bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Auxetic meta-materials and their engineering applications: a review
Authors: Liu Yangzuo , Zhao Changfang , Xu Cheng , Ren Jie , Zhong Jianlin
Published: November 2023

Auxetic or negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) materials and structures are exemplary mechanical meta-materials, possessing greater energy absorption capacity, stronger indentation resistance, and other advantages. Due to their unique indentation resistance, auxetic meta-materials have tremendous potential for use in impact engineering applications. To unveil the categories, characteristics, and applications of auxetic meta-materials, this study expounded upon the basic principles of auxeticity at the structural level and its associated mechanical properties. Additionally, it outlined the typical applications within the fields of medicine, automotive manufacturing, protective gear, and garments. The auxetic honeycomb structures of interest were first classified into three types: re-entrant, chiral, and rotational rigid structures. The auxetic mechanism and mechanical properties of these structures were then discussed and compared. Furthermore, by examining their current applications and characteristics of these structures, development directions for auxetic meta-materials were highlighted to meet future engineering demands for multi-functionality.
Transition metal (Ni,Mn) codoped Zn3P2 nanoparticles: effect on structural, optical and magnetic properties
Authors: Praveenkumar Nakka , Rao Nasina Madhusudhana
Published: November 2023

This work reports the pure matrix and synthesis of Zn(3–(x+y))NixMnyP2 (x = 0.02, y = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07) nanoparticles using the solid-state reaction method. The impact of Ni-Mn codoping on the structural, morphological, chemical identification, optical, photoluminescence, and magnetic properties of Zn3P2 nanoparticles is studied. The structural properties after doping confirm the absence of other phases and synthesized samples had a tetragonal structure. Using SEM with EDAX, the nanoparticles’ surface morphology, and elemental composition are investigated. The nanoparticles have a spherical shape and approximately the expected stoichiometric atomic ratio. The optical band gap of the undoped and codoped nanoparticles is calculated and found the band gap increased with increasing dopant content. The emission peaks show that all emission peaks are in the same wavelength position with effect of dopant level. VSM confirmed the magnetic moment is found to increase with an increase in dopant concentration.
The Wakhan Quadrangle
Authors: Kreutzmann Hermann
Published: November 2023

The Wakhan Quadrangle emerged as a geopolitical constellation and situation in which a less important area—in terms of demographic size, political power, and economic wealth—can be perceived as a central arena for the ambitions of imperial powers. Since the second half of the 19th century, four major players participated in the competition as actors with competing stakes. Afghanistan, China, Great Britain, and Tsarist Russia turned to each other with spatial interests of expansion. The immediate protagonists were involved with or influencing one of the regional actors: Badakhshan, Xinjiang, Kashmir, and the Emirate of Bokhara are four representatives closing in on Wakhan, which still had maintained its autonomy as a quasi-independent principality in an economically marginal and remote high-mountain location with non-demarcated and shifting limits of authority. Overall political tensions grew during the hot phase of the Great Game. Upon the precautionary move into exile by its last ruler, Mir Ali Mardan Shah, Wakhan became an object of bargaining in the imperial endgame before international boundaries were delineated by the supreme powers. Wakhan ended up as a divided territory between Afghanistan and tsarist Russia, functioned as a spatial buffer between British India and its successors against Central Asian neighbors since, and its limits became a hermetic boundary between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Since delineating the boundaries, only the Afghan section is easily visible on maps and commonly perceived as the Wakhan strip.
Chikahisa, Paul
Authors: Logan Sadye L. M.
Published: November 2023

Paul Chikahisa, MSW (1929–1996) was a pioneer in community advocacy and social service development for families and children. His life’s work also included social work education and practice as well as a commitment to the development of a prototype curriculum for social workers that reflected diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
A rare presentation of mycotic cerebral aneurysm, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and mitral valve aneurysm in left-sided lnfective endocarditis: a case report and literature review
Authors: Abbas Ahmed A M , Brown Pamela F , White Ralph W
Published: November 2023

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) can present as a syndromic-like condition with multisystem involvement; this can make early diagnosis particularly challenging. Rarely, left-sided IE can lead to mitral valve aneurysm formation. Showering of septic emboli to the cerebral circulation may result in a mycotic aneurysm that can rupture, leading to haemorrhagic stroke, as in this case.

Case summary

A 28-year-old male presented with a triad of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) from mycotic cerebral aneurysm rupture, left-sided aortic and mitral valve IE causing severe regurgitation and aorto-mitral curtain fistula and mitral valve aneurysm formation. The SAH was the main initial presentation and was immediately treated with coiling by an interventional radiologist. However, the patient later developed heart failure due to severe aortic and mitral valve regurgitation that led to the diagnosis of IE. The patient underwent aortic and mitral valve replacements procedure10 days after SAH presentation. He then recovered satisfactorily from the operationa and successfully discharged home after completeing his course of intravenous antibiotics.

Discussion

In this article, we shed some light on this unusual syndromic presentation, elaborate on the underlying mechanism, the ultimate importance of clinical examination, pitfalls in diagnosis, the important role of the heart team in IE, and finally the timing of surgery after SAH.
Effects of inhaled seralutinib on right ventricular-pulmonary arterial (RV-PA) coupling and right heart function in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
Authors: Frantz R , Tello K , Moles V M , Solomon S D , Cravets M , Osterhout R , Bruey J M , Roscigno R F , Aranda R , Vachiery J L , Badagliacca R , Benza R L , Mclaughlin V V , Zisman L S , Ghofrani H A
Published: November 2023

Background

Impaired RV-PA coupling portends a poor prognosis in PAH, and right ventricular free wall strain/systolic pulmonary artery pressure (RVFWS/sPAP) has been reported as a measure of RV-PA coupling. Furthermore, increased RVFWS and right atrial area (RAA), as well as decreased pulmonary artery compliance (PAC) are associated with increased mortality risk in PAH. Seralutinib is a novel, small molecule kinase inhibitor that targets PDGFR, CSF1R, and c-KIT administered via dry powder inhaler. TORREY, a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study of inhaled seralutinib in patients with PAH (NCT04456998) met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a significant reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) from baseline (BL) to Week 24 compared to placebo. In addition, seralutinib significantly decreased NT-proBNP.

Purpose

To test the hypothesis that seralutinib would improve RVFWS/sPAP and other measures of right heart function after 24 weeks of treatment compared to placebo in the TORREY study.

Methods

Eighty-six patients with WHO Group 1 PH (Functional Class II, III), ages ≥18 years, pulmonary vascular resistance ≥400 dyne*s/cm5, and on stable PAH standard of care therapy (the majority of whom were on double and triple therapy with approved PAH medications) were enrolled. Right heart catheterisation (RHC) and full echocardiography were performed at BL and Week 24 and at BL, Week 12, and Week 24, respectively; both were analysed in a blinded central laboratory. To calculate RVFWS/sPAP, the pulmonary artery systolic pressure from RHC was used. PAC was calculated from RHC data with the formula (SV/(PAS-PAD)). Statistical analysis was performed using ANCOVA.

Results

At Week 24, the change in RVFWS/sPAP was lower in the seralutinib group compared to placebo (Table). The changes in RVFWS and RAA were lower in the seralutinib group vs placebo at Week 12 and Week 24 (Table). Change in NT-proBNP correlated with change in RAA (r = 0.43). At Week 24, change in PAC was greater in the seralutinib group (-0.02 ± 0.085 placebo, 0.19 ± 0.089 seralutinib; LSMD 0.22 (0.104) p = 0.04). There was no effect of seralutinib on left ventricular ejection fraction.

Conclusion

Treatment with seralutinib was associated with a significant reduction of RVFWS/sPAP. In addition, significant differences in RVFWS itself, RAA, and PAC were observed. These treatment effects support improved RV-PA coupling and right heart function. In conjunction with concordant reductions in PVR and NT-proBNP, these data suggest potential favourable effects of seralutinib in PAH. Seralutinib is in clinical development as a potential new treatment option for patients with PAH.
The Use of Placebo in Clinical Trials of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Roshanov Pavel S , Khanna Reena
Published: November 2023

Lay Summary

We review concerns regarding use of placebo in clinical trials of inflammatory bowel disease. We propose alternate designs to overcome ethical issues, while providing data that are clinically relevant.
The Complementarity Paradigm: Tracing the Transitional Justice Blueprint in the Inter-American System of Human Rights
Authors: Muñoz Rincón Anamaría
Published: November 2023

ABSTRACT∞

The promotion of ‘home-grown’ approaches to transitional justice is a powerful trope animating the field, encouraging local ownership of transitional justice processes, and refusing ‘one size fits all’ formulas. I challenge this account by exploring how the obligations resulting from anti-impunity’s advent yield only one particular institutional design that seems compatible with obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights. This means that the state’s autonomy to institutionally design a transition is increasingly narrowed in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. I develop this argument by exploring how the right to truth is enforced, showing that the interaction between regional obligations and truth as a right yields a specific transitional institutional blueprint. In doing so, I unpack legal techniques that assist in framing as necessary a transitional justice model that is a contingent, and reckon with its implications.
The Academic Market and The Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1000–1800)
Authors: de la Croix David , Docquier Frédéric , Fabre Alice , Stelter Robert
Published: November 2023

We argue that market forces shaped the geographic distribution of upper-tail human capital across Europe during the Middle Ages, and contributed to bolstering universities at the dawn of the Humanistic and Scientific Revolutions. We build a unique database of thousands of scholars from university sources covering all of Europe, construct an index of their ability, and map the academic market in the medieval and early modern periods. We show that scholars tended to concentrate in the best universities (agglomeration), that better scholars were more sensitive to the quality of the university (positive sorting) and migrated over greater distances (positive selection). Agglomeration, selection, and sorting patterns testify to an integrated academic market, made possible by the use of a common language (Latin).
Complete resection versus functional preservation in resection of cystic vestibular schwannoma in a 56-year-old female: case report and literature review
Authors: Golden Nyoman , Awyono Steven , Prakoso Dicky T , Lauren Christopher
Published: November 2023

Surgery for vestibular schwannoma presents unique challenges to the surgeon, given that the primary objectives are achieving complete resection while preserving both facial nerve and hearing function. Consequently, a comprehensive preoperative and perioperative assessment of the tumor is essential to determine its extent, particularly in cases involving dumbbell-shaped lesions. This case report describes our experience in managing a patient with a dumbbell-shaped vestibular schwannoma, where we achieved near-total resection while successfully preserving the patient’s facial nerve and hearing function. The early postoperative evaluation revealed no morbidity, and the patient experienced a significant improvement in their symptoms.
Light quality as a driver in adapting photosynthetic acclimation to niche partitioning
Authors: Kim Eunchul
Published: November 2023

This article comments on:

Sands E, Davies S, Puxty RJ, Verge V, Bouget F-Y, Scanlan DJ, Carre IA. 2023. Genetic and physiological responses to light quality in a deep ocean ecotype of Ostreococcus, an ecologically important photosynthetic picoeukaryote. Journal of Experimental Botany 74, 6773–6789.
Physiology, gene expression, and epiphenotype of two Dianthus broteri polyploid cytotypes under temperature stress
Authors: López-Jurado Javier , Picazo-Aragonés Jesús , Alonso Conchita , Balao Francisco , Mateos-Naranjo Enrique
Published: November 2023

Increasing evidence supports a major role for abiotic stress response in the success of plant polyploids, which usually thrive in harsh environments. However, understanding the ecophysiology of polyploids is challenging due to interactions between genome doubling and natural selection. Here, we investigated physiological responses, gene expression, and the epiphenotype of two related Dianthus broteri cytotypes—with different genome duplications (4× and 12×) and evolutionary trajectories—to short extreme temperature events (42/28 °C and 9/5 °C). The 12× cytotype showed higher expression of stress-responsive genes (SWEET1, PP2C16, AI5L3, and ATHB7) and enhanced gas exchange compared with 4×. Under heat stress, both ploidies had greatly impaired physiological performance and altered gene expression, with reduced cytosine methylation. However, the 12× cytotype exhibited remarkable physiological tolerance (maintaining gas exchange and water status via greater photochemical integrity and probably enhanced water storage) while down-regulating PP2C16 expression. Conversely, 4× D. broteri was susceptible to thermal stress despite prioritizing water conservation, showing signs of non-stomatal photosynthetic limitations and irreversible photochemical damage. This cytotype also presented gene-specific expression patterns under heat, up-regulating ATHB7. These findings provide insights into divergent stress response strategies and physiological resistance resulting from polyploidy, highlighting its widespread influence on plant function.
Three-dimensional fruit growth analysis clarifies developmental mechanisms underlying complex shape diversity in persimmon fruit
Authors: Kusumi Akane , Nishiyama Soichiro , Tao Ryutaro
Published: November 2023

The determination of fruit size and shape are of considerable interest in horticulture and developmental biology. Fruit typically exhibits three-dimensional structures characterized by geometric features that are dependent on the genotype. Although minor developmental variations have been recognized, few studies have fully visualized and measured these variations throughout fruit growth. Here, a high-resolution 3D scanner was used to investigate the fruit development of 51 persimmon (Diospyros kaki) cultivars with various complex shapes. We obtained 2380 3D models that fully represented fruit appearance, and enabled precise and automated measurements of shape features throughout fruit development, including horizontal and vertical grooves, length-to-width ratio, and roundness. The 3D fruit model analysis identified key stages that determined the shape attributes at maturity. Typically, genetic diversity was found in vertical groove development, and these grooves could be filled by tissue expansion in the carpel fusion zone during fruit development. In addition, transcriptome analysis of fruit tissues from groove and non-groove tissues revealed gene co-expression networks that were highly associated with groove depth variation. The presence of YABBY homologs was most closely associated with groove depth and indicated the possibility that this pathway is a key molecular contributor to vertical groove depth variation. Overall, our results revealed deterministic patterns of complex shape traits in persimmon fruit and showed that different growth patterns among tissues are the main factor contributing to the shape of both vertical and horizontal grooves.
Winds versus jets: a comparison between black hole feedback modes in simulations of idealized galaxy groups and clusters
Authors: Huško Filip , Lacey Cedric G , Schaye Joop , Nobels Folkert S J , Schaller Matthieu
Published: November 2023

Using the SWIFT simulation code, we compare the effects of different forms of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) feedback in idealized galaxy groups and clusters. We first present a physically motivated model of black hole (BH) spin evolution and a numerical implementation of thermal isotropic feedback (representing the effects of energy-driven winds) and collimated kinetic jets that they launch at different accretion rates. We find that kinetic jet feedback is more efficient at quenching star formation in the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) than thermal isotropic feedback, while simultaneously yielding cooler cores in the intracluster medium (ICM). A hybrid model with both types of AGN feedback yields moderate star formation rates, while having the coolest cores. We then consider a simplified implementation of AGN feedback by fixing the feedback efficiencies and the jet direction, finding that the same general conclusions hold. We vary the feedback energetics (the kick velocity and the heating temperature), the fixed efficiencies and the type of energy (kinetic versus thermal) in both the isotropic and the jet case. The isotropic case is largely insensitive to these variations. On the other hand, jet feedback must be kinetic in order to be efficient at quenching. We also find that it is much more sensitive to the choice of energy per feedback event (the jet velocity), as well as the efficiency. The former indicates that jet velocities need to be carefully chosen in cosmological simulations, while the latter motivates the use of BH spin evolution models.
Prospects for detecting the circum- and intergalactic medium in X-ray absorption using the extended intracluster medium as a backlight
Authors: Štofanová Lýdia , Simionescu Aurora , Wijers Nastasha A , Schaye Joop , Kaastra Jelle S , Bahé Yannick M , Arámburo-García Andrés
Published: November 2023

The warm-hot plasma in cosmic web filaments is thought to comprise a large fraction of the gas in the local Universe. So far, the search for this gas has focused on mapping its emission, or detecting its absorption signatures against bright, point-like sources. Future, non-dispersive, high-spectral resolution X-ray detectors will, for the first time, enable absorption studies against extended objects. Here, we use the Hydrangea cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to predict the expected properties of intergalactic gas in and around massive galaxy clusters, and investigate the prospects of detecting it in absorption against the bright cores of nearby, massive, relaxed galaxy clusters. We probed a total of 138 projections from the simulation volumes, finding 16 directions with a total column density $N_{{\rm O\, {\small VII}}} > 10^{14.5}$ cm−2. The strongest absorbers are typically shifted by ±1000 km s−1 with respect to the rest frame of the cluster they are nearest to. Realistic mock observations with future micro-calorimeters, such as the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit or the proposed Line Emission Mapper (LEM) X-ray probe, show that the detection of cosmic web filaments in ${\rm O\, {\small VII}}$ and ${\rm O\, {\small VIII}}$ absorption against galaxy cluster cores will be feasible. An ${\rm O\, {\small VII}}$ detection with a 5σ significance can be achieved in 10–250 ks with Athena for most of the galaxy clusters considered. The ${\rm O\, {\small VIII}}$ detection becomes feasible only with a spectral resolution of around 1 eV, comparable to that envisioned for LEM.
TarBase-v9.0 extends experimentally supported miRNA–gene interactions to cell-types and virally encoded miRNAs
Authors: Skoufos Giorgos , Kakoulidis Panos , Tastsoglou Spyros , Zacharopoulou Elissavet , Kotsira Vasiliki , Miliotis Marios , Mavromati Galatea , Grigoriadis Dimitris , Zioga Maria , Velli Angeliki , Koutou Ioanna , Karagkouni Dimitra , Stavropoulos Steve , Kardaras Filippos S , Lifousi Anna , Vavalou Eustathia , Ovsepian Armen , Skoulakis Anargyros , Tasoulis Sotiris K , Georgakopoulos Spiros V , Plagianakos Vassilis P , Hatzigeorgiou Artemis G
Published: November 2023

TarBase is a reference database dedicated to produce, curate and deliver high quality experimentally-supported microRNA (miRNA) targets on protein-coding transcripts. In its latest version (v9.0, https://dianalab.e-ce.uth.gr/tarbasev9), it pushes the envelope by introducing virally-encoded miRNAs, interactions leading to target-directed miRNA degradation (TDMD) events and the largest collection of miRNA–gene interactions to date in a plethora of experimental settings, tissues and cell-types. It catalogues ∼6 million entries, comprising ∼2 million unique miRNA–gene pairs, supported by 37 experimental (high- and low-yield) protocols in 172 tissues and cell-types. Interactions are annotated with rich metadata including information on genes/transcripts, miRNAs, samples, experimental contexts and publications, while millions of miRNA-binding locations are also provided at cell-type resolution. A completely re-designed interface with state-of-the-art web technologies, incorporates more features, and allows flexible and ingenious use. The new interface provides the capability to design sophisticated queries with numerous filtering criteria including cell lines, experimental conditions, cell types, experimental methods, species and/or tissues of interest. Additionally, a plethora of fine-tuning capacities have been integrated to the platform, offering the refinement of the returned interactions based on miRNA confidence and expression levels, while boundless local retrieval of the offered interactions and metadata is enabled.
Mobile vaccination units substantially increase COVID-19 vaccinations: evidence from a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Kulle Anna-Corinna , Schumacher Stefanie , von Bieberstein Frauke
Published: November 2023

Background

Governments around the world used mobile vaccination units (MVUs) to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake, but the causal effect of MVUs has not yet been evaluated.

Methods

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 20 Swiss communities (10 treatment, 10 control) in August 2021, MVUs were sent to treatment communities for 4 hours on a single day. The experimental sample comprises 20 414 adults who were unvaccinated against COVID-19 at this point. The researchers designed the RCT and the government introduced the idea to test the effectiveness of MVUs and was responsible for administering the vaccines.

Results

The vaccination rate in the sample of the treatment group surpassed the rate in the control group by a factor of 3.4 (+9.0 percentage points) over 3 weeks. The increase was present and highly statistically significant for women, men and for all age groups. We found no evidence of cannibalization of vaccinations at other service locations.

Conclusions

The offer of MVUs is highly effective in raising vaccination rates, even at a later point in the vaccination campaign. The absence of cannibalization effects suggests that MVUs reach more people overall, not just faster.
Effective early strategy to prevent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Jing Q , Song J , An G , Zhu E , Ai Z , Xiong L , Li C
Published: November 2023

Background

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions (OGDs) are key symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which may lead to neurological complications, and lack of effective treatment. This may be because post-disease treatments may be too late to protect the olfactory and gustatory functions.

Aim

To evaluate the effectiveness of early use of saline nasal irrigation (SNI), corticosteroid nasal spray, and saline or chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash for preventing OGDs in COVID-19.

Design

This study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Methods

The study was conducted from 5 May to 16 June 2022. We recruited patients from three hospitals who were admitted with COVID-19 but without OGDs on the day of admission. Olfactory and gustatory functions were evaluated using the Taste and Smell Survey and the numerical visual analog scale. Participants were randomized to the saline, drug or control groups. The control group received no intervention, saline group received SNI plus saline nasal spray and mouthwash, and the trial group received SNI plus budesonide nasal spray and chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash. Participants were assessed again on the day of discharge.

Results

A total of 379 patients completed the trial. The prevalence of OGDs was significantly lower in the saline (11.8%, 95% CI, 6.6–19.0%; P < 0.001) and drug (8.3%, 95% CI, 4.1–14.8%; P < 0.001) groups than in the control group (40.0%, 95% CI, 31.8–48.6%). Additionally, both interventions reduced the severity of OGDs.

Conclusions

We demonstrated effective strategies for preventing COVID-19-related OGDs, and the findings may guide early management of severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to reduce the incidence of COVID-19-related complications.
Learning in Financial Markets: Implications for Debt-Equity Conflicts
Authors: Davis Jesse , Gondhi Naveen
Published: November 2023

Financial markets reveal information that firm managers can utilize when making equity value-enhancing investment decisions. However, for firms with risky debt, such investments are not necessarily socially efficient. Despite this friction, we show that learning from prices improves investment efficiency. This effect is asymmetric, however, as investors learn less about projects that decrease the riskiness of cash flows: efficiency is lower for diversifying investments than for focusing (risk-increasing) investments. This also implies that investors’ endogenous learning further attenuates risk shifting but amplifies debt overhang. Our model provides a novel channel through which learning from financial markets affects agency frictions between stakeholders.
Effectiveness of low tube voltage scan in the exposure dose for lenses during paediatric thoracic CT examination: anthropomorphic phantoms study
Authors: Masuda Takanori , Kiguchi Masao , Fujioka Chikako , Oku Takayuki , Ishibashi Toru , Katsunuma Yasushi , Yoshitake Takayasu , Abe Shuji , Awai Kazuo
Published: November 2023

To determine whether using lower-tube voltage reduces the scattered dose for the lens during paediatric thoracic computed tomography (CT). Two paediatric anthropomorphic phantoms (ATOM Phantom, CIRS, Norfolk, Virginia, USA) representing a newborn and 5-year-old were placed on the gantry of CT scanner, and optically stimulated luminescence dosemeters were placed on the left and right lenses, in front of the left and right thyroid glands, in front of the left and right mammary glands, and in front of and behind the mammary gland level and we measured scattered dose of the optically stimulated luminescence dosemeter was compared for each phantom between 80 and 120 kVp. Significant differences were observed in the scatter doses for the lens between 80 and 120 kVp (p < 0.01). Compared with the 120 kVp scan, the scatter doses for the lens were ~15–40% lower in newborn and 5-year-olds using the 80 kVp scan during paediatric CT.
Securitisation of Refugee Protection: The Judiciary’s Role in the Protection of the Rights of Refugees
Authors: Woldemariam Samuel Berhanu , Pacifique Muhizi
Published: November 2023

This judgment rewriting is a tale of three Kenyan judicial decisions regarding refugees and asylum-seekers. The judgment rewritten is the 2017 Court of Appeal’s decision in Attorney General v. Kituo Cha Sheria & 7 others (Kituo Cha Sheria II) which upheld a 2013 decision of the High Court in Kituo Cha Sheria & 7 others v. Attorney General (Kituo Cha Sheria I) quashing a Government Directive issued to relocate refugees living in urban areas to refugee camps. The petitioners challenged the Government Directive alleging it violated the rights of refugees living in Kenya. A third decision from 2014, Samow Mumin Mohamed & 9 others v. Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Interior Security and Co-Ordination & 2 others (Samow), ostensibly abrogated the protections afforded in Kituo Cha Sheria (I). The securitisation of refugee protection is a major theme across these decisions. Securitisation was briefly addressed in the Kituo Cha Sheria decisions as a technical matter requiring procedural precision for its validity. However, in their scrutiny of securitisation, the Courts neglected to highlight the human rights concerns and the vulnerability of refugees. Placing Kituo Cha Sheria II in the context of the two decisions and using a human rights-based analysis, the rewrite challenges existing notions that portray securitisation as the inevitable consequence of a volatile security environment and the dogmatic embrace of civil procedure even at the expense of the impact on human rights protection. It emphasises the role of the judiciary in the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups, such as refugees. This judgment rewriting contributes to the international refugee law scholarship by centring a human rights-based approach to refugee policymaking and critically analysing the role of courts in safeguarding and enforcing the rights of refugees. Kituo Cha Sheria lays the foundations for a human rights-based review of refugee policymaking that this rewrite seeks to amplify.
Tardigrade Augean stables—a challenging phylogeny and taxonomy of the family Ramazzottiidae (Eutardigrada: Hypsibioidea)
Authors: Dey Pritam K , López-López Alejandro , Morek Witold , Michalczyk Łukasz
Published: November 2023

Tardigrade taxonomy is most often hindered by prevalent outdated species descriptions, lack of integrative redescriptions, scarce genetic information, and fragmentary sampling. Here, we diagnose the problems obscuring phylogenetic inference and the taxonomy of the cosmopolitan family Ramazzottiidae. We carried out the most extensive phylogenetic analysis of this family to date, with a considerable influx of new genetic data from poorly sampled regions of the world. We found two new distinct evolutionary lineages defined by distinct morphological traits (dorsal cuticular sculpturing and/or body shape), characterized by restricted geographic distributions, and we delineated them as new species complexes: the Neotropical Ramazzottius baumanni complex and the Afro-Oriental Ramazzottius szeptyckii complex. Nevertheless, we could not confidently ascertain the taxonomic status of both complexes due to: (i) the current state of the ramazzottiid taxonomy, with outdated and/or imprecise species descriptions with heterogeneous terminology and, in many cases, without accounting for intraspecific variation; (ii) the missing genetic information for key taxa; and (iii) the possible lack of monophyly of Cryoconicus and Ramazzottius as suggested by our results. In addition to diagnosing the problems of ramazzottiid phylogeny and systematics, we also propose possible solutions that could accelerate the progress in our understanding of the evolution of this group.
AGAP2‐AS1 promotes the assembly of m6A methyltransferases and activation of the IL6/STAT3 pathway by binding with WTAP in the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer
Authors: Nie Kechao , Zheng Zhihua , Li Jing , Chang Yonglong , Deng Zhitong , Huang Wei , Li Xiushen
Published: November 2023

Owing to the lack of biomarkers for early diagnosis, gastric cancer (GC) is often associated with a poor prognosis. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify early molecular targets in GC. Dysregulated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been evaluated by integrated bioinformatics analysis; and we investigate their specific role and potential mechanism via N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) methylation modification in the carcinogenesis and progression of GC. In this study, we report upregulation of lncRNA AGAP2‐AS1, activated by a gain of H3K4Me3, in GC tissues and cells. AGAP2‐AS1 was linked to adverse prognosis in patients with GC. Functionally, AGAP2‐AS1 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and migration of GC cells. Mechanistically, AGAP2‐AS1 bound WT1‐associated protein (WTAP) to promote the formation of the WTAP/methyltransferase‐like 3 (METTL3)/METTL14 m6A methyltransferase complex. AGAP2‐AS1 stabilized signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) mRNA in an m6A‐dependent manner and, thus, activated the interleukin 6 (IL6)/STAT3 pathway. Importantly, activation of the AGAP2‐AS1/WTAP/STAT3 pathways promoted cell proliferation and migration in GC. Collectively, the present findings revealed a novel regulatory relationship between lncRNA and m6A modification. Furthermore, targeting the AGAP2‐AS1/WTAP/STAT3 axis may be a promising strategy for the inhibition of inflammation‐mediated carcinogenesis and progression in GC.
Genomic and Molecular Characteristics of Ovarian Carcinosarcoma
Authors: Ramphal Kristy , Hadfield Matthew J. , Bandera Christina M. , Hart Jesse , Dizon Don S.
Published: November 2023

Ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. It is a biphasic tumor with malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components. A few mutations commonly seen in cancer have been identified in OCS, including TP53, PIK3CA, c-myc, ZNF217, ARID1A, and CTNNB1. Some OCS tumors have shown vascular endothelial growth factor positivity and limited HER2 expression. There is evidence of homologous recombination deficiency in OCS. This malignancy can be categorized as copy number high but has not been shown to have a high tumor mutational burden. There are mixed findings regarding the presence of biomarkers targeted by immune checkpoint inhibitors in OCS. For treatments other than systemic chemotherapy, the data available are largely based on in vitro and in vivo studies. In addition, there are case reports citing the use of poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors, vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, and immunotherapy with varying degrees of success. This review paper will discuss the molecular and genomic characteristics of OCS, which can guide future treatment strategies.
Clinical Practice Patterns and Risk Factors for Severe Conditions in Pediatric Hospitalizations With Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Japan: A Nationwide Analyses (2018–2022)
Authors: Okubo Yusuke , Uda Kazuhiro , Ogimi Chikara , Shimabukuro Rinshu , Ito Kenta
Published: November 2023

Background:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) represents a global health challenge, especially among younger children. While the disease burden in Japan has been preliminarily quantified, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding treatment patterns and the influence of known risk factors at a national scale.

Materials and Methods:

We conducted a retrospective cohort study consisting of 50,482 children under 5 years hospitalized with RSV infections during 2018–2022 using the Medical Data Vision database. We investigated trends in patient characteristics, health resource use, treatment patterns, and laboratory data. Additionally, multivariable modified Poisson regression models were used to investigate the risk factors associated with severe conditions.

Results:

We observed an increasing trend in the inpatient healthcare costs and decreasing trends in the use of antibiotics, bronchodilators, systemic corticosteroids and other symptomatic medications from 2018 to 2022. Risk factors associated with severe RSV infections were children less than 1 year (risk ratio, 2.90; 95% CI: 2.53–3.32) and the number of complex chronic diseases (risk ratio for 1 disease, 2.68; 95% CI: 2.34–3.06: risk ratio for 2 or more diseases, 6.91; 95% CI: 5.81–8.21). Annual inpatient healthcare costs for RSV infections were estimated at 11–14 billion Japanese Yen for younger children.

Conclusions:

Our study observed the changes in practice patterns and health resource use for children hospitalized with RSV infections and identified risk factors associated with severe conditions. These findings provide insights for policymakers and clinicians aiming to devise strategies for further improving clinical practices, including newly developed vaccines and single-dose long-acting monoclonal antibodies.
Team-Based Care Model Improves Timely Access to Care and Patient Satisfaction in General Cardiology
Authors: Sharpe Christa M. , Eastham Linda
Published: November 2023

Appointment wait times have increased nationally since 2014, especially in cardiology. At a mid-Atlantic academic medical center, access to care in the general cardiology clinic was below national standards, which can negatively affect patient outcomes and satisfaction. Adopting a team-based care (TBC) model, advanced practice providers (APPs) were added to care teams with general cardiologists to provide timely outpatient management of cardiac conditions. This aimed to increase access to care and, consequently, patient satisfaction. A formative program evaluation using the Agency for Clinical Innovation framework assessed TBC's impact on these outcomes. Access to care and patient satisfaction measures for TBC and nonteam providers were compared with one another and national benchmarks. Nine months after implementation, the average time to new patient appointment for TBC providers was 31 days (47% decrease) and for nonteam providers was 41 days (20% decrease). TBC had a higher percentage of new patient appointments within 14 days than nonteam providers (39% and 20%, respectively). Patient satisfaction improved to the 98th percentile nationally for TBC but decreased to the 71st percentile for nonteam. These findings suggest that a TBC model using APPs can improve access to care and patient satisfaction in the outpatient general cardiology setting.
Mortality Among Persons With HIV in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Level Analysis
Authors: Viguerie Alex , Song Ruiguang , Bosh Karin , Lyles Cynthia M. , Farnham Paul G.
Published: November 2023

Background:

Whether the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on mortality among persons with diagnosed HIV (PWDH) in the United States is unclear. Through our macroscale analysis, we seek to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mortality among PWDH.

Methods:

We obtained mortality and population data for the years 2018–2020 from the National HIV Surveillance System for the US PWDH population and from publicly available data for the general population. We computed mortality rates and excess mortality for both the general and PWDH populations. Stratifications by age, race/ethnicity, and sex were considered. For each group, we determined whether the 2020 mortality rates and mortality risk ratio showed a statistically significant change from 2018 to 2019.

Results:

Approximately 1550 excess deaths occurred among PWDH in 2020, with Black, Hispanic/Latino, and PWDH aged 55 years and older comprising the majority of excess deaths. Mortality rates increased in 2020 from 2018–2019 across the general population in all groups. Among PWDH, mortality rates either increased or showed no statistically significant change. These increases were similar to, or smaller than, those observed in the general population, resulting in a 7.7% decrease in the mortality risk ratio between PWDH and the general population.

Conclusions:

While mortality rates among PWDH increased in 2020 relative to 2018–2019, the increases were smaller, or of similar magnitude, to those observed in the general population. We thus do not find evidence of elevated mortality risk from the COVID-19 pandemic among PWDH. These findings held across subpopulations stratified by age, sex, and racial/ethnic group.
Optic Nerve MRI T2-Hyperintensity: A Nonspecific Marker of Optic Nerve Damage
Authors: Labella Álvarez Fernando , Mosleh Rasha , Bouthour Walid , Saindane Amit M. , Bruce Beau B. , Dattilo Michael , Newman Nancy J. , Biousse Valérie
Published: November 2023

Background:

MRI abnormalities are common in optic neuropathies, especially on dedicated orbital imaging. In acute optic neuritis, optic nerve T2-hyperintensity associated with optic nerve contrast enhancement is the typical imaging finding. In chronic optic neuropathies, optic nerve T2-hyperintensity and atrophy are regularly seen. Isolated optic nerve T2-hyperintensity is often erroneously presumed to reflect optic neuritis, frequently prompting unnecessary investigations and neuro-ophthalmology consultations. Our goal was to determine the significance of optic nerve/chiasm T2-hyperintensity and/or atrophy on MRI.

Methods:

Retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent brain/orbital MRI with/without contrast at our institution between July 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022. Patients with optic nerve/chiasm T2-hyperintensity and/or atrophy were included. Medical records were reviewed to determine the etiology of the T2-hyperintensity and/or atrophy.

Results:

Four hundred seventy-seven patients (698 eyes) were included [mean age 52 years (SD ±18 years); 57% women]. Of the 364 of 698 eyes with optic nerve/chiasm T2-hyperintensity without atrophy, the causes were compressive (104), inflammatory (103), multifactorial (49), glaucoma (21), normal (19), and other (68); of the 219 of 698 eyes with optic nerve/chiasm T2-hyperintensity and atrophy, the causes were compressive (57), multifactorial (40), inflammatory (38), glaucoma (33), normal (7), and other (44); of the 115 of 698 eyes with optic nerve/chiasm atrophy without T2-hyperintensity, the causes were glaucoma (34), multifactorial (21), inflammatory (13), compressive (11), normal (10), and other (26). Thirty-six eyes with optic nerve/chiasm T2-hyperintensity or atrophy did not have evidence of optic neuropathy or retinopathy on ophthalmologic examination, and 17 eyes had clinical evidence of severe retinopathy without primary optic neuropathy.

Conclusions:

Optic nerve T2-hyperintensity or atrophy can be found with any cause of optic neuropathy and with severe chronic retinopathy. These MRI findings should not automatically prompt optic neuritis diagnosis, workup, and treatment, and caution is advised regarding their use in the diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis. Cases of incidentally found MRI optic nerve T2-hyperintensity and/or atrophy without a known underlying optic neuropathy or severe retinopathy are rare. Such patients should receive an ophthalmologic examination before further investigations.
Association Between COVID-19 During Pregnancy and Preterm Birth by Trimester of Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Longitudinal Social Media Data
Authors: Klein Ari Z. , Kunatharaju Shriya , Golder Su , Levine Lisa D. , Figueiredo Jane C. , Gonzalez-Hernandez Graciela
Published: November 2023

Background

Preterm birth, defined as birth at <37 weeks of gestation, is the leading cause of neonatal death globally and, together with low birthweight, the second leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. There is mounting evidence that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth; however, data remain limited by trimester of infection. The ability to study COVID-19 infection during the earlier stages of pregnancy has been limited by available sources of data. The objective of this study was to use self-reports in large-scale, longitudinal social media data to assess the association between trimester of COVID-19 infection and preterm birth.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, we used natural language processing and machine learning, followed by manual validation, to identify pregnant Twitter users and to search their longitudinal collection of publicly available tweets for reports of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and, subsequently, a preterm birth or term birth (i.e., a gestational age ≥37 weeks) outcome. Among the users who reported their pregnancy on Twitter, we also identified a 1:1 age-matched control group, consisting of users with a due date prior to January 1, 2020—that is, without COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare the overall rates of preterm birth for pregnancies with and without COVID-19 infection and by timing of infection: first trimester (weeks 1-13), second trimester (weeks 14-27), or third trimester (weeks 28-36).

Results

Through August 2022, we identified 298 Twitter users who reported COVID-19 infection during pregnancy, a preterm birth or term birth outcome, and maternal age: 94 (31.5%) with first-trimester infection, 110 (36.9%) second-trimester infection, and 95 (31.9%) third-trimester infection. In total, 26 (8.8%) of these 298 users reported preterm birth: 8 (8.5%) were infected during the first trimester, 7 (6.4%) were infected during the second trimester, and 12 (12.6%) were infected during the third trimester. In the 1:1 age-matched control group, 13 (4.4%) of the 298 users reported preterm birth. Overall, the risk of preterm birth was significantly higher for pregnancies with COVID-19 infection compared to those without (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.06-4.16). In particular, the risk of preterm birth was significantly higher for pregnancies with COVID-19 infection during the third trimester (OR 3.17, CI 1.39-7.21).

Conclusion

The results of our study suggest that COVID-19 infection particularly during the third trimester is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth.
Immunity to non-dengue flaviviruses impacts dengue virus IgG ELISA specificity in Cambodia
Authors: Odio Camila , Yek Christina , Hasund Chloe M. , Man Somnang , Ly Piseth , Nhek Sreynik , Chea Sophana , Lon Chanthap , Voirin Charlie , Huy Rekol , Leang Rithea , Huch Chea , Oliveira L. Fabiano , Manning Jessica E. , Katzelnick Leah C.
Published: November 2023

Seroprevalence studies are the gold standard for disease surveillance, and serology was used to determine eligibility for the first licensed dengue vaccine. However, expanding flavivirus endemicity, co-circulation, and vaccination complicate serology results. Among 713 healthy Cambodian children, a commonly used indirect dengue virus IgG ELISA (PanBio) had a lower specificity than previously reported (94% vs. 100%). Of those with false positive PanBio results, 46% had detectable neutralizing antibodies against other flaviviruses, with the highest frequency against West Nile virus (WNV). Immunity to non-dengue flaviviruses can impact dengue surveillance and potentially pre-vaccine screening efforts.