bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Which burden of COVID-19 was greater: main diagnosis or comorbidity?
Authors: Šantrić Milićević M , Rosić N , Vujetić M , Pavlović N , Stevanović A , Jovanović V , Devleesschauwer B , Anton A , Von der Lippe E , Rommel A
Published: October 2023

Background

Severe cases of COVID-19 require hospital treatment due to the risk of developing a life-threatening condition. Monitoring and reporting indicators of severe forms of COVID-19 in the population can warn health authorities of its increasing presence and the growing demand for hospital treatment and measures to protect persons at risk. By estimating the total and age-sex disaggregated Years Lived with Disability (YLD), we differentiated the magnitude of the burden of COVID-19 among inpatients with COVID-19 as the main diagnosis and as comorbidity.

Methods

Within the EU-COST Action 18218 and as partners of the BoCO-19 study, we calculated the total age and sex-disaggregated YLD and YLD/100,000 population due to COVID-19 for hospitalized cases in Serbia from 2020 March 6 - December 31. The number of cases of ICD-X: U07.1 and U07.2 as the main diagnosis, separately and with U07.1 as comorbidity, were taken from the hospitalization database of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, and disability weights and length of the disease from the German national BoD study.

Results

In 2020, 25,496 covid-19 cases were hospitalized (55.9% were men). 65.7% of all cases were covid-19 as a comorbidity diagnosis. 195.0 YLD was estimated for all hospitalized cases (man: 109.0 YLD or 3.2 YLD /100,000, women: 95.9 YLD or 2.4 YLD/100,000). YLD and YLD/100,000 due to covid-19 as a comorbidity diagnosis were the highest among males aged 40-84 and females aged 55-84.

Conclusions

In Serbia, more men than women were hospitalized due to COVID-19. Hospitalized adult men had the most YLD and the highest YLD rates. Inpatients in which covid-19 was diagnosed as a comorbidity had higher YLD and YLD rates, especially male patients. On average, the YLD burden of COVID-19 as a comorbidity for hospitalized cases was almost triple that of COVID-19 as the main diagnosis, suggesting the need for improving health protection and safety measures.

Key messages

• In Serbia, among hospitalized cases, the YLD due to COVID-19 is three times higher in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 as a comorbidity than in the main diagnosis.

• To decrease the YLD due to severe COVID-19, enhancing the safety and health protection of inpatients from contracting COVID-19 as comorbidity is of utmost importance.
Impact of breast cancer care pathways and related symptoms on the return-to-work process
Authors: Bertin M , Rolland A L , Porro B , Roquelaure Y , Kab S , Ribet C
Published: October 2023

Background

Breast cancer (BC) treatments and related symptoms may affect return to work (RTW). The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of BC care pathways (timing and sequence of treatments) and related symptoms on RTW.

Methods

The study population included working-age women with BC who were enrolled in the French CONSTANCES cohort from 2012 to 2018. BC treatments, antidepressants/anxiolytic and antalgic drug deliveries (used as proxies of depression and pain, respectively) and statutory sick pay (used to estimate RTW and time to RTW) were assessed monthly using data from the French national healthcare system database. BC care pathways were identified with the sequence analysis method. Cox models with time-dependent covariates were used to investigate the impact of BC care pathways and related symptoms on RTW and time to RTW, after adjusting for age and socioeconomic characteristics.

Results

73.2% (231/303) of women returned to work within 2 years after BC diagnosis. Five BC care pathway patterns were identified: (i) BC surgery only, (ii) BC surgery and radiotherapy, (iii) BC surgery and chemotherapy, (iv) BC surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and (v) BC surgery and long-term alternative chemotherapy/radiotherapy. The hazards ratios of non-RTW were significantly higher for women who received BC surgery and long-term alternative chemotherapy/radiotherapy and for >55-year-old women. Time to RTW was significantly longer in women who received chemotherapy (patterns iii to v) and in women with antidepressant/anxiolytic and antalgic drug deliveries.

Conclusions

This study highlights the value of considering the dynamic, cumulative, and temporal features of BC care pathways and related symptoms to facilitate the RTW of women with BC > 

Key messages

• This study emphasizes the necessity to consider the holistic and temporal aspect of care pathways.

• The relation between care pathways and return-to-work process and job retention in cancer survivors should be further investigated.
The groundnut improvement network for Africa (GINA) germplasm collection: a unique genetic resource for breeding and gene discovery
Authors: Conde Soukeye , Rami Jean-François , Okello David K , Sambou Aissatou , Muitia Amade , Oteng-Frimpong Richard , Makweti Lutangu , Sako Dramane , Faye Issa , Chintu Justus , Coulibaly Adama M , Miningou Amos , Asibuo James Y , Konate Moumouni , Banla Essohouna M , Seye Maguette , Djiboune Yvette R , Tossim Hodo-Abalo , Sylla Samba N , Hoisington David , Clevenger Josh , Chu Ye , Tallury Shyam , Ozias-Akins Peggy , Fonceka Daniel
Published: October 2023

Cultivated peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a grain legume grown in many developing countries by smallholder farmers for food, feed, and/or income. The speciation of the cultivated species, that involved polyploidization followed by domestication, greatly reduced its variability at the DNA level. Mobilizing peanut diversity is a prerequisite for any breeding program for overcoming the main constraints that plague production and for increasing yield in farmer fields. In this study, the Groundnut Improvement Network for Africa assembled a collection of 1,049 peanut breeding lines, varieties, and landraces from 9 countries in Africa. The collection was genotyped with the Axiom_Arachis2 48K SNP array and 8,229 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used to analyze the genetic structure of this collection and quantify the level of genetic diversity in each breeding program. A supervised model was developed using dapc to unambiguously assign 542, 35, and 172 genotypes to the Spanish, Valencia, and Virginia market types, respectively. Distance-based clustering of the collection showed a clear grouping structure according to subspecies and market types, with 73% of the genotypes classified as fastigiata and 27% as hypogaea subspecies. Using STRUCTURE, the global structuration was confirmed and showed that, at a minimum membership of 0.8, 76% of the varieties that were not assigned by dapc were actually admixed. This was particularly the case of most of the genotype of the Valencia subgroup that exhibited admixed genetic heritage. The results also showed that the geographic origin (i.e. East, Southern, and West Africa) did not strongly explain the genetic structure. The gene diversity managed by each breeding program, measured by the expected heterozygosity, ranged from 0.25 to 0.39, with the Niger breeding program having the lowest diversity mainly because only lines that belong to the fastigiata subspecies are used in this program. Finally, we developed a core collection composed of 300 accessions based on breeding traits and genetic diversity. This collection, which is composed of 205 genotypes of fastigiata subspecies (158 Spanish and 47 Valencia) and 95 genotypes of hypogaea subspecies (all Virginia), improves the genetic diversity of each individual breeding program and is, therefore, a unique resource for allele mining and breeding.
E2F1, DIAP1, and the presence of a homologous chromosome promote while JNK inhibits radiation-induced loss of heterozygosity in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Brown Jeremy , Su Tin Tin
Published: October 2023

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) can occur when a heterozygous mutant cell loses the remaining wild-type allele to become a homozygous mutant. LOH can have physiological consequences if, for example, the affected gene encodes a tumor suppressor. We used fluorescent reporters to study the mechanisms of LOH induction by X-rays, a type of ionizing radiation (IR), in Drosophila melanogaster larval wing discs. IR is used to treat more than half of patients with cancer, so understanding its effects is of biomedical relevance. Quantitative analysis of IR-induced LOH at different positions between the telomere and the centromere on the X chromosome showed a strong sex dependence and the need for a recombination-proficient homologous chromosome, whereas, paradoxically, position along the chromosome made little difference in LOH incidence. We propose that published data documenting high recombination frequency within centromeric heterochromatin on the X chromosome can explain these data. Using a focused screen, we identified E2F1 as a key promotor of LOH and further testing suggests a mechanism involving its role in cell-cycle regulation. We leveraged the loss of a transcriptional repressor through LOH to express transgenes specifically in cells that have already acquired LOH. This approach identified JNK signaling and apoptosis as key determinants of LOH maintenance. These studies reveal previously unknown mechanisms for the generation and elimination of cells with chromosome aberrations after exposure to IR.
Dampening effect of global flows on Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities: implications for deep-mantle plumes vis-à-vis hotspot distributions
Authors: Roy Arnab , Ghosh Dip , Mandal Nibir
Published: October 2023

It is a well-accepted hypothesis that deep-mantle primary plumes originate from a buoyant source layer at the core–mantle boundary (CMB), where Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities (RTIs) play a key role in the plume initiation process. Previous studies have characterized their growth rates mainly in terms of the density, viscosity and layer-thickness ratios between the denser overburden and the source layer. The RTIs, however, develop in the presence of global flows in the overlying mantle, which can act as an additional factor in the plume mechanics. Combining 2-D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model simulations and a linear stability analysis, this paper explores the influence of a horizontal global mantle flow in the instability dynamics. Both the CFD simulation results and analytical solutions reveal that the global flow is a dampening factor in reducing the instability growth rate. At a threshold value of the normalized global flow velocity, short- as well as long-wavelength instabilities are completely suppressed, allowing the entire system to advect in the horizontal direction. Using a series of real-scale numerical simulations, this paper also investigates the growth rate  as a function of the density contrast, expressed in Atwood number ${A}_T = ({{{\rho }_1 - {\rho }_2}})/({{{\rho }_1 + {\rho }_2}})$, and the viscosity ratio $\ {\mu }^* = \ {\mu }_1/{\mu }_2$, where ${\rho }_1,\ {\mu }_{1\ }$ and ${\rho }_{2,}\ {\mu }_{2\ }$are densities and viscosities of the overburden mantle and source layer, respectively. It is found that increase in either ${A}_T$ or ${\mu }^*$ promotes the growth rate of a plume. In addition, the stability analysis predicts a nonlinearly increasing RTI wavelength with increasing global flow velocity, implying that the resulting plumes widen their spacing preferentially in the flow direction of kinematically active mantle regions. The theory accounts for additional physical parameters: source-layer viscosity and thickness in the analysis of the dominant wavelengths and their corresponding growth rates. The paper finally discusses the problem of unusually large inter-hotspot spacing, providing a new conceptual framework for the origin of sporadically distributed hotspots of deep-mantle sources.
Empowerment and quality of life: the mediating role of self-efficacy and health literacy among spousal caregivers in China
Authors: Chen Xuan , Xiao Xiuying , Huang Xiu’e , Wang Run , Yang Jing , Yang Lingli , Wang Yiling , Zhou Chunlan
Published: October 2023

The aim of this study was to explore the chain mediation model of self-efficacy and health literacy between empowerment and quality of life among spousal caregivers of disabled elderly based on ‘Marriage Binding’. From December 2020 to June 2022, the cross-sectional study was conducted in hospitals and communities, in Guangdong, Fujian, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, China. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic data and four main variables, including empowerment, self-efficacy, health literacy and quality of life. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the four main research variables. Multiple Linear Regression and bootstrap analysis were used to analyze the direct and indirect effects among them. Any two variables of spousal caregivers were correlated among empowerment, self-efficacy, health literacy and quality of life. Self-efficacy and health literacy can separately and sequentially mediate the relationship between empowerment and quality of life. To improve the quality of life of spousal caregivers of disabled elderly, the mediating role of self-efficacy, the mediating role of health literacy and the chain mediating role of self-efficacy and health literacy should take effect. In the future, some intervention studies should be taken to enhance the effects of those variables that may be beneficial for improving quality of life of spousal caregivers of disabled elderly.
The Final Solution in Norway: Local Collaboration in the Holocaust
Authors: Bruland Bjarte
Published: October 2023

This article analyzes how German agencies and Norwegian collaborators together implemented the Final Solution in Norway. After the German invasion in April 1940, Hitler appointed Josef Terboven Reichskommissar of Norway. Initially, the German occupiers discreetly introduced anti-Jewish measures through local Norwegian agencies against the country’s approximately two thousand Jews. Until Fall 1942, no laws or decrees to exclude Jews from the majority population appeared, mainly because Terboven and his Norwegian collaborators feared that such measures could generate sympathy for the Jews. When, however, the resistance movement intensified, becoming more militarized, and a rare logistical opportunity presented itself, the occupiers and Quisling regime seized the opportunity to deport the Jews. Documents suggests that the government entered into this final phase without coordinating with Eichmann’s office in Berlin. Thus, this article argues that the initiative to destroy Norway’s Jews came from within, and was not the result of pressure from the German central authorities.
Dysregulated Immunity to Clostridioides difficile in IBD Patients Without a History of Recognized Infection
Authors: Cook Laura , Wong May Q , Rees William D , Schick Alana , Lisko Daniel J , Lunken Genelle R , Wang Xiaojiao , Peters Hannah , Oliveira Laura , Lau Torey , Mah Regan , Bressler Brian , Levings Megan K , Steiner Theodore S
Published: October 2023

Background & Aims

Clostridioides difficile is a toxin-secreting bacteria that is an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat, with approximately 25% of patients developing recurrent infections. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are at increased risk of severe, recurrent C. difficile infection.

Methods

To investigate a role for C. difficile infection in IBD pathogenesis, we collected peripheral blood and stool from 20 each of ulcerative colitis patients, Crohn’s disease patients, and healthy control subjects. We used a flow cytometric activation induced marker assay to quantify C. difficile toxin–specific CD4+ T cells and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing to study microbiome diversity.

Results

We found IBD patients had significantly increased levels of C. difficile toxin B–specific CD4+ T cells, but not immunoglobulin G or immunoglobulin A, compared with healthy control subjects. Within antigen-specific CD4+ T cells, T helper type 17 cells and cells expressing the gut homing receptor integrin β7 were reduced compared with healthy control subjects, similar to our previous study of non-IBD patients with recurrent C. difficile infection. Stool microbiome analysis revealed that gut homing, toxin-specific CD4+ T cells negatively associated with microbial diversity and, along with T helper type 17 cells, positively associated with bacteria enriched in healthy control subjects.

Conclusions

These data suggest that IBD patients, potentially due to underlying intestinal dysbiosis, experience undiagnosed C. difficile infections that result in impaired toxin-specific immunity. This may contribute to the development of inflammatory T cell responses toward commensal bacteria and provide a rationale for C. difficile testing in IBD patients.
Characterization of pyridylpiperazine-based efflux pump inhibitors for Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Jiménez-Castellanos Juan-Carlos , Pradel Elizabeth , Compagne Nina , Vieira Da Cruz Anais , Flipo Marion , Hartkoorn Ruben C
Published: October 2023

Objectives

In Acinetobacter baumannii, multidrug efflux pumps belonging to the resistance-nodulation-division (RND) superfamily result in decreased antibiotic susceptibility. Improving the activity of current antibiotics via efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) represents an attractive alternative approach to control this bacterium. Pyridylpiperazines (PyrPips) are a new class of EPIs that can effectively inhibit the Escherichia coli RND efflux pump AcrAB-TolC and boost the activity of several antibiotics. Here we have evaluated and characterized whether the PyrPip chemical family is also able to boost antibiotic activity through inhibition of the RND efflux pumps in A. baumannii.

Methods

Comparative structural modelling and docking, structure-activity relationship studies alongside molecular genetic approaches were deployed to improve, characterize and validate PyrPips’ target.

Results

We showed that two enhanced PyrPip EPIs are capable of rescuing the activity of different classes of antibiotics in A. baumannii. By expressing A. baumannii main efflux pumps (AdeB, AdeG and AdeJ) individually in E. coli recombinant strains, we could gain further insights about the EPIs’ capacity to act upon each pump. Finally, we showed that PyrPip EPIs are mostly acting through AdeJ inhibition via interactions with two key charged residues, namely E959 and E963.

Conclusions

Our work demonstrates that PyrPip EPIs are capable of inhibiting RND efflux pumps of A. baumannii, and thus may present a promising chemical scaffold for further development.
Clinical decision support systems in community pharmacies: a scoping review
Authors: Moon Jukrin , Chladek Jason S , Wilson Paije , Chui Michelle A
Published: October 2023

Objective

Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) were implemented in community pharmacies over 40 years ago. However, unlike CDSS studies in other health settings, few studies have been undertaken to evaluate and improve their use in community pharmacies, where billions of prescriptions are filled every year. The aim of this scoping review is to summarize what research has been done surrounding CDSS in community pharmacies and call for rigorous research in this area.

Materials and methods

Six databases were searched using a combination of controlled vocabulary and keywords relating to community pharmacy and CDSS. After deduplicating the initial search results, 2 independent reviewers conducted title/abstract screening and full-text review. Then, the selected studies were synthesized in terms of investigational/clinical focuses.

Results

The selected 21 studies investigated the perception of and response to CDSS alerts (n = 7), the impact of CDSS alerts (n = 7), and drug–drug interaction (DDI) alerts (n = 8). Three causes of the failures to prevent DDIs of clinical importance have been noted: the perception of and response to a high volume of DDI alerts, a suboptimal performance of CDSS, and a dearth of sociotechnical considerations for managing workload and workflow. Additionally, 7 studies emphasized the importance of utilizing CDSS for a specific clinical focus, ie, antibiotics, diabetes, opioids, and vaccinations.

Conclusion

Despite the range of topics dealt in the last 30 years, this scoping review confirms that research on CDSS in community pharmacies is limited and disjointed, lacking a comprehensive approach to highlight areas for improvement and ways to optimize CDSS utilization.
Development and application of pharmacological statin-associated muscle symptoms phenotyping algorithms using structured and unstructured electronic health records data
Authors: Sun Boguang , Yew Pui Ying , Chi Chih-Lin , Song Meijia , Loth Matt , Zhang Rui , Straka Robert J
Published: October 2023

Importance

Statins are widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications in the United States, but their clinical benefits can be diminished by statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS), leading to discontinuation.

Objectives

In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a pharmacological SAMS clinical phenotyping algorithm using electronic health records (EHRs) data from Minnesota Fairview.

Materials and Methods

We retrieved structured and unstructured EHR data of statin users and manually ascertained a gold standard set of SAMS cases and controls using the published SAMS-Clinical Index tool from clinical notes in 200 patients. We developed machine learning algorithms and rule-based algorithms that incorporated various criteria, including ICD codes, statin allergy, creatine kinase elevation, and keyword mentions in clinical notes. We applied the best-performing algorithm to the statin cohort to identify SAMS.

Results

We identified 16 889 patients who started statins in the Fairview EHR system from 2010 to 2020. The combined rule-based (CRB) algorithm, which utilized both clinical notes and structured data criteria, achieved similar performance compared to machine learning algorithms with a precision of 0.85, recall of 0.71, and F1 score of 0.77 against the gold standard set. Applying the CRB algorithm to the statin cohort, we identified the pharmacological SAMS prevalence to be 1.9% and selective risk factors which included female gender, coronary artery disease, hypothyroidism, and use of immunosuppressants or fibrates.

Discussion and Conclusion

Our study developed and validated a simple pharmacological SAMS phenotyping algorithm that can be used to create SAMS case/control cohort to enable further analysis which can lead to the development of a SAMS risk prediction model.
Campaign contributions, partisan politics, and environmental polarization in the US Congress
Authors: Lueck Dean , Ramos Pastrana Julio A , Torrens Gustavo
Published: October 2023

Prior literature has shown strong and increasing polarization on environmental voting in the US Congress, with Democrats tending to support pro-environmental (“green”) legislation and Republicans opposing it. Employing a regression discontinuity design, we provide a causal estimate of the effect of partisanship on the importance of campaign contributions from brown industries received by US legislators. Electing a Republican rather than a Democrat for the House (Senate) leads to an increase of 96% (70%) in the importance of contributions from anti-environmental (“brown”) groups. We also find that greater dependence on brown groups is associated with less pro-environmental voting for legislators from both parties and the greater the importance of brown contributions the more (less) likely that a legislator breaks the party line when its party favors (opposes) pro-environmental legislation. Finally, we provide an analytical narrative of the rise and pattern of environmental polarization consistent with our empirical findings. (JEL D72, Q58)
Mother–Infant Dyadic Synchrony and Interaction Patterns After Infant Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Tesson Stephanie , Swinsburg Dianne , Nielson-Jones Claudia , Costa Daniel S J , Winlaw David S , Badawi Nadia , Sholler Gary F , Butow Phyllis N , Kasparian Nadine A
Published: October 2023

Objective

Parents and their infants with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) face relational challenges, including marked distress, early separations, and infant hospitalizations and medical procedures, yet the prevalence of parent-infant interaction difficulties remains unclear. Using a standardized observational paradigm, this study investigated mother-infant dyadic synchrony, interactional patterns, and associated predictors in mother-infant pairs affected by CHD, compared with typically-developing pairs.

Methods

In this prospective, longitudinal cohort study, mothers and their infants requiring cardiac surgery before age 6-months (n=110 pairs) and an age- and sex-matched Australian community sample (n=85 pairs) participated in a filmed, free-play interaction at 6.9±1.0 months. Mother-infant dyadic synchrony, maternal and infant interactional patterns, and relational risk were assessed using the Child-Adult Relationship Experimental (CARE) Index. Maternal and infant predictors were assessed at 32 weeks gestation, 3- and 6-months postpartum.

Results

Most mother-infant interactions were classified as “high risk” or “inept” (cardiac: 94%, control: 81%; p=.007). Dyadic synchrony (p<.001), maternal sensitivity (p=.001), and infant cooperativeness (p=.001) were lower for cardiac than control pairs. Higher maternal traumatic stress at 6-months postpartum predicted lower dyadic synchrony for mother-infant pairs affected by CHD (B=−.04, p=.03). Dyadic synchrony was higher among older infants in the total (B=.40, p=.003) but not cardiac sample (B=.24, p=.06).

Conclusions

Relational difficulties were almost universal among mother-infant pairs affected by CHD and were also high in the Australian community sample. Widespread education initiatives are recommended to increase awareness of heightened mother-infant relational risk in congenital heart care and well-child settings, alongside relationally-focused prevention and early intervention programs.
Bayesian predictive decision synthesis
Authors: Tallman Emily , West Mike
Published: October 2023

Decision-guided perspectives on model uncertainty expand traditional statistical thinking about managing, comparing, and combining inferences from sets of models. Bayesian predictive decision synthesis (BPDS) advances conceptual and theoretical foundations, and defines new methodology that explicitly integrates decision-analytic outcomes into the evaluation, comparison, and potential combination of candidate models. BPDS extends recent theoretical and practical advances based on both Bayesian predictive synthesis and empirical goal-focused model uncertainty analysis. This is enabled by the development of a novel subjective Bayesian perspective on model weighting in predictive decision settings. Illustrations come from applied contexts including optimal design for regression prediction and sequential time series forecasting for financial portfolio decisions.
What constraints can one pose on the maximum mass of neutron stars from multimessenger observations?
Authors: Ai Shunke , Gao He , Yuan Yong , Zhang Bing , Lan Lin
Published: October 2023

The maximum mass of neutron stars (MTOV) plays a crucial role in understanding their equation of state (EoS). Previous studies have used the measurements for the compactness of massive pulsars and the tidal deformability of neutron stars in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers to constrain the EoS and thus the MTOV. The discovery of the most massive pulsar, PSR J0952−0607, with a mass $\sim 2.35\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, has provided a valuable lower limit for MTOV. Another efficient method to constrain MTOV is by examining the type of central remnant formed after a BNS merger. Gravitational wave (GW) data can provide the total mass of the system, while accompanying electromagnetic signals can help infer the remnant type. In this study, we combine all the previous constraints and utilize the observational facts that about 24 per cent of the short gamma-ray bursts are followed by an X-ray internal plateau, which indicate that roughly this fraction of BNS mergers yield supermassive neutron stars, to perform (Markov Chain) Monte Carlo simulations. These simulations allow us to explore the probability density distribution of MTOV and other parameters related to BNS mergers. Our findings suggest that MTOV is likely around $2.49\!-\!2.52\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$, with an uncertainty range of approximately [$-0.16$, $0.15\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$] ([$-0.28$, $0.26\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$]) at 1σ (2σ) confidence level. Furthermore, we examine the type of merger remnants in specific events like GW170817 and GW190425 to further constrain MTOV and other relevant parameters, which can help to understand the physical processes involved in BNS mergers.
Ram-pressure stripped radio tail and two ULXs in the spiral galaxy HCG 97b
Authors: Hu Dan , Zajaček Michal , Werner Norbert , Grossová Romana , Jáchym Pavel , Roberts Ian D , Ignesti Alessandro , Kenney Jeffrey D P , Plšek Tomáš , Breuer Jean-Paul , Shimwell Timothy , Tasse Cyril , Zhu Zhenghao , Wu Linhui
Published: October 2023

We report LOFAR and Very Large Array (VLA) detections of extended radio emission in the spiral galaxy HCG 97b, hosted by an X-ray bright galaxy group. The extended radio emission detected at 144 MHz, 1.4 GHz, and 4.86 GHz is elongated along the optical disc and has a tail that extends 27 kpc in projection towards the centre of the group at GHz frequencies or 60 kpc at 144 MHz. Chandra X-ray data show two off-nuclear ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), with the farther one being a plausible candidate for an accreting intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). The asymmetry observed in both CO emission morphology and kinematics indicates that HCG 97b is undergoing ram-pressure stripping, with the leading side at the south-eastern edge of the disc. Moreover, the VLA 4.86 GHz image reveals two bright radio blobs near one ULX, aligning with the disc and tail, respectively. The spectral indices in the disc and tail are comparable and flat (α > −1), suggesting the presence of recent outflows potentially linked to ULX feedback. This hypothesis gains support from estimates showing that the bulk velocity of the relativistic electrons needed for transport from the disc to the tail is approximately ${\sim}1300\, \rm km~s^{-1}$. This velocity is much higher than those observed in ram-pressure stripped galaxies ($100{-}600\, \rm km~s^{-1}$), implying an alternative mechanism aiding the stripping process. Therefore, we conclude that HCG 97b is subject to ram pressure, with the formation of its stripped radio tail likely influenced by the putative IMBH activities.
Functional connectivity MRI provides an imaging correlate for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell-associated neurotoxicity
Authors: Stoecklein Sophia , Wunderlich Stephan , Papazov Boris , Winkelmann Michael , Kunz Wolfgang G , Mueller Katharina , Ernst Katharina , Stoecklein Veit M , Blumenberg Viktoria , Karschnia Philipp , Bücklein Veit L , Rejeski Kai , Schmidt Christian , von Bergwelt-Baildon Michael , Tonn Joerg-Christian , Ricke Jens , Liu Hesheng , Remi Jan , Subklewe Marion , von Baumgarten Louisa , Schoeberl Florian
Published: October 2023

Background

Treatment of hematological malignancies with chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells (CART) is highly efficient, but often limited by an immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). As conventional MRI is often unremarkable during ICANS, we aimed to examine whether resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) is suitable to depict and quantify brain network alterations underlying ICANS in the individual patient.

Methods

The dysconnectivity index (DCI) based on rsfMRI was longitudinally assessed in systemic lymphoma patients and 1 melanoma patient during ICANS and before or after clinical resolution of ICANS.

Results

Seven lymphoma patients and 1 melanoma patient (19–77 years; 2 female) were included. DCI was significantly increased during ICANS with normalization after recovery (P = .0039). Higher ICANS grades were significantly correlated with increased DCI scores (r = 0.7807; P = .0222). DCI increase was most prominent in the inferior frontal gyrus and the frontal operculum (ie, Broca’s area) and in the posterior parts of the superior temporal gyrus and the temporoparietal junction (ie, Wernicke’s area) of the language-dominant hemisphere, thus reflecting the major clinical symptoms of nonfluent dysphasia and dyspraxia.

Conclusions

RsfMRI-based DCI might be suitable to directly quantify the severity of ICANS in individual patients undergoing CAR T-transfusion. Besides ICANS, DCI seems a promising diagnostic tool to quantify functional brain network alterations during encephalopathies of different etiologies, in general.
Still no direct evidence of postprandial hyperkalemia with plant foods
Authors: Joshi Shivam , Patel Jason
Published: October 2023

Although St-Jules et al have presented the case for postprandial hyperkalemia with food, including plant foods, there (still) is little to no direct evidence supporting the occurrence of postprandial hyperkalemia, mostly due to a lack of studies performed exclusively using food. Food is different than salts or supplements, and it is likely that a banana behaves differently than potassium salts. A growing body of evidence supports the use of plant foods without causing hyperkalemia in patients with kidney disease. Currently, only 1 study has reported on the postprandial effects of hyperkalemia. In this study, there was a substantial reduction in the instances of postprandial hyperkalemia in participants consuming a diet that included more plant foods and more fiber. At the time of this writing, there is no evidence to support risk or safety of certain foods with regard to postprandial hyperkalemia, and additional research is warranted.
Effectiveness of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara Vaccine Against Mpox in Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis, Seattle, Washington
Authors: Ramchandani Meena S , Berzkalns Anna , Cannon Chase A , Dombrowski Julia C , Brown Elizabeth , Chow Eric J , Barash Elizabeth , Pogosjans Sargis , Smith Daniel , Golden Matthew R
Published: October 2023

Background

Data on modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccine effectiveness against mpox in real-world settings are limited.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort analysis using Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the association between vaccination and laboratory-confirmed mpox incidence. Study subjects included all men who have sex with men seen in a sexual health clinic in Seattle, Washington, between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022. Subjects’ receipt of vaccine and diagnosis with mpox were ascertained from public health vaccine registry and surveillance data. Analyses were adjusted for demographic factors, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, and sexual risk behaviors.

Results

The incidence of mpox per 100 person-years was 8.83 among patients with 0 doses, 3.32 among patients with 1 dose, and 0.78 among patients with 2 doses of MVA vaccine. Mpox diagnosis was significantly associated with age category 30–39 and 40–51 years, HIV positivity, syphilis diagnosis in the prior year, >10 sex partners in the last year, and having a clinic visit in the last year. In the multivariate model adjusting for these factors, vaccine effectiveness was 81% for 1 dose and 83% for 2 doses.

Conclusions

These data support the effectiveness of the MVA vaccine—including a single dose of the vaccine—in preventing mpox disease and highlight the appropriateness of risk factor-based prioritization of immunization early in the epidemic. The durability of MVA vaccine-induced immunity is unknown, and at-risk persons should receive 2 doses of MVA.
Prognoses of Patients Treated With Surgical Therapy Versus Continuation of Local-Plus-Systemic Therapy Following Successful Down-Staging of Intermediate-Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Real-World Study
Authors: Liu Jianwei , Zhu Xiaodong , Pan Yangxun , Zhong Jianhong , Jin Renan , Zheng Xin , Zhang Wei , Hu Kuan , Ma Jian , Shi Xiaoyi , Liu Hongzhi , Yang Xiaobo , Xu Da , Ma Chi , Chen Jiangming , Wang Dongxu , Wang Xiaojun , Li Zhongchao , Zhao Lei , Zhang Leida , Li Tao , Liu Fubao , Tan Guang , Xing Baocai , Zhao Haitao , Zeng Yongyi , Zhang Shuijun , Zhang Lei , Zhou Ledu , Song Tianqiang , Yang Wei , Liang Xiao , Xiang Bangde , Xu Li , Sun Huichuan , Wang Kui
Published: October 2023

Background

The difference in the prognoses between treatment with surgical therapy and continuation of local-plus-systemic therapy following successful down-staging of intermediate-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.

Methods

Data of 405 patients with intermediate-advanced HCC treated at 30 hospitals across China from January 2017 to July 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients received local-plus-systemic therapy and were divided into the surgical (n = 100) and nonsurgical groups (n = 305) according to whether they received surgical therapy. The differences between long-term prognoses of the 2 groups were compared. Subgroup analysis was performed in 173 HCC patients who met the criteria for surgical resection following down-staging.

Results

Multivariable analysis of all patients showed that surgical therapy, hazard ratio (HR): 0.289, 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.136-0.613) was a protective factor for overall survival (OS), but not for event-free survival (EFS). Multivariable analysis of 173 intermediate-advanced HCC patients who met the criteria for surgical resection after conversion therapy showed that surgical therapy (HR: 0.282, 95% CI, 0.121-0.655) was a protective factor for OS, but not for EFS. Similar results were obtained after propensity score matching. For patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B (HR: 0.171, 95% CI, 0.039-0.751) and C (HR: 0.269, 95% CI, 0.085-0.854), surgical therapy was also a protective factor for OS.

Conclusions

Overall, for patients with intermediate-advanced HCC who underwent local-plus-systemic therapies, surgical therapy is a protective factor for long-term prognosis and can prolong OS, and for those who met the surgical resection criteria after conversion therapy, surgical therapy is recommended.
Introduction: Looking
Authors: Reynolds Paige
Published: October 2023

Opening with a close reading of Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), this introduction offers a new history of Irish women’s writing, exposing the critical biases that have occluded our understanding of its intricate relationship with literary modernism. It also lays out the conceptual framework for the stubborn mode of modernism. Stubborn modes are tried-and-true literary tactics that trigger a sense of recognition when readers encounter them, a constellation of traits—including style, tone, forms, content, and history—commonly associated with a particular literary movement or school that travels across time. Composed of literary conventions, the stubborn mode of modernism sustains the aesthetic as well as the political impulses associated with the movement’s early history. The stubborn mode in contemporary fiction helps to remind readers of the sweep of history, using literary form and content to underscore certain ongoing cultural problems, as well as to call attention to remedies previously imagined for such stubborn problems, whether the outcomes of those interventions have proven to be successful, unsuccessful, or (more likely, as seen across time) a measure of both.
Refashioning Modernism
Authors: Reynolds Paige
Published: October 2023

This chapter turns to short fiction by Irish women writers, skipping across decades to examine the ongoing tactical use of the stubborn mode of modernism in representations of female subjectivity. Elizabeth Bowen’s “Summer Night” (1941), set during Irish neutrality of the Second World War, Maeve Kelly’s “Morning at My Window” (1972) and Evelyn Conlon’s “Taking Scarlet as a Real Colour or And Also, Susan …” (1993), both written in the midst of specific moments of feminist urgency for Irish women, and June Caldwell’s “SOMAT” (2015), published amid the abortion rights debates that preceded the repeal of the Eight Amendment of the Irish Constitution, demonstrate how women writing in the aftermath of high modernism repurpose its experiments, seeking in part to amend the early movement’s masculinist bias. In their representations of neglected aspects of female subjectivity, they engage with modernist heavyweights such as Joyce and Eliot, but they also mine Russian theater and popular romance, among other surprising sources.
Logging Off
Authors: Reynolds Paige
Published: October 2023

This chapter examines the acceleration of time and the tsunami of information available due to new media technologies, looking at how Irish women contemporary writers represent “logging off” in pursuit of slow time and privacy. Novels such as Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s The Dancers Dancing (1999) and Claire-Louise Bennett’s Pond (2015) use the modernist mode, including strategies adopted and adapted from the short fiction of Katherine Mansfield and the prose poems of Gertrude Stein, respectively, to represent female characters who retreat to rural sites and evade the incursions of modernity and technology on their private lives. In dramatic contrast, Louise O’Neill’s dystopian young adult novel Only Ever Yours (2014) concocts an environmentally devastated and technologically managed Ireland that allows women no privacy at all.
Reading
Authors: Reynolds Paige
Published: October 2023

The critical and commercial success of Sally Rooney’s Normal People (2018) and Anna Burns’s Milkman (2018) exposes the logics that invite Irish women’s writing to enter mainstream conversations, but preclude it from fully inhabiting them. These novels, making use of the modernist mode in their depictions of different historical settings, provocatively identify intransigent problems encountered by women, even those alert to possible freedoms of the global present. They focus in particular on the act of reading to underscore the complex if familiar brew of liberties and limitations that inform the lives of women, even today, in the Republic and Northern Ireland. This attention to reading elucidates the changing textures of female privacy in a way that speaks powerfully to young adults in the humanities classroom and provides a valuable example of the ethics of the stubborn mode at work in the present day.
Coat protein of cassava common mosaic virus targets RAV1 and RAV2 transcription factors to subvert immunity in cassava
Authors: Wei Yunxie , Xie Haoqi , Xu Lulu , Cheng Xiao , Zhu Binbin , Zeng Hongqiu , Shi Haitao
Published: October 2023

Cassava common mosaic virus (CsCMV, genus Potexvirus) is a prevalent virus associated with cassava mosaic disease, so it is essential to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of the coevolutionary arms race between viral pathogenesis and the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) defense response. However, the molecular mechanism underlying CsCMV infection is largely unclear. Here, we revealed that coat protein (CP) acts as a major pathogenicity determinant of CsCMV via a mutant infectious clone. Moreover, we identified the target proteins of CP-related to abscisic acid insensitive3 (ABI3)/viviparous1 (VP1) (MeRAV1) and MeRAV2 transcription factors, which positively regulated disease resistance against CsCMV via transcriptional activation of melatonin biosynthetic genes (tryptophan decarboxylase 2 (MeTDC2), tryptamine 5-hydroxylase (MeT5H), N-aceylserotonin O-methyltransferase 1 (MeASMT1)) and MeCatalase6 (MeCAT6) and MeCAT7. Notably, the interaction between CP, MeRAV1, and MeRAV2 interfered with the protein phosphorylation of MeRAV1 and MeRAV2 individually at Ser45 and Ser44 by the protein kinase, thereby weakening the transcriptional activation activity of MeRAV1 and MeRAV2 on melatonin biosynthetic genes, MeCAT6 and MeCAT7 dependent on the protein phosphorylation of MeRAV1 and MeRAV2. Taken together, the identification of the CP-MeRAV1 and CP-MeRAV2 interaction module not only illustrates a molecular mechanism by which CsCMV orchestrates the host defense system to benefit its infection and development but also provides a gene network with potential value for the genetic improvement of cassava disease resistance.
Jaw claudication and jaw stiffness in giant cell arteritis: secondary analysis of a qualitative research dataset
Authors: Lim Joyce , Dures Emma , Bailey Lawrence F , Almeida Celia , Ruediger Carlee , Hill Catherine L , Robson Joanna C , Mackie Sarah L
Published: October 2023

Objective

Jaw symptoms can be a vital clue to the diagnosis of GCA. Guidelines recommend more intensive treatment if jaw claudication is present. We sought to explore how patients with GCA described their jaw symptoms.

Methods

We carried out a secondary, qualitative analysis of interview data from 36 participants from the UK (n = 25) and Australia (n = 11), originally collected in order to develop a patient-reported outcome measure for GCA. In all cases, GCA had been confirmed by biopsy/imaging. Interview transcripts were organized within QSR NVivo 12 software and analysed using template analysis. Themes were refined through discussion among the research team, including a patient partner.

Results

Twenty of 36 participants reported jaw symptoms associated with GCA. The median age of these 20 participants was 76.5 years; 60% were female. Five themes were identified: physical sensations; impact on function; impact on diet; symptom response with CSs; and attribution to other causes. Physical sensations included ache, cramp, stiffness and ‘lockjaw’. Functional impacts included difficulty in eating/chewing, cleaning teeth, speaking or opening the mouth. Dietary impacts included switching to softer food. Response to CSs was not always immediate. Jaw symptoms were initially mis-attributed by some participants to arthritis, age or viral illnesses; or by health-care professionals to a dental cavity, ear infection or teeth-grinding.

Conclusion

Jaw symptoms in GCA are diverse and can lead to diagnostic confusion with primary temporomandibular joint disorder, potentially contributing to delay in GCA diagnosis. Further research is needed to determine the relationship of jaw stiffness to jaw claudication.
How is the patient perspective captured in ANCA-associated vasculitis research? An integrative review
Authors: Granath Annika , Pettersson Susanne , Gunnarsson Iva , Welin Elisabet , Dahlberg Karuna
Published: October 2023

Objective

The aim was to describe how the patient perspective is captured in clinical research on ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV).

Methods

This integrative review included 2149 publications found in four different databases and manual searches. After screening, 156 articles remained. All articles were sorted and categorized, and 77 original articles were analysed further.

Results

The patient perspective was captured with patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), single-item questionnaires, project-specific questionnaires and interviews. The most common aspects measured were health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression, and fatigue, and the least common were lifestyle habits, relationships and self-management.

Conclusion

The patient perspective was captured predominantly with generic PROMs and occasionally with a qualitative approach. AVV is a lifelong disease, and the results from this review show that not all aspects of importance to patients are covered with the PROMs used in research. Future studies should include the areas that are the most important for patients.