bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular Effects of Autologous Bone Marrow–Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy With Early Tacrolimus Withdrawal in Renal Transplant Recipients: An Analysis of the Randomized TRITON Study
Authors: Meucci Maria Chiara , Reinders Marlies E. J. , Groeneweg Koen E. , Bezstarosti Suzanne , Ajmone Marsan Nina , Bax Jeroen J. , De Fijter Johan W. , Delgado Victoria 
Published: December 2021

Background
After renal transplantation, there is a need of immunosuppressive regimens that effectively prevent allograft rejection while minimizing cardiovascular complications. This substudy of the TRITON trial evaluated the cardiovascular effects of autologous bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in renal transplant recipients.

Methods and Results

Renal transplant recipients were randomized to MSC therapy, infused at weeks 6 and 7 after transplantation, with withdrawal at week 8 of tacrolimus or standard tacrolimus dose. Fifty‐four patients (MSC group=27; control group=27) underwent transthoracic echocardiography at weeks 4 and 24 after transplantation and were included in this substudy. Changes in clinical and echocardiographic variables were compared. The MSC group showed a benefit in blood pressure control, assessed by a significant interaction between changes in diastolic blood pressure and the treatment group (
P
=0.005), and a higher proportion of patients achieving the predefined blood pressure target of <140/90 mm Hg compared with the control group (59.3% versus 29.6%,
P
=0.03). A significant reduction in left ventricular mass index was observed in the MSC group, whereas there were no changes in the control group (
P
=0.002). The proportion of patients with left ventricular hypertrophy decreased at 24 weeks in the MSC group (33.3% versus 70.4%,
P
=0.006), whereas no changes were noted in the control group (63.0% versus 48.1%,
P
=0.29). Additionally, MSC therapy prevented progressive left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, as demonstrated by changes in mitral deceleration time and tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity.

Conclusions
MSC strategy is associated with improved blood pressure control, regression of left ventricular hypertrophy, and prevention of progressive diastolic dysfunction at 24 weeks after transplantation.

Registration

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT03398681.
Allen Ginsberg’s Jeremiad
Authors: Murray Caleb 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
“Howl” continues to capture popular and academic imaginations. This article explores the categorical fault lines between modernist and postmodernist epistemologies as they are applied to Ginsberg’s poetic project. Reframing “religion” in postmodern terms, this article argues that even dominative categories and processes might be refashioned and deployed in the service of emancipatory and (counter)normative ethics and politics.
Once More on the Dating of the “Royal” Five Brothers’ Burial Mound No. 8
Authors: Monakhov Sergei Yu. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Burial-mound No. 8 in the necropolis of the Elizavetovskoye fortified settlement. The dates assigned to 14 amphorae found in the dromos are constantly argued over by scholars. When traditional methods of chronology are used, it emerges that some of the amphorae should be assigned to the 350s BC, and others to the 330s–320s BC. Recently N.F. Fedoseev attempted to explain this difference in dating of various stamps by stating that the two burials had been laid out in the burial-mound at different times and that, as a result, the amphorae had also been placed in the dromos at different times. Analysis of the assemblage of amphorae against a background of new sources has made it possible to assume with confidence that both burials in the burial-chamber of the Five Brothers’ Burial-mound No. 8 had been of the same date and that this spectacular monument should be dated to the second half of the 350s BC or to the 350/340s BC.
Preliminary Report on Archaeological Excavations in Sophtades, Cyprus: Pre-Byzantine Pottery
Authors: Licheli Vakhtang , Gagoshidze Giorgi , Kasradze Merab 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The article is devoted to the materials found during the excavations of St. George Church located in the southern part of Cyprus, near the village of Softades. In the cultural layers inside of this church, pottery belonging to the Roman period, Iron Age and Late Bronze Age has been discovered. It is discussed in this article.
Mechanica Medicina Sacra: Biblical Vegetarianism in Philippe Hecquet’s Theological Medicine
Authors: Reed Julia 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
In the early eighteenth century, the French Jansenist physician Philippe Hecquet began publishing prolifically on the benefits of what he called “meatless medicine,” calling for a “Catholic cook” to guide France’s physical, moral, and spiritual health. This paper analyzes Hecquet’s defense of vegetarianism as an early modern example of a distinct kind of Biblical medicine – what Hecquet termed “theological medicine” – in the context of his understanding of bodily mechanism, natural history, and Biblical literalism, in his Traité des dispenses du carême (1709) and La medecine théologique, ou la medecine créée (1733). I argue that vegetarianism was the first principle of Hecquet’s Biblical medicine, which he considered both a natural and revealed truth to be grasped and applied by the pious physician.
Prayer and Physic in Seventeenth-Century England
Authors: Kassell Lauren , Ralley Robert 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Historians have often represented prayer as an instrumental response to illness. We argue instead that prayer, together with physic, was part of larger regimes to preserve health and prevent disease. We focus on early modern England, through the philosophical writings of the physician, Robert Fludd, and the medical records of the clergyman, Richard Napier. Fludd depicted health as a fortress and illness as an invasion by demons; the physician counsels the patient in maintaining and restoring moral and bodily order. Napier documented actual uses of prayer. As in Fludd’s trope, through prayer, Napier and his patients enacted their aspiration for health and their commitment to a Christian order in which medicine only worked if God so willed it. Prayer, like physic, was a key part of a regime that the wise practitioner aimed to provide for his patients, and that they expected to receive from him.
The Epistemic Role of Consciousness from a Practical Point of View
Authors: Smith Sean M. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
This paper concerns the way that phenomenal consciousness helps us to know things about the world. Most discussions of how consciousness contributes to our store of knowledge focus on propositional knowledge. In this paper, I recast the problem in terms of practical knowledge by reconstructing some neglected strands of argument in William James’s analyses of bodily affect and habitual action in The Principles of Psychology (1890/1950). I will argue that my reading of James’s view provides a plausible account of how phenomenally conscious states feed practical knowledge. I will also show that my reconstruction of James view harmonizes well with recent empirical findings.
Holding Transnational Corporations Accountable for Environmental Harm Through Counterclaims in Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Myth or Reality?
Authors: Thomé Hugo 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Considering the imperative need to protect our environment, the present article begins by highlighting the absence of a comprehensive international framework under which transnational corporations may be held accountable for environmental harm. Drawing from the successful decisions on environmental counterclaims in Perenco v Ecuador and Burlington Resources v Ecuador, this article thus argues that this legal void could be filled by holding transnational corporations accountable for environmental harm under international investment law. However, the practice of environmental counterclaims as they have materialised in these recent decisions emphasises the existence of a gap between theory and reality and, thus, their limited chances of success. It is nevertheless suggested that, in the context of current debates surrounding an investor-State dispute settlement reform, States hold the cards to ensure that transnational corporations are held accountable for environmental harm under international investment law.
COVID-19 Border Closures: A Violation of Non-Refoulement Obligations in International Refugee and Human Rights Law?
Authors: Ogg Kate , Taoi Chanelle 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
COVID-19 has presented a number of challenges for the international refugee protection regime. An issue that has received little attention is the relationship between states tightening their borders in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and their non-refoulement obligations. This raises the question of how international law responds when non-refoulement obligations may conflict with other international human rights such as the rights to life and health. Further, the legal analysis of whether a particular COVID-19 border policy is in violation of non-refoulement obligations must take into account how the travel restriction will be implemented. This article provides an overarching analysis of non-refoulement provisions in international refugee and human rights law and which COVID-19 international travel restrictions may be in breach of these obligations. We examine different types of COVID-19 travel restrictions and argue that many are undoubtedly violations of non-refoulement, but others raise unsettled questions of international law. Nevertheless, there is jurisprudence and scholarship to support the proposition that a state’s non-refoulement obligations can be triggered even in these more contested scenarios.
MagicTouch PTA Sirolimus Coated Balloon for Femoropopliteal and Below the Knee Disease: Results From XTOSI Pilot Study Up To 12 Months
Authors: Choke Edward , Tang Tjun Yip , Peh Eilane , Damodharan Karthikeyan , Cheng Shin Chuen , Tay Jia Sheng , Finn Aloke V. 
Published: December 2021

Introduction: Sirolimus coated balloon (SCB) is a promising treatment option to prevent restenosis for peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). This is a pilot first-in-human study of MagicTouch percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) SCB for treatment of PAOD for both femoropopliteal and below the knee arteries (BTK). Material and Methods: Xtreme Touch-Neo [MagicTouch PTA] Sirolimus Coated Balloon (XTOSI) pilot study is a prospective, single-arm, open-label, single-center trial evaluating MagicTouch PTA SCB for symptomatic PAOD. Primary endpoint was defined as primary patency at 6 months (duplex ultrasound peak systolic velocity ratio ≤2.4). Secondary endpoints included clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR), amputation free survival (AFS), all-cause mortality, and limb salvage success. Results: Fifty patients were recruited. The mean age was 67 (n=31 [62%] males). SCB was applied to femoropopliteal in 20 patients (40%) and BTK in 30 patients (60%). Majority of treatments (94%) were performed for limb salvage indications (Rutherford scores 5 or 6). This was a high risk cohort, in which 90% had diabetes, 36% had coronary artery disease, 20% had end stage renal failure, and American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score was 3 or more in 80%. Mean lesion length treated was 227±81 mm, of which 36% were total occlusions. Technical and device success were both 100%. At 30 days, mortality was 2% and major limb amputation was also 2%. Six-month primary patency was 80% (88.2% for femoropopliteal; 74% for BTK). At 12 months, freedom from CD-TLR was 89.7% (94.1% for femoropopliteal; 86.3% for BTK), AFS was 81.6% (90.0% for femoropopliteal; 75.9% for BTK), all-cause mortality was 14.3% (10.0% for femoropopliteal; 17.2% for BTK), and limb salvage success was 92.9% (94.4% for femoropopliteal; 91.7% for BTK). There was a statistically significant increase between baseline and 6-month toe pressures for both femoropopliteal (57.3±23.3 mm Hg vs 82.5±37.8 mm Hg; p<.001) and BTK lesions (52.8±19.2 mm Hg vs 70.7±37 mm Hg; p<.037). At 12 months, wound healing rate was 33/39 (84.6%). Conclusions: MagicTouch PTA SCB in the XTOSI study showed promising 6-month primary patency and encouraging 12-month freedom from CD-TLR, AFS, and limb salvage rates. No early safety concerns were raised. Randomized trials are needed to investigate the safety and efficacy of SCB for treatment of PAOD.
Mining massive genomic data of two Swiss Braunvieh cattle populations reveals six novel candidate variants that impair reproductive success
Authors: Häfliger Irene M. , Seefried Franz R. , Spengeler Mirjam , Drögemüller Cord 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
This study was carried out on the two Braunvieh populations reared in Switzerland, the dairy Brown Swiss (BS) and the dual-purpose Original Braunvieh (OB). We performed a genome-wide analysis of array data of trios (sire, dam, and offspring) from the routine genomic selection to identify candidate regions showing missing homozygosity and phenotypic associations with five fertility, ten birth, and nine growth-related traits. In addition, genome-wide single SNP regression studies based on 114,890 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for each of the two populations were performed. Furthermore, whole-genome sequencing data of 430 cattle including 70 putative haplotype carriers were mined to identify potential candidate variants that were validated by genotyping the current population using a custom array.

Results
Using a trio-based approach, we identified 38 haplotype regions for BS and five for OB that segregated at low to moderate frequencies. For the BS population, we confirmed two known haplotypes, BH1 and BH2. Twenty-four variants that potentially explained the missing homozygosity and associated traits were detected, in addition to the previously reported TUBD1:p.His210Arg variant associated with BH2. For example, for BS we identified a stop-gain variant (p.Arg57*) in the MRPL55 gene in the haplotype region on chromosome 7. This region is associated with the ‘interval between first and last insemination’ trait in our data, and the MRPL55 gene is known to be associated with early pregnancy loss in mice. In addition, we discuss candidate missense variants in the CPT1C, MARS2, and ACSL5 genes for haplotypes mapped in BS. In OB, we highlight a haplotype region on chromosome 19, which is potentially caused by a frameshift variant (p.Lys828fs) in the LIG3 gene, which is reported to be associated with early embryonic lethality in mice. Furthermore, we propose another potential causal missense variant in the TUBGCP5 gene for a haplotype mapped in OB.

Conclusions
We describe, for the first time, several haplotype regions that segregate at low to moderate frequencies and provide evidence of causality by trait associations in the two populations of Swiss Braunvieh. We propose a list of six protein-changing variants as potentially causing missing homozygosity. These variants need to be functionally validated and incorporated in the breeding program.
Diagonal earlobe crease and long-term survival after myocardial infarction
Authors: Thilo Christian , Meisinger Christine , Heier Margit , von Scheidt Wolfgang , Kirchberger Inge 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
The association between the presence of a diagonal earlobe crease (DEC) and coronary artery disease has been prescribed earlier. However, it is unclear whether patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and DEC have a higher risk of dying.

Methods
Study participants were persons with AMI who were included in the KORA Myocardial Infarction Registry Augsburg from August 2015 to December 2016. After taking pictures of both earlobes, two employees independently assessed the severity of DEC in 4°. For analysis, the expression of the DEC was dichotomized. Information on risk factors, severity and therapy of the AMI was collected by interview and from the medical record. Vital status post AMI was obtained by population registries in 2019. The relationship between DEC and survival time was determined using Cox proportional hazards models.

Results
Out of 655 participants, 442 (67.5%) showed DEC grade 2/3 and 213 (32.5%) DEC grade 0/1. Median observation period was 3.06 years (5–1577 days). During this period, 26 patients (12.2%) with DEC grade 0/1 and 92 patients (20.8%) with grade 2/3 died (hazard ratio 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–2.96, p = 0.0037). In the fully adjusted model, patients with DEC grade 2/3 had a 1.48-fold increased risk of death compared to the DEC grade 0/1 patient group (CI 0.94–2.34, p = 0.0897). The fully adjusted model applied for 1-year survival revealed a significant, 2.57-fold hazard ratio of death (CI 1.07–6.17, p = 0.0347) for the patients with DEC grade 2/3.

Conclusions
Our results indicate that DEC is independently associated with 1-year AMI survival.
Infection of Plasmodium falciparum and helminths among school children in communities in Southern and Northern Ghana
Authors: Akosah-Brempong G. , Attah S. K. , Hinne I. A. , Abdulai A. , Addo-Osafo K. , Appiah E. L. , Osei M.-M. , Afrane Y. A. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Infections of Plasmodium species, Schistosoma species and soil-transmitted helminths (STH) inflict a significant burden on children mostly in deprived communities in Ghana. Despite the deployment of malaria vector control and the annual Mass Drug Administration by National Control Programmes, these infections still pose major public health concerns in Ghana. Some remote communities which are hard-to-reach are not covered by MDA campaigns which is a major challenge to meeting elimination targets. Adequate data is necessary for formulating policies and strengthening interventions to mitigate transmission. This study assessed the infection burden of Plasmodium, Schistosoma species and STH infections among school children in communities in Southern and Northern Ghana.

Method
School children living in communities in Southern (Ada Foah, Pediatorkope, Tuanikope) and Northern (Kpalsogu) Ghana were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. A total of 493 (241 males and 252 females) school children aged (2–15 years) were enrolled in the study. Stool samples were collected to screen for Schistosoma mansoni and STH infections using the formol-ether concentration technique and urine samples were also collected to screen for S. haematobium using the routine urine examination method. Plasmodium parasitaemia was determined from thick and thin finger-prick blood samples.

Results
Overall, the prevalence of P. falciparum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm infections were 17.2% (95%CI 12.8–19.7), 22.6% (95%CI 25.2–32.7), 1.6% (95%CI 0.89–5.2), 1.2% (95%CI 0.78–4.8) and 1.2% (95%CI 0.78–4.8) respectively. Plasmodium falciparum infection was generally widespread in all the study sites with Ada Foah recording the highest prevalence (35.3%) and Kpalsogu recording the lowest (5.8%). Schistosoma mansoni was present in only two Southern communities with Tuanikope recording the highest prevalence of 70.3% as against 51.5% recorded in Pediatorkope. A total of 4.5% (95% CI 2.82–10.8) of the children were co-infected with P. falciparum, Schistosoma species and STHs. This occurred only in the Southern communities; of which combination of P. falciparum and S. mansoni were predominant (1.4%).

Conclusion
A relatively low burden of parasites co-infection among children only in the Southern communities was detected. However, there were a high prevalence of single infections of P. falciparum and S. mansoni in those communities. Control measures for the helminths needs to be restarted in the island communities with a high burden of S. mansoni infections and that of Plasmodium needs to be scaled up in Ada Foah where P. falciparum infections were high.
Psychometric properties of the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS) in a longitudinal sample of people experiencing non-affective psychosis
Authors: Harris Kamelia , Haddock Gillian , Peters Sarah , Gooding Patricia 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Suicidal ideation is a key precursor for suicide attempts and suicide deaths. Performing routine screening of suicide precursors can help identify people who are at high risk of death by suicide. This is, arguably, an important suicide prevention effort. The aim of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and factor structure of the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS) in a three-month longitudinal study with people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or non-affective psychosis and experiences of suicidal ideation and/or behaviours. It was predicted that the SIDAS would have high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent, discriminant and construct validity.

Methods
Ninety-nine participants experiencing psychosis completed the SIDAS at baseline and 89 participants completed it 3 months later. Additionally, participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Defeat and Entrapment Scales. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the SIDAS were investigated in comparison to other constructs. Factor analysis was performed to examine the factor structure of the scale.

Results
Principal component analysis yielded a theoretically coherent one-dimensional factor structure of SIDAS, suggesting good construct validity (PCA = .71). The SIDAS had high internal consistency (α = .89) and good test-retest reliability (α = .73). It was highly correlated with other self-report measures, including the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Defeat and Entrapment scales, indicating excellent construct validity.

Conclusion
The SIDAS is a valid and reliable self-report instrument for assessing the severity of suicidal ideation in a population of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or non-affective psychosis. Further research should test the psychometric properties of the scale in individuals experiencing different mental health problems in cross-cultural settings, in order to establish its broader validity, reliability, and clinical utility.