bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy in advanced thymic tumors.
Authors: Li Shuke , Zhang Lantian , He Jing , Gao Wen 
Published: June 2024

e20139 Background: Thymic tumors refer to tumors derived from thymic epithelial cells, including thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Most cases in advanced stages when detected, and treatment is still controversial. Since 2018, immunotherapy has gradually been used for a variety of solid tumors and the curative efficacy has been notable. The efficacy of immunotherapy is increasingly improved with the increased expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) by tumor cells. The thymus is an immune-rich organ. PD-L1 expression ranges from 23% to 92% in thymoma, and from 36% to 100% in thymic carcinoma. Thus, immunotherapy has been implicated as having broad prospects in the treatment of thymic tumors. Tislelizumab is an inhibitor of PD-1, which has shown preliminary anti-tumor effects in various solid tumors. The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has produced excellent anti-tumor activity for various types of tumors. However, there is a lack of clinical trial data to support the application of tislelizumab for the treatment of advanced thymic tumors. In this article, the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy were analyzed in eight patients with advanced thymic tumors to provide data for the use of this monoclonal antibody as first-line treatment of advanced thymic tumors. Methods: Here, after obtaining fully informed consent, we report cases involving eight patients with advanced thymic tumors treated with tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy. The clinical characteristics, lesion changes, treatment process, drugs used, drug efficacy, complications or adverse reactions were recorded and followed up to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced thymic tumors. Results: This article reports eight cases of advanced thymic tumor treated with tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy. Two patients received tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy as first-line treatment, and the remaining six patients were treated with tislelizumab after poor response to chemotherapy. Five patients achieved a partial response to the combined treatment. Of these, the partial response was retained in three patients after switching to tislelizumab monotherapy. The remaining three patients displayed stable disease after the combined treatment. There were no serious immune-related adverse events during treatment. The side effects of tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy were well tolerated. Conclusions: No clinical study of immunotherapy combined with standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced unresectable or metastatic thymic epithelial tumors has been described. This article provides strong evidence for the early application or even first-line use of tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy for advanced thymic epithelial tumors. More clinical studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab in thymic tumors.
The Preoperative Paradoxical GH Response to Oral Glucose Load Predicts a Low Risk of Recurrence in Acromegaly
Authors: Losa Marco , Garbin Enrico , Calcagnile Riccardo , Voltan Giacomo , Ceccato Filippo , Scaroni Carla , Occhi Gianluca , Mortini Pietro 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Context
A paradoxical growth hormone (GH) response to oral glucose load (oral glucose tolerance test [OGTT]) in acromegaly is associated with a milder phenotype.

Objective
To study whether the GH response to the OGTT predicts the risk of recurrence after initial surgical cure.

Methods
Retrospective, observational study at 2 tertiary care centers. We investigated 254 patients with acromegaly who were cured by surgery. All patients underwent an OGTT at diagnosis before pituitary surgery. A peak to basal GH ratio ≥120% within 90 minutes was used to distinguish paradoxical (GH-Par) from nonparadoxical responses (GH-NPar) in patients with acromegaly. Cox analysis was used to investigate whether the paradoxical GH response to OGTT was associated with the risk of disease recurrence

Results
A paradoxical GH response to OGTT occurred in 87 patients (34.3%, termed GH-Par group). Recurrence of acromegaly occurred in 3 patients in the GH-Par group (3.4%) and in 20 patients in the GH-NPar group (12.0%). In the multivariate analysis, the paradoxical GH response to OGTT was significantly associated with a low risk of recurrence (HR 0.18, 95% CI 0.05-0.63; P = .007). Basal GH level at diagnosis was the only other variable associated with the risk of disease recurrence (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.01-2.47; P = .04).

Conclusion
Our study demonstrates that a paradoxical GH response to OGTT in the preoperative setting predicts a lower risk of disease recurrence after initial surgical cure. The pattern of GH responsiveness to OGTT is, therefore, useful to predict the long-term outcome of patients with acromegaly.
Randomized Double-Blind Study of the Effect of Injectate Temperature on Intrathecal Bupivacaine Dose Requirement in Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Zhao Yan-Ping , Zhang Xu-Feng , Qian Jing , Xiao Fei , Chen Xin-Zhong 
Published: June 2024

BACKGROUND:
Increasing the temperature of intrathecal local anesthetics has been shown to increase the speed of onset and block height of spinal anesthesia. However, how this influences dose requirement has not been fully quantified. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effective dose for anesthesia for cesarean delivery in 50% of patients (ED50) of intrathecal bupivacaine given at temperatures of 37 °C (body temperature) or 24 °C (room temperature).

METHODS:
Eighty healthy parturients having elective cesarean delivery under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia were randomly assigned to receive intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine stored at 37 °C (body temperature group) or 24 °C (room temperature group). The first subject in each group received a bupivacaine dose of 10 mg. The dose for each subsequent subject in each group was varied with an increment or decrement of 1 mg based on the response (effective or noneffective) of the previous subject. Patients for whom the dose was noneffective received epidural supplementation after data collection with lidocaine 2% as required until anesthesia was sufficient for surgery. Values for ED50 were calculated using modified up-down sequential analysis with probit analysis applied as a backup sensitivity analysis. These values were compared and the relative mean potency was calculated.

RESULTS:
The ED50 (mean [95% confidence interval, CI]) of intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine was lower in the body temperature group (6.7 [5.7–7.6] mg) compared with the room temperature group (8.1 [7.7–8.6] mg) (P < .05). The relative potency ratio for intrathecal bupivacaine for the room temperature group versus the body temperature group was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.77–0.93).

CONCLUSIONS:
Warming hyperbaric bupivacaine to body temperature reduced the dose requirement for spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery by approximately 16% (95% CI, 7%–23%).
High-speed high-power free-space optical communication via directly modulated watt-class photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers
Authors: Morita Ryohei , Ishimura Shota , Inoue Takuya , Nishimura Kosuke , Takahashi Hidenori , Tsuritani Takehiro , De Zoysa Menaka , Ishizaki Kenji , Suzuki Masatoshi , Noda Susumu 
Published: June 2024

Photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs), which use a two-dimensional photonic crystal as the laser cavity, can achieve both high output powers and narrow beam divergence angles owing to single-mode lasing over a large area. High-speed, high-power, direct modulation of PCSELs is expected to realize compact and power-saving optical transmitters without bulky lens systems and fiber amplifiers for free-space optical communications. In this paper, we realize high-speed, high-power, free-space optical communication via directly modulated watt-class photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers. We first numerically investigate the intrinsic (optical) and parasitic (electrical) frequency response characteristics of watt-class PCSELs with large lasing areas, and we show that several-GHz-class direct modulation is feasible even in watt-class PCSELs. Then, we fabricate a 500-µm-diameter PCSEL and simultaneously realize watt-class continuous-wave operation and several-GHz-class direct modulation. Finally, by directly modulating the developed PCSEL with a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal, we demonstrate free-space optical communication with over 10 Gbit/s high-speed transmission and virtual 5-km-class long-distance transmission even without using a transmitter lens.
Co-circulation of two Alphaviruses in Burkina Faso: Chikungunya and O’nyong nyong viruses
Authors: Tinto Bachirou , Bicaba Brice , Kagoné Thérèse Samdapawindé , Kayiwa John , Rabe Ingrid , Merle Corinne Simone Collette , Zango Alidou , Ayouba Ahidjo , Salinas Sara , Kania Dramane , Simonin Yannick 
Published: June 2024

Background
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and O’nyong nyong virus (ONNV) are phylogenetically related alphaviruses in the Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) antigenic complex of the Togaviridae family. There are limited data on the circulation of these two viruses in Burkina Faso. The aim of our study was to assess their circulation in the country by determining seroprevalence to each of the viruses in blood donor samples and by retrospective molecular and serological testing of samples collected as part of national measles and rubella surveillance.

Methodology/Principal findings
All blood donor samples were analyzed on the Luminex platform using CHIKV and ONNV E2 antigens. Patient samples collected during national measles-rubella surveillance were screened by an initial ELISA for CHIKV IgM (CHIKjj Detect IgM ELISA) at the national laboratory. The positive samples were then analyzed by a second ELISA test for CHIKV IgM (CDC MAC-ELISA) at the reference laboratory. Finally, samples that had IgM positive results for both ELISA tests and had sufficient residual volume were tested by plaque reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) for CHIKV and ONNV. These same patient samples were also analyzed by rRT-PCR for CHIKV. Among the blood donor specimens, 55.49% of the samples were positive for alphaviruses including both CHIKV and ONNV positive samples. Among patient samples collected as part of national measles and rubella surveillance, 3.09% were IgM positive for CHIKV, including 2.5% confirmed by PRNT. PRNT failed to demonstrate any ONNV infections in these samples. No samples tested by RT-qPCR. had detectable CHIKV RNA.

Conclusions/Significance
Our results suggest that CHIKV and ONNV have been circulating in the population of Burkina Faso and may have been confused with malaria, dengue fever or other febrile diseases such as measles or rubella. Our study underscores the necessity to enhance arbovirus surveillance systems in Burkina Faso.
One-year mortality and morbidities of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome compared with other diseases: A nationwide cohort study in South Korea
Authors: Heo Namwoo , Heo Seok-Jae , Park Yoon Soo , Yi Seonju , Lee Hyunju , Lee Hyo-jung , Kim Yong Chan 
Published: June 2024

Background
The long-term mortality and morbidity of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) remain unclear.

Methods
This retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Service dataset on hospitalized patients with SFTS aged ≥20 years between 2016 and 2021 (n = 1,217). Each SFTS case was matched with three controls hospitalized for non-SFTS-related diseases using propensity score matching. The all-cause mortality of patients with SFTS was evaluated during the one-year follow-up and compared with that of controls. Post-discharge events were investigated to determine the effects of SFTS on post-acute sequelae.

Results
Finally, 1,105 patients with SFTS and 3,315 controls were included. Patients with SFTS had a higher risk of death during the one-year follow-up than that of controls (hazard ratio [HR], 2·26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1·82–2·81). Thirty-day mortality was significantly higher in the SFTS group (HR, 3·99; 95% CI, 3·07–5·19) than in the control group. An increased risk of death after 31–365 days was observed among controls, though this difference was significant only among patients in their 80s (HR, 0·18; 95% CI, 0·06–0·57). For post-discharge events, patients in the SFTS group exhibited a higher risk of readmission (HR, 1·17; 95% CI, 1·04–1·32) and emergency room visit (HR, 2·32; 95% CI, 1·96–2·76) than those in the control group.

Conclusion
SFTS induces a higher risk of short-term mortality and post-acute sequelae in hospitalized patients during a one-year follow-up than non-SFTS-related diseases. Our results provide guidance for the management of SFTS.
Authenticity and Authorship in Pacific Island Encounters: New Lives of Old Imaginaries, Jeannette Mageo and Bruce Knauft (eds) (2021)
Authors: Schieder Dominik 
Published: June 2024

Review of: Authenticity and Authorship in Pacific Island Encounters: New Lives of Old Imaginaries, Jeannette Mageo and Bruce Knauft (eds) (2021)
New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 246 pp.,
ISBN 978 1 80073 054 0 (hbk), US$135
A Diamond Universe
Authors: GUY Bernard 
Published: June 2024

Cosmology is currently facing some major challenges. In addition to dark matter and dark energy, the issue of ‘impossible’ galaxies has been brought to the fore by the James Webb Telescope. Something simple eludes us, and the various problems mentioned are interrelated. Our proposition is that, on the cosmological scale, it is appropriate to take a value of the speed of light cc lower than its standard value c0 in vacuum. This defines an optical index cc =c0./cc We account for this ‘refringence’ by a Shapiro effect extended to the scale of the universe (use of Schwarzschild metric), described by its average density ρu and its equivalent gravitational radius Ru. Remarkably, universes with indices greater than two are entirely conceivable, and their characteristics are close to those we determine for our own. The velocities of celestial objects are estimated from redshifts in ratios of the type v/c, where the speed of light is usually taken to be equal to . With an equal ratio v/c (all things considered, only the v/c ratio has any meaning), dividing c0 by a certain factor lowers the velocities v without postulating the existence of dark matter nor dark energy. Taking into account the problems cited earlier suggests a value of α close to 2.4. We are led to a lengthening of the age of the universe: it could reach 33 billion years. This would allow it to host in its relatively young phases objects that are already old and structured.
The classical solvability for a one-dimensional nonlinear thermoelasticity system with the far field degeneracy
Authors: Hu Yanbo , Sugiyama Yuusuke 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
We study the local classical solvability of the Cauchy problem to the equations of one-dimensional nonlinear thermoelasticity. The governing model is a coupled system of a nonlinear hyperbolic equation for the displacement and a parabolic equation for the temperature of the elastic material. We allow the hyperbolic equation to degenerate at spacial infinity, which results that the coefficients of the coupled system are not uniformly bounded and then the previous methods for the strictly hyperbolic-parabolic coupled systems are invalid. We introduce a suitable weighted norm to establish the local existence and uniqueness of classical solutions by the contraction mapping principle. The existence time T of the solution is independent of the spatial variable.
Limitations of glycated albumin standardization when applied to the assessment of diabetes patients
Authors: Lenters-Westra Erna , Atkin Stephen L. , Kilpatrick Eric S. , Slingerland Robbert J. , Sato Asako , English Emma 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Objectives
Glycated albumin (GA) has potential value in the management of people with diabetes; however, to draw meaningful conclusions between clinical studies it is important that the GA values are comparable. This study investigates the standardization of the Norudia Glycated Albumin and Lucica Glycated Albumin-L methods.

Methods
The manufacturer reported imprecision was verified by performing CLSI-EP15-A3 protocol using manufacturer produced controls. The Japanese Clinical Chemistry Reference Material (JCCRM)611-1 was measured 20 times to evaluate the accuracy of both methods. GA was also measured in 1,167 patient samples and results were compared between the methods in mmol/mol and %.

Results
Maximum CV for Lucica was ≤0.6 % and for Norudia ≤1.8 % for control material. Results in mmol/mol and % of the JCCRM611-1 were within the uncertainty of the assigned values for both methods. In patient samples the relative difference in mmol/mol between the two methods ranged from −10.4 % at a GA value of 183 mmol/mol to +8.7 % at a GA value of 538 mmol/mol. However, the relative difference expressed in percentage units ranged from of 0 % at a GA value of 9.9 % to +1.7 % at a GA value of 30 %.

Conclusions
The results in mmol/mol between the two methods for the patient samples were significantly different compared to the results in %. It is not clear why patient samples behave differently compared to JCCRM611-1 material. Valuable lessons can be learnt from comparing the standardization process of GA with that of HbA1c.
The Silicon Valley paradox: A qualitative interview study on the social, cultural, and ideological foundations of a global innovation center
Authors: Quandt Thorsten , Klapproth Johanna 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Silicon Valley is both object of intense fascination and stark criticism. Academic observers have described it as a unique amalgamation of hippie culture, libertarian thinking, wild experimentation, but also scientific rigor, high-tech precision, and turbo-capitalism – a seemingly improbable, even paradoxical combination. Nevertheless, Silicon Valley continues to be an economic powerhouse and a global innovation hub. The current study explores its socio-cultural and ideological foundations through the lens of an insider perspective to find explanations for its stability and sustained success in light of conflicting components. Based on 15 interviews with Silicon Valley experts from start-ups, tech giants, and academic institutions, the study identifies several paradoxes on the level of ideology and environment, structure(s), and actors. These can be grouped into a binary, oppositional view, indeed describing the Silicon Valley paradox. However, alternative explanations are given, including the conceptualization as a non-dualist phenomenon.
Entering Into a Sonic Intra-Active Quantum Relation with Plant Life
Authors: España Keller Juliana 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
In the speculative research of plant bioacoustics, one enters into a sonic intra-active relation, by humans with non-human beings (plant life), activated through acoustic wave signals emitted by plants to create electronic patterns of sounds composed by humans and emitted by machines. Plants emit sound waves at relatively low frequencies of 50–120 Hz. Experimenting with patching and modulation by tracking these sonic lines of data can indeed lead to unique sonic experiences that tap into the universe’s musicology. It is fascinating how we can interact with sounds on such a deep level to create acoustic energy. We are and have always been attached to the universe in a relational processual way. We are all interconnected with plant life vibrating at different internal frequencies. This article focuses on a symbiotic relation between humans and plant life as an acoustic shimmering ecology – to communicate a posthuman, symbiotic understanding of vegetal matter as a morphological force that (re)shapes, (re)affirms our sonic intra-relations to the natural world. This proposition is molecular and metaphysical, as sound matter is of a qualitative multiplicity in the quantum field of listening. By acknowledging ontologically that cosmopolitics brings into relation different practices, practitioners, and the non-human (they assemble in a field of forces and intensities), I argue that there is no sovereign power under which all modes of existence can be organized, and there is no meta-language through which one can master the diversity of all discursive or material practices; but there are intra-relations in which one can get lost in a quantum field of sonic matter by moving into the cracks of the sensorium and the plant biosphere, which includes Indigenous voices. The alterity of plant life is daunting from an eco-feminist materialist position in that relationships are the default state of existence and sonic experiences uncover alternative or additional explanations in a (post)phenomenological world – which is embedded in the stuff of acoustics in the many ways humans hear the world. Thus, to communicate a posthuman, symbiotic understanding of vegetal matter necessitates understanding how sound matter intra-performs through a sonic language – where intra-relations with plant life have complex boundaries for humans. As a creative practitioner, how does one define the mutually beneficial engagement in plant communication with creative musical encounters? Entanglement is messy and a becoming with the universe as a philosophical sonic meditation and worlding. This entails expanding on plants as cosmogonic beings, world builders, and we, perhaps, are the by-products of the lives of our vegetal others.
Determination of molecular pathways and gene ontology of genes associated with Raynaud’s phenomenon
Authors: Öztan Gözde 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Objectives
Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a disease that causes discoloration of the fingers. The purpose of this study is to identify the molecular pathways in which genes related to RP illness are involved, as well as uncover the biological processes and molecular functions connected with those genes via the use of gene ontology (GO) analysis.

Methods
Genes associated with RP in the MalaCards Human Diseases database were detected. Twenty genes obtained from the MalaCards Human Diseases database were included in the study for gene ontology analysis via the STRING database. Accordingly, possible interactions between 20 genes were determined through STRING and network enrichment was performed.

Results
A significant enrichment by gene ontology enrichment analysis was detected in a subset of genes involved in biological processes including cellular response to luteinizing hormone stimulus, negative regulation of fibrinolysis, negative regulation of smooth muscle cell apoptotic process, plasminogen activation, cellular response to follicle-stimulating hormone stimulus. The assay for molecular function determined enrichment of a subset of genes in chemoattractant activity, growth factor activity, heparin binding, sulfur compound binding, growth factor receptor binding. Through the use of KEGG pathways, we were able to identify many molecular processes that contribute to RP, including the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, complement and coagulation cascades, fluid shear stress, atherosclerosis.

Conclusions
Some individuals may have a genetic predisposition to the onset of Raynaud’s phenomenon. Our data showed that it is associated with genes involved in vascular damage and fibrosis, especially in RP. Therefore, we can include RP disease in the group of vascular diseases.