bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A New Nomogram for Predicting 30-Day In-Hospital Mortality Rate of Acute Cholangitis Patients in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Pan Li-Na , Pan Shen-Ao , Hong Guang-Liang , Chen Kun-Wei 
Published: August 2023

Purpose. Acute cholangitis (AC) is a widespread acute inflammatory disease and the main cause of septic shock, which has a high death rate in hospitals. At present, the prediction models for short-term mortality of AC patients are still not ideal. We aimed at developing a new model that could forecast the short-term mortality rate of AC patients. Methods. Data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV version 2.0 (MIMIC-IV v2.0). There were a total of 506 cases of AC patients that were included. Patients were given a 7 : 3 split between the training set and the validation set after being randomly assigned to one of the groups. Multivariate logistic regression was used to create an AC patient predictive nomogram for 30-day mortality. The overall efficacy of the model is evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), the calibration curve, the net reclassification improvement (NRI), the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and a decision curve analysis (DCA). Results. Out of 506 patients, 14.0% (71 patients) died. The training cohort had 354 patients, and the validation cohort had 152 patients. GCS, SPO2, albumin, AST/ALT, glucose, potassium, PTT, and peripheral vascular disease were the independent risk factors according to the multivariate analysis results. The newly established nomogram had better prediction performance than other common scoring systems (such as SOFA, OASIS, and SAPS II). For two cohorts, the calibration curve demonstrated coherence between the nomogram and the ideal observation

P

>

0.05

. The clinical utility of the nomogram in both sets was revealed by decision curve analysis. Conclusion. The novel prognostic model was effective in forecasting the 30-day mortality rate for acute cholangitis patients.
HDACi-dependent Microenvironmental Normalization Overcomes Tumor Burden–induced T-cell Exhaustion
Authors: Nguyen Andrew , Brown Dominique , Krishnan Ramya , Bastin Donald , Deng Li , Chen Lan , Salem Omar , Walsh Scott R. , Bramson Jonathan L. , Wan Yonghong 
Published: August 2023

Abstract

Purpose:
T-cell exhaustion limits immunotherapy for the treatment of solid tumors. Although immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) can mediate tumor regression, their potency is often determined by tumor burden. Here, we identified tumor burden–related pathway changes that are conducive to T-cell exhaustion. We then determined whether microenvironmental reprogramming via epigenetic modulation could reverse T-cell exhaustion and improve immunotherapeutic responsiveness.

Experimental Design:
We developed a murine syngeneic tumor model wherein an increased burden ablated therapeutic responsiveness to ACT, which corresponded with systemic induction of T-cell exhaustion. Transcriptome analysis of these large tumors allowed us to characterize changes to immunosuppressive pathway expression during class I histone deacetylase inhibitor MS-275 treatment. We then measured the therapeutic impact of MS-275 during ACT and assessed T-cell exhaustion by transcriptome/phenotypic analysis.

Results:
ACT durably regressed small tumors but failed to control large tumors, which were associated with systemic T-cell exhaustion and ablation of T-cell responses. Large tumors were defined by an immunosuppressive pathway signature. MS-275 reversed this pathway signature and promoted durable regression of large tumors during ACT. Prototypical exhaustion marker Tim-3 was selectively upregulated in transferred T cells despite displaying a reduced exhaustion signature. Instead, we observed enhanced activation-dependent signaling correlating with enrichment of the IL2–STAT5 signaling axis. Activated CD8+ T-cell responses were predominantly skewed toward terminal effector cell–like CD44+ Tim-3hi TCF1− CD127− KLRG1+ differentiation.

Conclusions:
Tumor burden–induced pathway changes can be reversed through epigenetic reprogramming, enabling the conversion from T-cell exhaustion to effector lineage differentiation.
Performance of Computed Tomographic Angiography–Based Aortic Valve Area for Assessment of Aortic Stenosis
Authors: Ash Jerry , Sandhu Gurmandeep S. , Arriola‐Montenegro Jose , Agakishiev Dzhalal , Clavel Marie‐Annick , Pibarot Philippe , Duval Sue , Nijjar Prabhjot S. 
Published: August 2023

Background
A total of 40% of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) have low‐gradient AS, raising uncertainty about AS severity. Aortic valve calcification, measured by computed tomography (CT), is guideline‐endorsed to aid in such cases. The performance of different CT‐derived aortic valve areas (AVAs) is less well studied.

Methods and Results

Consecutive adult patients with presumed moderate and severe AS based on echocardiography (AVA measured by continuity equation on echocardiography <1.5 cm
2
) who underwent cardiac CT were identified retrospectively. AVAs, measured by direct planimetry on CT (AVA
CT
) and by a hybrid approach (AVA measured in a hybrid manner with echocardiography and CT [AVA
Hybrid
]), were measured. Sex‐specific aortic valve calcification thresholds (≥1200 Agatston units in women and ≥2000 Agatston units in men) were applied to adjudicate severe or nonsevere AS. A total of 215 patients (38.0% women; mean±SD age, 78±8 years) were included: normal flow, 59.5%; and low flow, 40.5%. Among the different thresholds for AVA
CT
and AVA
Hybrid
, diagnostic performance was the best for AVA
CT
<1.2 cm
2
(sensitivity, 85%; specificity, 26%; and accuracy, 72%), with no significant difference by flow status. The percentage of patients with correctly classified AS severity (correctly classified severe AS+correctly classified moderate AS) was as follows; AVA measured by continuity equation on echocardiography <1.0 cm
2
, 77%; AVA
CT
<1.2 cm
2
, 73%; AVA
CT
<1.0 cm
2
, 58%; AVA
Hybrid
<1.2 cm
2
, 59%; and AVA
Hybrid
<1.0 cm
2
, 45%. AVA
CT
cut points of 1.52 cm
2
for normal flow and 1.56 cm
2
for low flow, provided 95% specificity for excluding severe AS.

Conclusions

CT‐derived AVAs have poor discrimination for AS severity. Using an AVA
CT
<1.2‐cm
2
threshold to define severe AS can produce significant error. Larger AVA
CT
thresholds improve specificity.
Associations of Oral Contraceptive Use With Cardiovascular Disease and All‐Cause Death: Evidence From the UK Biobank Cohort Study
Authors: Dou Weijuan , Huang Yan , Liu Xuesong , Huang Chensihan , Huang Junlin , Xu Bingyan , Yang Linjie , Liu Yating , Lei Xuzhen , Li Xu , Huang Junfeng , Lin Jiayang , Liu Deying , Zhang Peizhen , Shao Jiaqing , Liu Changqin , Zhang Huijie 
Published: August 2023

Background
The associations of oral contraceptive (OC) use with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all‐cause death remains unclear. We aimed to determine the associations of OC use with incident CVD and all‐cause death.

Methods and Results

This cohort study included 161 017 women who had no CVD at baseline and reported their OC use. We divided OC use into ever use and never use. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for cardiovascular outcomes and death. Overall, 131 131 (81.4%) of 161 017 participants reported OC use at baseline. The multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios for OC ever users versus never users were 0.92 (95% CI, 0.86–0.99) for all‐cause death, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.87–0.96) for incident CVD events, 0.88 (95% CI, 0.81–0.95) for coronary heart disease, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.76–0.99) for heart failure, and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.84–0.99) for atrial fibrillation. However, no significant associations of OC use with CVD death, myocardial infarction, or stroke were observed. Furthermore, the associations of OC use with CVD events were stronger among participants with longer durations of use (
P
for trend<0.001).

Conclusions
OC use was not associated with an increased risk of CVD events and all‐cause death in women and may even produce an apparent net benefit. In addition, the beneficial effects appeared to be more apparent in participants with longer durations of use.
Thinking Capital and Colonialism in South Africa : The Problem of Justice
Authors: Mandyoli Lindokuhle 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Notwithstanding the epistemological problems with the dominant appreciations of human rights, the problem with dominant ways of understanding justice for colonial repression post colonialism is that they misplace the logic whence the repression stems. In this paper I propose a revisiting of the historical materialist approach to justice, as a way to strengthen the scholarship on justice in South Africa. I essentially deal with two contending arguments on the debate on justice in South Africa, namely transformative constitutionalism, the position of constitutional romantics, and Azanian political thought, propounded by what are termed constitutional abolitionists in this paper. Moreover, using Bernard Magubane's critical socio-historical explanation of South Africa and Evgeny Pashukanis' legal theory of Marxism, I offer a third way which opens up some of the theoretical deficiencies of transformative constitutionalism as it pertains to South Africa. Ultimately, in this paper, I attempt to move from a descriptive and ideological appreciation of justice, to a conception of justice rooted in the materiality of social relations.
Decolonising the Real: Transformative Constitutionalism and the Unconscious
Authors: Barnard-Naudé Jaco 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
“Transformative constitutionalism” has been suggested as a viable post-liberal alternative to juristic interpretation after apartheid. The article considers the role of transformative constitutionalism in the decolonisation of the Real. It suggests that colonialism denigrates the unconscious of the colonised through an instrumentalisation by way of which it is incorporated as a critical part of the system of colonialism. Transformative constitutionalism’s preoccupation with the “gaps, conflicts and ambiguities” of language positions it in a way conducive to the liberation of the colonised’s unconscious by way of what Jacques Lacan called “separation”. I argue that despite transformative constitutionalism’s aversion to violence, its acts of interpretation take place in a field of what Cover called “pain and death”. Such interpretations are thus necessarily acts of violence not within, but against, the colonial Symbolic, and so they can help to facilitate acts through which the Real can at last become decolonised.
A Square-Root, Dual-Resolution 3DEnVar for the AROME Model: Formulation and Evaluation on a Summertime Convective Period
Authors: Michel Yann , Brousseau Pierre 
Published: August 2023

AbstractA three-dimensional ensemble-variational (3DEnVar) data assimilation algorithm has been developed for the high-resolution AROME NWP system. Building on previous work on 3DEnVar for AROME, we describe a formulation of the 3DEnVar that is based on the traditional square-root preconditioning. The localization may be performed either in gridpoint or spectral space, and allows for cross-covariances between surface pressure and the three-dimensional variables. The scheme has capacity for dual resolution, with the ensemble running at a lower 3.2-km spatial resolution than the deterministic AROME running at 1.3 km. This formulation is compatible with the variational bias correction scheme used in AROME. Hybrid covariances are implemented with climatological covariances at 1.3-km resolution being combined with ensemble perturbations that are interpolated to high resolution on the fly in the computation of the gradient. Hybrid 3DEnVar has an increased computational cost compared to 3DVar, which is partly mitigated by the use of dual resolution and the adoption of a flexible convergence criterion in the minimization. To get the full benefit from the ensemble scheme, it is recommended 1) to increase ensemble size from 25 to 50 members and 2) to decrease the localization length scale for the benefit of high-density radar observations. With those changes, the 3DEnVar outperforms the operational AROME-France 3DVar by a significant margin on the first 12 h of forecast range, as evidenced by a 3-month summer experiment. Finally, a case study reports on the improved prediction of heavy rainfall that frequently occurs in the Mediterranean region.
Improving the Intensity Forecast of Tropical Cyclones in the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System
Authors: Wang Weiguo , Han Jongil , Yang Fanglin , Steffen John , Liu Bin , Zhang Zhan , Mehra Avichal , Tallapragada Vijay 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
A modification to the mixing length formulation in a planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme is introduced to improve the intensity forecast of tropical cyclones (TCs) in a basin-scale Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) for the real-time experiment in 2021. The 2020 basin-scale HAFS with the physics suite of the NCEP operational Global Forecast System performs well in terms of the reduced root-mean-square (RMS) errors in track and intensity except for the mean intensity bias, compared with NCEP operational hurricane models. To address the large intensity bias issue, the vertical mixing length near the surface used in the PBL scheme is increased to follow the similarity theory, consistent with that used in the surface layer scheme. Test results show that the RMS error and bias in intensity are further reduced without the degradation of the track forecast. An idealized one-dimensional TC PBL model is used to understand the model response to the modification, indicating that the radial wind is strengthened to dynamically balance the enhanced downward momentum mixing. This is also exhibited in the case study of a three-dimensional HAFS simulation, with the improved vertical distribution of the simulated wind speed in the eyewall area. Given the improvement, the modification has been implemented in one of the configurations of the first version of the operational HAFS at NCEP. Finally, the adjustment of the parameterization of diffusion and mixing in TC simulations is discussed.

Significance Statement
A modification to the mixing length formulation in a PBL scheme is described, which improves the intensity forecast of tropical cyclones simulated in the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS). Retrospective tests indicate that the modification can reduce the root-mean-square error and bias of the simulated TC intensity by 5%–10% and 50%, respectively. This modification has been implemented in one of the operational configurations of HAFS, version 1, at NCEP, improving the hurricane model guidance.
Finding a City Name in a Traffic Sign: Effects of Word Case and Visual Motion
Authors: Tejero Pilar , Royo Laura , Roca Javier 
Published: August 2023

Objectives To investigate the word recognition effects of the use of all-uppercase (e.g., VALENCIA) or titled-case (e.g., Valencia) for city names in traffic signs, controlling for word size, and comparing stationary and dynamic viewing situations. Background Prior studies provide mixed evidence regarding the effects of word case on the recognition of city names in traffic signs. Moreover, the evidence on the potential impact of visual motion on these effects is scarce. Method We carried out an experimental study using simulated traffic signs. The task was to indicate, for each sign, whether it contained a given city name or not (word search task, 50% positive trials). Visual motion of signs was manipulated as a between-participants factor: stationary (the sign was still) versus dynamic (the sign expanded as if the participant was approaching to it). Word case was manipulated as a within-participants factor: all-uppercase versus two titled-case conditions varying in font size: width-matched titled-case and point size-matched titled-case. Results In both the stationary and dynamic conditions, all-uppercase resulted in more incorrect responses and slower latencies than width-matched titled-case. When compared to point size-matched titled-case, all-uppercase produced slower correct responses in the stationary condition, whereas faster in the dynamic condition. Conclusion Other factors being equal, all-uppercase city names will be recognized worse than their titled-case versions in traffic signs, both in stationary and dynamic situations. Application Results in the current experimental study would be of interest in the design of traffic signs and other circumstances in which text is presented in motion.
Ketogenic diet: Assessing YouTube video information using quality, reliability, and text analytics methods
Authors: Rana Avinash , Arora Monika 
Published: August 2023

Objective Patients and the general audience refer social media platforms, such as YouTube, to learn and apply contemporary dietary methods. It is difficult for users to analyze the correctness and quality of information available on open platforms. Using scientific evaluation, this study assessed the quality, reliability, and content of YouTube videos on ketogenic diet (KD). Methods Three experienced medical practitioners reviewed and evaluated 95 videos. The quality and reliability of the videos were assessed using the quality criteria for consumer health information and the global quality scale (GQS). Topic modeling and sentiment analysis were employed to determine the dominant themes and polarity of the information. Results Three types of publishers (doctors, educational institutions, and influencers) were identified for the study. The mean length of videos posted by doctors was high at 42.24 min. The reliability and quality scores ranging from 0 (low) to 5 (high) had an average of 3.08 ± 1.14 and 3.18 ± 1.18, respectively, for sampled videos. One-way analysis of variance reveals significant differences in DISCERN and GQS scores among doctors, educational institutions, and influencers. Topic discovery identified four themes: keto versus glucose, diabetes, KD food, and major chronic diseases. Sentiment analysis reveals positive content polarity, some content shared by doctors had a neutral sentiment. Conclusion Content creators should augment the content by citing medical information and terminology. Viewers relied more on doctors for information related to KD. The aesthetic quality is high for all types of publishers. Publishers could focus on the discovered themes to create more content. Publishers should produce high-quality videos by improving esthetics (to increase engagement), and reliable medical information (to increase impact).
What outcomes do studies use to measure the impact of prognostication on people with advanced cancer? Findings from a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies
Authors: Spooner Caitlin , Vivat Bella , White Nicola , Bruun Andrea , Rohde Gudrun , Kwek Pei Xing , Stone Patrick 
Published: August 2023

Background: Studies evaluating the impact of prognostication in advanced cancer patients vary in the outcomes they measure, and there is a lack of consensus about which outcomes are most important. Aim: To identify outcomes previously reported in prognostic research with people with advanced cancer, as a first step towards constructing a core outcome set for prognostic impact studies. Design: A systematic review was conducted and analysed in two subsets: one qualitative and one quantitative. (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022320117; 29/03/2022). Data sources: Six databases were searched from inception to September 2022. We extracted data describing (1) outcomes used to measure the impact of prognostication and (2) patients’ and informal caregivers’ experiences and perceptions of prognostication in advanced cancer. We classified findings using the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative taxonomy, along with a narrative description. We appraised retrieved studies for quality, but quality was not a basis for exclusion. Results: We identified 42 eligible studies: 32 quantitative, 6 qualitative, 4 mixed methods. We extracted 70 outcomes of prognostication in advanced cancer and organised them into 12 domains: (1) survival; (2) psychiatric outcomes; (3) general outcomes; (4) spiritual/religious/existential functioning/wellbeing, (5) emotional functioning/wellbeing; (6) cognitive functioning; (7) social functioning; (8) global quality of life; (9) delivery of care; (10) perceived health status; (11) personal circumstances; and (12) hospital/hospice use. Conclusion: Outcome reporting and measurement varied markedly across the studies. A standardised approach to outcome reporting in studies of prognosis is necessary to enhance data synthesis, improve clinical practice and better align with stakeholders’ priorities.
Comparison of two joint-preserving treatments for osteonecrosis of the femoral head: core decompression and core decompression with additional cancellous bone grafting
Authors: Woerner Michael , Voelkl Korbinian , Bliemel Christopher , Ferner Felix , Weber Markus , Renkawitz Tobias , Grifka Joachim , Craiovan Benjamin 
Published: August 2023

Objective Femoral head necrosis (FHN) affects mostly young and active people. The most common operative therapy is core decompression (CD) with optional cancellous bone grafting (CBG). Because little information is available on the long-term results of these procedures, we investigated the effectiveness of CD and CD + CBG in patients with ARCO stage II FHN in terms of postoperative pain, range of motion, patient-reported outcome measures (Harris Hip Score, Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, EuroQol 5D, and Short Form 36 Questionnaire), and disease progression. Methods We retrospectively compared 11 patients treated with CD alone 48.0 months (range, 26.3–68.5 months) postoperatively versus 11 patients treated with CD + CBG 69.2 months (range, 38.0–92.9 months) postoperatively. All patients were assessed according to a routine clinical protocol involving a clinical examination, questionnaires, and radiological imaging (X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging). Results The clinical and radiological results showed no significant differences between the two groups. Both interventions demonstrated equal results according to clinical scores. Conclusions Our data may encourage application of the less invasive technique of CD alone without CBG, which is more surgically demanding. Further prospective studies with longer follow-up are necessary to clarify the risk factors for therapy failure.