Remi , Leblay Noemie , Ahn Sungwoo , Lee Holly , Welsh Seth J. , Riggs Daniel L. , Stong Nicholas , Flynt Erin , Thakurta Anjan , Keats Jonathan J. , Lonial Sagar , Bergsagel P. Leif , Boise Lawrence H. , Bahlis Nizar J.
Published: November 2023

Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiD) are a backbone therapy for multiple myeloma (MM). Despite their efficacy, most patients develop resistance, and the mechanisms are not fully defined. Here, we show that IMiD responses are directed by IMiD-dependent degradation of IKZF1 and IKZF3 that bind to enhancers necessary to sustain the expression of MYC and other myeloma oncogenes. IMiD treatment universally depleted chromatin-bound IKZF1, but eviction of P300 and BRD4 coactivators only occurred in IMiD-sensitive cells. IKZF1-bound enhancers overlapped other transcription factor binding motifs, including ETV4. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing showed that ETV4 bound to the same enhancers as IKZF1, and ETV4 CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ablation resulted in sensitization of IMiD-resistant MM. ETV4 expression is associated with IMiD resistance in cell lines, poor prognosis in patients, and is upregulated at relapse. These data indicate that ETV4 alleviates IKZF1 and IKZF3 dependency in MM by maintaining oncogenic enhancer activity and identify transcriptional plasticity as a previously unrecognized mechanism of IMiD resistance.

Significance:

We show that IKZF1-bound enhancers are critical for IMiD efficacy and that the factor ETV4 can bind the same enhancers and substitute for IKZF1 and mediate IMiD resistance by maintaining MYC and other oncogenes. These data implicate transcription factor redundancy as a previously unrecognized mode of IMiD resistance in MM.

See related article by Welsh, Barwick, et al., p. 34.

See related commentary by Yun and Cleveland, p. 5.

This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 4
Supplementary Table 2 from Population-specific Mutation Patterns in Breast Tumors from African American, European American, and Kenyan Patients
Authors: Tang Wei , Zhang Flora , Byun Jung S. , Dorsey Tiffany H. , Yfantis Harris G. , Ajao Anuoluwapo , Liu Huaitian , Pichardo Margaret S. , Pichardo Catherine M. , Harris Alexandra R. , Yang Xiaohong R. , Figueroa Jonine D. , Sayed Shahin , Makokha Francis W. , Ambs Stefan
Published: November 2023

Patient characteristics for Kenyan Cohort
FIGURE 3 from Population-specific Mutation Patterns in Breast Tumors from African American, European American, and Kenyan Patients
Authors: Tang Wei , Zhang Flora , Byun Jung S. , Dorsey Tiffany H. , Yfantis Harris G. , Ajao Anuoluwapo , Liu Huaitian , Pichardo Margaret S. , Pichardo Catherine M. , Harris Alexandra R. , Yang Xiaohong R. , Figueroa Jonine D. , Sayed Shahin , Makokha Francis W. , Ambs Stefan
Published: November 2023

Mutational signatures in breast tumors and their association with somatic mutations in driver genes and immune cell signatures. A, Prevalence of mutational signatures from the COSMIC catalog (SBS1–3, 5, 13, 18) in breast tumors from AA, Kenyan, and EA patients. Others include 2 AA and 6 EA patients with self-reported Hispanic ethnicity. B, Elevated presence of the SBS3 mutational signature in breast tumors of AA patients. Relative abundance scores for SBS3 in each tumor were compared between the three patient group patients (one-way ANOVA, P < 0.05). C, Heat map showing a correlation coefficient matrix for the relationship between the six COSMIC-based mutational signatures and somatic mutations in candidate driver genes in 191 breast tumors. D, Heat map showing a correlation coefficient matrix for the relationship between the mutational signatures and gene expression–based immune cell profiles of the tumors. Transcriptome data and the CIBERSORT algorithm were used to define the immune cell profiles.
FIGURE 1 from Population-specific Mutation Patterns in Breast Tumors from African American, European American, and Kenyan Patients
Authors: Tang Wei , Zhang Flora , Byun Jung S. , Dorsey Tiffany H. , Yfantis Harris G. , Ajao Anuoluwapo , Liu Huaitian , Pichardo Margaret S. , Pichardo Catherine M. , Harris Alexandra R. , Yang Xiaohong R. , Figueroa Jonine D. , Sayed Shahin , Makokha Francis W. , Ambs Stefan
Published: November 2023

Mutational profiles in breast tumors according to ancestral background of the patients. A, Circos admixture plot showing proportions of West African, European, and Asian ancestry (outer circle) in self-identified AA (blue, inner circle, n = 97), EA (bisque, inner circle, n = 69), and Asian American (bronze, inner circle, n = 2) patients with breast cancer in the NCI-Maryland study. Circos plot shows ancestry estimates derived from tumor/normal tissue pairs. B, TMB in primary breast tumors of EA (n = 69), AA (n = 96), and Kenyan patients with breast cancer (n = 23). TMB as a standardized measure (log10 scale) is different between EA, AA, and Kenyan patients (one-way ANOVA test, P < 0.05), and is highest in Kenyan tumors. C, Oncoprint plot showing all somatic mutations in candidate driver genes that occurred at a frequency ≥2% in 191 primary breast tumors, ordered by patient group and mutation frequency. Red boxes highlight mutations that occurred at an increased frequency in either EA (black bar beneath plot, n = 69), AA (blue bar, n = 97), or Kenyan (red bar, n = 23) patients. The color scheme of the bars within the plot indicates the mutation type and is explained beneath the plot to the left. The green and red color bars at the top of the plot summarize all somatic mutations detected within one tumor, with green and red indicating the predominance of missense and nonsense mutations among all mutations. The gray bar to the left indicates significance as −log10(P value) and was generated by the MutSigCV software, identifying excessively mutated genes. The more the bar extends, the more likely it is that the mutated gene is cancer-related driver gene. D, Correlation matrix (P value-based) of mutual exclusivity among the detected mutations and their target genes. As examples, GATA3 and TP53 mutations did not co-occur but PIK3CA and CDH1 mutations commonly did.
Proton Pump Inhibitors and Hyporesponsiveness to Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents in Hemodialysis Patients: Results from the Japan Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study
Authors: Nakashima Akio , Miyawaki Yoshia , Komaba Hirotaka , Kurita Noriaki , Onishi Yoshihiro , Yokoo Takashi , Fukagawa Masafumi
Published: November 2023

Introduction: Hyporesponsiveness to erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) is important problem in dialysis patients. While proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may inhibit iron absorption, few studies have examined associations between PPIs and ESA-resistant anemia in hemodialysis patients. This study examined the associations between PPIs and ESA-resistant anemia in hemodialysis patients. Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study using repeated 4-month observations, up to eight observations/patient, from the Japan Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (J-DOPPS). The primary outcome was erythropoietin resistance index (ERI). ESA dose, hemoglobin, proportion of erythropoietin-resistant anemia, transferrin saturation (TSAT), and ferritin were also examined. Linear or risk-difference regression models were used with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measurements. Results: Of 1,644 patients, 867 patients had PPI prescriptions (52.7%). Patients prescribed PPI had higher ERI, higher ESA dose, and lower TSAT levels. Multivariable analysis for 12,048 four-month observations showed significantly greater ERI in PPI users (adjusted difference 0.95 IU/week/kg/[g/dL] [95% CI: 0.40–1.50]). Significant differences were also found in ESA dose (336 IU/week [95% CI: 70–602]) and the prevalence of erythropoietin-resistant anemia (3.9% [2.0–5.8%]) even after adjusted for TSAT and ferritin. Among possible mediators between the association of PPIs and anemia, TSAT was significantly different between PPI users and non-users (adjusted difference, −0.82% [95% CI: −1.56 to −0.07]). Conclusions: This study showed the associations between PPI and ERI, ESA dose, and TSAT in hemodialysis patients; physicians should consider anemia’s associations with PPIs in hemodialysis patients.
Association between Obesity and Periodontitis in US Adults: NHANES 2011–2014
Authors: Liu Ling , Xia Lin Yu , Gao Yu Jie , Dong Xiu Hua , Gong Ren Guo , Xu Jing
Published: November 2023

Introduction: It is controversial whether obesity and periodontitis are related. A representative US population was examined for the relationship between obesity and periodontitis. Methods: In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014, participants (n = 6,662) aged 30 years or older and who underwent periodontal examinations were chosen for analysis. An assessment of obesity was based on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Estimates of obesity and periodontal disease were made using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: According to an adjusted odds ratio (OR) for periodontitis, BMI (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.01∼1.02) and WC (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1∼1.01) were significantly associated with periodontitis, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, the OR for patients with high WC with periodontitis was 1.18 (1.04∼1.33) compared to normal WC. BMI and WC subgroups showed no significant interaction (p for interaction >0.05), except for the age interaction in BMI. Among young adults aged 30–44 years, obesity was significantly associated with periodontitis in subgroups; the adjusted OR for having periodontal disease was 1.02 (1∼1.03) and 1.01 (1∼1.02) for subjects with BMI and WC, respectively. When all covariates were adjusted, BMI ≥30 kg/m2 was statistically significantly associated with prevalence of periodontal disease among people aged 30–44 years (p < 0.001). Conclusions: BMI and WC are significantly associated with periodontitis, even after adjusting for many variables, and were equally significant in obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) young people (30–44 years).
Abstract 12159: Heart Generation via Blastocyst Complementation in Mesp1/2-Deficient Mice
Authors: Abe Yuto , Sadahiro Taketaro , Fujita Ryo , Yamada Yu , akiyama tatsuya , Nakano Koji , Honda Seiichiro , Tanimoto Yoko , Suzuki Hayate , Mizuno Seiya , Takahashi Satoru , Yamaguchi Tomoyuki , Masaki Hideki , Hattori Kosuke , Mashimo Tomoji , Ieda Masaki
Published: November 2023

Introduction:
Heart transplantation is the only curative option available for patients with advanced heart failure. However, donor organ shortage and graft rejection remain critical challenges in heart transplantation. Blastocyst complementation using pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can be used to generate organs such as the pancreas and kidneys in animal models with abnormalities in essential developmental genes. Nonetheless, whether functional adult hearts can be generated with blastocyst complementation remains unclear, and it is unknown if parenchyma, blood vessels, and stroma can be generated concomitantly from PSCs using blastocyst complementation to avoid graft rejection.

Methods:
We generated functional hearts in acardiac Mesp1 and Mesp2 double-knockout (Mesp1/2-DKO) mice via blastocyst complementation using mouse and rat PSCs.

Results:
The generated adult murine hearts were structurally and functionally normal and restored embryonic lethality in Mesp1/2-DKO mice. All four cardiovascular lineages, including cardiomyocytes, vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and cardiac fibroblasts, were virtually entirely derived from exogenous PSCs in the myocardium. Exogenous rat PSCs also generated rat-derived xenogeneic hearts in Mesp1/2-DKO mice via interspecies blastocyst complementation.

Conclusions:
Blastocyst complementation is a viable technique for generating hearts derived from PSCs and may represent significant progress toward generating rejection-free hearts.
Natriuretic Peptide Receptor B Protects Against Atrial Fibrillation by Controlling Atrial cAMP Via Phosphodiesterase 2
Authors: Dorey Tristan W. , Liu Yingjie , Jansen Hailey J. , Bohne Loryn J. , Mackasey Martin , Atkinson Logan , Prasai Shuvam , Belke Darrell D. , Fatehi-Hassanabad Ali , Fedak Paul W.M. , Rose Robert A.
Published: November 2023

BACKGROUND:

β-AR (β-adrenergic receptor) stimulation regulates atrial electrophysiology and Ca
2+
homeostasis via cAMP-dependent mechanisms; however, enhanced β-AR signaling can promote atrial fibrillation (AF). CNP (C-type natriuretic peptide) can also regulate atrial electrophysiology through the activation of NPR-B (natriuretic peptide receptor B) and cGMP-dependent signaling. Nevertheless, the role of NPR-B in regulating atrial electrophysiology, Ca
2+
homeostasis, and atrial arrhythmogenesis is incompletely understood.

METHODS:

Studies were performed using atrial samples from human patients with AF or sinus rhythm and in wild-type and NPR-B-deficient (NPR-B
+/−
) mice. Studies were conducted in anesthetized mice by intracardiac electrophysiology, in isolated mouse atrial preparations using high-resolution optical mapping, in isolated mouse and human atrial myocytes using patch-clamping and Ca
2+
imaging, and in mouse and human atrial tissues using molecular biology.

RESULTS:

Atrial NPR-B protein levels were reduced in patients with AF, and NPR-B
+/−
mice were more susceptible to AF. Atrial cGMP levels and PDE2 (phosphodiesterase 2) activity were reduced in NPR-B
+/−
mice leading to larger increases in atrial cAMP in the presence of the β-AR agonist isoproterenol. NPR-B
+/−
mice displayed larger increases in action potential duration and L-type Ca
2+
current in the presence of isoproterenol. This resulted in the occurrence of spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
release events and delayed afterdepolarizations in NPR-B
+/−
atrial myocytes. Phosphorylation of the RyR2 (ryanodine receptor) and phospholamban was increased in NPR-B
+/−
atria in the presence of isoproterenol compared with the wildtypes. C-type natriuretic peptide inhibited isoproterenol-stimulated L-type Ca
2+
current through PDE2 in mouse and human atrial myocytes.

CONCLUSIONS:

NPR-B protects against AF by preventing enhanced atrial responses to β-adrenergic receptor agonists.
Using Paleoclimate Analogues to Inform Climate Projections
Authors: Watkins Aja
Published: November 2023

Philosophers of science have paid close attention to climate simulations as means of projecting the severity and effects of climate change, but have neglected the full diversity of methods in climate science. This paper shows the philosophical richness of another method in climate science: the practice of using paleoclimate analogues to inform our climate projections. First, I argue that the use of paleoclimate analogues can offer important insights to philosophers of the historical sciences. Rather than using the present as a guide to the past, as is common in the historical sciences, paleoclimate analogues involve using the past as a guide to the future. I thereby distinguish different methods in the historical sciences and argue that these distinctions bear on debates over whether the historical sciences can produce generalizations or predictions. Second, I suggest that paleoclimate analogues might actually be considered a type of climate model, and, as such, their use expands on common characterizations of models to include those that are full-scale, naturally occurring, and non-manipulable.
A Debilitating Colonial Duration: Reconfiguring Fanon
Authors: Al-Saji Alia
Published: November 2023

I argue that the temporality of colonialism is a disabling duration. To elaborate, I focus on a site in Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks where disability/debility and racism intertwine – Fanon’s refusal of “amputation” in his experience of cinema. While such disability metaphors have been problematized as ableist, I argue that amputation is more than a metaphor of lack. It extends what racializing debilitation means and makes tangible the prosthetics that colonialism imposes and the phantoms and affects of colonized life that it attempts to sever. Engaging with disability studies, especially Black and anticolonial theories, I articulate racism and (dis)ability as more than parallel or analogy and conceptualize a debilitating colonial duration, as instanced in our pandemic time. By reconfiguring the possibilities foreclosed through colonialism, I ask what routes there may be to make colonial duration hesitate and destabilize its inevitability, while dwelling with its wounds and ruptures.
Atlantic Mobilities and the Defiance of the Early Quakers
Authors: Pestana Carla Gardina
Published: November 2023

By the mid-1650s, the Quakers participated in an astounding campaign to spread the news of their movement. Bent on convincing everyone, they traveled through Europe, the Mediterranean, and the English Atlantic colonies. This missionary campaign was unusual in that individual converts made the decision to travel of their own accord and they did so extensively for over a decade. This travel was unstructured, even chaotic, and yet it had a major impact by spreading convincement far and wide. Quaker mobility increased the number and the spread of adherents, establishing widely scattered communities of Friends. In response to Quaker success, in the mid-1660s English authorities tried to adapt coerced transportation to rid communities of Quakers. This effort revealed a “moral economy of transportation,” in which moves to dispatch individuals were judged and, at times, resisted. Both the movement of Quakers and the efforts of officials depended upon new routes of travel and practices of coerced migration, indicative of changes in the movement of peoples that the seventeenth century witnessed.
Chinese Migration to and within Europe: Continuity and Renewal in the Light of Demographic Factors and the Impact of Covid-19
Authors: 王 思萌
Published: November 2023

Under the changing demographic effects of Chinese migratory waves in Europe and in the global context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese migratory patterns to Europe as well as the lives of migrants and their descendants in European countries have been renewed since the 2010s, both in material and symbolic or emotional ways. This special issue includes five articles shedding new light on the patterns of Chinese migration to Europe, and on the dynamics of their everyday lives in and beyond the European countries. As the special issue editor, I first argue that Chinese overseas, as an important part of global China, offer a privileged site of study for understanding Chinese society from inside and outside. Then, based on the literature review on Chinese migration to and within Europe from the 1980s to post-2020, I introduce specificities of contemporary Chinese migration to Europe and the Chinese presence in European countries, and highlight four main demographic features: the growth in the population of descendants, the aging of the first-generation migrants, the massive arrival of students and skilled migrants, and the feminization of migration. Thirdly, I provide an overview of the five articles included in this special issue. Finally, I conclude the introduction by underlying the contributions of this volume, the theoretical frameworks that they borrow and consolidate, and new avenues for research opened up by this special issue.
The Impact of International Education and Cultural Empowerment in the Global Job Market
Authors: Astarita Claudia
Published: November 2023

This article challenges the idea that international education only has positive spillover effects on the students going through it, assessing students’ capacity to understand and, if possible, explore new working opportunities in the host country. It discusses to what extent an international education experience and regular exposure to an alternative educational, social, and working environment could provide opportunities for students to broaden and deepen their views and perceptions of the world, and to use cultural capital gained from international mobility to increase their employability in the global job market.

Based on a study conducted among a small group of Chinese students based in France, this article highlights when, how, and under which circumstances students’ mobility capital is understood and explored as a new source of economic opportunities, discussing motivations and integration in the experiences of Chinese international students.
The Local and Global Scope of The Year of the Ox
Authors: Lamas-Abraira Laura , Vilarrasa Alba Colombo
Published: November 2023

The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic brought significant life changes and acted as a point of rupture for many people around the world. Using mixed methods research, this article explores how the pandemic scenario affected the organization and conceptualization of the Chinese New Year Festival in Barcelona, as well as how people participated in the festivities. Having been canceled in 2020, when everything was ready to go in 2021, its transition to a virtual event entailed changes in its format, content, and scope, leading to new synergies and ways of understanding the festival. First, the virtual format enabled the participation of new actors within and beyond the Chinese diaspora, resulting in a shift of visibility. Second, new (non-folkloric) spaces for participation served to diversify the esthetics, aims and scope of the festival, with the global economic crisis and its local impacts as key factors. Finally, while the virtual format limited the festival’s local impact, it stimulated new transnational dynamics and facilitated an increase in the number of global attendees.
Migration of ‘Somebody’s Children’: Entangled Histories of Motherhood through Chinese Adoption in the United States in the 1990s
Authors: Zhang Alice (Yang)
Published: November 2023

This article examines the entanglement of Chinese and American motherhood through Chinese adoption in the United States in the 1990s, during what Sino-American relations scholars frame as ‘the Long Cold War era’. The Long Cold War era refers to a long durée view of the structural Cold War derivatives in Asia that defies the linear and neat Cold War periodisation from 1947 to 1991. From the 1990s to 2015, Chinese ‘revolutionary motherhood’ and American ‘fortressed motherhood’ intertwined through the adoption of Chinese children into American families. Such enmeshment challenged the conventional narratives on international adoption as either a site of exploitation or paternalistic salvation towards transnational and transracial adoptees. By centring the lived experiences of mothers in both countries, this article employs mothers’ first-person accounts to interrogate the gendered politics of Chinese adoption, complicating the simplistic narrative of passive female victimhood in family settings.
Turning Public Opinion on Immigration: the British Conservative Party and the Expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972
Authors: Hansen Randall
Published: November 2023

This article examines the Ugandan Asians’ crisis of 1972, during which President Idi Amin expelled tens of thousands of Asian nationals from the country. It explains why Ugandan Asians held, against expectations and the UK government’s intention, British citizenship. Drawing on primary sources and the social science literature on ‘framing’, the article then explores how Britain’s Conservative government secured the support of an initially hostile public for its decision to allow the Asians entry to the United Kingdom. It argues that the Conservatives succeeded by framing the Ugandan Asians as middle-class, hard-working, skilled refugees, rather than as immigrants or British citizens, and Idi Amin as a murderous monster. The press played a vital role in the government’s success. The article ends by reflecting on the case’s implications for contemporary British immigration policy and the capacity of the state to generate support for open immigration.
Korea’s Country Partnership Strategy and Bilateral Trade: Establishing a Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Katoka Ben
Published: November 2023

Is the establishment of Korea’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) since 2011 associated with increases in Korea’s exports to and imports from its Sub-Saharan African (SSA) partners? Two cases of Korea’s CPS for SSA countries — Ethiopia and Mozambique — indicate that an association can be established between the CPS inception and increases in Korea’s exports of manufactured products to and imports of primary commodities from its priority partners. At the same time, the study revealed that improvement in the trade balance in favor of the priority partners depended on the type of primary commodities in which those countries specialize. Specifically, priority partners specializing in minerals exports experienced a dramatic improvement in their trade balance with Korea relative to their counterparts specializing in agricultural exports.
Multilingual and Multicultural Childhood: Robin Ha’s Almost American Girl
Authors: Dong Lan
Published: November 2023

Robin Ha’s Almost American Girl (2020) visualizes the narrator’s childhood in South Korea and the United States through a multilingual and multimodal lens. Taking advantage of comics’ unique formal properties, Ha’s work situates the narrator’s memories and experiences as a teen immigrant at the nexus of Korean, English, and visual languages. This article examines how Ha’s book addresses social discrimination, linguistic hybridization, and intertextual cross-cultural encounters, while telling a coming-of-age story. It discusses how Ha utilizes colors and symbols to map the young narrator’s struggles with language barriers; how her book dismantles linguistic walls and highlights the fluidity between languages and cultures; and how it blurs the boundaries among lived experiences, memories, and the fantasy world of comics. Overall, Ha’s “expansive visual vernacular” (Miller “Innovative Autobiography,” 6) helps the narrator navigate challenges as she learns English and guides the reader through a multilingual and multicultural landscape.
Atiq Rahimi’s Exophonic Entanglements: Multilingual and Multimodal Poetics
Authors: Amiri Lida
Published: November 2023

In 2008, first-generation Afghan migrant novelist-artist Atiq Rahimi published his first translingual work in French, Syngué Sabour: Pierre de patience. This article interrogates his multilingual and multimodal aesthetics across his translingual oeuvre. In his exophonic novel Les Porteurs d’eau (2019), Rahimi valorizes a polyvocal and culturally diverse Central Asian history. The Prix Goncourt–awarded author introduces Afghanistan’s past and present beyond its intracultural challenges. The epitome of the Rahimi-esque aesthetic is the author’s publication L’Invité du miroir (2020), which acts as a revolt, a transnational dialectic crossroads where multilingual fiction meets classical Persian calligraphy and nonfiction to explore the human spirit.
The Women’s and Feminist Movements’ Role in National Protest: a Comparative Case Study of Colombia, Ecuador, and Chile
Authors: Macías Andrea Guillem , Ledesma Pamela
Published: November 2023

Colombia, Ecuador and Chile went through a wave of social protest during 2019 and then during 2021 and 2022. Evident in the revolt was the construction of a new feminist political subject that made visible new repertoires of action, both in the street and in the spaces of reproduction of the protest. The article explores the strategies deployed by women’s and feminist movements in these three countries. It first contextualizes the development of the movement in each country in order to understand its complexities, disputes and traditions. Then, from a comparative perspective, it takes stock of the contribution of women and feminisms in scenarios of social revolt and how these strategies were key to subsequent electoral scenarios.

The article gathers the voices of feminist activists, politicians and women who played key roles during the protest interviewed in Santiago, Bogota and Quito.
On the Reliability of L
Authors: Hagewood Lee
Published: November 2023

This article examines the historicity of Luke 13:10–17 and 14:1–6, both of which contain healing miracles of Jesus attested only in Luke. The article proceeds by first considering the coherence of these pericopes with material widely accepted as reflecting activity of the historical Jesus. Details within these pericopes are then examined for their potential historical significance. Finally, common objections to historicity are considered. Although the evidence for these singly attested healings is incapable of ‘proving’ their historicity, it suggests that Luke’s source for these healings contains historical information that he handled no more or less responsibly than he handled Mark.
Verbum Imaginis Dei
Authors: Torseth Robb
Published: November 2023

After the Enlightenment turn to the subject, various problems concerning the nature of theological articulation on the one hand and the grounds for divine revelation on the other have come to the forefront, often gravitating toward questions concerning language itself. These questions tend to revolve around the nature of God’s infinite qualitative difference, noting difficulties concerning both the capacity of finite language to express the infinite, as well as the claim that the immaterial and transcendent God ‘speaks’. It will be the contention of this article that Augustine’s theology of speech can address these debates in a unique way, establishing a primarily theological model where human language itself is related to the Triune God via the imago Dei. This article will analyze Augustine’s designative theory in balance with his theological anthropology and theology of language, synthesizing them to respond to the philosophical questions of theological and divine speech. It will be posited that an Augustinian approach allocates primacy to the Trinitarian relationship between Word and word in the human person as imago Dei, which redefines both the nature and telos of language itself as a theological and truth-bearing reality. The article will conclude with an example from Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, who implemented this Augustinian approach in the context of modern philosophy and theology.
Stationed at the Gateway
Authors: Berends Candis
Published: November 2023

As a missionary with the Church Missionary Society, Claud Field lived and worked in Peshawar between the years of 1892 and 1903. At the time, Peshawar was a geopolitically sensitive and missionally strategic city, and subsequent to Field’s missionary years there, he began writing and translating publications relating to the history of mission, the Afghan people and culture, notable figures of Islamic history, and Christian-Muslim relations. However, Field is little known today. This research introduces Field and a historical puzzle regarding his shift in tone, reviews his first five published books, analyses the import of the books for his time, offers an explanation to the historical puzzle, and concludes with a call for further research into Field’s life and publications. These findings help to begin filling the gap of historical research and literary criticism of Field’s corpus of works.