bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heme‐induced corpus cavernosum relaxation and its implications for priapism in sickle cell disease: a mechanistic insight
Authors: Pereira Dalila Andrade , Pereira Danillo Andrade , Silveira Tammyris Helena Rebecchi , Calmasini Fabiano Beraldi , Burnett Arthur L. , Costa Fernando Ferreira , Silva Fábio Henrique 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundPatients with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience intravascular hemolysis, leading to elevated plasma heme levels. This phenomenon has been associated with increased priapism in men with SCD. The heme group can be metabolized by heme oxygenase (HO), generating carbon monoxide (CO), which is known to promote smooth muscle relaxation via soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC)–cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). However, the effects of heme on the relaxation responses of corpus cavernosum (CC) have not been investigated.ObjectivesTo evaluate the functional and biochemical effects of the heme group on mouse CC smooth muscle in vitro.Materials and methodsMale C57BL/6 mice were used. CC tissues were mounted in organ baths. Measurement of cGMP in mice CC was evaluated.ResultsThe cumulative addition of heme concentrations promoted the relaxation of CC. HO inhibitor (1J, 100 μM) or sGC inhibitor (ODQ, 10 μM) blocked the relaxing effect of the heme group. Pre‐incubation of CC with heme (100 μM) enhanced relaxation induced by acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside, and nitrergic relaxation (electrical field stimulation), which was abolished by 1J or ODQ. The heme group increased the cGMP production in CC, which was abolished by 1J or ODQ. cGMP levels were significantly higher in CC treated with heme, and pre‐incubation with compound 1J or ODQ abolished the effect of heme in raising cGMP levels.Discussion and conclusionThe HO–CO–sGC–cGMP pathway appears to play a crucial role in promoting CC relaxation. Our study provides novel insight into the role of group heme in CC relaxation and its potential contribution to priapism in SCD. Heme may serve as a pharmacological target for new therapies to prevent priapism.
Evaluation and patient experience of wireless noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring devices
Authors: Eenkhoorn Chantal , Goos Tom G. , Dankelman Jenny , Franx Arie , Eggink Alex J. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIntroductionIn clinical practice, fetal heart rate monitoring is performed intermittently using Doppler ultrasound, typically for 30 minutes. In case of a non‐reassuring heart rate pattern, monitoring is usually prolonged. Noninvasive fetal electrocardiography may be more suitable for prolonged monitoring due to improved patient comfort and signal quality. This study evaluates the performance and patient experience of four noninvasive electrocardiography devices to assess candidate devices for prolonged noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring.Material and methodsNon‐critically sick women with a singleton pregnancy from 24 weeks of gestation were eligible for inclusion. Fetal heart rate monitoring was performed during standard care with a Doppler ultrasound device (Philips Avalon‐FM30) alone or with this Doppler ultrasound device simultaneously with one of four noninvasive electrocardiography devices (Nemo Fetal Monitoring System, Philips Avalon‐Beltless, Demcon Dipha‐16 and Dräger Infinity‐M300). Performance was evaluated by: success rate, positive percent agreement, bias, 95% limits of agreement, regression line, root mean square error and visual agreement using FIGO guidelines. Patient experience was captured using a self‐made questionnaire.ResultsA total of 10 women were included per device. For fetal heart rate, Nemo performed best (success rate: 99.4%, positive percent agreement: 94.2%, root mean square error 5.1 BPM, bias: 0.5 BPM, 95% limits of agreement: −9.7 – 10.7 BPM, regression line: y = −0.1x + 11.1) and the cardiotocography tracings obtained simultaneously by Nemo and Avalon‐FM30 received the same FIGO classification. Comparable results were found with the Avalon‐Beltless from 36 weeks of gestation, whereas the Dipha‐16 and Infinity‐M300 performed significantly worse. The Avalon‐Beltless, Nemo and Infinity‐M300 closely matched the performance of the Avalon‐FM30 for maternal heart rate, whereas the performance of the Dipha‐16 deviated more. Patient experience scores were higher for the noninvasive electrocardiography devices.ConclusionsBoth Nemo and Avalon‐Beltless are suitable devices for (prolonged) noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring, taking their intended use into account. But outside its intended use limit of 36 weeks’ gestation, the Avalon‐Beltless performs less well, comparable to the Dipha‐16 and Infinity‐M300, making them currently unsuitable for (prolonged) noninvasive fetal heart rate monitoring. Noninvasive electrocardiography devices appear to be preferred due to greater comfort and mobility.
Characterizations of uveal melanoma patients with three additional primary malignancies
Authors: Eide Nils Andreas , Faber Rowan Thomas , Garred Øystein , Sørum Falk Ragnhild , Robsahm Trude Eid 
Published: January 2024

AbstractPurposeIn a population‐based cohort of 960 uveal melanoma (UM) patients, we describe patients with three additional malignancies, including one unique patient with four synchronous primary malignancies.MethodA descriptive presentation of the clinical course and outcome for UM patients with three additional primary malignancies.ResultsAfter more than 20 years of follow‐up of the UM cohort, 11 patients (1.1%) were diagnosed with three additional primary malignancies before, simultaneously or after UM. Among these, one patient had four synchronous primary malignancies, detected during workup for a symptomatic UM. All diagnoses were treated during the following 4 months, firstly the breast cancer, thereafter, the lung and pancreatic cancers and finally the UM. The patient died 3 years later of abdominal carcinomatosis due to the pancreatic cancer. The family history and gene testing did not disclose any genetic predisposition for cancer. A comparison of the four synchronous tumours, morphologically and immunohistochemically, showed no similarities and the expression of antibodies was different.ConclusionPatients with UM may be diagnosed with non‐ocular additional primary cancers. Thus, a comprehensive workup is obligatory and a further follow‐up of the UM patients seems necessary. The UM is not always the main problem.
Hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated channel inhibitor in myocardial infarction: Potential benefits beyond heart rate modulation
Authors: Sripusanapan Adivitch , Yanpiset Panat , Sriwichaiin Sirawit , Siri‐Angkul Natthaphat , Chattipakorn Siriporn C. , Chattipakorn Nipon 
Published: January 2024

AbstractMyocardial infarction (MI) and its associated complications including ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure are responsible for a significant incidence of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The ensuing cardiomyocyte loss results in neurohormone‐driven cardiac remodeling, which leads to chronic heart failure in MI survivors. Ivabradine is a heart rate modulation agent currently used in treatment of chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. The canonical target of ivabradine is the hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide‐gated channels (HCN) in cardiac pacemaker cells. However, in post‐MI hearts, HCN can also be expressed ectopically in non‐pacemaker cardiomyocytes. There is an accumulation of intriguing evidence to suggest that ivabradine also possesses cardioprotective effects that are independent of heart rate reduction. This review aims to summarize and discuss the reported cardioprotective mechanisms of ivabradine beyond heart rate modulation in myocardial infarction through various molecular mechanisms including the prevention of reactive oxygen species‐induced mitochondrial damage, improvement of autophagy system, modulation of intracellular calcium cycling, modification of ventricular electrophysiology, and regulation of matrix metalloproteinases.
Plasma steroid concentrations reflect acute disease severity and normalise during recovery in people hospitalised with COVID‐19
Authors: Devine Kerri , Russell Clark D. , Blanco Giovanny R. , Walker Brian R. , Homer Natalie Z. M. , Denham Scott G. , Simpson Joanna P. , Leavy Olivia C. , Elneima Omer , McAuley Hamish J. C. , Shikotra Aarti , Singapuri Amisha , Sereno Marco , Saunders Ruth M. , Harris Victoria C. , Houchen‐Wolloff Linzy , Greening Neil J. , Lone Nazir I. , Thorpe Mathew , Greenhalf William , Chalmers James D. , Ho Ling‐Pei , Horsley Alex , Marks Michael , Raman Betty , Moore Shona C. , Dunning Jake , Semple Malcolm G. , Andrew Ruth , Wain Louise V. , Evans Rachael A. , Brightling Christopher E. , Kenneth Baillie John , Reynolds Rebecca M. ,   The ISARIC4C Investigators and PHOSP‐COVID Study Collaborative Group
Published: January 2024

AbstractObjectiveEndocrine systems are disrupted in acute illness, and symptoms reported following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are similar to those found with clinical hormone deficiencies. We hypothesised that people with severe acute COVID‐19 and with post‐COVID symptoms have glucocorticoid and sex hormone deficiencies.Design/PatientsSamples were obtained for analysis from two UK multicentre cohorts during hospitalisation with COVID‐19 (International Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium/World Health Organisation [WHO] Clinical Characterization Protocol for Severe Emerging Infections in the UK study), and at follow‐up 5 months after hospitalisation (Post‐hospitalisation COVID‐19 study).MeasurementsPlasma steroids were quantified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Steroid concentrations were compared against disease severity (WHO ordinal scale) and validated symptom scores. Data are presented as geometric mean (SD).ResultsIn the acute cohort (n = 239, 66.5% male), plasma cortisol concentration increased with disease severity (cortisol 753.3 [1.6] vs. 429.2 [1.7] nmol/L in fatal vs. least severe, p < .001). In males, testosterone concentrations decreased with severity (testosterone 1.2 [2.2] vs. 6.9 [1.9] nmol/L in fatal vs. least severe, p < .001). In the follow‐up cohort (n = 198, 62.1% male, 68.9% ongoing symptoms, 165 [121–192] days postdischarge), plasma cortisol concentrations (275.6 [1.5] nmol/L) did not differ with in‐hospital severity, perception of recovery, or patient‐reported symptoms. Male testosterone concentrations (12.6 [1.5] nmol/L) were not related to in‐hospital severity, perception of recovery or symptom scores.ConclusionsCirculating glucocorticoids in patients hospitalised with COVID‐19 reflect acute illness, with a marked rise in cortisol and fall in male testosterone. These findings are not observed 5 months from discharge. The lack of association between hormone concentrations and common post‐COVID symptoms suggests steroid insufficiency does not play a causal role in this condition.
Recruiting foster families for teenagers in Italy: Motivational elements, socio‐demographic characteristics and availability factors
Authors: Giordano Marco 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAccording to government data, there is a slow decline in foster care in Italy, especially for teenagers, caused by an insufficient number of available foster families. The need to provide an intense stimulus to foster care is evident. This study conducted individual qualitative interviews with 126 foster parents of teenagers, transcribed and analysed using Atlas.ti software. Valuable indications for social services were individuated. The importance of the foster parents' intrinsic motivations and the suggestion for social services to emphasize them in the recruitment campaigns were reaffirmed. The appropriateness of directing the proposal towards foster parents with previous experience in parenting, foster parenting or working with teenagers was also confirmed. Additionally, results revealed that foster parents connected to foster parents' associations/networks and religious groups are preferred. The importance of the relationship between foster parents and social services and suitable support for the ongoing fostering is pivotal. Establishing a relationship based on trust and the diffusion of the foster care invitation through testimonies and word‐of‐mouth was also highlighted. The initiatives promoting spaces and occasions for teens needing foster care and potential candidates for fostering to meet them have promising outcomes.
Using expert knowledge to propose recreational marine reef‐fish management measures in Chile
Authors: Estévez Rodrigo A. , Godoy Natalio , Araya Miguel , Azocar Cristian , de la Barra Christian , Bardi Francisca , Fernández‐Urzúa Francisco , García Marcelo , Hiriart‐Bertrand Luciano , Lomonico Serena , Medina Marianela , Naretto Javier , Ojeda F. Patricio , Pequeño Germán , Ponce Francisco , Pulgar José , Pérez‐Matus Alejandro , Rivera Javier , Smith Andrés , Toro Da Ponte Jorge , Torres‐Cañete Felipe , Vásquez Julio A. , Gelcich Stefan 
Published: January 2024

AbstractMarine recreational fisheries often lack necessary information to perform assessments and develop sustainable management strategies. In Chile, although reef‐fish fisheries have been signaled as overexploited, there are still no commercial or recreational regulations regarding bans, catch limits, or size limits. We implemented an expert elicitation protocol to propose management measures to regulate recreational reef‐fish harvests of 17 reef‐fish species. Sixteen experts estimated minimum legal sizes, temporal closures, and maximum number of individuals harvested per person per trip (known as “bag limits”). Experts also prioritized management measures for each of 17 reef‐fish species. Maximum number of individuals harvested per person per trip varied between 1 and 7. In addition, permanent bans were recommended for some species, such as acha (Medialuna ancietae), pejeperro (Semicossyphus darwini), and San Pedro (Oplegnathus insignis). We concluded that information gathered through expert elicitation can play a key role to inform data‐poor recreational fishery management. Expert elicitation protocols that include iterative process, based on individual estimates and an open expert discussion phase, provide the necessary enabling environment to identify a variety of management measures. While future challenges include the development of mechanisms to promote acceptability and compliance for recreational fisheries management, the approach presented here is important to initiate much needed discussions.
A mixed black and whitelist approach for wildlife trade regulation in China: Biodiversity conservation is made of shades of gray
Authors: Xiao Lingyun , Pagani‐Núñez Emilio , Han Xuesong , Zhao Peng , Li Xueyang , Hong Yixuan , Hu Ruocheng , Zhao Xiang , Sun Ge , Wardhana Cynthia , Lu Zhi 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires effective actions to bend the curve of biodiversity loss by 2030. Wildlife trade, a direct drive of biodiversity decline, calls for more effective regulations to both protect wildlife populations in the wild and facilitate sustainable use of wildlife resources to meet human needs. This call has become particularly urgent in light of the COVID‐19 pandemic. In 2021, China's List of State Key Protected Wild Animals, a list of fauna under the strictest protection by national legislation, has been updated in the year 2021, 32 years after its first release, increasing its coverage (from the original 13%) an 11% of species across taxa. Combined with the updated List of State Protected Terrestrial Wild Animals which covers species with lower protection priority, these two national lists already cover 77% terrestrial vertebrate species of China. Such a blacklist approach, placing threatened species under a list of legal protection, is a common practice globally in species conservation. We discussed pros and cons of this dominant strategy and further explored the potential integration with a whitelist approach, listing all wildlife and only permitting regulated uses of certain species. We propose a mixed approach combining black and whitelists at different administration levels which could perhaps be first adopted in China. This is mainly due to the fact that in addition to illegal harvesting from the wild, traded wildlife in China are mostly from captive breeding and related laundering of wild‐caught animals.
The myth of being modern: Digital machines and the loss of discovery
Authors: Smuts Carson 
Published: January 2024

Abstract‘Digitization’ is a logical operation that deconstructs information and transforms it into digits, rendering it a logical construct. Digital operations are fast, infinitely replicable, objective, and absolute. But digitization is not without costs: the result of operationalizing information is that it becomes abstract—disconnected from its referent, and subject to processes that alter its representation without detection. Visions of modernity that draw on the potential for digital technology to invariably raise standards of living fail to consider the intrinsic properties of the digital that tend toward replicability, speed, and scalability, which favor globalization. This article argues how, through reductive processes, the discrete, mathematical nature of the digital provides a framework for rationality and order that is fundamentally incompatible with multiple modernities. Moreover, the history of digital machines is intricately linked to education and epistemology across North America and South Africa. The mechanization of learning illustrates the promise, power, and potential consequence of digital operations; by limiting our horizons, the Modern and now the Digital, limits our ability to think, thereby concealing the destruction of society, nature, and us as a species.
Impacts of Northern Territory banned drinker register on police recorded youth assault
Authors: Baldwin Ryan , Miller Peter G. , Coomber Kerri , Scott Debbie , Paradies Yin 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIntroductionIn September 2017 the Northern Territory Government of Australia introduced a banned drinker register (BDR) to mitigate the high levels of alcohol‐related harm within the Northern Territory. The current study aimed to examine the impact of the Northern Territory BDR on youth (aged <18 years) using police recorded assault data.MethodsInterrupted time‐series models were used to assess monthly trends in assaults and alcohol‐related assaults perpetration and victimisation in the regions of Greater Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine between January 2014 and December 2019.ResultsExamining the three regions combined, after the re‐introduction of the BDR a significant step decrease in police recorded youth assault perpetration (β = −1.67) and a significant step increase in police recorded youth assault victimisation (β = 1.40) was identified. However, no significant effects were identified at the individual region level.Discussion and ConclusionsFindings suggest that restricting alcohol consumption in high‐risk adults through the BDR had a limited immediate effect in police recorded youth assaults. Individual level or contextual factors may have influenced both immediate and long‐term impacts of the BDR, and as such, future policy design needs to support and empower community leaders across the policy development and implementation process. A wider evaluation of the BDR currently underway may provide additional understanding behind the mechanisms that underpin alcohol‐related harm in the Northern Territory.
Microcirculation disorders of the skin
Authors: Lutze Stine , Westphal Thea , Jünger Michael , Arnold Andreas 
Published: January 2024

SummaryChanges in the microcirculation of the skin are a frequently observed accompanying phenomenon of many diseases, far beyond the spectrum of dermatological diseases. Not all of these changes are pathological, many are transient and have no serious consequences. This is true for many inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis vulgaris or atopic eczema.However, there are also diseases in which functionally and morphologically recognizable microangiopathies lead to severe disease consequences. One of the most important diseases in this context is systemic sclerosis, an autoimmune systemic disease with multiple organ manifestations. Investigations of the cutaneous microcirculation are of great importance for the initial diagnosis as well as for prognosis and assessment of disease progression.In peripheral hemodynamic disorders such as peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), understanding microcirculatory disturbances also plays an important role in therapy and in monitoring the success of therapeutic interventions.
The role of vision in the acquisition of words: Vocabulary development in blind toddlers
Authors: Campbell Erin , Casillas Robyn , Bergelson Elika 
Published: January 2024

AbstractWhat is vision's role in driving early word production? To answer this, we assessed parent‐report vocabulary questionnaires administered to congenitally blind children (N = 40, Mean age = 24 months [R: 7–57 months]) and compared the size and contents of their productive vocabulary to those of a large normative sample of sighted children (N = 6574). We found that on average, blind children showed a roughly half‐year vocabulary delay relative to sighted children, amid considerable variability. However, the content of blind and sighted children's vocabulary was statistically indistinguishable in word length, part of speech, semantic category, concreteness, interactiveness, and perceptual modality. At a finer‐grained level, we also found that words’ perceptual properties intersect with children's perceptual abilities. Our findings suggest that while an absence of visual input may initially make vocabulary development more difficult, the content of the early productive vocabulary is largely resilient to differences in perceptual access.Research Highlights
Infants and toddlers born blind (with no other diagnoses) show a 7.5 month productive vocabulary delay on average, with wide variability.
Across the studied age range (7–57 months), vocabulary delays widened with age.
Blind and sighted children's early vocabularies contain similar distributions of word lengths, parts of speech, semantic categories, and perceptual modalities.
Blind children (but not sighted children) were more likely to say visual words which could also be experienced through other senses.
Mapping methodological nationalism in Middle Eastern studies: Toward a transnational understanding of the 2011 Arab uprisings?
Authors: Nabbe Jonas , Vloeberghs Ward , Kruithof Maryse 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThis article assesses the prevalence and implications of the research foci methodological nationalism, methodological globalism, and transnationalism in publications regarding the 2011 Arab uprisings. We propose a new typology that contrasts state‐centered methodological nationalism with the cosmopolitan lens of methodological globalism as two opposite ends of a spectrum. Transnationalism is conceptualized in between these two, due to its sensitivity to multiple localities and cross‐border variables. We compare the merits and limits of these three research foci through quantitative research and content analysis. Our systematic review of one decade of scholarship on the Arab uprisings suggests a consistent trend toward the dominance of methodologically nationalist research approaches in Middle Eastern studies. This is surprising because the multilocal nature of the Arab uprisings suggests that it can best be analyzed transnationally. This article, therefore, critically discusses the methodological nationalist bias to better understand and illustrate the trend. We conclude by highlighting some comparative advantages offered by transnational perspectives on actors and processes in the Arab uprisings and its aftermath.