bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indigenous interpreters on trial in the Spanish Empire
Authors: Cunill Caroline
Published: February 2023

In 1610, the Maya interpreter don Hernando Uz was accused of encouraging a rebellion against don Pedro Xiu, the Indigenous governor of Tekax, in Yucatán, New Spain. Building on the analysis of the trial, the chapter aims at distinguishing three categories of interpreters who provided services of cultural and linguistic mediation in the justice system of the Spanish empire: the General Interpreters officially appointed at the royal courts in the Americas, the Spanish governors’ personal interpreters, and the interpreters who sought informally to meet the Indigenous people’s needs for justice. I will show how thin the line between linguistic mediation and legal advice was, and how the concepts of trust and mistrust applied to the interpreters shaped the space where those professionals were required to act at court and, more broadly, in the vice-royal society.
Who is an interpreter?
Authors: Grbić Nadja
Published: February 2023

Although so-called ‘non-professionals’ are no longer instrumentalised in research solely in order to compare and contrast them with ‘professionals’, this does little to change the lasting perception of two clearly demarcated categories. Such a differentiation may be meaningful in some contexts, but it often over-simplifies and certainly perpetuates a hierarchical order. In my contribution, I will present an alternative, flexible typology in the form of a map that tries to take into account the multifaceted variety of interpreting and translation phenomena that we encounter in social practice. This typology is based on the empirical insight that a binary differentiation between ‘professional’ and ‘non-professional’ translation or interpreting is not always sufficient to capture adequately the complexity of empirical practice.
Interpreting in a project network
Authors: Kadric Mira , Iacono Katia
Published: February 2023

This contribution analyses the action space of an interpreter in a project network consisting of five professionals, who travelled to Catania/Sicily on behalf of an Austrian broadcaster to interview different police and judicial authorities for a series of documentaries about white-collar crime in various European countries. The analysis was conducted with multiple methods – observation, ethnographic analysis of the interpreted communication and a retrospective interview with the interpreter – as discussed in Pöchhacker (2011a: 21). It shows different interdependences in the project network, which evolve within the structure of the project and continuously influence the strategies adopted by all the participants, including the interpreter, as their input and output are closely interconnected.
‘The times they are a-changin’
Authors: Andres Dörte
Published: February 2023

Today’s interpreter training methods have largely been developed towards the end of the 20th century, and we must ask ourselves whether they still meet the requirements of today’s markets and how we can constantly adapt our training to meet new challenges and circumstances. To this end, the intensive linkage of research, training and practice is of fundamental importance in order to guarantee the type of professional training which enables students to learn the specific competencies required for professional practice. This paper first discusses competencies in general before turning to interpreting competencies in particular. It then focusses on one example, the competency of preparation, which might become ever more important in the future and thus warrants more attention in interpreter training.

The scientific starting point is the general competency model of Kouwenhoven (2009). It serves as the basis for the Interpreting Studies view of preparation competency which will be examined from the perspective of situational intelligence (Jonnaert et al. 2007: 196). Although preparation is a topic of discussion in Interpreting Studies publications, it is argued here that it needs to be more intensively integrated into regular conference interpreter training courses than has been the case in the past. After all, it plays an essential role in situational intelligence, which constitutes an important factor in competency-based interpreter training. Using two special training formats, the “Freitagskonferenz” at the Department of Translation, Language and Cultural Studies in Germersheim, and “SIMinar” at the Center for Translation Studies in Vienna, which was introduced there by Franz Pöchhacker, it will be shown how useful these special training formats are in terms of improving this important competency and how significant they are in promoting situational intelligence and thereby facilitating the shift from routine expertise to adaptive expertise, which in our changing times has become more necessary than ever before.
Listening comprehension in translation and interpreting programs
Authors: Cerezo Herrero Enrique
Published: February 2023

This chapter seeks to show the specificity and uniqueness of listening comprehension in interpreter training. Although foreign language courses are aimed at enhancing students’ linguistic competence so that translation and interpreting tasks can be subsequently tackled, these courses often adhere to general foreign language principles, disregarding the specific linguistic needs of these students. In this chapter, listening comprehension is addressed with a view to elucidating the cognitive demands and nature of this linguistic skill for interpreting. A proposal of sample activities to enhance listening comprehension will also be presented to help language lecturers understand the essence of this skill and how it can best be approached when the goal is to train prospective interpreters.
Redefining English language teaching in translator training through corpus-based tasks
Authors: Fois Eleonora
Published: February 2023

Given that professional translators utilise English as a tool to attain a professional goal, English language teaching for translator training should be considered as a variety of English for specific purposes. This chapter discusses the bi/multicultural approach to language instruction, as well as the use of corpus-based activities, are discussed in this chapter as ways to improve English courses for translator training and to fulfil the growing need for translations into an L2. Bilingual sub-competence will be investigated within the framework of the specific needs of translation trainees and the application of current teaching methodologies. The potential of lexical and grammar aims specific to English for translator training will also be determined. Finally, as a means of achieving these goals, practical examples of corpus-based activities will be introduced.
The scaffolded language emergence approach in translation programs
Authors: Kiraly Donald C. , Gómez Hernández Norman
Published: February 2023

This chapter introduces the epistemological foundations of the Scaffolded Language Emergence (SLE) approach to promoting the emergence of additional languages in adults and suggests some ideas and techniques for its implementation in the classroom at university level. Developed over a period of some 20 years by Don Kiraly at the School of Translation, Linguistics and Cultural Studies (FTSK) of the University of Mainz, Germany, the SLE approach has been used successfully to introduce hundreds of translation students at that institution to one or more of 15 additional languages.

The authors have found this approach to be an innovative way to foster additional language acquisition in the context of translator training. They believe that adopting such an approach at an early stage of one’s translation study program can provide a fertile environment for adults to establish a basis in a foreign language. Its early adoption can also help adult language learners develop and rediscover their natural skills for learning a language by means of personalized, embodied and authentic learning activities.
Foreign language acquisition writing exercises fostering translation trainees’ language and translation competence
Authors: Seel Olaf Immanuel
Published: February 2023

This chapter intends to bring into beneficial interaction two language-based disciplines, i.e., foreign language acquisition (FLA) and translation studies (TS) and to demonstrate that the latter greatly benefits from the former. Concretely, by using FLA writing exercises in language courses for translation trainees (TT), it will be shown that the advantages from this implementation are not to be underestimated if these exercises are tailored to the needs of TT. Furthermore, these exercises not only improve the foreign language competence of the TT but also enhance other aspects of their overall translation competence. In order to tailor FLA exercises for translation trainees’ language courses, a specific methodological, didactical and conceptual basis is proposed which consists of an interactive implementation of constructivism, creativity theory, text linguistics and functional Skopos theory.
An acoustic profile of right-dislocations in French
Authors: Ashby William J.
Published: February 2023

This study provides an acoustic profile of the prosody of right-dislocations in French, using the computer hardware and software package known as CECIL. Twenty-eight right-dislocations occurring in a corpus of natural French discourse provide the data for the acoustic analysis. While right-dislocations appear to fulfil various functional roles in discourse, no correlation appears between functional type and the acoustic properties studied (pause, frequency, amplitude).
A new look at ‘ne’ loss in the Spoken French of Tours
Authors: Ashby William J. , Fonseca-Greber Bonnie B.
Published: February 2023

Although the standard French norm prescribes that negation is marked twice in the verb phrase (ne…pas), contemporary usage prefers to drop the first element (ne) in Spoken French.* In a 1981 article based on a corpus of Spoken French recorded in Tours in 1976, Ashby brought to light a significant co-variation/correlation between ne loss and speaker age: younger speakers dropped ne much more often than older speakers. This distribution seems to stem from a change in apparent time. However, as Labov (1994) notes, a linguistic feature that is more frequent in younger speakers does not necessarily indicate change in progress. One could assume that it could be due to age-grading, a phenomenon whereby speakers alter their linguistic behavior over the course of their lifetimes, while the grammar of the speech community remains stable and does not change. In order to distinguish between these two hypotheses (change in progress on the one hand, age grading on the other), this study compares distributions of the linguistic variable ne at two different points in time: the 1976 Tours corpus is paired with a new Tours corpus recorded in 1995. This comparison shows in real time that the loss of ne has accelerated – a finding which supports the change in progress hypothesis.
Connectivity of wh in bilingual Turkish
Authors: Herkenrath Annette , Karakoç Birsel
Published: February 2023

This study tests a hypothesis regarding the connectivity of wh-constructions in spoken discourse data of Turkish-German bilingual children (the ENDFAS/SKOBI corpus), focusing on constructions involving one verbum dicendi: söyle‑ ‘say, tell, verbalise, utter’. It develops a corpus-pragmatic filtering method, based on typological parameters such as headedness and wh-fronting as well as spoken language phenomena related to syntactic and prosodic integration. These criteria are applied in a stepwise manner to identify a subset of findings with potential for grammatical innovation.
Remodeling of colon plasma cell repertoire within ulcerative colitis patients
Authors: Scheid Johannes F. , Eraslan Basak , Hudak Andrew , Brown Eric M. , Sergio Dallis , Delorey Toni M. , Phillips Devan , Lefkovith Ariel , Jess Alison T. , Duck Lennard W. , Elson Charles O. , Vlamakis Hera , Plichta Damian R. , Deguine Jacques , Ananthakrishnan Ashwin N. , Graham Daniel B. , Regev Aviv , Xavier Ramnik J.
Published: February 2023

Plasma cells (PCs) constitute a significant fraction of colonic mucosal cells and contribute to inflammatory infiltrates in ulcerative colitis (UC). While gut PCs secrete bacteria-targeting IgA antibodies, their role in UC pathogenesis is unknown. We performed single-cell V(D)J- and RNA-seq on sorted B cells from the colon of healthy individuals and patients with UC. A large fraction of B cell clones is shared between different colon regions, but inflammation in UC broadly disrupts this landscape, causing transcriptomic changes characterized by an increase in the unfolded protein response (UPR) and antigen presentation genes, clonal expansion, and isotype skewing from IgA1 and IgA2 to IgG1. We also directly expressed and assessed the specificity of 152 mAbs from expanded PC clones. These mAbs show low polyreactivity and autoreactivity and instead target both shared bacterial antigens and specific bacterial strains. Altogether, our results characterize the microbiome-specific colon PC response and how its disruption might contribute to inflammation in UC.
CTCF mediates CD8+ effector differentiation through dynamic redistribution and genomic reorganization
Authors: Liu Jia , Zhu Shaoqi , Hu Wei , Zhao Xin , Shan Qiang , Peng Weiqun , Xue Hai-Hui
Published: February 2023

Differentiation of effector CD8+ T cells is instructed by stably and dynamically expressed transcription regulators. Here we show that naive-to-effector differentiation was accompanied by dynamic CTCF redistribution and extensive chromatin architectural changes. Upon CD8+ T cell activation, CTCF acquired de novo binding sites and anchored novel chromatin interactions, and these changes were associated with increased chromatin accessibility and elevated expression of cytotoxic program genes including Tbx21, Ifng, and Klrg1. CTCF was also evicted from its ex-binding sites in naive state, with concomitantly reduced chromatin interactions in effector cells, as observed at memory precursor–associated genes including Il7r, Sell, and Tcf7. Genetic ablation of CTCF indeed diminished cytotoxic gene expression, but paradoxically elevated expression of memory precursor genes. Comparative Hi-C analysis revealed that key memory precursor genes were harbored within insulated neighborhoods demarcated by constitutive CTCF binding, and their induction was likely due to disrupted CTCF-dependent insulation. CTCF thus promotes cytotoxic effector differentiation by integrating local chromatin accessibility control and higher-order genomic reorganization.
Assessment of surface integrity and hole quality in graphene-based NMQL Micro-drilling of ceramic-coated Nimonic 90 for gas turbine applications
Authors: Patil Pratik Ashokrao , Patil Sachin K , Sawant Mayur S
Published: February 2023

Nickel-based superalloys have superior strength properties at higher temperature ranges and thus have become increasingly important in manufacturing gas turbine components for aerospace industry. However, the desire for a larger thrust-weight ratio has raised the typical operating temperature in a gas turbine; thus, thermal barrier coatings are essential. The present work compares the micro-drilling performance of ceramic-coated Nimonic 90 nickel superalloy under dry, flood and 0.5% graphene-based NMQL conditions. The biodegradable acid oil was used as a base oil, and the assessment comprised surface integrity in terms of surface roughness inside the hole and micro-crack formation and hole quality based on the diametrical overcut and taper ratio. Spindle speed (1000, 2000 and 3000 rpm) and feed rate (3, 6, and 9 μm/rev) were changed in three levels, and Taguchi L9 array was applied for the design and analysis of the experiments. Ti-Al-N coated tungsten carbide drill of diameter 700 μm was used, and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that spindle speed was the utmost important parameter impacting surface roughness, while speed and feed rate both influenced overcut and taper ratio. 0.5% Graphene-based NMQL lubrication condition significantly diminished the surface roughness by 52.67%, overcut by 46.86% and the taper ratio by 48.87% as compared to dry condition. Furthermore, in the NMQL condition, micro-crack development and ceramic layer damage were minimized, resulting in better surface integrity. In addition, burr development was minimized at the hole periphery, and tool wandering was not seen in the NMQL condition. Hence the hole quality was superior in NMQL conditions as compared to the dry and flood lubrication.
Design and development of an economical temperature compensated bidirectional fiber Bragg grating flow sensor
Authors: Ullah Rahim , Khan Raja Yasir Mehmood , Faisal Muhammad
Published: February 2023

A target-type cantilever based temperature compensated fiber Bragg grating (FBG) flow sensor is designed and developed with economical demodulation and data acquisition schemes. FBG is glued on the surface of a thin elastic stainless steel cantilever in pre-strained condition. The cantilever is mounted inside a flow channel by a special purpose brass holder with a height and direction adjustable threaded stem. The sensor is interrogated by an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) and indigenously developed twin FBGs and chirped FBG—FBG intensity demodulation schemes. Response of the sensor is investigated in the flow rate range of 0–10 l min−1 in both forward and reverse flow directions. In spectral demodulation, the flow sensor offered a linear response in the full investigated range with a sensitivity of 19.2 pm/(L/min). However, the twin FBGs demodulation scheme presented a linear behaviour in the range of 4–10 l min−1 with sensitivities of 1.22 ± 0.03 μW/(L/min) and 29.89 ± 0.55 mV/(L/min) detected by the high speed power meter and photodetector, respectively. The novel CFBG-FBG intensity demodulator offered a linear response throughout its tested range and can offer a flow rate detection up to 265 l min−1 at the present sensitivity of the sensor with the condition that the cantilever-FBG system must be strong enough to withstand the higher flow rates. The temperature of the fluid is monitored by an FBG temperature sensing probe connected to the flow channel using intensity demodulation scheme by another pair of twin FBGs. Temperature compensation of the flow sensor is performed by arithmetic operations over the reflection intensities due to temperature probe to the results of the flow rates using a cost-effective data acquisition scheme.
Experimental demonstration of a transient grating controlled all-optical switch
Authors: Akin Osman , Dinleyici Mehmet S
Published: February 2023

We demonstrate an on-fiber all-optical switching device based on a transient grating formed by the interference of control laser pulses in a Kerr-type nonlinear material placed in the evanescent region of the fiber. The device can operate in two distinctive modes. First, switching/coupling among the fiber modes using bulk index modulation was investigated and an efficiency of about %0.55 @852 nm was measured. Second, by exploiting Four Wave Mixing (FWM), an all-optical switching that transfers power among light signals with wavelengths of λ
1 = 440 nm and λ
2 = 663 nm was achieved by quasi-phase-matching and fRequency matching in a nonlinear thin polymeric film. The results prove that the introduced switching structure may have the potential to be used in integrated photonic applications such as intensity modulators or controllable couplers.
Lithium-induced ciliary lengthening sparks Arp2/3 complex–dependent endocytosis
Authors: Bigge Brae M. , Dougherty Larissa L. , Avasthi Prachee
Published: February 2023

Lithium is known to lengthen cilia across cell types. Using the organism model organism Chlamydomonas, we confirm that this elongation occurs independent of protein synthesis and show that it is also independent of the Golgi. Additionally, we find that it requires the Arp2/3 complex and endocytosis. Thus, we propose a new mechanism by which lithium sparks endocytosis to reclaim plasma membrane for ciliary elongation.
Nucleoli and the nucleoli–centromere association are dynamic during normal development and in cancer
Authors: Rodrigues Aaron , MacQuarrie Kyle L. , Freeman Emma , Lin Alicia , Willis Alexander B. , Xu Zhaofa , Alvarez Angel A. , Ma Yongchao , White Bethany E. Perez , Foltz Daniel R. , Huang Sui
Published: February 2023

In this study, the authors show nucleoli and centromeres interact dynamically not only during normal differentiation across a variety of cellular models including myocytes, keratinocytes, and neurons, but in cancer cells as well. Differentiation leads to a decrease in association between centromeres and nucleoli, with cancer cells exhibiting an increased association frequency more typical of proliferative cells.
ARAX: a graph-based modular reasoning tool for translational biomedicine
Authors: Glen Amy K , Ma Chunyu , Mendoza Luis , Womack Finn , Wood E C , Sinha Meghamala , Acevedo Liliana , Kvarfordt Lindsey G , Peene Ross C , Liu Shaopeng , Hoffman Andrew S , Roach Jared C , Deutsch Eric W , Ramsey Stephen A , Koslicki David
Published: February 2023

Motivation

With the rapidly growing volume of knowledge and data in biomedical databases, improved methods for knowledge-graph-based computational reasoning are needed in order to answer translational questions. Previous efforts to solve such challenging computational reasoning problems have contributed tools and approaches, but progress has been hindered by the lack of an expressive analysis workflow language for translational reasoning and by the lack of a reasoning engine—supporting that language—that federates semantically integrated knowledge-bases.

Results

We introduce ARAX, a new reasoning system for translational biomedicine that provides a web browser user interface and an application programming interface (API). ARAX enables users to encode translational biomedical questions and to integrate knowledge across sources to answer the user’s query and facilitate exploration of results. For ARAX, we developed new approaches to query planning, knowledge-gathering, reasoning and result ranking and dynamically integrate knowledge providers for answering biomedical questions. To illustrate ARAX’s application and utility in specific disease contexts, we present several use-case examples.

Availability and implementation

The source code and technical documentation for building the ARAX server-side software and its built-in knowledge database are freely available online (https://github.com/RTXteam/RTX). We provide a hosted ARAX service with a web browser interface at arax.rtx.ai and a web API endpoint at arax.rtx.ai/api/arax/v1.3/ui/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Medical school dermatology education: a scoping review
Authors: Mangion Sean E , Phan Tai A , Zagarella Samuel , Cook David , Ganda Kirtan , Maibach Howard I
Published: February 2023

Dermatological diseases are widespread and have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients; however, access to appropriate care is often limited. Improved early training during medical school represents a potential upstream solution. This scoping review explores dermatology education during medical school, with a focus on identifying the factors associated with optimizing the preparation of future physicians to provide care for patients with skin disease. A literature search was conducted using online databases (Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus) to identify relevant studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework for scoping reviews was used, including quantitative and qualitative data analysis following a grounded theory approach. From 1490 articles identified, 376 articles were included. Most studies were from the USA (46.3%), UK (16.2%), Germany (6.4%) and Canada (5.6%). Only 46.8% were published as original articles, with a relatively large proportion either as letters (29.2%) or abstracts (12.2%). Literature was grouped into three themes: teaching content, delivery and assessment. Core learning objectives were country dependent; however, a common thread was the importance of skin cancer teaching and recognition that diversity and cultural competence need greater fostering. Various methods of delivery and assessment were identified, including computer-aided and online, audiovisual, clinical immersion, didactic, simulation and peer-led approaches. The advantages and disadvantages of each need to be weighed when deciding which is most appropriate for a given learning outcome. The broader teaching–learning ecosystem is influenced by (i) community health needs and medical school resources, and (ii) the student and their ability to learn and perform. Efforts to optimize dermatology education may use this review to further investigate and adapt teaching according to local needs and context.
Development and Validation of an On-Line HPLC-DAD-Antioxidant Assay (ORAC)/ESI-HRMS System to Identify Antioxidant Compounds in Complex Mixtures
Authors: Paillat Lionel , Bordier Eric , Guepet Alexandre , Lima Joaquim , Boudah Samia , Murtaugh Ashleigh
Published: February 2023

An online high-performance liquid-chromatography-diode-array detector coupled with detection of antioxidant compounds using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay and electrospray ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometer (HPLC-DAD-antioxidant assay (ORAC)/ESI-HRMS) was developed for the identification of antioxidant compounds in complex mixtures. The method was validated using quercetin and a mixture of antioxidant compounds with different antioxidant activities (resveratrol, dihydroxymethoxy-dihydrochalcone, ferulic acid, baicalein and luteolin). Accuracy of the system was established by comparing the results from the developed system with those from ORAC microplate assay determination and reveals the ability of the system to determine the respective contribution of antioxidant compounds to the whole activity of complex mixtures. Application of the system to the identification of antioxidants in a commercial Yerba Mate extract (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) reveals the occurrence of seven actives, which were characterized as chlorogenic acids isomers (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid), dicaffeoylquinic acid isomers (3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and rutin based on UV/Vis spectra, HRMS and MS/MS data. This on-line system is able to generate HPLC-DAD fingerprints, UV/Vis spectra, ORAC activity profile and high-resolution mass spectrometric data.
Patterns of Infectious Disease Associated With Injection Drug Use in Massachusetts
Authors: Gonsalves Gregg S , Paltiel A David , Thornhill Thomas , DeMaria Alfred , Cranston Kevin , Klevens R Monina , Warren Joshua L
Published: February 2023

Background

Since 2014, multiple outbreaks of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among people who inject drugs have occurred across the United States along with hepatitis C virus (HCV), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), and infective endocarditis (IE), creating a converging public health crisis.

Methods

We analyzed the temporal patterns of infectious disease and overdose using a hierarchical Bayesian distributed lag logistic regression model examining the probability that a given geographic area experienced at least 1 HIV case in a given month as a function of the counts/rates of overdose, HCV, SSTI, and IE and associated medical procedures at different lagged time periods.

Results

Current-month HIV is associated with increasing HCV cases, abscess incision and drainage, and SSTI cases, in distinct temporal patterns. For example, 1 additional HCV case occurring 5 and 7 months previously is associated with a 4% increase in the odds of observing at least 1 current-month HIV case in a given locale (odds ratios, 1.04 [90% credible interval {CrI}: 1.01–1.10] and 1.04 [90% CrI: 1.00–1.09]). No such associations were observed for echocardiograms, IE, or overdose.

Conclusions

Lagged associations in other infections preceding rises in current-month HIV counts cannot be described as predictive of HIV outbreaks but may point toward newly discovered epidemics of injection drug use and associated clinical sequalae, prompting clinicians to screen patients more carefully for substance use disorder and associated infections.
Stroke volume index and transvalvular flow rate trajectories in severe aortic stenosis treated with TAVR
Authors: Gallone Guglielmo , Islas Fabian , Gorla Riccardo , Melillo Francesco , Leone Pier Pasquale , Cimaglia Paolo , Pastore Maria Concetta , Franzone Anna , Landra Federico , Bruno Francesco , Scudeler Luca , Jimenez-Quevedo Pilar , Viva Tommaso , Piroli Francesco , Bragato Renato , Trichilo Michele , Degiovanni Anna , Ilardi Federica , Andreis Alessandro , Nombela-Franco Luis , Maurizio Tusa , Toselli Marco , Conrotto Federico , Montorfano Matteo , Manzo Rachele , Cameli Matteo , Patti Giuseppe , Stefanini Giulio , Testa Luca , Giannini Francesco , Agricola Eustachio , Escaned Javier , D’Ascenzo Fabrizio , De Ferrari Gaetano M
Published: February 2023

Aims

The prognostic impact of flow trajectories according to stroke volume index (SVi) and transvalvular flow rate (FR) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains poorly assessed. We evaluated and compared SVi and FR prior and after TAVR for severe AS.

Methods and results

Patients were categorized according to SVi (<35 mL/m2) and FR (<200 mL/s). The association of pre- and post-TAVR SVi and FR with all-cause mortality up to 3 years was assessed with multivariable Cox regression models. Among 980 patients with pre-TAVR flow assessment, SVi was reduced in 41.3% and FR in 48.1%. Baseline flow status was not an independent mortality predictor [SVi: hazard ratio (HR) 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85–1.82, FR: HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.48–1.27]. Among 731 patients undergoing early (5 days, interquartile range 2–29) post-TAVR flow assessment, SVi recovered in 40.1% and FR in 49.0% patients with baseline low flow. Reduced FR following TAVR was an independent predictor of mortality (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.02–2.74), whereas SVi was not (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.53–1.78). Three-year estimated mortality in patients with recovered FR was lower than that in patients with reduced FR (13.3 vs. 37.7% vs, P = 0.003) and similar to that in patients with normal baseline FR (P = 0.317).

Conclusion

Baseline flow status was not an independent predictor of mid-term mortality among all-comers with severe AS undergoing TAVR. Flow recovery early after TAVR was frequent. Post-TAVR FR, but not SVi, was independently associated with mid-term all-cause mortality. By impacting flow status, AV replacement modifies the association of flow status with outcomes.
Correlation between artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiogram and echocardiographic features in aortic stenosis
Authors: Ito Saki , Cohen-Shelly Michal , Attia Zachi I , Lee Eunjung , Friedman Paul A , Nkomo Vuyisile T , Michelena Hector I , Noseworthy Peter A , Lopez-Jimenez Francisco , Oh Jae K
Published: February 2023

Aims

An artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiogram (AI-ECG) is a promising tool to detect patients with aortic stenosis (AS) before developing symptoms. However, functional, structural, or haemodynamic components reflected in AI-ECG responsible for its detection are unknown.

Methods and results

The AI-ECG model that was developed at Mayo Clinic using a convolutional neural network to identify patients with moderate–severe AS was applied. In patients used as the testing group, the correlation between the AI-ECG probability of AS and echocardiographic parameters was investigated. This study included 102 926 patients (63.0 ± 16.3 years, 52% male), and 28 464 (27.7%) were identified as AS positive by AI-ECG. Older age, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and heart failure were more common in the positive AI-ECG group than in the negative group (P < 0.001). The AI-ECG was correlated with aortic valve area (ρ = −0.48, R2 = 0.20), peak velocity (ρ = 0.22, R2 = 0.08), and mean pressure gradient (ρ = 0.35, R2 = 0.08). The AI-ECG also correlated with left ventricular (LV) mass index (ρ = 0.36, R2 = 0.13), E/e′ (ρ = 0.36, R2 = 0.12), and left atrium volume index (ρ = 0.42, R2 = 0.12). Neither LV ejection fraction nor stroke volume index had a significant correlation with the AI-ECG. Age correlated with the AI-ECG (ρ = 0.46, R2 = 0.22) and its correlation with echocardiography parameters was similar to that of the AI-ECG.

Conclusion

A combination of AS severity, diastolic dysfunction, and LV hypertrophy is reflected in the AI-ECG to detect AS. There seems to be a gradation of the cardiac anatomical/functional features in the model and its identification process of AS is multifactorial.
Long-term follow-up after simultaneous arterial switch operation and aortic arch repair
Authors: Kreuzer Michaela , Sames-Dolzer Eva , Tulzer Andreas , Gierlinger Gregor , Mair Roland , Nawrozi Mohammad-Paimann , Grangl Gernot , Mair Rudolf
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVES

Taussig–Bing anomaly (TBA) and transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with hypoplastic or interrupted aortic arch (AA) are rare anomalies. Various operative techniques and a high incidence of reinterventions are described. The aim of this retrospective single-centre study was to evaluate operative data, mortality and reintervention rate with special regard to the AA.

METHODS

At the Children’s Heart Center Linz, 50 patients with the above-mentioned diagnosis have been corrected by a simultaneous repair between 2001 and 2022. Thirty-seven children had TBA, 13 had TGA and 5 of them had an interrupted AA. The median age at operation was 7 [interquartile range (IQR) 5–9] days, weight 3.38 (IQR 2.9–3.8) kg and follow-up 9.3 (IQR 3.1–14.5) years. The AA reconstruction was performed without patch material in 49 cases.

RESULTS

There was 1 in-hospital mortality in a TBA patient and 1 late mortality (7 years later, neuroblastoma). 14/49 patients needed at least 1 reoperation (28.6%, all TBA) and 3 further patients had catheter reintervention or radiofrequency ablation only (6.1%, 2 TBA). Seventy-five percent of these procedures affected the right heart/pulmonary arteries; there was 1 re-coarctation repair.

CONCLUSIONS

The simultaneous correction of TBA and TGA with AA obstruction or interruption is a safe operation with very low mortality. The AA reconstruction with minimized use of patch material resulted in a low restenosis rate.
Surgical outcome of ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer after pulmonary lobectomy
Authors: Okazaki Mikio , Suzawa Ken , Shien Kazuhiko , Yamamoto Hiromasa , Araki Kota , Watanabe Mototsugu , Okada Masanori , Maki Yuho , Ueno Tsuyoshi , Otani Shinji , Sugimoto Ryujiro , Nishikawa Hitoshi , Okita Riki , Hayama Makio , Tao Hiroyuki , Fujiwara Toshiya , Inokawa Hidetoshi , Hirami Yuji , Sano Yoshifumi , Yamashita Motohiro , Kawamata Osamu , Matsuura Motoki , Toyooka Shinichi
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVES

Ipsilateral reoperation after pulmonary lobectomy is often challenging because of adhesions from the previous operation. We retrospectively examined the surgical outcome and prognosis of ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer after pulmonary lobectomy using a multicentre database.

METHODS

We evaluated the perioperative outcomes and overall survival of 51 patients who underwent pulmonary lobectomy followed by ipsilateral anatomical resection for lung cancer between January 2012 and December 2018. In addition, patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were compared with 3411 patients with stage I lung cancer who underwent pulmonary resection without a prior ipsilateral lobectomy.

RESULTS

Ipsilateral anatomical resections included 10 completion pneumonectomies, 19 pulmonary lobectomies and 22 pulmonary segmentectomies. Operative time was 312.2 ± 134.5 min, and intraoperative bleeding was 522.2 ± 797.5 ml. Intraoperative and postoperative complications occurred in 9 and 15 patients, respectively. However, the 5-year overall survival rate after anatomical resection followed by ipsilateral lobectomy was 83.5%. Furthermore, in patients with c-stage I NSCLC, anatomical resection followed by ipsilateral lobectomy was not associated with worse survival than anatomical resection without prior ipsilateral lobectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Anatomical resection following ipsilateral lobectomy is associated with a high frequency of intraoperative and postoperative complications. However, the 5-year overall survival in patients with c-stage I NSCLC who underwent ipsilateral anatomical resection after pulmonary lobectomy is comparable to that in patients who underwent anatomical resection without prior pulmonary lobectomy.
‘Life’s Essential 8’ cardiovascular health with premature cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in young adults: the Kailuan prospective cohort study
Authors: Xing Aijun , Tian Xue , Wang Yanxiu , Chen Shuohua , Xu Qin , Xia Xue , Zhang Yijun , Zhang Xiaoli , Wang Anxin , Wu Shouling
Published: February 2023

Aims

Whereas cardiovascular disease (CVD) metrics define risk in individuals aged over 40 years, the earliest lesions of CVD appear well before this age. Cardiovascular health (CVH) was proposed to improve cardiovascular risk factors and was updated recently. This study aimed to explore the associations of baseline and long-term CVH assessed by ‘Life’s Essential 8’ metrics with premature CVD and all-cause mortality in young Chinese adults.

Methods and results

A total of 16 011 CVD-free participants aged 18–40 years were enrolled from the Kailuan cohort study. The CVH score ranged from 0 to 100 and was categorized into low, moderate, and high. Cox regressions were used to assess the hazard ratios (HRs) for the associations of baseline, time-updated mean, and time-varying CVH with the risk of outcomes. During a median follow-up of 13 years, we identified 271 cases (1.7%) of CVD and 219 cases (1.4%) of all-cause mortality. A lower CVH was associated with a higher risk of CVD and all-cause mortality; the adjusted HR in the low CVH vs. the high CVH group was 7.34 [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.19–16.89] and 2.54 (95% CI, 1.27–5.06) for baseline CVH, 4.38 (95% CI, 2.14–8.97) and 1.99 (95% CI, 1.06–3.71) for time-updated CVH, and 8.19 (95% CI, 2.70–24.88) and 4.28 (95% CI, 1.70–10.81) for time-varying CVH, respectively.

Conclusion

We observed an inverse gradient association of baseline and long-term CVH with the risk of premature CVD and all-cause mortality in young adults, emphasizing the importance of keeping health behaviours and factors earlier in life.

Lay Summary

This longitudinal prospective cohort study showed an inverse gradient association of baseline and long-term cardiovascular health, as measured by the new updated Life’s Essential 8 metrics, with the risk of premature cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in Chinese young adults, emphasizing the importance of keeping health behaviours and factors earlier in life.Baseline and longitudinal low cardiovascular health (CVH) status (measured by time-updated mean and time-varying CVH score) was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in young adults aged <40 years.Among the eight metrics of LE8, lower scores of health factors were associated with a higher risk of CVD and all-cause mortality in young adults, while the associations of health behaviours with CVD and all-cause mortality were non-significant.
European Society of Cardiology quality indicators for the management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death
Authors: Aktaa Suleman , Tzeis Stylianos , Gale Chris P , Ackerman Michael J , Arbelo Elena , Behr Elijah R , Crotti Lia , d'Avila Andre , de Chillou Christian , Deneke Thomas , Figueiredo Márcio , Friede Tim , Leclercq Christophe , Merino Jose L , Semsarian Chris , Verstrael Axel , Zeppenfeld Katja , Tfelt-Hansen Jacob , Reichlin Tobias
Published: February 2023

To develop a suite of quality indicators (QIs) for the management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and the prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD). The Working Group comprised experts in heart rhythm management including Task Force members of the 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with VA and the prevention of SCD, members of the European Heart Rhythm Association, international experts, and a patient representative. We followed the ESC methodology for QI development, which involves (i) the identification of the key domains of care for the management of patients with VA and the prevention of SCD by constructing a conceptual framework of care, (ii) the development of candidate QIs by conducting a systematic review of the literature, (iii) the selection of the final set of QIs using a modified-Delphi method, and (iv) the evaluation of the feasibility of the developed QIs. We identified eight domains of care for the management of patients with VA and the prevention of SCD: (i) structural framework, (ii) screening and diagnosis, (iii) risk stratification, (iv) patient education and lifestyle modification, (v) pharmacological treatment, (vi) device therapy, (vii) catheter ablation, and (viii) outcomes, which included 17 main and 4 secondary QIs across these domains. Following a standardized methodology, we developed 21 QIs for the management of patients with VA and the prevention of SCD. The implementation of these QIs will improve the care and outcomes of patients with VA and contribute to the prevention of SCD.
Multimorbid Patterns and Cognitive Performance in the Presence of Informative Dropout Among Community-Dwelling Taiwanese Older Adults
Authors: Hsieh Pei-Iun , Chen Yen-Ching , Chen Ta-Fu , Chiou Jeng-Min , Chen Jen-Hau
Published: February 2023

Background and Objectives

Longitudinal studies among older adults often feature elevated dropout rates and multiple chronic conditions. How Taiwanese multimorbid patterns relate to different cognitive domains remains unclear. This study aims to identify sex-specific multimorbid patterns and associate them with cognitive performance while modeling the risk for dropout.

Research Design and Methods

A prospective cohort study (2011–19) in Taiwan recruited 449 Taiwanese older adults without dementia. Global and domain-specific cognition were assessed biennially. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify baseline sex-specific multimorbid patterns of 19 self-reported chronic conditions. We utilized a joint model incorporating longitudinal and time-to-dropout data to examine the association between multimorbid patterns and cognitive performance accounting for the informative dropout via the shared random effect.

Results

At the end of the study, 324 participants (72.1%) remained in the cohort, with an average annual attrition rate of 5.5%. We found that advanced age, low levels of physical activities, and poor cognition at baseline were associated with increased dropout risks. Besides, 6 multimorbid patterns were identified, labeled Mental, Renal–vascular, and Cancer–urinary patterns in men, and Mental, Cardiometabolic, and Cancer–endocrine patterns in women. For men, as the follow-up time increased, the Mental pattern was associated with poor global cognition and attention; the Renal–vascular pattern was associated with poor executive function. For women, the Mental pattern was associated with poor memory; as follow-up time increased, and Cardiometabolic patterns were related to poor memory.

Discussion and Implications

Sex-specific multimorbid patterns identified in the Taiwanese older population showed differences (notably Renal–vascular pattern in men) from patterns found in Western countries and were differentially associated with cognitive impairment over time. When informative dropout is suspected, appropriate statistical methods should be applied.
HIV-1 transmission: modelling and direct visualization in the third dimension
Authors: Coomer Charles A , Padilla-Parra Sergi
Published: February 2023

Identifying initial events of mucosal entry of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) in laboratory-based, physiologically relevant and high-throughput contexts may aid in designing effective strategies to block local transmission and spread of HIV-1. Several paradigms have been posited for how HIV-1 crosses mucosal barriers to establish infection based on two dimensional (2D) culture–based or animal-based models. Nevertheless, despite these models stemming from 2D culture and animal studies, monolayers of cells poorly replicate the complex niche that influences viral entry at mucosal surfaces, whereas animal models often inadequately reproduce human disease pathophysiology and are prohibitively expensive. Organoids, having never been directly utilized in HIV-1 transmission investigations, may offer a compromise between 2D culture and animal models as they provide a platform that mimics the biophysical and biochemical niche of mucosal tissues. Importantly, observation of events downstream of viral inoculation is potentially accessible to researchers via an array of microscopy techniques. Because of the potential insights organoids may provide in this context, we offer this review to highlight key physiological factors of HIV-1 transmission at common mucosal sites and a discussion to highlight how many of these factors can be recapitulated in organoids, their current limitations and what questions can initially be addressed, particularly using a selective inclusion of quantitative light microscopy techniques. Harnessing organoids for direct observation of HIV-1 entry at mucosal sites may uncover potential therapeutic targets which prevent the establishment of HIV-1 infection.
Genetic diversity, cholesterol reduction, and presence of conserved bile salt hydrolase gene in probiotic strains from human milk
Authors: Javed Saman , Munir Aneela , Javed Ghulam Ayesha , Latif Zakia , Javed Sehrish , Arshad Najma
Published: February 2023

Probiotics are known to possess strain- and species-specific functional properties, of which hypocholesteremia is of major interest. Bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity is one of the key mechanisms involved in the hypocholesterolemic effect. The study was designed to genetically characterize probiotics obtained from human milk on the basis of simple sequence repeat (SSR), isolate potent hypocholesterolemic strains, and detect BSH activity, deconjugation of bile salts, and bsh polymorphism. This study, for the first time, linked genetic diversity with cholesterol reduction potential and proved the presence of conserved bsh of Levilactobacillus brevis in genetically diverse species. The strains displayed 2.78%–42.23% cholesterol reduction, which was not influenced by prebiotics. In this study, data obtained from SSR markers indicated 93.3% diversity, and based on cluster analysis, they were distributed into XI clades; out of five potent cholesterol-reducing strains, three belonged to clade I. The strains could deconjugate both sodium glycocholate and sodium taurocholate, but we preferred using sodium glycocholate. The variation in cholesterol reduction potential and BSH activity pointed toward the presence of more than one bsh in the strains. Weissella confusa MW051433 displayed highest cholesterol reduction (42.23%) and specific BSH activity (2.64 U ml −1). Search for other bsh and in vivo assessments of cholesterol reduction by W. confusa MW051433 have been proposed.