bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Tangled Creation
Authors: Hess Carol A 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The first version of El amor brujo was a pantomime with flamenco songs, one of several projects Falla undertook with the theatrical team Gregorio Martínez Sierra and his wife, María Martínez Sierra. (Unlike most Spanish women, María took her husband’s name.) A ghostwriter, María turned out numerous dramatic works, essays, and lyrics, all under Gregorio’s name and for which he took full credit. Among these works was El amor brujo. Besides writing the score, Falla suggested ideas for the storyline, resulting in a three-way creative process that would later prove impossible to unravel in terms of authors’ rights. As this chapter explains, during World War I international artists and intellectuals sojourned in neutral Spain, where they effectively revitalized Spanish cultural life, often to the consternation of more conservative Spanish critics. The premiere of El amor brujo, in 1915, was anything but successful. While some critics praised its authenticity, others attacked Falla’s score as Frenchified. Still others decried his mixing of classical music with flamenco, a popular genre they condemned as low class. These debates echoed the overall fractiousness of early twentieth-century Spain.
Ex-Ministers as Constitutional Judges
Authors: Möschel Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The appointment of former politicians to constitutional courts is a global phenomenon. While ex-politician appointees may bring status, visibility, knowledge, and political awareness to the job, their previous roles may influence their assessment of the constitutionality of legislation. Ex-Ministers as Constitutional Judges sheds light on this practice in four of the world’s oldest and most established constitutional courts: Austria, France, Germany, and Italy.
Weaving together legal, political, sociological, and historical sources, including press articles, surveys, and interviews with constitutional judges and high-level personnel, the book provides the first comprehensive exploration of ex-politicians becoming constitutional court judges. It analyses the advantages and disadvantages such personalities bring to constitutional courts, as well as assessing what limitations supranational law may set for such participation. Whereas the participation of ex-ministers does not seem to have posed serious structural issues to constitutional courts so far, this volume posits that the risks have been underestimated. In this context, Ex-Ministers as Constitutional Judges ultimately suggests normative steps for minimizing such risks and for strengthening the independence and impartiality of constitutional courts in view of democratic and constitutional backsliding.
Introduction
Authors: Möschel Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter lays out the theoretical and material contours of the book. It links the importance of understanding the role of ex-ministers as constitutional judges in older academic debates between Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt as well as newer ones on the judicialization of politics in comparative constitutional law and comparative judicial politics. Moreover, it lays out how the relative academic silence on the issue may be treacherous, especially in view of illiberalism and constitutional/democratic backsliding and argues that—while the analysis is limited to the four constitutional courts of Austria, Italy, Germany, and France and excludes former parliamentarians and constitutional and supreme courts of other systems—this book’s observations may be relevant for such personalities and contexts as well.
A Diachronic Comparison of Constitutional Courts
Authors: Möschel Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter lays out the functioning of the four constitutional courts analysed in this book in a diachronic manner that details how these institutions function today and what relevant changes, for the purposes of this book, they have undergone since their creation. What emerges from this overview is that there are vast differences in the history, functioning, and competences of these bodies, besides the similarity of centralizing the constitutionality review of legislation, which is often referred to as the European model of constitutionality review. These similarities and differences have a bearing on better understanding how and why ex-ministers are nominated to constitutional courts and how they operate differently within that framework.
Ex-Ministers in Constitutional Courts
Authors: Möschel Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter describes and analyses in more detail the phenomenon of ex-ministers as constitutional judges in the four jurisdictions involved. Via a table indicating their names, time periods spent at the respective constitutional courts and as a minister, and a quantitative and descriptive assessment of the phenomenon, this chapter provides the basis for a qualitative and comparative analysis that adds context to the bare names and numbers. Overall, the practice of nominating or not nominating ex-ministers as constitutional judges remains stable over time, revealing a certain path-dependency per system. Where many ex-ministers have been named in the past, as in France, that trend continues. Where occasionally some were named in the past, as in Germany and Italy, that also did not change.
Supranational Requirements and Standards
Authors: Möschel Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter analyses the supranational standards developed mostly at the European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) levels to consider which limitations supranational law sets or does not set to the participation of ex-ministers as constitutional judges. It argues that, especially with regard to the issue of (over- or mono-)politicization, EU law may increasingly have a say, especially if former politicians are the result of rule of law backsliding which makes constitutional courts look increasingly (over- or mono-)politicized, captured, and dependent. Moreover, international human rights law demonstrates how the potential risks are not just theoretical or practical but may amount to a violation of both binding and non-binding supranational requirements, the former mostly via the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 6 (right to fair trial). The chapter concludes that the participation of ex-ministers on constitutional courts further problematizes certain issues, thus strengthening the idea that some reforms or adjustments may be necessary also from the supranational law perspective.
Who came to the rescue? Sources of informal support to older Europeans before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Gonçalves Judite , Weaver France 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background/Objective
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the provision of informal care in major ways. This study documents the prevalences of informal support with (instrumental) activities of daily living (IADL and ADL) before, during and after the pandemic, distinguishing between children, other relatives and friends/neighbours and focusing on individuals 50 years and older across 27 European countries.

Methods
This longitudinal analysis relies on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)’s Wave 8 (2019), two Corona surveys (2020 and 2021) and Wave 9 (2022). Linear probability models adjusted for individual fixed effects and time-varying confounders were used to estimate prevalences of informal support over time.

Results
During the pandemic, the prevalences of informal support with both IADL and ADL from all three groups of caregivers increased significantly (P &lt; 0.01), to return to their pre-pandemic levels by 2022. For example, the adjusted likelihood of IADL help from children increased from 18.5% (2019) to 36.6% (2020) and 42.5% (2021), then dropped back to 19.7% in 2022. Friends and neighbours played a critical role, with the adjusted likelihood of IADL help going from 8.8% (2019) to 29.7% (2020), then down to 18% (2021) and 8.9% (2022).

Conclusions
Future emergency and disaster preparedness plans should contemplate the various sources of informal care, including support measures to non-relative caregivers, as those helpers may be able to rapidly respond to unexpected crisis.
Extended vs Inpatient Chemoprophylaxis for Venous Thromboembolism in DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Hinson Chandler , Sink Matthew , Buntic Rudolf F , Safa Bauback , Sammer Douglas M , Zhang Andrew Y , Pannucci Christopher , Odobescu Andrei 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant complication following deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction. The optimal duration of chemoprophylaxis remains debated, with differing recommendations on short-term chemoprophylaxis (STC) versus long-term chemoprophylaxis (LTC) for VTE prevention. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of STC versus LTC in preventing VTE and hematoma in patients undergoing DIEP flap reconstruction. Four studies with a total of 1114 patients were included, with no significant differences in patient characteristics, including Caprini scores, between the STC and LTC groups. The pooled incidence of VTE was 1.83%, with 2.19% in the STC group and 1.33% in the LTC group, yielding a risk ratio (RR) of 1.42 for STC compared to LTC, though this was not statistically significant (p=0.62). The mean incidence of hematoma was 8.65%, with 8.32% in the STC group and 9.02% in the LTC group, resulting in an RR of 0.78 for STC compared to LTC, which was also not statistically significant (p=0.62). These findings suggest that extending chemoprophylaxis beyond hospitalization does not significantly reduce VTE incidence and underscores the importance of individualized risk-based anticoagulation strategies. Future studies are necessary to further refine guidelines for chemoprophylaxis duration in this population, balancing the risks of VTE and anticoagulation-related complications to optimize patient outcomes.
Modification of intracellular metabolism by expression of a C-terminal variant of phosphoribulokinase from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Authors: Nishiguchi Hiroki , Niide Teppei , Toya Yoshihiro , Shimizu Hiroshi 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Phosphoribulokinase (PRK) is a key enzyme in the Calvin cycle of cyanobacteria required for CO2 fixation and enhancing intracellular PRK activity will contribute to altering the metabolic state. In Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, PRK activity is inhibited by the small protein CP12 and intramolecular disulfide bonds in its C-terminal loop. This study aimed to increase PRK activity by expressing a mutant PRK that inhibitory Cys residues (positions 229 and 235) in the C-terminal loop were replaced with Ser. The engineered strain showed increased PRK activity under photomixotrophic conditions. Metabolomic analysis revealed that this strain accumulates organic acids downstream of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acids cycle, highlighting its potential for producing chemicals using these metabolites as precursors. These findings suggest that preventing disulfide bond formation in the PRK C-terminal loop enhances its activity, providing a promising approach for metabolic engineering in cyanobacteria.
B-Lightning: using bait genes for marker gene hunting in single-cell data with complex heterogeneity
Authors: Shao Yiren , Gao Qi , Wang Liuyang , Li Dongmei , Nixon Andrew B , Chan Cliburn , Li Qi-Jing , Xie Jichun 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
In single-cell studies, cells can be characterized with multiple sources of heterogeneity (SOH) such as cell type, developmental stage, cell cycle phase, activation state, and so on. In some studies, many nuisance SOH are of no interest, but may confound the identification of the SOH of interest, and thus affect the accurate annotate the corresponding cell subpopulations. In this paper, we develop B-Lightning, a novel and robust method designed to identify marker genes and cell subpopulations corresponding to an SOH (e.g. cell activation status), isolating it from other SOH (e.g. cell type, cell cycle phase). B-Lightning uses an iterative approach to enrich a small set of trustworthy marker genes to more reliable marker genes and boost the signals of the SOH of interest. Multiple numerical and experimental studies showed that B-Lightning outperforms existing methods in terms of sensitivity and robustness in identifying marker genes. Moreover, it increases the power to differentiate cell subpopulations of interest from other heterogeneous cohorts. B-Lightning successfully identified new senescence markers in ciliated cells from human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lung tissues, new T-cell memory and effector markers in the context of SARS-COV-2 infections, and their synchronized patterns that were previously neglected, new AD markers that can better differentiate AD severity, and new dendritic cell functioning markers with differential transcriptomics profiles across breast cancer subtypes. This paper highlights B-Lightning’s potential as a powerful tool for single-cell data analysis, particularly in complex data sets where SOH of interest are entangled with numerous nuisance factors.
ESPClust: Unsupervised identification of modifiers for the effect size profile in omics association studies
Authors: Pérez-Reche Francisco J , Cheetham Nathan J , Bowyer Ruth C E , Thompson Ellen J , Tettamanzi Francesca , Menni Cristina , Steves Claire J 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Motivation
High-throughput omics technologies have revolutionised the identification of associations between individual traits and underlying biological characteristics, but still use ‘one effect-size fits all’ approaches. While covariates are often used, their potential as effect modifiers often remains unexplored.

Results
We propose ESPClust, a novel unsupervised method designed to identify covariates that modify the effect size of associations between sets of omics variables and outcomes. By extending the concept of moderators to encompass multiple exposures, ESPClust analyses the effect size profile (ESP) to identify regions in covariate space with different ESP, enabling the discovery of subpopulations with distinct associations. Applying ESPClust to synthetic data, insulin resistance and COVID-19 symptom manifestation, we demonstrate its versatility and ability to uncover nuanced effect size modifications that traditional analyses may overlook. By integrating information from multiple exposures, ESPClust identifies effect size modifiers in datasets that are too small for traditional univariate stratified analyses. This method provides a robust framework for understanding complex omics data and holds promise for personalised medicine.

Availability and Implementation
The source code ESPClust is available at https://github.com/fjpreche/ESPClust.git.
It can be installed via Python package repositories as `pip install ESPClust==1.1.0`.

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Electrochemotherapy in metastatic epidural spinal cord compression: a review and technical update
Authors: Deschamps Frederic , Tselikas Lambros , Cazzato Roberto L , Facchini Giancarlo , Granata Vincenza , Bonnet Baptiste , D’Alessio Valeria , Fusco Roberta , Zanasi Alessandro , de Terlizzi Francesca , Gangi Afshin , de Baere Thierry , Mir Lluis M 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This review aims to analyse the safety and clinical efficacy in terms of pain relief and local tumour control, in patients with metastatic epidural spinal cord compression undergoing electrochemotherapy (ECT). Moreover, a recommendation detailing optimal electrodes insertion is proposed with the intent of improving treatment planning. Clinical studies published between 2015 and 2023 were included since this time window is consistent with recent developments in the field of ECT of spinal metastases. In the whole, 3 articles were included. Results showed that percutaneous image-guided ECT provides effective pain relief with limited procedure-related morbidity, along with local tumour control (complete response 28.5%, 38% partial response, 24% stable disease) at 3-month follow-up in the largest published series so far. In conclusion, ECT should integrate the armamentarium of therapies that are currently being proposed to patients with painful metastatic epidural disease.
Characterization of T-bet expressing B cells in lupus patients indicates a putative prognostic and therapeutic value of these cells for the disease
Authors: Sachinidis Athanasios , Trachana Maria , Taparkou Anna , Gavriilidis George , Vasileiou Vasileios , Keisaris Sofoklis , Verginis Panayotis , Adamichou Christina , Boumpas Dimitrios , Psomopoulos Fotis , Garyfallos Alexandros 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Objective
To investigate whether T-bet+ B cells, as well as age-associated B cells/ABCs (CD19+CD21-CD11c+T-bet+) and double-negative B cells/DN (CD19+IgD-CD27- CXCR5-T-bet+), serve as prognostic and/or therapeutic tools for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in humans.

Methods
Flow cytometry was used for enumerating T-bet+ B cells and ABCs/DN subsets, found in the peripheral blood of 10 healthy donors and 22 active SLE patients. Whole blood assay cultures, combined with in vitro pharmacological treatments, were performed to evaluate the effects of hydroxychloroquine, anifrolumab and fasudil (a ROCK kinase inhibitor) on T-bet+ B cells’ percentage. Moreover, previously published single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were used in a meta-analysis to allow characterization of genes and pathways associated with the biology of T-bet in B cells.

Results
T-bet+ B cells displayed an expansion in SLE patients [1.47 (1.9 – 0.7) vs 10.85 (37.4 – 3.6)]. Similarly, both ABCs and DN were found to be expanded. Interestingly, percentages of T-bet+ B cells positively correlated with patients’ SLEDAI scores (rs=0.55, p=0.007). Cell culture experiments conducted, revealed that all three agents tested can deplete T-bet+ B cells (without affecting the cell viability of lymphocytes, T cells and B cells). According to bioinformatics analyses, T-bet is highly expressed in two B cell clusters with pathogenic characteristics for SLE (designated as atypical memory B cells and activated naïve B cells). These clusters can be targeted for therapeutic interventions.

Conclusions
T-bet+ B cells can serve as a putative prognostic biomarker of lupus severity. Circumstantial data suggest that these cells may promote disease pathogenesis and may represent a novel therapeutic target.
CircRNAs increase during vascular cell differentiation and are biomarkers for vascular disease
Authors: Northoff Bernd H , Herbst Andreas , Wenk Catharina , Weindl Lena , Gäbel Gabor , Brezski Andre , Zarnack Kathi , Küpper Alina , Dimmeler Stefanie , Moretti Alessandra , Laugwitz Karl-Ludwig , Engelhardt Stefan , Maegdefessel Lars , Boon Reinier , Doppler Stefanie , Dreßen Martina , Lahm Harald , Lange Rüdiger , Krane Markus , Krohn Knut , Kohlmaier Alexander , Holdt Lesca M , Teupser Daniel 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Aims
The role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and their regulation in health and disease are poorly understood. Here, we systematically investigated the temporally resolved transcriptomic expression of circRNAs during differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) into vascular endothelial cells (EC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) and explored their potential as biomarkers for human vascular disease.

Methods and Results
Using high-throughput RNA sequencing and a de novo circRNA detection pipeline, we quantified the daily levels of 31,369 circRNAs in a two-week differentiation trajectory from human stem cells to proliferating mesoderm progenitors to quiescent, differentiated EC and SMC. We detected a significant global increase in RNA circularization, with 397 and 214 circRNAs upregulated &gt; 2 fold (adjusted P &lt; 0.05) in mature EC and SMC, compared with undifferentiated progenitor cells. This global increase in circRNAs was associated with upregulation of host genes and their promoters and a parallel downregulation of splicing factors. Underlying this switch, the proliferation-regulating transcription factor MYC decreased as vascular cells matured, and inhibition of MYC led to downregulation of splicing factors such as SRSF1 and SRSF2 and changes in vascular circRNA levels. Examining the identified circRNAs in arterial tissue samples and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients, we found that circRNA levels decreased in atherosclerotic disease, in contrast to their increase during iPSC maturation into EC and SMC. Using machine learning, we determined that a set of circRNAs derived from COL4A1, COL4A2, HSPG2, and YPEL2 discriminated atherosclerotic from healthy tissue with an AUC of 0.79. CircRNAs from HSPG2 and YPEL2 in blood PBMC samples detected atherosclerosis with an AUC of 0.73.

Conclusions
Time-resolved transcriptional profiling of linear and circular RNA species revealed that circRNAs provide granular molecular information for disease profiling. The identified circRNAs may serve as blood biomarkers for atherosclerotic vascular disease.
Obesity drives dysregulation in DC responses to viral infection
Authors: Woodcock A , Bergin R , Kedia-Mehta N , Foley Cathriona , Stephens John C , O’Shea D , Canavan M , Hogan A 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Introduction
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic, with over 1 billion people worldwide living with obesity. It is associated with an increased risk of over 200 chronic co-morbidities, including an increased susceptibility to infection. Numerous studies have highlighted the dysfunction caused by obesity on a wide range of immune cell subsets, including dendritic cells (DCs). DCs are innate immune sentinels which bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems. DCs provide critical signals which instruct and shape the immune response. Our group has previously reported that DCs from people with obesity (PWO) display defective cytokine production, however the mechanisms underpinning these defects are unclear.

Methods
We investigated the functional responses of DCs using a murine-specific single-stranded RNA virus, Sendai virus (SeV), in mice on a standard diet and in a model of diet-induced obesity (DIO).

Results
Here, we demonstrate that GM-CSF cultured bone marrow-derived DCs (GM-DCs) from mice on a high fat diet (HFD) have reduced cytokine production following viral challenge. This was associated with a dysfunctional metabolism through reduced translation in the HFD GM-DCs.

Conclusion
We propose that obesity-mediated effects on DCs have downstream consequences on their ability to effectively mediate subsequent immune responses, especially during viral infection.