bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of the cardiac cycle on auditory processing: A preregistered study on mismatch negativity
Authors: Li Lingjun , Ishida Kai , Mizuhara Keita , Barry Robert J. , Nittono Hiroshi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe systolic and diastolic phases of the cardiac cycle are known to affect perception and cognition differently. Higher order processing tends to be facilitated at systole, whereas sensory processing of external stimuli tends to be impaired at systole compared to diastole. The current study aims to examine whether the cardiac cycle affects auditory deviance detection, as reflected in the mismatch negativity (MMN) of the event‐related brain potential (ERP). We recorded the intensity deviance response to deviant tones (70 dB) presented among standard tones (60 or 80 dB, depending on blocks) and calculated the MMN by subtracting standard ERP waveforms from deviant ERP waveforms. We also assessed intensity‐dependent N1 and P2 amplitude changes by subtracting ERPs elicited by soft standard tones (60 dB) from ERPs elicited by loud standard tones (80 dB). These subtraction methods were used to eliminate phase‐locked cardiac‐related electric artifacts that overlap auditory ERPs. The endogenous MMN was expected to be larger at systole, reflecting the facilitation of memory‐based auditory deviance detection, whereas the exogenous N1 and P2 would be smaller at systole, reflecting impaired exteroceptive sensory processing. However, after the elimination of cardiac‐related artifacts, there were no significant differences between systole and diastole in any ERP components. The intensity‐dependent N1 and P2 amplitude changes were not obvious in either cardiac phase, probably because of the short interstimulus intervals. The lack of a cardiac phase effect on MMN amplitude suggests that preattentive auditory processing may not be affected by bodily signals from the heart.
How is reputation management by regulatory agencies related to their employees' reputational perception?
Authors: Pedersen Mette Østergaard , Verhoest Koen , Salomonsen Heidi Houlberg 
Published: December 2023

AbstractExisting research investigating regulatory agencies' reputation‐conscious behavior have primarily focused on reactive behavior in the context of reputational threats. Additionally, this literature has primarily focused on agencies' responses to such threats and external audiences' perceptions of agencies reputation, although reputation resides in both external and internal audiences. This study aims to address these two gaps by (1) identifying the relevance of regulatory agencies' reputations vis‐à‐vis internal audiences and (2) investigating whether reputations, in this case as judged by internal audiences, can be cultivated when managers of regulatory agencies perform reputation management in a more proactive sense. Using a unique two‐wave panel survey targeting internal audiences from three Danish regulatory agencies, we find a positive and significant relationship between reputation management and how internal audiences perceive the organizational reputation. Moreover, we find that employee advocacy partially mediates this relationship. Given that regulatory agencies are particularly susceptible to reputational threats and given that the reputational perception of employees affect other employee outcomes as well as their regulatory decision making, this study shows the potential of reputation management by regulatory agencies as an instrument for affecting employees' outcomes.
Measuring the unit cost of financial intermediation in South Africa: A measure of bank productivity
Authors: Mncube Keaoleboga , Viegi Nicola 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis paper presents evidence on productivity growth in the South African banking industry in the last 30 years. The productivity measures we construct shed light on whether the development, increased contribution and influence of the banking industry have translated into lower cost of intermediation and improved productivity and efficiency of the banking sector. Our results show that there is no apparent trend in the unit cost of intermediation in the period 1993 to 2019, which is indicative of constant productivity.
MASP‐2 deficiency does not prevent the progression of diabetic kidney disease in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes
Authors: Charlotte Brinck Holt , Lene Halkjær , Tom Dudler , Wilhelm Schwaeble , Troels Krarup Hansen , Steffen Thiel , Jakob Appel Østergaard 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMannan‐binding lectin (MBL) initiates the lectin pathway of complement and has been linked to albuminuria and mortality in diabetes. We hypothesize that MBL‐associated serine protease 2 (MASP‐2) deficiency will protect against diabetes‐induced kidney damage. Male C57BL/6J MASP‐2 knockout (Masp2−/−) mice and wildtype (WT) mice were divided into a diabetic group and a non‐diabetic group. Renal hypertrophy, albumin excretion, mesangial area and specific mRNA expressions in the renal cortex were measured after 8 and 12 weeks of diabetes. By two‐way ANOVA it was tested if MASP‐2 modulated the renal effects of diabetes, that is interaction. After 12 weeks of diabetes Masp2−/− diabetic mice had a smaller mesangium at 21.1% of the glomerular area (95% CI 19.7, 22.6) compared with WT diabetic mice, 25.2% (23.2, 27.2), p(interaction) = 0.001. After 8 weeks of diabetes, plasma cystatin C was 261.5 ng/mL (229.6, 297.8) in the WT diabetic group compared to 459.9 ng/mL (385.7, 548.3) in non‐diabetic WT mice, p < 0.001. By contrast, no difference in plasma cystatin C levels was found between the Masp2−/− diabetic mice, 288.2 ng/mL (260.6, 318.6) and Masp2−/− non‐diabetic mice, 293.5 ng/mL (221.0, 389.7), p = 0.86 and p(interaction) = 0.001. We demonstrated a protective effect of MASP‐2 deficiency on mesangial hypertrophy after 12 weeks of diabetes and an effect on plasma cystatin C level. MASP‐2 deficiency did, however, fail to protect against diabetic‐induced alterations of kidney weight, albuminuria and renal mRNA expression of fibrotic‐ and oxidative stress markers.
M1 macrophages induce PD-L1hicell-led collective invasion in HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via TNF-α/CDK4/UPS14
Authors: Wu Jiashun , Pang Xin , Yang Xiao , Zhang Mei , Chen Bingjun , Fan Huayang , Wang Haofan , Yu Xianghua , Tang Yaling , Liang Xinhua 
Published: December 2023

BackgroundAlthough the roles of PD-L1 in promoting tumor escape from immunosurveillance have been extensively addressed, its non-immune effects on tumor cells remain unclear.MethodsThe spatial heterogeneity of PD-L1 staining in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissues was identified by immunohistochemistry. Three-dimensional (3D) specific cell-led invasion assay and 3D cancer spheroid model were used to investigate the roles of PD-L1hileader cells in collective invasion. The impact of M1 macrophages on specific PD-L1 expression in leader cells and its mechanisms were further studied. Finally, the effect of combination therapy of anti-PD-L1 and CDK4 inhibitor on HPV-positive tumors were evaluated on a mice model.ResultsHere, we observed a distinctive marginal pattern of PD-L1 expression in HPV-positive HNSCC tissues. By mimicking this spatial pattern of PD-L1 expression in the 3D invasion assay, we found that PD-L1hicells led the tumor collective invasion. M1 macrophages induced specific PD-L1 expression in leader cells, and depletion of macrophages in tumor-bearing mice abrogated PD-L1hileader cells and collective invasion. Mechanistically, TNF-α secreted by M1 macrophages markedly increased the abundance of PD-L1 via CDK4/ubiquitin-specific peptidase 14-mediated deubiquitination of PD-L1. We also found that suppression of CDK4 enhanced the efficacy of anti-PD-L1 therapy in an E6/E7 murine model.ConclusionsOur study identified TNF-α/CDK4/ubiquitin-specific peptidase 14-mediated PD-L1 stability as a novel mechanism underlying M1 macrophage-induced PD-L1hileader cells and collective tumor invasion, and highlighted the potential of the combination therapy of anti-PD-L1 and CDK4 inhibitor for HPV-positive HNSCC.
Influences affecting decision-making regarding use of pre-exposure prophylaxis among black men who have sex with men in the USA: a systematic review and meta-synthesis
Authors: Hutchins Freddie , Drey Nicholas 
Published: December 2023

AimTo systematically identify, evaluate, and synthesise qualitative research examining positive and negative influences affecting decision-making behaviour among black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in the USA regarding use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).BackgroundUsed correctly, PrEP is highly efficacious in preventing HIV infection and is available via healthcare services throughout the USA. BMSM are a key target population for HIV prevention services, however their engagement with these services is low. With potential barriers to access ranging from systemic to personal, a phenomenological perspective on the influences affecting individuals’ decision-making is essential, helping to better understand the needs of this target population and guide development and delivery of more effective future policy and intervention services.DesignQualitative meta-synthesis with meta-aggregation.Data sourcesThe electronic databases Medline, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, Embase and Ovid Emcare were comprehensively searched from inception to 21 January 2022.Review methodsSystematic identification, quality assessment and synthesis of existing qualitative research according to protocols of meta-aggregation. This included identifying salient study findings and corroborating illustrations from the data, sorting like findings into descriptive themed categories and developing transformative synthesised statements from aggregate appraisal of category findings.ResultsSeventeen studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed to be of acceptable quality. Synthesis of study data yielded 30 categories grouped under five themes: Stigma, Discrimination, Mistrust, PrEP positivity and PrEP negativity. Twelve synthesised statements were produced to provide a summary of the results and suggest improvements to the delivery of future PrEP services and interventions.ConclusionA more targeted approach focused on advocacy and ambassadorship outside of clinical settings may be more influential in positive decision-making regarding use of PrEP in BMSM populations than relying on traditional outreach methods via institutions and their representatives where stigma, mistrust and structural inequalities perpetuate.
Beyond PCA: Additional Dimension Reduction Techniques to Consider in the Development of Climate Fingerprints
Authors: Weylandt Michael , Swiler Laura P. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Dimension reduction techniques are an essential part of the climate analyst’s toolkit. Due to the enormous scale of climate data, dimension reduction methods are used to identify major patterns of variability within climate dynamics, to create compelling and informative visualizations, and to quantify major named modes such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Principal components analysis (PCA), also known as the method of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), is the most commonly used form of dimension reduction, characterized by a remarkable confluence of attractive mathematical, statistical, and computational properties. Despite its ubiquity, PCA suffers from several difficulties relevant to climate science: high computational burden with large datasets, decreased statistical accuracy in high dimensions, and difficulties comparing across multiple datasets. In this paper, we introduce several variants of PCA that are likely to be of use in climate sciences and address these problems. Specifically, we introduce non-negative, sparse, and tensor PCA and demonstrate how each approach provides superior pattern recognition in climate data. We also discuss approaches to comparing PCA-family results within and across datasets in a domain-relevant manner. We demonstrate these approaches through an analysis of several runs of the E3SM climate model from 1991 to 1995, focusing on the simulated response to the Mt. Pinatubo eruption; our findings are consistent with a recently identified stratospheric warming fingerprint associated with this type of stratospheric aerosol injection.
Red Blood Cell Distribution Width: A Novel Predictor of Mortality Following Amputation in Diabetic Foot
Authors: Yoon Yeokwon , Shim Dong Woo , Park Kwang Hwan , Park Jae Han , Han Seung Hwan , Lee Jin Woo 
Published: December 2023

Category: Diabetes; Other Introduction/Purpose: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) reflects the degree of heterogeneity of erythrocyte volume. The number of studies investigating the relationship between RDW and various human disorders has exponentially increased over the past decades. However, the association of RDW with diabetic foot amputation has not been evaluated to date. In this study, we assessed the value of RDW as a prognostic factor in diabetic foot amputation. Methods: Data on 415 patients with diabetic foot who underwent amputation between January 2009 and January 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. After establishing optimal cut-off point of preoperative RDW for all-cause mortality, univariable and multivariable analyses with Cox proportional hazard model for survivorship and logistic regression for length of hospital stay more than 30 days were performed to identify significant prognostic factors including RDW, other laboratory results, demographic variables and co-morbidities. Results: RDW cut-off of 14.5% was found to be significantly associated with all-cause mortality (P < 0.001). High RDW was a significant risk factor or all-cause mortality (hazard ratio[HR]: 2.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.46 to 4.00) on multivariable- adjusted regression analysis. High RDW was also associated with longer hospitalization (odds ratio: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.29 to 3.66). Conclusion: High RDW over 14.5% value is an independent prognostic factor with increased mortality and prolonged hospital stay, implying that RDW may be a simple and inexpensive laboratory parameter for risk stratification in diabetic foot amputation.
Analysis of baseline circulating tumor cells integrated with PET/CT findings in transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma
Authors: Ikeda Daisuke , Terao Toshiki , Oura Mitsuaki , Uehara Atsushi , Tabata Rikako , Narita Kentaro , Takeuchi Masami , Machida Youichi , Matsue Kosei 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
We aimed to improve prognostic predictors in patients with transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma (TIE-MM) by combining baseline circulating clonal tumor cells (CTCs) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) findings. The factors associated with prognosis were retrospectively investigated in 126 patients with TIE-MM who underwent CTC quantification by multiparameter flow cytometry and PET/CT at the initial presentation. The total lesion glycolysis (TLG) level was calculated using the Metavol software. The median percentage of CTC was 0.06% (range, 0%-4.82%), and 54 patients (42.9%) demonstrated high CTC levels. High CTC levels were associated with significantly poorer progression-free survival (PFS, 2-year 43.4% vs 68.1%; P &lt; .001) and overall survival (OS, 5-year 39.0% vs 68.3%; P &lt; .001). Similarly, high TLG levels significantly worsened the PFS (2-year, 41.2% vs 67.6%; P = .038) and OS (5-year, 37.7% vs 63.1%; P = .019). The multivariate analyses showed that Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) III, high CTC and TLG levels, and complete response were significant prognostic factors for PFS and OS. A novel predictive model was constructed using CTCs, TLG, and R-ISS III. The patients were stratified into 3 groups according to the number of risk factors, revealing an extremely high-risk group with a 2-year PFS of 0% and a 5-year OS of 20%. Patients without any high-risk features had better prognosis, with a 2-year PFS of 78.6% and a 5-year OS of 79.5%. The combination of CTCs and volumetric assessment of PET/CT at diagnosis augments the existing stratification systems and may pave the way for a risk-adapted treatment approach.
Dentofacial characteristics of children and adolescents with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a comparison with matched controls
Authors: Ludwików Katarzyna , Westerlund Anna , Al-Taai Nameer , Zadurska Małgorzata , Czochrowska Ewa Monika 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) include somatic and neurological developmental disturbances after prenatal alcohol exposure, including facial anomalies. However, the knowledge of the orthodontic skeletal and dental cephalometric relations in this group is limited. The aim of the study was to assess the dentofacial characteristics of children and adolescents with FASD and to compare them with a matched control group.

Methods
The study group comprised all available children and adolescents diagnosed with FASD (> 7 years of age) in whom good quality cephalograms were available. The control group comprised non-syndromic, orthodontically untreated children with normal occlusion and skeletal relations matched with age and gender. Cephalometric analysis included eighteen linear and angular measurements. The general linear model for repeated measures regarding age, gender and the type of FASD was applied.

Results
The group with FASD included 35 individuals (21 girls and 14 boys) aged 7–18 years including 21 with foetal alcohol syndrome. The mean age in the study and the control group was 12.8 years (SD, range 3.2, 7.1–18.1) and 13.0 (SD, range 2.9, 9.1–18.1), respectively. Statistically significant differences between the groups were found in 15 out of 18 of the cephalometric measurements (83%). In children with FASD the mandible was more retrusive, the incisors were more proclined and the mandibular incisors and the lips were more protruded when compared with controls. There was no significant evidence of an influence of age, gender or FASD type.

Conclusions
Dentofacial characteristics of children and adolescents with FASD significantly differ from controls. Early orthodontic diagnosis and prophylaxis should play a part of the interdisciplinary care of patients in this group.
Disentangling Dual Threats: Premature Coronary Artery Disease and Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in South Asians
Authors: Muniyappa Ranganath , Narayanappa Satish Babu K 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
South Asian individuals (SAs) face heightened risks of premature coronary artery disease (CAD) and early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with grave health, societal, and economic implications due to the region's dense population. Both conditions, influenced by cardiometabolic risk factors such as insulin resistance, hypertension, and central adiposity, manifest earlier and with unique thresholds in SAs. Epidemiological, demographic, nutritional, environmental, sociocultural, and economic transitions in SA have exacerbated the twin epidemic. The coupling of premature CAD and T2DM arises from increased obesity due to limited adipose storage, early-life undernutrition, distinct fat thresholds, reduced muscle mass, and a predisposition for hepatic fat accumulation from certain dietary choices cumulatively precipitating a decline in insulin sensitivity. As T2DM ensues, the β-cell adaptive responses are suboptimal, precipitating a transition from compensatory hyperinsulinemia to β-cell decompensation, underscoring a reduced functional β-cell reserve in SAs. This review delves into the interplay of these mechanisms and highlights a prediabetes endotype tied to elevated vascular risk. Deciphering these mechanistic interconnections promises to refine stratification paradigms, surpassing extant risk-prediction strategies.
Transported Memories: How “I Remember” Poetry Became an International Form
Authors: Gabel Aubrey 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This essay examines the history of “I remember” poetry, which began with Joe Brainard’s volume I Remember (1970). The form, which consists of simple, declarative sentences beginning with “I remember,” draws in readers with generational nostalgia, for the objects, brands, and consumer objects common to those born in the same time-space. However, Brainard’s original and subsequent texts continuously subvert this nostalgia by juxtaposing it with hyperpersonal, sexual, or troublingly violent memories. This article argues that the form’s reception and translation was fundamentally altered by one of its adopters, Georges Perec, who eradicated themes based in individuated memory, like Brainard’s sexual confession, transforming the genre exclusively into a document of generational and cultural identity. This foundational split—between the sexual-social and the generational—dictated the history of the genre, as it traveled nationally and internationally, and was taken up by authors and artists in the United States, France, Spain, South Africa, and Lebanon. Writers and visual artists like Shane Allison, Denis Hirson, Zeina Abirached, Floc’h, Jesús Marchamalo, Juan Bonilla, and Elías Moro take interesting liberties with the form by adapting it to a different cultural context or fully rewriting its rules. In the end, “I remember” poetry becomes not just a vehicle for documenting an obsolete past but for testifying to war and times of crisis.
Nothing to Say but the Unsayable: How Locke’s Linguistic Functionalism Turned into Leopardi’s Analogical Language
Authors: Pellecchia Paolo 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This article explores the so-far uncharted filiation of Leopardi’s understanding of language from Locke’s linguistic theory outlined in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In following Kristeva’s belief that language theories are predicated upon theories of the subject and Merleau-Ponty’s emphasis on the communicative power of the body, the article looks at the reverberations that Leopardi’s teoria del piacere (understood as an anthropological system) exerts on his theory of language and builds a neck-to-neck comparison with Locke’s linguistic functionalism. In underlining Locke’s important role for Leopardi’s theory of language, this work shows how the latter distances himself from the functionalism of Locke’s Essay by theorizing a language built on semantic vagueness and indefiniteness. This language is based on the epistemological conviction that ideas do not exist as immaterial products of the mind but rather are always incarnate in the physicality of language. In defining this kind of language as analogical, the article argues that for Leopardi the linguistic act takes the shape of a bodily gesture: language, then, is not just the concrete translation of a mental process but the movement of an embodied mind. In this sense, rather than expressing the mathematical coincidence of signifier and signified of a langue des calculs, Leopardi’s language voices the leftovers of expression, the semantic excess that Locke’s functionalism generally considers to be an error of an unsuccessful communicative act.
Green's Clues, or What's Queer about Clue?
Authors: Bloomfield Gabriel 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This essay reckons with the representation of queer sexualities and modes of reading in Jonathan Lynn's Clue (US, 1985). The film, originally a box office flop that has become a cult classic, deploys the character of Mr. Green to concentrate and dispel its queer energies. Although he declares near the start that he is “a homosexual,” Green's sexuality is evacuated from the mystery narrative in a way that no other character's is. Drawing on the insights of queer theory and fan studies from Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick to Juno Jill Richards, the essay argues that Clue is structured by its anxious, phobic reaction to Green's sexuality; that it both depicts and provokes paranoid queer readings; and that the movie's future depends on the imaginative re-creations and re-queerings of the modern fan culture that has sprung up around it.