bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Wu Hsing‐kuo’s Metamorphosis as postdramatic intercultural theater
Authors: Chen Chang 
Published: September 2021

AbstractWu Hsing‐kuo and his Contemporary Legend Theater adapted Kafka’s seminal novella The Metamorphosis into an intercultural play named Metamorphosis in 2013. In light of the connections between Hans‐Thies Lehmann’s theory of postdramatic theater and new interculturalism in theater, where both emphasize rhizomatic structures to break down imperialist transcultural synthesis, this article explores an experimental mode of intercultural theater exemplified by Wu’s Metamorphosis. It argues that the play builds on the framework of postdramatic theater an intercultural rhizome embodying various routes of East–West interconnection embedded in concrete material conditions, which meets the demands of new interculturalism. Specifically, this article finds that the play’s postdramatic form benefits the intersections both inside and beyond theater among Eastern traditional art and philosophy, Western individualism and industrialized modernity, against the backdrop of Taiwan’s social and cultural circumstances. The postdramatic intercultural mode of performance in Metamorphosis points towards a possible direction for the future development of contemporary intercultural theater.
The ecopolitics of water pollution and disorderly urbanization in Congo‐Basin plays
Authors: Nsah Kenneth Toah 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis essay explores the ecopolitics of water pollution and land (ab)use through disorderly urbanization in two plays from the Congo Basin. I argue that bad governance, in the form of absented‐absence and corruption‐plagued presence, leads to the double violation of human rights and the rights of nature through water pollution and haphazard urbanization. In other words, I use two plays to suggest that political absence and bad governance amount to governmental responsibility for ecological vulnerability manifested through freshwater pollution and unregulated urban expansion. In the first part, I suggest that the government’s failure to provide potable water to its citizens leads to water pollution, violations of the rights of nature and the human right to water and sanitation, as well as disregard for the entangled relations between humans and nature in Ekpe Inyang’sWater Na Life([2002] 2006). In the second part, I use Henri Djombo’sLe mal de terre(2014) to examine urban sprawl and its effects on the rights of nature as well as land disputes and contested claims to land as consequences of bad governance. Overall, the essay foregrounds freshwater pollution, urban sprawl, and land (ab)uses which are often neglected in ecocritical scholarship from/on Africa.
Evaluating the role of intra articular injection of platelet‐rich fibrin in the management of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis: A STROBE compliant retrospective study
Authors: Bera Rathindra N. , Tiwari Preeti 
Published: September 2021

AbstractOsteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease. A number of treatments like conservative approach, minimally invasive procedures and surgical therapy have proved to be beneficial. However, there is no consensus regarding the use of a single modality of treatment. Our current study evaluates the role of intra articular injection iPRF along with arthrocentesis for the management of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ‐OA). A total of 130 patients were selected and divided into two groups, Group A (arthrocentesis only group) and Group B (arthrocentesis +i‐PRF). Patients were evaluated for pain scores and maximal mouth opening (MMO). After 1 year, mouth opening in arthrocentesis‐only group was 32.13 ± 1.46 mm compared with 36.48 ± 0.89 mm in the i‐PRF group (p‐value <0.0001). There was a significant reduction in mouth opening in Group A from 6 months to 1 year compared with Group B (p‐value <0.001).There was no statistical difference in mean VAS scores at the end of 6 months (p‐value 1.00). Addition of iPRF to arthrocentesis did not improve joint pain after 6 months. Nevertheless, repeated injections did have a beneficial effect in MMO. Within the limitations of the study repeated injections of iPRF in conjunction with arthrocentesis might be recommended for the treatment of mild TMJ‐OA.
Long‐term survival after choriocarcinoma transmitted by liver graft: A successful report in pediatric transplantation
Authors: Pessanha Inês , Heitor Fátima , Furtado Emanuel , Campos António Pedro , Gonçalves Isabel 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBackgroundLT is the standard of care for many pediatric liver disorders. Although long‐term outcomes have improved, some rare complications such as transmission of occult donor tumors have been reported.Case reportAn adolescent diagnosed with tyrosinemia was submitted to LT from a previous healthy donor due to HCC. Almost 8 months after LT, the patient presented a nodular hepatic lesion. Clinically, he had mild weight loss, lower limb edema, and gynecomastia. Thorax CT found lesions in the left lung parenchyma, which showed no increased uptake in PET SCAN. Liver biopsy revealed a carcinoma with desmoplastic stroma. ISS was withdrawn, and palliative chemotherapy was started for presumptive HCC relapse. AFP remained normal, but HCG had reached unexpected values of 1984 IU/L. As we requested detailed information about the other organ recipients from the same donor, we found that one of them passed away due to disseminated tumor. Five months after the beginning of chemotherapy, the patient underwent resection of liver segments V and VI. Histological examination confirmed liver metastatic choriocarcinoma. At the time of writing, with 11 years of follow‐up, the patient had sustained remission with no signs of relapse.DiscussionThis case reports a diagnostic challenge in an adolescent with a particular unique background and a very rare pattern of tumor transmission. The authors aim to highlight the risk of cancer‐bearing organs reveled post‐LT and to testimony the experience of the successful outcome after a choriocarcinoma transmitted by liver graft.
Structural and histochemical attributes of secretory ducts and cavities in leaves of four species of Calophyllaceae J. Agardh in Amazonian savannas
Authors: Pessoa M. J. G. , Pireda S. , Simioni P. , Bautz N. , Da Cunha M. 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

This study represents an important contribution to the structural, histochemical and biological understanding of ducts and cavities in leaves of four species of Calophyllaceae that occur in Amazonian savannas.

Samples of adult leaves were processed using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, as per usual methods for plant anatomy.

In paradermal sections, the lumina of ducts are elongated while those of cavities are short. Ducts occur exclusively in the central rib and are abundant in Kielmeyera rubriflora Cambess and Kielmeyera coriacea Mart. and Zucc and larger than in Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess and Caraipa densifolia Mart. In mesophyll, the type of secretory structure and distribution pattern of the ducts and cavities are distinct. In most species, the secreted metabolites are similar and consist of phenolic compounds, lipids, essential oils with oleoresins, mucilage, neutral polysaccharides, proteins and alkaloids, except in K. coriacea, which does not contain oleoresin. The secretion is probably synthesized by mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes and dictyosomes and is externalized toward the lumen by granulocrine and eccrine processes.

In addition to being of diagnostic value for species identification, the attributes of the lumen shape, type of secretory structure, distribution pattern, identified metabolites and secretion mechanism are important for understanding the biological roles of ducts and cavities. The identified metabolites reveal a capacity for adaptation, resistance and protection from the action of herbivores and pathogens, and in water retention.
The ACC deaminase‐producing plant growth‐promoting bacteria: Influences of bacterial strains and ACC deaminase activities in plant tolerance to abiotic stress
Authors: Naing Aung Htay , Maung The‐Thiri , Kim Chang Kil 
Published: September 2021

AbstractGlobal climate change results in frequent occurrences and/or long durations of abiotic stress. Field grown plants are affected by abiotic stress, and they modulate ethylene in response to abiotic stress exposure and use it as a signaling molecule in stress tolerance mechanisms. However, frequent occurrences and/or long durations of stress conditions can cause plants to induce ethylene levels higher than their thresholds, resulting in a reduction of plant growth and crop productivity. The use of plant growth‐promoting bacteria (PGPB) that produce 1‐aminocyclopropane‐1‐carboxylate (ACC) deaminase has increased in various plant species to ameliorate the deleterious effects of stress‐induced ethylene and promote plant growth despite abiotic stress conditions. Unfortunately, there are restrictions that limit the use of ACC deaminase‐producing PGPB to protect plants from abiotic stresses. This review describes how abiotic stress induces ethylene and how stress‐induced ethylene adversely affects plant growth. In addition, this review emphasizes the importance of the compatibility of PGPB strains and specific host plants and ACC deaminase activities in the reduction of stress ethylene and the promotion of plant growth, based on the research published in the last 10 years. Moreover, due to the restrictions in PGPB use, this review highlights the potential generation of transgenic plants expressing the AcdS gene that encodes the ACC deaminase enzyme as a substitute for PGPB in the future to support and uplift agricultural sustainability and food security globally.
Model-Assisted Analyses of Cluster-Randomized Experiments
Authors: Su Fangzhou , Ding Peng 
Published: September 2021

AbstractCluster-randomized experiments are widely used due to their logistical convenience and policy relevance. To analyse them properly, we must address the fact that the treatment is assigned at the cluster level instead of the individual level. Standard analytic strategies are regressions based on individual data, cluster averages and cluster totals, which differ when the cluster sizes vary. These methods are often motivated by models with strong and unverifiable assumptions, and the choice among them can be subjective. Without any outcome modelling assumption, we evaluate these regression estimators and the associated robust standard errors from the design-based perspective where only the treatment assignment itself is random and controlled by the experimenter. We demonstrate that regression based on cluster averages targets a weighted average treatment effect, regression based on individual data is suboptimal in terms of efficiency and regression based on cluster totals is consistent and more efficient with a large number of clusters. We highlight the critical role of covariates in improving estimation efficiency and illustrate the efficiency gain via both simulation studies and data analysis. The asymptotic analysis also reveals the efficiency-robustness trade-off by comparing the properties of various estimators using data at different levels with and without covariate adjustment. Moreover, we show that the robust standard errors are convenient approximations to the true asymptotic standard errors under the design-based perspective. Our theory holds even when the outcome models are misspecified, so it is model-assisted rather than model-based. We also extend the theory to a wider class of weighted average treatment effects.
Determinants of citizens’ support for democracy in Ghana
Authors: Asomah Joseph Yaw , Dim Eugene Emeka 
Published: September 2021

AbstractObjectiveThis article addresses the following questions: (1) What is the extent of Ghanaians' support for democracy? (2) What are the influences of education, the pursuit of political news, and the discussion of politics on citizens' support of democracy?MethodsThis study combines the sixth and seventh rounds the Afrobarometer surveys on Ghana. The total sample for this study is 4,800 adult Ghanaians. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed for the multivariate analysis.ResultsAbout 81 percent of the respondents prefer democracy to any other form of government, including a military rule. Also, the study also found that education attainment, the pursuit of political news information, and the discussion of politics is significantly linked to citizens' support of democracy.ConclusionThe study shows that increasing access to education and political information are vital mechanisms for strengthening democratic consolidation.
Necrotizing enterocolitis and mortality after transfusion of ABO non‐identical blood
Authors: Parvizian Michael K. , Barty Rebecca , Heddle Nancy M. , Li Na , McDougall Tara , Mukerji Amit , Fusch Christoph , Solh Ziad 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between ABO non‐identical transfusion and the outcomes of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and all‐cause mortality in very‐low birth weight (VLBW) neonates receiving red blood cell transfusion is unknown.Study design and methodsA retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in VLBW neonates in neonatal intensive care units between 2004 and 2016. VLBW (≤1500 grams) neonates were followed until discharge or in‐hospital death. The primary exposure was ABO group. Secondary exposures included platelet count, plasma transfusions, and maternal ABO group. Outcome measures were NEC (defined as Bell stage ≥ 2) and all‐cause mortality. Time‐dependent Cox regression models with competing risks were used to investigate factors associated with NEC and mortality.ResultsThousand and sixteen neonates were included with 10.8% developing NEC (n = 110) and 14.1% mortality (n = 143). Platelet count (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.995; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.922–0.998) and number of plasma transfusions (HR = 2.908; 95% CI:1.265–6.682) were associated with NEC, while ABO group (non‐O vs. O) was not (HR = 0.761; 95% CI: 0.393–1.471). Higher all‐cause mortality occurred in neonates without NEC who were non‐O compared with O (HR = 17.5; 95% CI: 1.784–171.692), but not in neonates with NEC (HR = 1.112; 95% CI: 0.142–8.841). Plasma transfusion was associated with increased mortality in both groups.DiscussionABO non‐identical transfusion was not associated with NEC or mortality in neonates with NEC. It was associated with increased mortality in neonates without NEC. As many neonatal intensive care units transfuse only O group blood as routine practice, future trials are needed to investigate the association between this practice and neonatal mortality.
Two novel alleles on Fucosyltransferase 2 from northern Thai para‐Bombay family and computational prediction on mutation effect
Authors: Anukul Nampeung , Wita Ratsameetip , Leetrakool Nipapan , Sirikul Chonticha , Veeraphan Natnaree , Wongchai Siripong 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBackgroundMajor characteristics of the para‐Bombay phenotype are the absence of ABH antigens on red blood cells due to fucosyltransferase 1 (FUT1) gene mutation and the presence of these antigens in body secretions due to the active fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) gene. An ABO blood group discrepancy can be identified via serological testing, and additional tests can be performed for confirmation. This study aimed to resolve the ABO discrepancy and report two novel alleles on the FUT2 gene in northern Thai para‐Bombay families.Study design and methodsTwelve blood samples were collected from five suspected para‐Bombay donors and their families. Nucleotide sequences of ABO, FUT1, and FUT2 were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction‐sequence‐based typing. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the effect of suspected novel FUT2 alleles.ResultsAll samples exhibited normal ABO alleles, concordant with serological test results. FUT1 exhibited three known variants (c.328G>A, c.424C>T, and c.658C>T). Although FUT2 exhibited two known variants (c.357C>T and c.385A>T), two novel alleles were observed. One allele consisted of c.98A>G, c.101T>G, and c.357C>T with predicted normal transferase activity, whereas the other consisted of c.357C>T and c.617T>C with predicted abnormal enzyme activity.DiscussionTwo novel alleles in FUT2 were reported among the affected para‐Bombay individuals of northern Thai families. The c.617T>C variant caused an amino acid change from valine to alanine at position 206, predicted to be an inactive FUT2 enzyme. Inheritance of this variant with the recessive FUT1 allele may lead to inheritance of the rare Bombay blood group in the progeny.
Passive muscle heating attenuates the decline in vascular function caused by limb disuse
Authors: Hyldahl Robert D. , Hafen Paul S. , Nelson W. Bradley , Ahmadi Mohadeseh , Pfeifer Brandon , Mehling Jack , Gifford Jayson R. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractLimb disuse has profound negative consequences on both vascular and skeletal muscle health. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether repeated application of passive heat, applied to the knee extensor muscles, could mitigate the detrimental effects of limb disuse on vascular function. This was a randomized, single‐blinded placebo controlled trial. Twenty‐one healthy volunteers (10 women, 11 men) underwent 10 days of unilateral lower limb immobilization and were randomized to receive either a daily 2 h sham (Imm) or heat treatment (Imm+H) using pulsed shortwave diathermy. Vascular function was assessed with Doppler ultrasound of the femoral artery and the passive leg movement technique. Biopsies of the vastus lateralis were also collected before and after the intervention. In Imm, femoral artery diameter (FAD) and PLM‐induced hyperaemia (HYP) were reduced by 7.3% and 34.3%, respectively. Changes in both FAD (4% decrease; P = 0.0006) and HYP (7.8% increase; P = 0.003) were significantly attenuated in Imm+H. Vastus lateralis capillary density was not altered in either group. Immobilization significantly decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (P = 0.006) and Akt (P = 0.001), and increased expression of angiopoietin 2 (P = 0.0004) over time, with no differences found between groups. Immobilization also upregulated elements associated with remodelling of the extracellular matrix, including matrix metalloproteinase 2 (P = 0.0046) and fibronectin (P = 0.0163), with no differences found between groups. In conclusion, limb immobilization impairs vascular endothelial function, but daily muscle heating via diathermy is sufficient to counteract this adverse effect. These are the first data to indicate that passive muscle heating mitigates disuse‐induced vascular dysfunction.
imageKey points
Limb disuse can be unavoidable for many of reasons (i.e. injury, bed rest, post‐surgery), and can have significant adverse consequences for muscular and vascular health.
We tested the hypothesis that declines in vascular function that result from lower limb immobilization could be mitigated by application of passive heat therapy.
This report shows that 10 days of limb immobilization significantly decreases resistance artery diameter and vascular function, and that application of passive heat to the knee extensor muscle group each day for 2 h per day is sufficient to attenuate these declines.
Additionally, muscle biopsy analyses showed that 10 days of heat therapy does not alter capillary density of the muscle, but upregulates multiple factors indicative of a vascular remodelling response.
Our data demonstrate the utility of passive heat as a therapeutic tool to mitigate losses in lower limb vascular function that occur from disuse.
Acid‐sensing ion channel 1 contributes to pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell depolarization following hypoxic pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Jernigan Nikki L. , Naik Jay S. , Resta Thomas C. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractPulmonary hypertension is characterized by sustained vasoconstriction and remodelling of the small pulmonary arteries, which is associated with persistent depolarization of the resting membrane potential (Em) of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). It is well‐known that the underlying mechanism of this depolarization includes inhibition of K+ channels; however, whether other ion channels contribute to this depolarization is unknown. We previously reported that acid‐sensing ion channel 1 (ASIC1), a non‐selective cation channel (NSCC) that conducts both Na+ and Ca2+, is present in PASMCs and contributes to the development of chronic hypoxia (CH)‐induced pulmonary hypertension. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that ASIC1‐mediated Na+ influx contributes to PASMC Em regulation following CH‐induced pulmonary hypertension. Using sharp electrode intracellular recordings in isolated, pressurized small pulmonary arteries from rats and mice, we show that exposure to CH leads to PASMC membrane depolarization compared with control animals, and this is independent of intraluminal pressure‐induced depolarization. In addition to a decrease in PASMC whole‐cell K+ currents following CH, we demonstrate that whole‐cell NSCC currents are increased and essential to the persistent CH‐induced Em depolarization in PASMCs. Both the specific inhibitor of ASIC1, psalmotoxin 1, and global knockout of ASIC1 (Asic1–/–) prevents CH‐induced Em depolarization and largely inhibits whole‐cell NSCC currents, without affecting whole‐cell K+ currents. Our results show a combination of factors, including inhibition of K+ efflux and augmented Na+ influx, mediate CH‐induced PASMC depolarization. Furthermore, this study demonstrates a novel role for ASIC1 in the regulation of Em in PASMCs during CH‐induced pulmonary hypertension.
imageKey points
In pulmonary hypertensive patients and animal models of pulmonary hypertension, the resting membrane potential (Em) of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is persistently depolarized.
In addition to the well‐established reduction of K+ conductance, we show that non‐selective cation channel currents are increased and essential to the persistent Em depolarization in PASMCs following chronic hypoxia (CH)‐induced pulmonary hypertension.
The current study provides novel evidence that acid‐sensing ion channel 1 (ASIC1)‐mediated Na+ influx induces membrane depolarization and regulates Em in PASMCs following CH exposure.
Although fairly quiescent under control conditions, our findings demonstrate a pathological function of ASIC1 in the development of chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension.
Keeping It Real or Bridging the Gap? Brand Positioning of U.S. Sport Teams in Germany and China
Authors: Behrens Anton , Yang Yanxiang , Uhrich Sebastian 
Published: September 2021

Professional team sport brands are increasingly striving to conquer markets abroad. However, little is known about promising brand positioning strategies in international markets. In the context of U.S. team sport brands’ efforts to attract satellite fans in two different target markets (i.e., Germany and China), this research uses three experimental online studies to test the relative effects of two foreign brand positioning strategies (purely foreign vs. locally integrated foreign) on satellite fans’ attitudes toward the strategy and brand interaction intentions. Findings suggest that fans’ responses depend on the target market. While German fans respond more favorably to purely foreign brand positioning, Chinese fans prefer local adaptations of the U.S. brands to Chinese customs. These diverse effects can be explained by different underlying mechanisms: purely foreign brand positioning increases perceptions of authenticity among German fans, while locally integrated foreign brand positioning increases perceived customer orientation and pride among Chinese fans.