bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anger and Tears
Authors: Portier-Young Anathea E 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Chapter 9 considers affect and emotion as key components of prophetic embodiment. A theoretical framework drawn from neurobiology, social science, and cultural studies illumines affect’s embodied and social character while establishing its vital role in cognition, decision making, and behavior and its capacity to effect social change. In Jonah, affect is a site of negotiation and transformation. The concluding dialogue of Jonah prompts critical reflection to increase affective attunement between prophet and God. In Jeremiah, unattributed laments, interdictions against prophetic intercession, and the reversal of interdiction construct the prophet’s body as a node of circulating affect between deity, people, place, and prophet.
Peacemaking in an authoritaraian context in Africa: Promoting peace from below in Cameroon
Authors: Lefort-Rieu Claire 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Cameroon, traditionally overlooked on the international peace agenda, has recently received increased attention due to mounting security challenges. Operating under an authoritarian regime that denies conflicts while promoting a narrative of stability, the course of international peace-from-below initiatives is profoundly influenced by this constrained political environment. Through in-depth case studies of three ongoing humanitarian crises—the Central African refugees’ influx, the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province insurgency, and the Anglophone conflict—this article contends that localized peace approaches, centring on grassroots reconciliation, may obscure broader structural issues, silence non-state political claims from below, and absolve the state of its responsibilities. Embracing such methodologies not only reinforces authoritarian dynamics but also exhibits a performative dimension, contributing to the establishment of a ‘victor’s peace’ in the absence of military victory.
Place of death in Parkinson’s disease and related disorders in England and Wales: post-pandemic trends and implications for care planning
Authors: Wilson Elisabeth , Baker Amy , Stockley Lauren , Allgar Victoria , Richfield Edward 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Background
With growing emphasis on palliative care for neurodegenerative conditions, understanding trends in place of death helps improve quality of end-of-life care for people with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders (PDRDs), focusing allocation of resources and training and identifying inequalities.

Objectives
Review national and regional place of death trends for people with PDRD including pre- and post-pandemic trends.

Methods
Mortality data for England and Wales (March 2018 and July 2022) were analysed with summary statistics and interrupted time series, exploring place of death for those who died with PDRD, with and without coexisting dementia, with reference to all deaths in England and Wales.

Results
Of 2,415,566 adult deaths, 56,790 included mention of PDRD. Hospital deaths were most common in people with PDRD (39.17%), followed by care homes (38.84%). People with PDRD were half as likely to die in hospice compared with the general population (2.03 vs 4.94%). Proportion of care home deaths fell significantly after March 2020 (40.6–37%, P = 0.035). Regionally, London was an outlier with a lower proportion of deaths occurring in care homes with a higher proportion of hospital deaths.

Conclusion
Place of death for people with PDRD is changing, with more hospice and home deaths. People with PDRD, particularly those with co-existent dementia, are less likely to access inpatient hospice care than the general population. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of care home deaths has reduced significantly with an increase in home deaths, with implications for service and resource allocation.
scGIR: deciphering cellular heterogeneity via gene ranking in single-cell weighted gene correlation networks
Authors: Xu Fei , Hu Huan , Lin Hai , Lu Jun , Cheng Feng , Zhang Jiqian , Li Xiang , Shuai Jianwei 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating cellular heterogeneity through high-throughput analysis of individual cells. Nevertheless, challenges arise from prevalent sequencing dropout events and noise effects, impacting subsequent analyses. Here, we introduce a novel algorithm, Single-cell Gene Importance Ranking (scGIR), which utilizes a single-cell gene correlation network to evaluate gene importance. The algorithm transforms single-cell sequencing data into a robust gene correlation network through statistical independence, with correlation edges weighted by gene expression levels. We then constructed a random walk model on the resulting weighted gene correlation network to rank the importance of genes. Our analysis of gene importance using PageRank algorithm across nine authentic scRNA-seq datasets indicates that scGIR can effectively surmount technical noise, enabling the identification of cell types and inference of developmental trajectories. We demonstrated that the edges of gene correlation, weighted by expression, play a critical role in enhancing the algorithm’s performance. Our findings emphasize that scGIR outperforms in enhancing the clustering of cell subtypes, reverse identifying differentially expressed marker genes, and uncovering genes with potential differential importance. Overall, we proposed a promising method capable of extracting more information from single-cell RNA sequencing datasets, potentially shedding new lights on cellular processes and disease mechanisms.
Conditional modeling of panel count data with partly interval-censored failure event
Authors: Hu Xiangbin , Su Wen , Ye Zhisheng , Zhao Xingqiu 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT
In longitudinal follow-up studies, panel count data arise from discrete observations on recurrent events. We investigate a more general situation where a partly interval-censored failure event is informative to recurrent events. The existing methods for the informative failure event are based on the latent variable model, which provides indirect interpretation for the effect of failure event. To solve this problem, we propose a failure-time-dependent proportional mean model with panel count data through an unspecified link function. For estimation of model parameters, we consider a conditional expectation of least squares function to overcome the challenges from partly interval-censoring, and develop a two-stage estimation procedure by treating the distribution function of the failure time as a functional nuisance parameter and using the B-spline functions to approximate unknown baseline mean and link functions. Furthermore, we derive the overall convergence rate of the proposed estimators and establish the asymptotic normality of finite-dimensional estimator and functionals of infinite-dimensional estimator. The proposed estimation procedure is evaluated by extensive simulation studies, in which the finite-sample performances coincide with the theoretical results. We further illustrate our method with a longitudinal healthy longevity study and draw some insightful conclusions.
BMP9 is a key player in endothelial identity and its loss is sufficient to induce arteriovenous malformations
Authors: Desroches-Castan Agnes , Koca Dzenis , Liu Hequn , Roelants Caroline , Resmini Léa , Ricard Nicolas , Bouvard Claire , Chaumontel Nicolas , Tharaux Pierre-Louis , Tillet Emmanuelle , Battail Christophe , Lenoir Olivia , Bailly Sabine 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Aims
BMP9 is a high affinity ligand of ALK1 and endoglin receptors that are mutated in the rare genetic vascular disorder hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). We have previously shown that loss of Bmp9 in the 129/Ola genetic background leads to spontaneous liver fibrosis via capillarization of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) and kidney lesions. We aimed to decipher the molecular mechanisms downstream of BMP9 to better characterize its role in vascular homeostasis in different organs.

Methods and results
For this, we performed an RNA-seq analysis on LSEC from adult WT and Bmp9-KO mice and identified over 2000 differentially expressed genes. Gene ontology analysis showed that Bmp9 deletion led to a decrease in BMP and Notch signalling, but also LSEC capillary identity while increasing their cell cycle. The gene ontology term ‘glomerulus development’ was also negatively enriched in Bmp9-KO mice vs. WT supporting a role for BMP9 in kidney vascularization. Through different imaging approaches (electron microscopy, immunostainings), we found that loss of Bmp9 led to vascular enlargement of the glomeruli capillaries associated with alteration of podocytes. Importantly, we also showed for the first time that the loss of Bmp9 led to spontaneous arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in the liver, gastrointestinal tract, and uterus.

Conclusion
Altogether, these results demonstrate that BMP9 plays an important role in vascular quiescence both locally in the liver by regulating endothelial capillary differentiation markers and cell cycle but also at distance in many organs via its presence in the circulation. It also reveals that loss of Bmp9 is sufficient to induce spontaneous AVMs, supporting a key role for BMP9 in the pathogenesis of HHT.
Assessing genetic diversity and geographical differentiation in a global collection of wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. et Zucc.) and assigning a mini-core collection
Authors: Li Feng , Sayama Takashi , Yokota Yuko , Hiraga Susumu , Hashiguchi Masatsugu , Tanaka Hidenori , Akashi Ryo , Ishimoto Masao 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Wild soybean (Glycine soja), the ancestor of the cultivated soybean (G. max), is a crucial resource for capturing the genetic diversity of soybean species. In this study, we used a set of 78 genome-wide microsatellite markers to analyse the genetic diversity and geographic differentiation patterns in a global collection of 2,050 G. soja accessions and a mini-core collection of G. max stored in two public seed banks. We observed a notable reduction in the genetic diversity of G. max compared with G. soja and identified a close phylogenetic relationship between G. max and a G. soja subpopulation located in central China. Furthermore, we revealed substantial genetic divergence between northern and southern subpopulations, accompanied by diminished genetic diversity in the northern subpopulations. Two clusters were discovered among the accessions from north-eastern China—one genetically close to those from South Korea and Southern Japan, and another close to those from Amur Oblast, Russia. Finally, 192 accessions were assigned to a mini-core collection of G. soja, retaining 73.8% of the alleles detected in the entire collection. This mini-core collection is accessible to those who need it, facilitating efficient evaluation and utilization of G. soja genetic resources in soybean breeding initiatives.
Yet another fast variant of Newton’s method for nonconvex optimization
Authors: Gratton Serge , Jerad Sadok , Toint Philippe L 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
A class of second-order algorithms is proposed for minimizing smooth nonconvex functions that alternates between regularized Newton and negative curvature steps in an iteration-dependent subspace. In most cases, the Hessian matrix is regularized with the square root of the current gradient and an additional term taking moderate negative curvature into account, a negative curvature step being taken only exceptionally. Practical variants are detailed where the subspaces are chosen to be the full space, or Krylov subspaces. In the first case, the proposed method only requires the solution of a single linear system at nearly all iterations. We establish that at most $\mathcal{O}\big ( |\!\log \epsilon |\,\epsilon ^{-3/2}\big )$ evaluations of the problem’s objective function and derivatives are needed for algorithms in the new class to obtain an $\epsilon $-approximate first-order minimizer, and at most $\mathcal{O}\big (|\!\log \epsilon |\,\epsilon ^{-3}\big )$ to obtain a second-order one. Encouraging initial numerical experiments with two full-space and two Krylov-subspaces variants are finally presented.
Outpatient Visits and Antibiotic Use Due to Higher-Valency Pneumococcal Vaccine Serotypes
Authors: King Laura M , Andrejko Kristin L , Kabbani Sarah , Tartof Sara Y , Hicks Lauri A , Cohen Adam L , Kobayashi Miwako , Lewnard Joseph A 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Background
In 2022–2023, 15- and 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV15/PCV20) were recommended for infants. We aimed to estimate the incidence of outpatient visits and antibiotic prescriptions in US children (≤17 years) from 2016–2019 for acute otitis media, pneumonia, and sinusitis associated with PCV15- and PCV20-additional (non-PCV13) serotypes to quantify PCV15/20 potential impacts.

Methods
We estimated the incidence of PCV15/20-additional serotype-attributable visits and antibiotic prescriptions as the product of all-cause incidence rates, derived from national health care surveys and MarketScan databases, and PCV15/20-additional serotype-attributable fractions. We estimated serotype-specific attributable fractions using modified vaccine-probe approaches incorporating incidence changes post-PCV13 and ratios of PCV13 versus PCV15/20 serotype frequencies, estimated through meta-analyses.

Results
Per 1000 children annually, PCV15-additional serotypes accounted for an estimated 2.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.8–3.9) visits and 2.4 (95% CI, 1.6–3.4) antibiotic prescriptions. PCV20-additional serotypes resulted in 15.0 (95% CI, 11.2–20.4) visits and 13.2 (95% CI, 9.9–18.0) antibiotic prescriptions annually per 1000 children. PCV15/20-additional serotypes account for 0.4% (95% CI, 0.2%–0.6%) and 2.1% (95% CI, 1.5%–3.0%) of pediatric outpatient antibiotic use.

Conclusions
Compared with PCV15-additional serotypes, PCV20-additional serotypes account for &gt; 5 times the burden of visits and antibiotic prescriptions. Higher-valency PCVs, especially PCV20, may contribute to preventing pediatric pneumococcal respiratory infections and antibiotic use.
Pharmacodynamic evaluation of ceftriaxone single-dose therapy (0.125–1 g) to eradicate ceftriaxone-susceptible and ceftriaxone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains in a hollow fibre infection model for gonorrhoea
Authors: Unemo Magnus , Golparian Daniel , Oxelbark Joakim , Kong Fabian Y S , Brown David , Louie Arnold , Drusano George , Jacobsson Susanne 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Background
Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is threatening the gonorrhoea treatment, and optimizations of the current ceftriaxone-treatment regimens are crucial. We evaluated the pharmacodynamics of ceftriaxone single-dose therapy (0.125–1 g) against ceftriaxone-susceptible and ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal strains, based on EUCAST ceftriaxone-resistance breakpoint (MIC &gt; 0.125 mg/L), in our hollow fibre infection model (HFIM) for gonorrhoea.

Methods
Gonococcal strains examined were WHO F (ceftriaxone-susceptible, MIC &lt; 0.002 mg/L), R (ceftriaxone-resistant, MIC = 0.5 mg/L), Z (ceftriaxone-resistant, MIC = 0.5 mg/L) and X (ceftriaxone-resistant, MIC = 2 mg/L). Dose-range HFIM 7 day experiments simulating ceftriaxone 0.125–1 g single-dose intramuscular regimens were conducted.

Results
Ceftriaxone 0.125–1 g single-dose treatments rapidly eradicated WHO F (wild-type ceftriaxone MIC). Ceftriaxone 0.5 and 1 g treatments, based on ceftriaxone human plasma pharmacokinetic parameters, eradicated most ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal strains (WHO R and Z), but ceftriaxone 0.5 g failed to eradicate WHO X (high-level ceftriaxone resistance). When simulating oropharyngeal gonorrhoea, ceftriaxone 0.5 g failed to eradicate all the ceftriaxone-resistant strains, while ceftriaxone 1 g eradicated WHO R and Z (low-level ceftriaxone resistance) but failed to eradicate WHO X (high-level ceftriaxone resistance). No ceftriaxone-resistant mutants were selected using any ceftriaxone treatments.

Conclusions
Ceftriaxone 1 g single-dose intramuscularly cure most of the anogenital and oropharyngeal gonorrhoea cases caused by the currently internationally spreading ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal strains, which should be further confirmed clinically. A ceftriaxone 1 g dose (±azithromycin 2 g) should be recommended for first-line empiric gonorrhoea treatment. This will buy countries some time until novel antimicrobials are licensed. Using ceftriaxone 1 g gonorrhoea treatment, the EUCAST ceftriaxone-resistance breakpoint is too low.
Cost-effectiveness of point-of-care diagnostics for AMR: a systematic review
Authors: Tolley Abraham , Bansal Akhil , Murerwa Rebecca , Howard Dicks James 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Background
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global health. By 2050, it is forecast that AMR will cause 10 million deaths and cost 100 trillion USD annually. Point-of-care tests (POCTs) may represent a cost-effective approach to reduce AMR.

Objectives
We systematically reviewed which POCTs addressing AMR have undergone economic evaluation in primary and secondary healthcare globally, how these POCTs have been economically evaluated, and which are cost-effective in reducing antimicrobial prescribing or the burden of AMR. Clinical cost-effectiveness was additionally addressed.

Methods
This systematic review, accordant with PRISMA guidelines, was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022315192). MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched from 2000 to 2023 for relevant publications. Quality assessment was performed using the Consensus of Health Economic Criteria.

Results
The search strategy identified 1421 studies, of which 20 met the inclusion criteria. The most common POCTs assessed were for respiratory infections (n = 10), STIs (n = 3), and febrile patients in low- and middle-income countries (n = 3). All studies assessed costs from a healthcare provider perspective; five additionally considered the societal cost of AMR.
Eighteen studies identified POCT strategies that reduced antimicrobial prescribing. Of these, 10 identified POCTs that would be considered cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of £33.80 per antibiotic prescription avoided. Most POCT strategies improved clinical outcomes (n = 14); the remainder were clinically neutral.

Conclusions
There is evidence that some POCTs are cost-effective in reducing antimicrobial prescribing, with potential concomitant clinical benefits. Such interventions—especially CRP POCTs in both high- and low-income settings—merit further, large-scale clinical evaluation.
Generalizing Parkinson’s disease detection using keystroke dynamics: a self-supervised approach
Authors: Tripathi Shikha , Acien Alejandro , Holmes Ashley A , Arroyo-Gallego Teresa , Giancardo Luca 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Objective
Passive monitoring of touchscreen interactions generates keystroke dynamic signals that can be used to detect and track neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and psychomotor impairment with minimal burden on the user. However, this typically requires datasets with clinically confirmed labels collected in standardized environments, which is challenging, especially for a large subject pool. This study validates the efficacy of a self-supervised learning method in reducing the reliance on labels and evaluates its generalizability.

Materials and Methods
We propose a new type of self-supervised loss combining Barlow Twins loss, which attempts to create similar feature representations with reduced feature redundancy for samples coming from the same subject, and a Dissimilarity loss, which promotes uncorrelated features for samples generated by different subjects. An encoder is first pre-trained using this loss on unlabeled data from an uncontrolled setting, then fine-tuned with clinically validated data. Our experiments test the model generalizability with controls and subjects with PD on 2 independent datasets.

Results
Our approach showed better generalization compared to previous methods, including a feature engineering strategy, a deep learning model pre-trained on Parkinsonian signs, and a traditional supervised model.

Discussion
The absence of standardized data acquisition protocols and the limited availability of annotated datasets compromise the generalizability of supervised models. In these contexts, self-supervised models offer the advantage of learning more robust patterns from the data, bypassing the need for ground truth labels.

Conclusion
This approach has the potential to accelerate the clinical validation of touchscreen typing software for neurodegenerative diseases.
Association of lung immune prognostic index with survival outcomes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab
Authors: Yamashita Shimpei , Hamamoto Shuzo , Furukawa Junya , Fujita Kazutoshi , Takahashi Masayuki , Miyake Makito , Ito Noriyuki , Iwamoto Hideto , Kohjimoto Yasuo , Hara Isao 
Published: March 2024

Abstract

Objective
Lung immune prognostic index is based on derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and lactate dehydrogenase level. Lung immune prognostic index has reported association with survival outcomes in patients with various malignancies undergoing treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, the prognostic impact of pre-treatment lung immune prognostic index in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving nivolumab plus ipilimumab treatment remains unclear. This study examines the association between lung immune prognostic index and outcomes in this setting.

Methods
We retrospectively evaluated 156 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab at eight institutions. We assessed the associations between pre-treatment lung immune prognostic index and survival outcomes including progression-free survival, second progression-free survival (PFS2), cancer-specific survival and overall survival.

Results
Patients were classified into good (n = 84, 54%), intermediate (n = 52, 33%) and poor (n = 20, 13%) lung immune prognostic index groups. Progression-free survival did not significantly differ between lung immune prognostic index groups, but there was significant difference in PFS2, cancer-specific survival and overall survival. In multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses, high pre-treatment lung immune prognostic index was a significant predictor of poor PFS2 (vs. good group, intermediate group: P = 0.01 and poor group: P = 0.04) and poor overall survival (vs. good group, intermediate group: P = 0.01 and poor group: P &lt; 0.01). Moreover, the patients with poor lung immune prognostic index had significantly poorer cancer-specific survival than those with good LIPI (P &lt; 0.01).

Conclusions
High pre-treatment LIPI is suggested by our results to be a significant independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients receiving nivolumab plus ipilimumab for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
NLRP3 inflammasome in sepsis: don’t overlook the small steps—they can make a big difference!
Authors: Belicard Felicie , Tarte Karin , Tadié Jean-Marc 
Published: March 2024

Sentence abstract for use in TOC alerts
“In sepsis, persistent activation of NLRP3 is associated with expansion of both monocytic and granulocytic MDSCs, along with high plasma concentration of IL-10.”