bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Islam and the Transmission of Cultural Identity in Four European Countries
Authors: Karim Sakeef M 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Studies exploring the integration of European immigrants tend to find cultural gaps between Muslim children and their peers. While some scholars argue that parent-to-child transmission is a key mechanism underlying this pattern, others privilege extrafamilial explanations by pointing to differences in cultural values within Muslim households. In the present study, I argue that these mixed results stem from a tendency in the literature to analyze distinct components of personal culture in isolation from cognate dimensions. To address this shortcoming, I use multigroup latent class models to explore how a wide range of attitudes (tapping ethnocultural identity, gender norms, sexual liberalism, and perspectives on integration) are clustered together in disparate regions of the belief space, marking distinct cultural identities. Then, I fit a series of logistic regressions to map how these cultural identities are distributed among immigrant-origin samples in four European countries and transmitted across generational lines. Ultimately, I arrive at the following conclusion: while Muslim youth stand out from their peers vis-à-vis their cultural identity profiles, there is little evidence to suggest that this pattern is decisively shaped by parent-to-child transmission.
Moderate chronic sleep perturbation impairs glucose and lipid homeostasis in rats
Authors: Tonet Natália Stinghen , da Silva Marçal Danilo Francisco , da Silva Flavia Natividade , Brunetta Henver Simionato , Mori Marcelo Alves da Silva , dos Santos Gustavo Jorge , Moreira Eduardo Luiz Gasnhar , Rafacho Alex 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Study Objectives
Sleep deprivation is a potential risk factor for metabolic diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the impacts of moderate chronic sleep deprivation on glucose and lipid homeostasis in adult rats.

Methods
Wistar rats (both sexes) were sleep-perturbed daily for 2 hours at the early (06:00–08:00) and the late light cycle (16:00–18:00) five days a week (except weekends) for 4 weeks.

Results
Sleep perturbation (SP) resulted in reduced body weight gain in both sexes, associated with altered food intake and reduced adiposity. SP did not alter the short- or long-term memories or cause anxiogenic behavior. No major changes were observed in the plasma insulin, leptin, triacylglycerol, non-esterified fatty acids, and blood glucose upon SP. After SP, females exhibited a transitory glucose intolerance, while males became glucose intolerant at the end of the experimental period. Male rats also developed higher insulin sensitivity at the end of the SP protocol. Morphometric analyses revealed no changes in hepatic glycogen deposition, pancreatic islet mass, islet-cell distribution, or adrenal cortex thickness in SP rats from both sexes, except for lower adipocyte size compared with controls. We did not find homogeneous changes in the relative expression of circadian and metabolic genes in muscle or hepatic tissues from the SP rats.

Conclusions
Moderate chronic SP reduces visceral adiposity and causes glucose intolerance with a more pronounced impact on male rats, reinforcing the metabolic risks of exposure to sleep disturbances.
Evaluating the impact of anatomical and physiological variability on human equivalent doses using PBPK models
Authors: Schacht Celia M , Meade Annabel E , Bernstein Amanda S , Prasad Bidya , Schlosser Paul M , Tran Hien T , Kapraun Dustin F 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Addressing human anatomical and physiological variability is a crucial component of human health risk assessment of chemicals. Experts have recommended probabilistic chemical risk assessment paradigms in which distributional adjustment factors are used to account for various sources of uncertainty and variability, including variability in the pharmacokinetic behavior of a given substance in different humans. In practice, convenient assumptions about the distribution forms of adjustment factors and human equivalent doses (HEDs) are often used. Parameters such as tissue volumes and blood flows are likewise often assumed to be lognormally or normally distributed without evaluating empirical data for consistency with these forms. In this work, we performed dosimetric extrapolations using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform that incorporate uncertainty and variability to determine if the HEDs associated with such extrapolations are approximately lognormal and how they depend on the underlying distribution shapes chosen to represent model parameters. We accounted for uncertainty and variability in PBPK model parameters by randomly drawing their values from a variety of distribution types. We then performed reverse dosimetry to calculate HEDs based on animal points of departure for each set of sampled parameters. Corresponding samples of HEDs were tested to determine the impact of input parameter distributions on their central tendencies, extreme percentiles, and degree of conformance to lognormality. This work demonstrates that the measurable attributes of human variability should be considered more carefully and that generalized assumptions about parameter distribution shapes may lead to inaccurate estimates of extreme percentiles of HEDs.
Effects of combustible cigarettes and heated tobacco products on immune cell-driven inflammation in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases
Authors: Kastratovic Nikolina , Cekerevac Ivan , Sekerus Vanesa , Markovic Vladimir , Arsenijevic Aleksandar , Volarevic Ana , Harrell Carl Randall , Jakovljevic Vladimir , Djonov Valentin , Volarevic Vladislav 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Since long-term effects of heated tobacco products (HTP) on the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are unknown, we used COPD mice model to compare immune cell-dependent pathological changes in the lungs of animals which were exposed to HTP or combustible cigarettes (CCs). We also performed intracellular staining and flow cytometry analysis of immune cells which were present in the blood of CCs and HTP users who suffered from immune cell-driven chronic obstructive respiratory diseases. CCs enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent production of inflammatory cytokines in lung-infiltrated neutrophils and macrophages and increased influx of cytotoxic Th1, Th2, and Th17 lymphocytes in the lungs of COPD mice. Similarly, CCs promoted generation of inflammatory phenotype in circulating leukocytes of COPD patients. Opposite to CCs, HTP favored expansion of immunosuppressive, IL-10-producing, FoxP3-expressing T, NK, and NKT cells in inflamed lungs of COPD mice. Compared with CCs, HTP had weaker capacity to promote synthesis of inflammatory cytokines in lung-infiltrated immune cells. Significantly lower number of inflammatory neutrophils, monocytes, Th1, Th2, and Th17 lymphocytes were observed in the blood of patients who consumed HTP than in the blood of CCs users, indicating different effects of CCs and HTP on immune cells’ phenotype and function.
Divergent patterns of cranial suture fusion in marsupial and placental mammals
Authors: White Heather E , Tucker Abigail S , Goswami Anjali 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Cranial sutures, both open and closed, support a myriad of skull functions, including redistributing strain, accommodating brain expansion, supporting cranial bone growth, and protecting the brain. Thus, variation in the degree, timing, and pattern of suture fusion has functional implications. Using a comparative ontogenetic framework across Mammalia, we quantified degree and pattern of suture fusion through ontogeny for 22 mammalian species (N = 165). Suture closure was scored on a discrete scale for 31 cranial sutures and used to calculate closure scores for individual sutures and specimens. Ancestral state estimations found the degree of ancestral marsupial fusion to be more derived, differing from both the ancestral placental and ancestral therian. The average placental pattern followed the Krogman pattern of suture fusion (cranial vault, cranial base, circum-meatal, palatal, facial, and cranio-facial), whereas marsupials showed a distinct pattern. We propose a new pattern of suture fusion for marsupials: vault, cranio-facial, facial, circum-meatal, palate, cranial base. Delayed fusion of the marsupial cranial base is hypothesized here to support prolonged postnatal growth of the marsupial brain. Collectively, our study has identified a clear marsupial-placental dichotomy in the degree, timing, and pattern of suture fusion, with implications for understanding skull function and ontogeny.
Current updates for hyperuricemia and gout in age‐related macular degeneration
Authors: Pai Hung‐Liang , Lin David Pei‐Cheng , Chang Han‐Hsin 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe escalating prevalence of metabolic syndrome poses a significant public health challenge, particularly among aging populations, with metabolic dysfunctions contributing to pro‐inflammatory states. In this review, we delved into the less recognized association between hyperuricemia (HUA), a manifestation of metabolic syndrome and a primary risk factor for gout, and age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), a sight‐threatening ailment predominantly affecting the elderly. In recent years, inflammation, particularly its involvement in complement pathway dysregulation, has gained prominence in AMD pathophysiology. The contradictory role of uric acid (UA) in intercellular and intracellular environments was discussed, highlighting its antioxidant properties in plasma and its pro‐oxidant effects intracellularly. Emerging evidence suggests a potential link between elevated serum uric acid levels and choroid neovascularization in AMD, providing insights into the role of HUA in retinal pathologies. Various pathways, including crystal‐induced and non‐crystal‐induced mechanisms, were proposed to indicate the need for further research into the precise molecular interactions. The implication of HUA in AMD underscores its potential involvement in retinal pathologies, which entails interdisciplinary collaboration for a comprehensive understanding of its impact on retina and related clinical manifestations.
MIF as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for triple‐negative breast cancer that correlates with the polarization of M2 macrophages
Authors: Chen Mengting , Liu Hongsen , Hong Bo , Xiao Yufei , Qian Yun 
Published: May 2024

AbstractMacrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a crucial role in antitumor immunity. However, the role of MIF in influencing the tumor microenvironment (TME) and prognosis of triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains to be elucidated. Using R, we analyzed single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA‐seq) data of 41 567 cells from 10 TNBC tumor samples and spatial transcriptomic data from two patients. Relationships between MIF expression and immune cell infiltration, clinicopathological stage, and survival prognosis were determined using samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and validated in a clinical cohort using immunohistochemistry. Analysis of scRNA‐seq data revealed that MIF secreted by epithelial cells in TNBC patients could regulate the polarization of macrophages into the M2 phenotype, which plays a key role in modulating the TME. Spatial transcriptomic data also showed that epithelial cells (tumor cells) and MIF were proximally located. Analysis of TCGA samples confirmed that tumor tissues of patients with high MIF expression were enriched with M2 macrophages and showed a higher T stage. High MIF expression was significantly associated with poor patient prognosis. Immunohistochemical staining showed high MIF expression was associated with younger patients and worse clinicopathological staging. MIF secreted by epithelial cells may represent a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of TNBC and may promote TNBC invasion by remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment.
Assessment of postoperative pain in children following sclerotherapy of vascular malformations: a retrospective single centre cohort study
Authors: Klein Tank Cees , Himantono Nadia , Verhoeven Bas H. , Malagon Ignacio 
Published: May 2024

BACKGROUND
Inadequately controlled postprocedural pain following sclerotherapy in patients with vascular malformations is a well recognised problem. Reliable epidemiological data and risk factors associated with postprocedural pain in children are lacking.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate and quantify postprocedural pain in children and identify possible risk factors based on characteristics of the patient, treatment, and medication.

DESIGN
A retrospective single centre cohort study.

SETTING
A tertiary single centre study in the Netherlands.

PATIENTS
Two hundred and nine chiuldren with ‘simple’ subtypes of congenital vascular malformation who had undergone sclerotherapy.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE
Quantifying inadequately controlled postprocedural pain.

SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES
Identifying potential patient and treatment characteristics associated with inadequately controlled postprocedural pain.

RESULTS
A total of 209 patients who underwent 679 procedures were included in this study. The mean age at first intervention was 11.8 ± 4.5 years. Inadequately controlled postprocedural pain was found in 34.8% of the 679 procedures. Venous malformations (VM) were the most prevalent subtype of vascular malformation (80%), followed by arteriovenous malformations (AVM) (14.6%) and lymphatic malformations (LM) (5.4%). The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence intervals), and P values obtained from multivariable mixed effect logistic regression analysis for patient and treatment characteristics found to be associated with inadequately controlled postprocedural pain were: chronic use of analgesics (OR 2.74 (1.40 to 5.34), P = 0.003), treatment with ethanol (OR 2.39 (1.01 to 5.65, P = 0.05) or esketamine (OR 7.43 (1.32 to 41.81), P = 0.02). Patients treated with lauromacrogol (OR 0.42 (0.22 to 0.82, P = 0.01) and patients receiving intra-operative NSAIDs (OR 0.32, (0.12 to 0.85), P = 0.02) were less likely to experience inadequately controlled postprocedural pain.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite aiming to achieve best practice, the 34.8% incidence of unsatisfactory postoperative pain management in the children studied confirms that postprocedural pain after sclerotherapy is a common problem that requires further attention.
Longitudinal profiles of the vaginal microbiota of pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women: preliminary insights from a secondary data analysis
Authors: Stennett Christina A. , France Michael , Shardell Michelle , Robbins Sarah J. , Brown Sarah E. , Johnston Elizabeth D. , Mark Katrina , Ravel Jacques , Brotman Rebecca M. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Objective
Menopause is often accompanied by lowered Lactobacillus spp. relative abundance and increased abundance of diverse anaerobic/aerobic bacteria in the vaginal microbiota due in part to declines in estrogen. These microbiota are associated with urogenital symptoms and infections. In premenopause, vaginal microbiota can fluctuate rapidly, particularly with menstrual cycles and sexual activity; however, the longitudinal dynamics of vaginal microbiota are understudied in peri- and postmenopause. We described vaginal community stability across reproductive stages.

Methods
Pre- (n = 83), peri- (n = 8), and postmenopausal (n = 11) participants provided twice-weekly mid-vaginal samples (total, 1,556; average, 15 per participant) over 8 weeks in an observational study. Composition of the vaginal microbiota was characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and a community state type (CST) was assigned to each sample. Clustering of longitudinal CST profiles, CST transition rates, duration of low-Lactobacillus/high bacterial diversity CSTs, and other metrics of bacterial community dynamics were assessed across reproductive stages.

Results
The proportion of participants with longitudinal CST profiles characterized by low-Lactobacillus CSTs was similar among pre- (38.6%), peri- (37.5%), and postmenopausal (36.4%) participants (P = 0.69). CST transition rates between consecutive samples were 21.1%, 16.7%, and 14.6% for pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal participants, respectively (P = 0.49). Low-Lactobacillus CST tended to persist for at least 4 weeks, irrespective of reproductive stage.

Conclusions
Findings from this small yet frequently sampled cohort revealed vaginal bacterial fluctuations over 8 weeks that were similar across reproductive stages. Larger and longer-term studies based on these preliminary data could provide insights into the influence of microbiota dynamics on urogenital outcomes during menopause.
Idiopathic Calcinosis Cutis of the Hand
Authors: Shahriari Shawhin R.K. , Murali Tharani , Clarke Tegan N. , Kuhn Joseph F. , Stepenaskie Shelly A. , Borah Gregory L. 
Published: May 2024

Summary:
Calcinosis cutis is a disease process characterized by calcified lesions in the skin. Although there are five subtypes of calcinosis, idiopathic calcinosis cutis is a rare disease process with no clear etiology. It has been described in many parts of the body; however, there are only five reported cases specifically involving the hands. We describe the presentation and successful treatment of a case of idiopathic calcinosis cutis in a 65-year-old man with lesions on his bilateral hands. We believe that surgical excision of symptomatic lesions is a safe and effective treatment for idiopathic calcinosis cutis of the hands.
Eliciting the rubber hand illusion by the activation of nociceptive C and Aδ fibers
Authors: Coppi Sara , Jensen Karin B. , Ehrsson H. Henrik 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
The coherent perceptual experience of one's own body depends on the processing and integration of signals from multiple sensory modalities, including vision, touch, and proprioception. Although nociception provides critical information about damage to the tissues of one's body, little is known about how nociception contributes to own-body perception. A classic experimental approach to investigate the perceptual and neural mechanisms involved in the multisensory experience of one's own body is the rubber hand illusion (RHI). During the RHI, people experience a rubber hand as part of their own body (sense of body ownership) caused by synchronized stroking of the rubber hand in the participant's view and the hidden participant's real hand. We examined whether the RHI can be elicited by visual and “pure” nociceptive stimulation, ie, without tactile costimulation, and if so, whether it follows the basic perceptual rules of the illusion. In 6 separate experiments involving a total of 180 healthy participants, we used a Nd:YAP laser stimulator to specifically target C and Aδ fibers in the skin and compared the illusion condition (congruent visuonociceptive stimulation) to control conditions of incongruent visuonociceptive, incongruent visuoproprioceptive, and no nociceptive stimulation. The illusion was quantified through direct (questionnaire) and indirect (proprioceptive drift) behavioral measures. We found that a nociceptive rubber hand illusion (N-RHI) could be elicited and that depended on the spatiotemporal congruence of visuonociceptive signals, consistent with basic principles of multisensory integration. Our results suggest that nociceptive information shapes multisensory bodily awareness and contributes to the sense of body ownership.
The relationship between adipose tissue RAAS activity and the risk factors of prediabetes in different ethnicities: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Mkhize Bongeka Cassandra , Mosili Palesa , Mzimela Nomusa , Ngubane Phikelelani Sethu , Khathi Andile 
Published: May 2024

Background:
The incidence and prevalence of prediabetes has become a global concern. The risk factors of prediabetes, such as insulin resistance, adiposity, lipotoxicity and obesity, in conjunction with the alteration of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), have been positively correlated with the high morbidity and mortality rate. Thus, this systematic review seeks to establish the relationship between the risk factors of prediabetes, namely insulin resistance adiposity, lipotoxicity, obesity and the RAAS. Therefore, a synthesis of these risk factors, their clinical indicators and the RAAS components will be compiled in order to establish the association between the RAAS alteration and obesity in prediabetic patients.

Methods:
This protocol for a systematic review was developed in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) standards. This will be accomplished by searching clinical Medical Subject Headings categories in MEDLINE with full texts, EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Academic Search Complete, ICTRP and ClinicalTrial.gov. Reviewers will examine all of the findings and select the studies that meet the qualifying criteria. To check for bias, the Downs and Black Checklist will be used, followed by a Review Manager v5. A Forrest plot will be used for the meta-analysis and sensitivity analysis. Furthermore, the strength of the evidence will be assessed utilizing the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation procedure (GRADE). The protocol has been registered with PROSPERO CRD42022320252. This systematic review and meta-analysis will include published randomized clinical trials, observational studies and case-control studies from the years 2000 to 2022.
Comparative efficacy of psychological interventions on anxiety and depression in patients with cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Yang Yinhao , Yi Yingying , Shi Xixi , Yang Xueqin 
Published: May 2024

Background:
Numerous studies have demonstrated that psychological interventions are effective in alleviating anxiety and depression in patients with cancer. However, the optimal psychological intervention to alleviate anxiety and depression in patients with cancer remains unknown. This study was carried out to compare and rank the comparative effectiveness of various psychological interventions on anxiety and depression in patients with cancer.

Methods:
Databases, namely PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CNKI, WanFang, VIP and CBM were systematically searched from their inception dates to December 2023 for randomized controlled trials of psychological interventions for anxiety and depression in patients with cancer. Utilizing the Cochrane Review Manager 5.4, we evaluated the risk of bias in the studies included in the current study based on the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 Methodological Quality Evaluation Criteria. The NMA was conducted using STATA 15.0. This study did not involve human participants and therefore did not require ethical approval.

Results:
Thirty-one randomized controlled trials involving 3471 participants were included. MT [SMD = 1.35, 95% CI (0.76, 1.93)] and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) [SMD = 0.97, 95% CI (0.53, 1.42)] were superior to usual care in alleviating anxiety. Besides, interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) [SMD = 1.17, 95% CI (0.06, 2.28)], CBT [SMD = 0.97, 95 % CI (0.63, 1.30)], and MT [SMD = 0.93, 95% CI (0.35, 1.50)] were superior to usual care in alleviating depression. In addition, CBT was superior to family therapy in alleviating depression [SMD = 0.73, 95% CI (0.08, 1.38)]. The MT, CBT, and IPT ranked in the top three in alleviating anxiety, while IPT, CBT, and MT ranked in the top three in alleviating depression.

Conclusion:
MT and IPT would be a more appropriate option in alleviating anxiety and depression in patients with cancer, respectively. This study also suggested that CBT had a significant effect in alleviating negative emotions in patients with cancer. However, the results need to be validated by high-quality and large-sample studies.