bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Co-localization of the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 channel (SGLT-2) with endothelin ETA and ETB receptors in human cardiorenal tissue
Authors: Williams Thomas L. , Kuc Rhoda E. , Paterson Anna L. , Abraham George R. , Pullinger Anna L. , Maguire Janet J. , Sinha Sanjay , Greasley Peter J. , Ambery Philip , Davenport Anthony P. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Endothelin (ET) receptor antagonists are being investigated in combination with sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i). These drugs primarily inhibit the SGLT-2 transporter that, in humans, is thought to be mainly restricted to the renal proximal convoluted tubule, resulting in increased glucose excretion favouring improved glycaemic control and diuresis. This action reduces fluid retention with ET receptor antagonists. Studies have suggested SGLT-2 may also be expressed in cardiomyocytes of human heart. To understand the potential of combining the two classes of drugs, our aim was to compare the distribution of ET receptor sub-types in human kidney, with SGLT-2. Secondly, using the same experimental conditions, we determined if SGLT-2 expression could be detected in human heart and whether the transporter co-localised with ET receptors.
Methods: Immunocytochemistry localised SGLT-2, ETA and ETB receptors in sections of histologically normal kidney, left ventricle from patients undergoing heart transplantation or controls. Primary antisera were visualised using fluorescent microscopy. Image analysis was used to measure intensity compared with background in adjacent control sections.
Results: As expected, SGLT-2 localised to epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubules, and co-localised with both ET receptor sub-types. Similarly, ETA receptors predominated in cardiomyocytes; low (compared with kidney but above background) positive staining was also detected for SGLT-2.
Discussion: Whether low levels of SGLT-2 have a (patho)physiological role in cardiomyocytes is not known but results suggest the effect of direct blockade of sodium (and glucose) influx via SGLT-2 inhibition in cardiomyocytes should be explored, with potential for additive effects with ETA antagonists.
Cross-Sectional Associations of Peripheral Hearing, Brain Imaging, and Cognitive Performance With Speech-in-Noise Performance: The Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Ancillary Study
Authors: Jiang Kening , Albert Marilyn S. , Coresh Josef , Couper David J. , Gottesman Rebecca F. , Hayden Kathleen M. , Jack Clifford R. , Knopman David S. , Mosley Thomas H. , Pankow James S. , Pike James R. , Reed Nicholas S. , Sanchez Victoria A. , Sharrett A. Richey , Lin Frank R. , Deal Jennifer A. ,   for the ACHIEVE Collaborative Study
Published: May 2024

Purpose:
Population-based evidence in the interrelationships among hearing, brain structure, and cognition is limited. This study aims to investigate the cross-sectional associations of peripheral hearing, brain imaging measures, and cognitive function with speech-in-noise performance among older adults.

Method:

We studied 602 participants in the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ancillary study, including 427 ACHIEVE baseline (2018–2020) participants with hearing loss and 175 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study Visit 6/7 (2016–2017/2018–2019) participants with normal hearing. Speech-in-noise performance, as outcome of interest, was assessed by the Quick Speech-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test (range: 0–30; higher = better). Predictors of interest included (a) peripheral hearing assessed by pure-tone audiometry; (b) brain imaging measures: structural MRI measures, white matter hyperintensities, and diffusion tensor imaging measures; and (c) cognitive performance assessed by a battery of 10 cognitive tests. All predictors were standardized to
z
scores. We estimated the differences in QuickSIN associated with every standard deviation (
SD
) worse in each predictor (peripheral hearing, brain imaging, and cognition) using multivariable-adjusted linear regression, adjusting for demographic variables, lifestyle, and disease factors (Model 1), and, additionally, for other predictors to assess independent associations (Model 2).

Results:

Participants were aged 70–84 years, 56% female, and 17% Black. Every
SD
worse in better-ear 4-frequency pure-tone average was associated with worse QuickSIN (−4.89, 95% confidence interval, CI [−5.57, −4.21]) when participants had peripheral hearing loss, independent of other predictors. Smaller temporal lobe volume was associated with worse QuickSIN, but the association was not independent of other predictors (−0.30, 95% CI [−0.86, 0.26]). Every
SD
worse in global cognitive performance was independently associated with worse QuickSIN (−0.90, 95% CI [−1.30, −0.50]).

Conclusions:
Peripheral hearing and cognitive performance are independently associated with speech-in-noise performance among dementia-free older adults. The ongoing ACHIEVE trial will elucidate the effect of a hearing intervention that includes amplification and auditory rehabilitation on speech-in-noise understanding in older adults.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25733679
Attentional Orienting and Disfluency-Related Memory Boost Are Intact in Adults With Moderate–Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Diachek Evgeniia , Brown-Schmidt Sarah , Duff Melissa 
Published: May 2024

Purpose:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with a range of cognitive-communicative deficits that interfere with everyday communication and social interaction. Considerable effort has been directed at characterizing the nature and scope of cognitive-communication disorders in TBI, yet the underlying mechanisms of impairment are largely unspecified. The present research examines sensitivity to a common communicative cue, disfluency, and its impact on memory for spoken language in TBI.

Method:
Fifty-three participants with moderate–severe TBI and 53 noninjured comparison participants listened to a series of sentences, some of which contained disfluencies. A subsequent memory test probed memory for critical words in the sentences.

Results:

Participants with TBI successfully remembered the spoken words (
b
= 1.57,
p
< .0001) at a similar level to noninjured comparison participants. Critically, participants with TBI also exhibited better recognition memory for words preceded by disfluency compared to words from fluent sentences (
b
= 0.57,
p
= .02).

Conclusions:
These findings advance mechanistic accounts of cognitive-communication disorder by revealing that, when isolated for experimental study, individuals with moderate–severe TBI are sensitive to attentional orienting cues in speech and exhibit enhanced recognition of individual words preceded by disfluency. These results suggest that some aspects of cognitive-communication disorders may not emerge from an inability to perceive and use individual communication cues, but rather from disruptions in managing (i.e., attending, weighting, integrating) multiple cognitive, communicative, and social cues in complex and dynamic interactions. This hypothesis warrants further investigation.
Chinese Emotional Speech Audiometry Project (CESAP): Establishment and Validation of a New Material Set With Emotionally Neutral Disyllabic Words
Authors: Tang Enze , Gong Jie , Zhang Jing , Zhang Jiaqi , Fang Ruomei , Guan Jingjing , Ding Hongwei 
Published: May 2024

Purpose:
The Chinese Emotional Speech Audiometry Project (CESAP) aims to establish a new material set for Chinese speech audiometry tests, which can be used in both neutral and emotional prosody settings. As the first endeavor of CESAP, this study demonstrates the development of the material foundation and reports its validation in neutral prosody.

Method:
In the development step, 40 phonetically balanced word lists consisting of 30 Chinese disyllabic words with neutral valence were first generated. In a following affective rating experiment, 35 word lists were qualified for validation based on the familiarity and valence ratings from 30 normal-hearing (NH) participants. For validation, performance-intensity functions of each word list were fitted with responses from 60 NH subjects under six presentation levels (−1, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 20 dB HL). The final material set was determined by the intelligibility scores at each decibel level and the mean slopes.

Results:
First, 35 lists satisfied the criteria of phonetic balance, limited repetitions, high familiarity, and neutral valence and were selected for validation. Second, 15 lists were compiled in the final material set based on the pairwise differences in intelligibility scores and the fitted 20%–80% slopes. The established material set had high reliability and validity and was sensitive to detect intelligibility changes (50% slope: 6.20%/dB; 20%–80% slope: 5.45%/dB), with small covariance of variation for thresholds (15%), 50% slope (12%), and 20%–80% slope (12%).

Conclusion:
Our final material set of 15 word lists takes the initiative to control the emotional aspect of audiometry tests, which enriches available Mandarin speech recognition materials and warrants future assessments in emotional prosody among populations with hearing impairments.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25742814
Effect of Age and Unaided Acoustic Hearing on Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users' Ability to Distinguish Yes/No Statements and Questions
Authors: Buss Emily , Richter Margaret E. , Sweeney Victoria N. , Davis Amanda G. , Dillon Margaret T. , Park Lisa R. 
Published: May 2024

Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to discriminate yes/no questions from statements in three groups of children: bilateral cochlear implant (CI) users, nontraditional CI users with aidable hearing preoperatively in the ear to be implanted, and controls with normal hearing. Half of the nontraditional CI users had sufficient postoperative acoustic hearing in the implanted ear to use electric–acoustic stimulation, and half used a CI alone.

Method:

Participants heard recorded sentences that were produced either as yes/no questions or as statements by three male and three female talkers. Three raters scored each participant response as either a question or a statement. Bilateral CI users (
n
= 40, 4–12 years old) and normal-hearing controls (
n
= 10, 4–12 years old) were tested binaurally in the free field. Nontraditional CI recipients (
n
= 22, 6–17 years old) were tested with direct audio input to the study ear.

Results:

For the bilateral CI users, performance was predicted by age but not by 125-Hz acoustic thresholds; just under half (
n
= 17) of the participants in this group had measurable 125-Hz thresholds in their better ear. For nontraditional CI recipients, better performance was predicted by lower 125-Hz acoustic thresholds in the test ear, and there was no association with participant age. Performance approached that of the normal-hearing controls for some participants in each group.

Conclusions:
Results suggest that a 125-Hz acoustic hearing supports discrimination of yes/no questions and statements in pediatric CI users. Bilateral CI users with little or no acoustic hearing at 125 Hz develop the ability to perform this task, but that ability emerges later than for children with better acoustic hearing. These results underscore the importance of preserving acoustic hearing for pediatric CI users when possible.
Triple‐indexed passive islanding detection strategy for grid‐connected distributed generation networks using an extended Kalman filter
Authors: Larik Nauman Ali , Li Mengshi , Wu Qinghua 
Published: May 2024

AbstractIslanding detection is a challenging issue in modern grid‐connected distributed generation networks (GCDGN). Generally, islanding detection has two categories local and remote, local schemes can be categorized into active, passive, and hybrid schemes. This article proposes a triple‐indexed passive islanding detection (TIPID) scheme using an extended Kalman filter (EKF). Initially, the EKF algorithm is applied on voltage signal at the point of the common coupling to estimate the desired fundamental and non‐fundamental features. The first index, known as the cumulative voltage logarithmic index, is computed by taking the natural logarithm of the fundamental voltage features to detect any variations in the GCDGN. The second index, known as the voltage differentiation index (VDI), is calculated from the fundamental voltage features, while the third index, known as the odd‐order harmonic distortion index (OOHDI), is obtained from the non‐fundamental odd‐order harmonics of the PCC voltage. Then, the VDI and OOHDI are compared to pre‐defined threshold to detect/distinguish islanding events. The proposed TIPID method is validated through extensive simulations on the IEEE 13‐bus test bed via MATLAB/Simulink 2022b. Results show that under both balanced/unbalanced load & generation, the proposed TIPID approach detects islanding occurrences with reduced non‐detection zone (NDZ) in less than 5 ms.
The four seasons of pancreatitis – Etiology of acute pancreatitis during the course of the year
Authors: Sirtl Simon , Hohmann Eric , Beyer Georg , Hamm Jacob , Neesse Albrecht , Ammer-Herrmenau Christoph 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Background/Objectives Whether seasonality is a factor that influences the incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) is an under-investigated area. If seasonal incidence peaks can be detected, specifically with regard to biliary pancreatitis, has so far been answered in contradictory ways in the literature.
Methods All AP cases from two tertiary German referral centers were identified between 2016 and 2022 based on ICD-10 discharge codes. The χ2 test for goodness of fit was applied to test significant differences in monthly and seasonal distributions of AP admissions.
Results In total, 3597 AP cases were included. We observed significantly more idiopathic and biliary cases in May to July (p-values 0.041 and 0.027, respectively). Furthermore, most drug-induced APs were identified during the winter months (p-value 0.006). Moreover, there was a significant peak of alcohol-induced pancreatitis in summer and fall (p-value 0.038).
Conclusions Our data indicate a seasonal impact on AP incidences for certain etiologies.
Evaluation of a Digital Scribe: Conversation Summarization for Emergency Department Consultation Calls
Authors: Sezgin Emre , Sirrianni Joseph W. , Kranz Kelly 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Objectives We present a proof-of-concept digital scribe system as an emergency department (ED) consultation call-based clinical conversation summarization pipeline to support clinical documentation and report its performance.
Methods We use four pretrained large language models to establish the digital scribe system: T5-small, T5-base, PEGASUS-PubMed, and BART-Large-CNN via zero-shot and fine-tuning approaches. Our dataset includes 100 referral conversations among ED clinicians and medical records. We report the ROUGE-1, ROUGE-2, and ROUGE-L to compare model performance. In addition, we annotated transcriptions to assess the quality of generated summaries.
Results The fine-tuned BART-Large-CNN model demonstrates greater performance in summarization tasks with the highest ROUGE scores (F1ROUGE-1 = 0.49, F1ROUGE-2 = 0.23, F1ROUGE-L = 0.35) scores. In contrast, PEGASUS-PubMed lags notably (F1ROUGE-1 = 0.28, F1ROUGE-2 = 0.11, F1ROUGE-L = 0.22). BART-Large-CNN's performance decreases by more than 50% with the zero-shot approach. Annotations show that BART-Large-CNN performs 71.4% recall in identifying key information and a 67.7% accuracy rate.
Conclusion The BART-Large-CNN model demonstrates a high level of understanding of clinical dialogue structure, indicated by its performance with and without fine-tuning. Despite some instances of high recall, there is variability in the model's performance, particularly in achieving consistent correctness, suggesting room for refinement. The model's recall ability varies across different information categories. The study provides evidence toward the potential of artificial intelligence-assisted tools in assisting clinical documentation. Future work is suggested on expanding the research scope with additional language models and hybrid approaches and comparative analysis to measure documentation burden and human factors.
Variable Phenotypes in the Same Patient with PRRT2-Associated Disorders
Authors: Loos Mariana , Touzon Maria Sol , Reyes Gabriela , Juanes Matias , Caraballo Roberto H. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractMutations in the PRRT2 gene lead to a spectrum of diseases with a common pathophysiology including self-limited (familial) infantile epilepsy and paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia as well as other paroxysmal diseases involving movement and headache disorders. Atypical phenotypes, associated with episodic ataxia, epilepsy, hemiplegic migraine, developmental delay, and intellectual disability, have been reported in approximately 5% of the patients, which is probably an underestimation. Here, we present three patients with variable PRRT2 phenotypes in each patient. In the first two patients, the manifestations were characterized by episodes of nonepileptic paroxysms and focal seizures starting in the first years of life with good response to carbamazepine. One of them had no family history either of epilepsy or nonepileptic motor manifestations. The other patient simultaneously developed epileptic spasms. Neurodevelopment was normal in both. The third patient presented with early-onset focal epilepsy that was resistant to antiseizure medications and evolved to spike-wave activation in sleep associated with cognitive impairment and ataxia. In this patient, in addition to the mutation in the PRRT2 gene, a novel pathogenic SCN1A variant was identified. The distinct clinical presentations in the same patient observed in our cases confirm the broad spectrum of PRRT2-associated diseases.
The Effect of Preoperative Cabergoline on Prolactinoma Fibrosis: A Case Series
Authors: Pecorari Isabella L. , Qama Eros , Akbar Nadeem , Colley Patrick , Fang Christina H. , Agarwal Vijay 
Published: May 2024

Abstract
Introduction Prolactinomas are a common intracranial neoplasm and constitute most pituitary tumors. Although patients can present with variable hormone dysregulation and symptom severity, the use of dopamine agonists remains a first-line treatment. While bromocriptine has been found to increase tumor fibrosis, the effect of cabergoline on collagen deposition has been disputed. The aim of this article is to understand the influence of cabergoline on tumor fibrosis prior to resection.
Case Presentations Four male patients who underwent prolactinoma resection were included in this report. The average age was 39.8 years (range: 26–52 years). Pre-treatment prolactin levels ranged from 957.8 to 16,487.4 ng/mL. Three patients received cabergoline for at least 1 month prior to surgery (treatment range: 1–6 months). One patient had surgery without prior cabergoline use. Pathology reports confirmed each tumor to be of lactotroph origin. For each sample, Masson's trichrome staining was performed and the percentage of sample fibrosis was quantified using an artificial intelligence imaging software. Among those who received preoperative cabergoline, the extent of tumor fibrosis was in the range of 50 to 70%. In contrast, specimen fibrosis was approximately 15% without cabergoline use.
Conclusion This report demonstrates that a short duration of preoperative cabergoline can cause significant prolactinoma fibrosis. Understanding the effect of cabergoline on tumor consistency prior to surgery is essential as increased fibrosis can lead to more difficult tumor removal, reduce the extent of resection, and increase surgical complications. Considering these effects, further studies regarding the use of surgery prior to cabergoline for prolactinoma management are warranted.
International business and decentralized finance
Authors: Harvey Campbell R. , Rabetti Daniel 
Published: May 2024

AbstractOver the last decade, the green shoots of a new economic order have emerged as decentralized technologies challenge traditional financial systems. Decentralized finance (DeFi) holds the potential to transform international business (IB) by offering accessible financial services across borders, disrupting traditional intermediaries, and promoting financial inclusion. While traditional fintech has challenged banks, DeFi operates outside legacy systems, leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracting to introduce a new range of products and services that provide first-movers with an upper hand to both expand their business across the globe as well realize cost savings on existing business. Despite offering advantages like efficiency, transparency, and security, DeFi faces regulatory uncertainties and scalability, adoption, and stability concerns. Our study explores how DeFi can seamlessly integrate into the IB space while addressing these challenges. In addition to offering insights for investors, multinational firms, and regulators, we also lay the groundwork for future IB research in the fintech domain. As the DeFi innovation unfolds, understanding and harnessing its potential can empower stakeholders to engage responsibly and effectively in this transformative landscape.
More than news! Mapping the deliberative potential of a political online ecosystem with digital trace data
Authors: Oswald Lisa 
Published: May 2024

AbstractDoes the internet facilitate everyday public deliberation? Previous research on this question has largely focused on specific aspects, such as online news media diets or political discussions on social media. However, increasingly complex media environments are composed of different arenas with different respective potential for democracy. While previous work extensively dealt with thequalityof political discussion online, it is a necessary but overlooked step, to consider the upstream features of digital infrastructure and usage. Using digital trace data from Germany, this study maps out which websites are relevant for online public discourse, introduces a measure of deliberativepotentialalong six dimensions (information, communication, participation, connectivity, inclusivity and heterogeneity), and explores different types of websites alongside high level usage patterns. Besides a class of mainstream informational hubs, a class of quality information providers that includes most established public broadcasting sites was found. A third class of niche online forums hosts political discussions among more tightly-knit online communities, supporting previous findings of incidental exposure to political content online. While the mainstream information hubs in the sample attract a much larger volume of clicks, users spend relatively more time consuming political information on quality information sites as well as on niche online forums to engage with politics online. This project takes a more holistic perspective of the diverse ecosystem of online deliberation, while presenting a first quantitative exploration of a deliberative system.