bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nidogen-2 Maintains the Contractile Phenotype of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Prevents Neointima Formation via Bridging Jagged1-Notch3 Signaling
Authors: Mao Chenfeng , Ma Zihan , Jia Yiting , Li Weihao , Xie Nan , Zhao Guizhen , Ma Baihui , Yu Fang , Sun Jinpeng , Zhou Yuan , Cui Qinghua , Fu Yi , Kong Wei 
Published: July 2021

Background:
How the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment modulates the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and confers vascular homeostasis remains elusive.

Methods:
To explore the key ECM proteins in the maintenance of the contractile phenotype of VSMCs, we applied protein-protein interaction network analysis to explore novel ECM proteins associated with the VSMC phenotype. By combining in vitro and in vivo genetic mice vascular injury models, we identified nidogen-2, a basement membrane glycoprotein, as a key ECM protein for maintenance of vascular smooth muscle cell identity.

Results:

We collected a VSMC phenotype–related gene dataset by using Gene Ontology annotation combined with a literature search. A computational analysis of protein-protein interactions between ECM protein genes and the genes from the VSMC phenotype–related gene dataset revealed the candidate gene nidogen-2, a basement membrane glycoprotein involved in regulation of the VSMC phenotype. Indeed, nidogen-2–deficient VSMCs exhibited loss of contractile phenotype in vitro, and compared with wild-type mice, nidogen-2
–/
–
mice showed aggravated post–wire injury neointima formation of carotid arteries. Further bioinformatics analysis, coimmunoprecipitation assays, and luciferase assays revealed that nidogen-2 specifically interacted with Jagged1, a conventional Notch ligand. Nidogen-2 maintained the VSMC contractile phenotype via Jagged1-Notch3 signaling but not Notch1 or Notch2 signaling. Nidogen-2 enhanced Jagged1 and Notch3 interaction and subsequent Notch3 activation. Reciprocally, Jagged1 and Notch3 interaction, signaling activation, and Jagged1-triggered VSMC differentiation were significantly repressed in nidogen-2–deficient VSMCs. In accordance, the suppressive effect of Jagged1 overexpression on neointima formation was attenuated in nidogen-2
–/–
mice compared with wild-type mice.

Conclusions:
Nidogen-2 maintains the contractile phenotype of VSMCs through Jagged1-Notch3 signaling in vitro and in vivo. Nidogen-2 is required for Jagged1-Notch3 signaling.
Determinants of Influenza Vaccine Uptake in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease and Strategies for Improvement
Authors: Bhugra Priyanka , Grandhi Gowtham R. , Mszar Reed , Satish Priyanka , Singh Rahul , Blaha Michael , Blankstein Ron , Virani Salim S. , Cainzos‐Achirica Miguel , Nasir Khurram 
Published: July 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Influenza infection is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure exacerbation) and mortality, and all‐cause mortality in patients with CVD. Infection with influenza leads to a systemic inflammatory and thrombogenic response in the host body, which further causes destabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. Influenza vaccination has been shown to be protective against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in several observational and prospective studies of at‐risk populations. Hence, many international guidelines recommend influenza vaccination for adults of all ages, especially for individuals with high‐risk conditions such as CVD. Despite these long‐standing recommendations, influenza vaccine uptake among US adults with CVD remains suboptimal. Specifically, vaccination uptake is strikingly low among patients aged <65 years, non‐Hispanic Black individuals, those without health insurance, and those with diminished access to healthcare services. Behavioral factors such as perceived vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, and attitudes towards vaccination play an important role in vaccine acceptance at the individual and community levels. With the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, there is a potential threat of a concurrent epidemic with influenza. This would be devastating for vulnerable populations such as adults with CVD, further stressing the need for ensuring adequate influenza vaccination coverage. In this review, we describe a variety of strategies to improve the uptake of influenza vaccination in patients with CVD through improved understanding of key sociodemographic determinants and behaviors that are associated with vaccination, or the lack thereof. We further discuss the potential use of relevant strategies for COVID‐19 vaccine uptake among those with CVD.
Reforming Teacher Pension Plans: The Case of Kansas, the First
Teacher Cash Balance Plan
Authors: Costrell Robert M. 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The ongoing crisis in teacher pension funding has led states to consider various reforms in plan design to replace the traditional benefit formulas, based on years of service and final average salary (FAS). One such design is a cash balance (CB) plan, long deployed in the private sector, and increasingly considered, but rarely yet adopted, for teachers. Such plans are structured with individual 401(k)-type retirement accounts, but with guaranteed returns. In this paper I examine how the nation's first CB plan for teachers, in Kansas, has played out for system costs, and the level and distribution of individual benefits, compared with the FAS plan it replaced. My key findings are: (1) employer-funded benefits were modestly reduced, despite the surface appearance of more generous employer contribution matches; (2) more importantly, the cost of the pension guarantee, which is off-the-books under standard actuarial accounting, was reduced quite substantially. In addition, benefits are more equitably distributed between short-term teachers and career teachers than under the back-loaded structure of benefits characteristic of FAS plans. The key to the plan's cost reduction is that the guaranteed return approximates a low-risk market return, considerably lower than the assumed return on risky assets.
Nature, the Nonhuman, and the Critique of Representation in Dieter Roth's Biodegradable Work
Authors: Árnadóttir Heiđa Björk 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The practice of the Swiss-German artist Dieter Roth is distinguished by his pioneering use, since the early 1960s, of biodegradable materials. This essay examines the development of Roth's practice from Concrete Art to process-oriented and biodegradable work in the context of the reconceptualization of the “concrete” within the global artistic network of Fluxus in the postwar period. Highlighting the challenge Roth's biodegradable work poses to the traditional conceptual limits of the spheres of culture and nature, it argues that the profound transformation of Roth's practice in the early 1960s was rooted in the artist's growing discontent with the idealist and ethical premises of modern art and aesthetics, at the heart of which is the distinction between the human and the nonhuman. In this, Roth's biodegradable works precede later preoccupations with how humans relate to the natural environment, both in early earthworks from the late '60s and in contemporary practice. By examining Roth's biodegradable works in the context of Fluxus, this essay points towards aspects of Fluxus work that remain unexamined, most crucially the role of the natural and the nonhuman in Fluxus critiques of representation.
Art Writing and Allegory in the Anthropocene
Authors: Linden Liz , Ballard Susan 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
This essay traces the emergence of a rich and densely layered field of art writing within the Anthropocene. We ask: If the Anthropocene is all around us, where is it in art writing? We identify the emergence of Anthropocenic art writing: writing that is not art writing about the Anthropocene per se but rather art writing that takes its cue from the operations and outcomes of the Anthropocene itself, including its flagrant disregard for boundaries (disciplinary and otherwise), and its agency. We find such strategies already at work, particularly, in writing by artists such as Hito Steyerl, Martha Rosler, and Chris Kraus, as well as in writing that is polyphonic either through the collaboration of multiple writers or through collage. We map art writing's strata (its past and present delineations, some of its cardinal points) in order to identify sites of resistance to the accelerations of the contemporary era, which is to say places where deceleration and deliberation may be possible. Anthropocenic art writing claims such modes as its own. While for scientists the Anthropocene has been marked by the contestation of golden spikes, in art writing these proxy signals go far beyond employing “nature” and the environment as a theme or topic, taking the Anthropocene as an allegorical mode itself.
NFTs, or The Readymade Reversed
Authors: Joselit David 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Modern and contemporary art have redefined the relationship between information and matter. Whether in the readymade's scrambling of the categories of art and commodity or Conceptual art's translation of matter into information, the artwork is embedded in a dynamic multi-media discourse. The NFT, or non-fungible-token, reverses this long genealogy of contemporary art by hijacking the category of art as nothing more than a tool for designing a new asset class, ripe for exuberant speculation. In short, the readymade—whose purpose was to demonstrate the fungibility of artworks when shifted from one discursive category to another—has been reversed.
Legal Guarantees of Public Participation in Spatial Planning and Development
Authors: Koniuszewska Ewa 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Residents of self-governing communities, organized in formalized structures, often express the need to articulate their own interests and views or to have influence over the content of adopted legal solutions. They are ready to get involved in public matters and collaborate with local government units in regulating affairs that are important to a given local or regional community. Without a doubt, the issue of spatial planning and development falls under this category. The legislator obliged competent bodies to safeguard public participation in works on the study of conditions and directions of spatial development of a municipality, a local spatial development plan and a voivodship spatial development plan. The aim of this paper is to analyse the applicable legal solutions as guarantees of public participation in the planning procedure. Moreover, it provides a basis for assessing real possibilities of participation of residents of local government units in the process of passing planning acts and of real influence over their content.
Updated checklist of the Cerambycidae (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea) from Mexico
Authors: PÉREZ-FLORES OSCAR , TOLEDO-HERNÁNDEZ VÍCTOR H. , BEZARK LARRY G. , MONNÉ MIGUEL A. 
Published: July 2021

The knowledge of the family Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) from Mexico is updated based on the literature where records of species from Mexico have been published. In addition, Callimoxys sanguinicollis (Olivier, 1800), Laticranium mandibulare Lane 1959, Bellamira scalaris (Say, 1826), and Strangalia opleri Linsley & Chemsak, 1976 are recorded as new records for the country. A total of 1,836 species (including subspecies), 503 genera, 81 tribes, and seven subfamilies are recorded from Mexico. A complete checklist of taxa is provided.
An Overview of the Performance and Operational Applications of the MRMS and FLASH Systems in Recent Significant Urban Flash Flood Events
Authors: Gerard Alan , Martinaitis Steven M. , Gourley Jonathan J. , Howard Kenneth W. , Zhang Jian 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system is an operational, state-of-the-science hydrometeorological data analysis and nowcasting framework that combines data from multiple radar networks, satellites, surface observational systems, and numerical weather prediction models to produce a suite of real-time, decision-support products every 2 min over the contiguous United States and southern Canada. The Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrograph (FLASH) component of the MRMS system was designed for the monitoring and prediction of flash floods across small time and spatial scales required for urban areas given their rapid hydrologic response to precipitation. Developed at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) and other research entities, the objective for MRMS and FLASH is to be the world’s most advanced system for severe weather and storm-scale hydrometeorology, leveraging the latest science and observation systems to produce the most accurate and reliable hydrometeorological and severe weather analyses. NWS forecasters, the public, and the private sector utilize a variety of products from the MRMS and FLASH systems for hydrometeorological situational awareness and to provide warnings to the public and other users about potential impacts from flash flooding. This article will examine the performance of hydrometeorological products from MRMS and FLASH and provide perspectives on how NWS forecasters use these products in the prediction of flash flood events with an emphasis on the urban environment.
The SALTENA Experiment: Comprehensive Observations of Aerosol Sources, Formation, and Processes in the South American Andes
Authors: Bianchi Federico , Sinclair Victoria A. , Aliaga Diego , Zha Qiaozhi , Scholz Wiebke , Wu Cheng , Heikkinen Liine , Modini Rob , Partoll Eva , Velarde Fernando , Moreno Isabel , Gramlich Yvette , Huang Wei , Koenig Alkuin Maximilian , Leiminger Markus , Enroth Joonas , Peräkylä Otso , Marinoni Angela , Xuemeng Chen , Blacutt Luis , Forno Ricardo , Gutierrez Rene , Ginot Patrick , Uzu Gaëlle , Facchini Maria Cristina , Gilardoni Stefania , Gysel-Beer Martin , Cai Runlong , Petäjä Tuukka , Rinaldi Matteo , Saathoff Harald , Sellegri Karine , Worsnop Douglas , Artaxo Paulo , Hansel Armin , Kulmala Markku , Wiedensohler Alfred , Laj Paolo , Krejci Radovan , Carbone Samara , Andrade Marcos , Mohr Claudia 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
This paper presents an introduction to the Southern Hemisphere High Altitude Experiment on Particle Nucleation and Growth (SALTENA). This field campaign took place between December 2017 and June 2018 (wet to dry season) at Chacaltaya (CHC), a GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station located at 5,240 m MSL in the Bolivian Andes. Concurrent measurements were conducted at two additional sites in El Alto (4,000 m MSL) and La Paz (3,600 m MSL). The overall goal of the campaign was to identify the sources, understand the formation mechanisms and transport, and characterize the properties of aerosol at these stations. State-of-the-art instruments were brought to the station complementing the ongoing permanent GAW measurements, to allow a comprehensive description of the chemical species of anthropogenic and biogenic origin impacting the station and contributing to new particle formation. In this overview we first provide an assessment of the complex meteorology, airmass origin, and boundary layer–free troposphere interactions during the campaign using a 6-month high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation coupled with Flexible Particle dispersion model (FLEXPART). We then show some of the research highlights from the campaign, including (i) chemical transformation processes of anthropogenic pollution while the air masses are transported to the CHC station from the metropolitan area of La Paz–El Alto, (ii) volcanic emissions as an important source of atmospheric sulfur compounds in the region, (iii) the characterization of the compounds involved in new particle formation, and (iv) the identification of long-range-transported compounds from the Pacific or the Amazon basin. We conclude the article with a presentation of future research foci. The SALTENA dataset highlights the importance of comprehensive observations in strategic high-altitude locations, especially the undersampled Southern Hemisphere.
Using deep learning to emulate and accelerate a radiative-transfer model
Authors: Lagerquist Ryan , Turner David , Ebert-Uphoff Imme , Stewart Jebb , Hagerty Venita 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis paper describes the development of U-net++ models, a type of neural network that performs deep learning, to emulate the shortwave Rapid Radiative-transfer Model (RRTM). The goal is to emulate the RRTM accurately in a small fraction of the computing time, creating a U-net++ that could be used as a parameterization in numerical weather prediction (NWP). Target variables are surface downwelling flux, top-of-atmosphere upwelling flux (), net flux, and a profile of radiative-heating rates. We have devised several ways to make the U-net++ models knowledge-guided, recently identified as a key priority in machine learning (ML) applications to the geosciences. We conduct two experiments to find the best U-net++ configurations. In Experiment 1, we train on non-tropical sites and test on tropical sites, to assess extreme spatial generalization. In Experiment 2, we train on sites from all regions and test on different sites from all regions, with the goal of creating the best possible model for use in NWP. The selected model from Experiment 1 shows impressive skill on the tropical testing sites, except four notable deficiencies: large bias and error for heating rate in the upper stratosphere, unreliable for profiles with single-layer liquid cloud, large heating-rate bias in the mid-troposphere for profiles with multi-layer liquid cloud, and negative bias at lowzenith angles for all flux components and tropospheric heating rates. The selected model from Experiment 2 corrects all but the first deficiency, and both models run ~104 times faster than the RRTM. Our code is available publicly.
Linkage to HIV Medical Care and Social Determinants of Health Among Adults With Diagnosed HIV Infection in 41 States and the District of Columbia, 2017
Authors: Gillot Myrline , Gant Zanetta , Hu Xiaohong , Satcher Johnson Anna 
Published: July 2021

Objectives To reduce the number of new HIV infections and improve HIV health care outcomes, the social conditions in which people live and work should be assessed. The objective of this study was to describe linkage to HIV medical care by selected demographic characteristics and social determinants of health (SDH) among US adults with HIV at the county level. Methods We used National HIV Surveillance System data from 42 US jurisdictions and data from the American Community Survey to describe differences in linkage to HIV medical care among adults aged ≥18 with HIV infection diagnosed in 2017. We categorized SDH variables into higher or lower levels of poverty (where <13% or ≥13% of the population lived below the federal poverty level), education (where <13% or ≥13% of the population had <high school diploma), and health insurance coverage (where <12% or ≥12% of the population lacked health insurance). We calculated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs. Results Of 33 204 adults with HIV infection diagnosed in 2017, 78.4% were linked to HIV medical care ≤1 month after diagnosis. Overall, rates of linkage to care were significantly lower among men and women living in counties with higher versus lower poverty (PR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.97), with lower versus higher health insurance coverage (PR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.92-0.94), and with lower versus higher education levels (PR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.98). Conclusions Increasing health insurance coverage and addressing economic and educational disparities would likely lead to better HIV care outcomes in these areas.
Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with concomitant Impella versus concomitant intra-aortic-balloon-pump for cardiogenic shock
Authors: Au Shek-yin , Fong Ka-man , Tsang Chun-Fung Sunny , Chan Ka-Chun Alan , Wong Chi Yuen , Ng Wing-yiu George , Lee Kang Yin Michael 
Published: July 2021

Introduction: The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) and Impella are left ventricular unloading devices with peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in place and later serve as bridging therapy when VA-ECMO is terminated. We aimed to determine the potential differences in clinical outcomes and rate of complications between the two combinations of mechanical circulatory support. Methods: This was a retrospective, single institutional cohort study conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong. Inclusion criteria included all patients aged ⩾18 years, who had VA-ECMO support, and who had left ventricular unloading by either IABP or Impella between January 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020. Patients <18 years old, with central VA-ECMO, who did not require left ventricular unloading, or who underwent surgical venting procedures were excluded. The primary outcome was ECMO duration. Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS) in the ICU, hospital LOS, mortality, and complication rate. Results: Fifty-two patients with ECMO + IABP and 14 patients with ECMO + Impella were recruited. No statistically significant difference was observed in terms of ECMO duration (2.5 vs 4.6 days, p = 0.147), ICU LOS (7.7 vs 10.8 days, p = 0.367), and hospital LOS (14.8 vs 16.5 days, p = 0.556) between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was observed in the ECMO, ICU, and hospital mortalities between the two groups. Specific complications related to the ECMO and Impella combination were also noted. Conclusions: Impella was not shown to offer a statistically significant clinical benefit compared with IABP in conjunction with ECMO. Clinicians should be aware of the specific complications of using Impella.
Ocular manifestations and refractive errors among people living with HIV in Pune, India: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Ghate Manisha , Gogate Parikshit , Phadke Supriya , Shaikh Gausiya , Shidhaye Pallavi , Gurav Shraddha , Gadhe Keshav , Bhusnawar Mahima , Mane Arati , Panda Samiran 
Published: July 2021

Objective We aimed to determine the ocular manifestation and refractive error prevalences among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Pune, India. Methods This cross-sectional study included HIV-infected adults attending a National AIDS Research Institute clinic. Ophthalmologic examination included visual acuity estimation, refraction, orthoptic evaluation, slit lamp and fundus examination, and photography. Results In total, 441 HIV-infected individuals were enrolled. The participants' median age was 44 (interquartile range 38–49) years and 227 (51.5%) were men. Refractive errors occurred in 132 (29.9%) individuals. Ocular manifestations were present in 93 (21.1%) participants and the most frequent was cataract in 59 (13.4%) participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that participants who were illiterate (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.47–5.33) and those aged greater than 40 years (AOR 5.59, 95% CI 2.69–11.61) were more likely to have ocular manifestations. The odds of having ocular manifestations were greater in participants with treatment substitution or changes (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.16–3.82). Conclusions Cataract and refractive errors were prevalent among PLHIV. PLHIV should be encouraged to have regular ophthalmic checkups. Individuals with lower education levels and older age should be counseled regarding eye care and timely reporting of ocular symptoms.