bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) level, but not ACE gene polymorphism, is associated with prognosis of COVID-19 infection: Implications for diabetes and hypertension
Authors: Elbasan Onur , Bayram Feyza , Yazan Ceyda Dinçer , Apaydın Tuğçe , Dashdamirova Saida , Polat Hamza , Arslan Ebru , Yılmaz İpek , Karimi Nastaran , Şengel Buket Ertürk , Yılmaz Sultan Seval , Çelik Ömer Faruk , Ata Pınar , Haklar Goncagül , Gözü Hülya 
Published: July 2023

Background
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system was shown to be activated in severe COVID-19 infection. We aimed to investigate the relationship between angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels, ACE gene polymorphism, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and hypertension (HT) and the prognosis of COVID-19 infection.

Methods
This cross-sectional study analyzed the clinical features of adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. ACE gene analysis and ACE level measurements were performed. The patients were grouped according to ACE gene polymorphism (DD, ID or II), disease severity (mild, moderate, or severe), and the use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 enzyme inhibitor (DPP4i), ACE-inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and mortality were also recorded.

Results
A total of 266 patients were enrolled. Gene analysis detected DD polymorphism in the ACE 1 gene in 32.7% (n = 87), ID in 51.5% (n = 137), and II in 15.8% (n = 42) of the patients. ACE gene polymorphisms were not associated with disease severity, ICU admission, or mortality. ACE levels were higher in patients who died (p = 0.004) or were admitted to the ICU (p<0.001) and in those with severe disease compared to cases with mild (p = 0.023) or moderate (p<0.001) disease. HT, T2DM, and ACEi/ARB or DPP4i use were not associated with mortality or ICU admission. ACE levels were similar in patients with or without HT (p = 0.374) and with HT using or not using ACEi/ARB (p = 0.999). They were also similar in patients with and without T2DM (p = 0.062) and in those with and without DPP4i treatment (p = 0.427). ACE level was a weak predictor of mortality but an important predictor of ICU admission. It predicted ICU admission in total (cutoff value >37.092 ng/mL, AUC: 0.775, p<0.001).

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that higher ACE levels, but not ACE gene polymorphism, ACEi/ARB or DPP4i use, were associated with the prognosis of COVID-19 infection. The presence of HT and T2DM and ACEi/ARB or DPP4i use were not associated with mortality or ICU admission.
Optimising quality of life for people living with heart failure in care homes: Protocol for the co-design and feasibility testing of a digital intervention
Authors: McMahon James , Brown Wilson Christine , Hill Loreena , Tierney Paul , Thompson David R. , Cameron Jan , Yu Doris , Moser Debra K. , Spilsbury Karen , Srisuk Nittaya , Schols Jos M. G. A. , van der Velden Mariëlle , Mitchell Gary 
Published: July 2023

Background
Heart failure (HF) affects up to 64.3 million people globally. Advancements in pharmaceutical, device or surgical therapies, have led to patients living longer with HF. Heart failure affects 20% of care home residents, with these individuals presenting as older, frailer, and with more complex needs compared to those living at home. Thus, improving care home staff (e.g., registered nurse and care assistant) knowledge of HF has the potential to benefit patient care and reduce acute care utilization. Our aim is to co-design, and feasibility test, a digital intervention to improve care home staff knowledge of HF and optimise quality of life for those living with the condition in long-term residential care.

Methods
Using a logic model, three workstreams have been identified. Workstream 1 (WS1), comprised of three steps, will inform the ‘inputs’ of the model. First, qualitative interviews (n = 20) will be conducted with care home staff to identify facilitators and barriers in the provision of care to people with HF. Concurrently, a scoping review will be undertaken to synthesise current evidence of HF interventions within care homes. The last step will involve a Delphi study with 50–70 key stakeholders (for example care home staff, people with HF and their family and friends) to determine key education priorities related to HF. Using data from WS1, a digital intervention to improve care home staff knowledge and self-efficacy of HF will be co-designed in workstream 2 (WS2) alongside those living with HF or their carers, HF professionals, and care home staff. Lastly, workstream 3 (WS3) will involve mixed-methods feasibility testing of the digital intervention. Outcomes include staff knowledge on HF and self-efficacy in caring for HF residents, intervention usability, perceived benefits of the digital intervention on quality of life for care home residents, and care staff experience of implementing the intervention.

Discussion
As HF affects many care home residents, it is vital that care home staff are equipped to support people living with HF in these settings. With limited interventional research in this area, it is envisaged that the resulting digital intervention will have relevance for HF resident care both nationally and internationally.
Lech Majewski, metafizyka i Bosch
Authors: Wysłouch Seweryna 
Published: July 2023

The subject of the analysis is the problem of metaphysics in Lech Majewski’s novel Metafizyka [Metaphysics] (2002) and in the author’s film adaptation entitled Ogród rozkoszy ziemskich [The Garden of Earthly Delights] (2004). In the novel, metaphysical sensations are conveyed through discourse: 1) the reflections of the rationalist protagonist who undergoes a crisis of worldview following the death of his partner, and 2) in interpretations of the mysterious triptych by Hieronymus Bosch, showing an irreal world: an earthly paradise which the characters attempt to emulate by repeating scenes from the painting. In the film, Majewski aban metaphysical discourse in favour of exposing The Garden of Earthly Delights and showing elaborate psychological portraits of his characters, especially the heroine who is fascinated by Bosch. Therefore, despite having the same plot, the novel and the film are two separate, autonomous works.
Liver FoxO1 overexpression is positively associated with the degree of liver injury in cirrhotic patients
Authors: Fernández-Galán Esther , Sandalinas Silvia , Macias-Muñoz Laura , Portolés Irene , Ribera Jordi , Morales-Romero Blai , Pauta Montse , Casals Gregori , Boix Loreto , Jiménez Wladimiro , Morales-Ruiz Manuel 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Objectives
Chronic liver disease and related complications, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, are associated with high mortality. Curative treatments, partial hepatectomy or liver transplantation, have limited applicability in patients with cirrhosis due to the poor liver regenerative capacity. Thus, we need to find new diagnostic and therapeutic alternatives, to block the disease progression and to improve the survival of patients. In this context, preclinical studies have demonstrated the key role of the protein kinase B (Akt) in liver dysfunction, but the status of Akt and its targets in patients with chronic hepatopathy remains unknown. Aims: To determine the activation status of the Akt pathway and their association with liver functionality in cirrhotic patients.

Methods
This retrospective study includes liver tissue samples from 36 hepatectomized patients with (n=27) and without (n=9) cirrhosis. Multiplex analysis of proteins involved in the Akt/mTOR pathway was performed using a Luminex panel and Western blot. Conventional liver function tests were determined in serum before resection surgery.

Results
Akt and forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) are overexpressed in the liver of cirrhotic patients: (2.1 vs. 1.0 densitometric relative units (DRU); p<0.01, and 9.5 vs. 4.4 DRU; p<0.01, respectively). FoxO1 showed the best correlation with markers of liver injury (aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT): r=0.51, p<0.05; alanine aminotransferase (ALAT): r=0.49, p<0.05), and was the only enzyme in the Akt pathway identified as an independent predictor of ASAT and ALAT levels.

Conclusions
The intrahepatic expression of FoxO1 could have clinical utility as a potential prognostic marker for patients with advanced liver disease.
An Adaptive Two-Grid Solver for DPG Formulation of Compressible Navier–Stokes Equations in 3D
Authors: Rachowicz Waldemar , Cecot Witold , Zdunek Adam 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
We present an overlapping domain decomposition iterative solver for linear systems resulting from the discretization of compressible viscous flows with the Discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin (DPG) method in three dimensions.
It is a two-grid solver utilizing the solution on the auxiliary coarse grid and the standard block-Jacobi iteration on patches of elements defined by supports of the coarse mesh base shape functions.
The simple iteration defined in this way is used as a preconditioner for the conjugate gradient procedure.
Theoretical analysis indicates that the condition number of the preconditioned system should be independent of the actual finite element mesh and the auxiliary coarse mesh, provided that they are quasiuniform.
Numerical tests confirm this result.
Moreover, they show that presence of strongly flattened or elongated elements does not slow the convergence.
The finite element mesh is subject to adaptivity, i.e. dividing the elements with large errors until a required accuracy is reached.
The auxiliary coarse mesh is adjusting to the nonuniform actual mesh.
Simultaneous Recovery of Two Time-Dependent Coefficients in a Multi-Term Time-Fractional Diffusion Equation
Authors: Ma Wenjun , Sun Liangliang 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
This paper deals with an inverse problem on simultaneously determining a time-dependent potential term and a time source function from two-point measured data in a multi-term time-fractional diffusion equation.
First we study the existence, uniqueness and some regularities of the solution for the direct problem by using the fixed point theorem.
Then a nice conditional stability estimate of inversion coefficients problem is obtained based on the regularity of the solution to the direct problem and a fine property of the Caputo fractional derivative.
In addition, the ill-posedness of the inverse problem is illustrated and we transfer the inverse problem into a variational problem.
Moreover, the existence and convergence of the minimizer for the variational problem are given.
Finally, we use a modified Levenberg–Marquardt method to reconstruct numerically the approximate functions of two unknown time-dependent coefficients effectively.
Numerical experiments for three examples in one- and two-dimensional cases are provided to show the validity and robustness of the proposed method.
Correlation between the deformation of mineral crystal structures and fault activity: A case study of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and the Milin fault
Authors: Xie Chao , Zheng Meng , Liu Lei , Chen Baixu , Yang Fan , Wu Yongcai , He Siyuan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The build-up and occurrence of earthquakes are due to the accumulation and release of stress in fault zones. When subjected to tectonic extrusion stress, the crystal structure of the minerals within a fault zone will change. In this study, Raman spectroscopy analysis was conducted on the concurrently deposited quartz veins from Shenxigou, along the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, and from Niyang River mouth, in the southern section of the Milin fault. The test results reveal a 3.29 cm−1 shift in the characteristic 464 cm−1 peak of the quartz in the veins along the fault plane of the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault, which was significantly lower than the shifts in the quartz peaks of the quartz on both sides of the vein. The 464 cm−1 peak shifts of the samples collected 10 m to the NW and 21 m to the SE of the fault plane were approximately 4.40 and 4.62 cm−1. In the veins from the Milin fault, considerable shifts of the 464 cm−1 quartz peaks occurred at the fault plane and to both sides within 5.5 m of the fault plane. No significant change in the 464 cm−1 Raman peak of quartz was observed for the samples 5–28 m to the SE of the fault plane. These results indicate that the tectonic extrusion stress accumulated more easily in proximity to the fault plane, resulting in significant changes in the crystals near the fault plane. We conclude that there is a correlation between the degree of change in the crystal structures of the minerals in thrust fault zones and fault activity, and such a correlation can provide a new method for studying the activity of thrust faults in areas with bedrock.
Spatiotemporal variation characteristics analysis of infrastructure iron stock in China based on nighttime light data
Authors: Huang Junchang , Yue Shuaijun , Ji Guangxing , Cheng Mingyue , Ma Hengyun , Hua Xuanke 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Iron is one of the most important basic materials in infrastructure development, spatial and temporal variation characteristics analysis of infrastructure iron stocks is conducive to revealing its distribution and change patterns from different scales, which can provide a scientific basis for sustainable urban development and iron resource management in China. In this article, we first calculated provincial infrastructure iron stock data from 2000 to 2020. Then, fitting equations between nighttime lighting data and infrastructure iron stock are constructed to simulate the spatial distribution of China’s infrastructure iron stock at 500 m resolution from 2000 to 2020. Finally, the spatial and temporal dynamics of China’s infrastructure iron stock is analyzed from four scales: national, regional, provincial, and urban agglomeration. The results show as follows: (1) China’s infrastructure iron stock grew at an average annual rate of 26.42% from 2000 to 2020, with China’s infrastructure iron stock increasing 6.28 times over the 21 years. Construction facilities are the most important part of the infrastructure iron stock, and its share is still increasing. (2) On a regional scale, the high-growth type of infrastructure iron stock is mainly distributed in the eastern region, while the no-obvious-growth type is mainly distributed in the western region. The high grade of infrastructure iron stock is mainly distributed in the eastern region, while the low grade is mainly distributed in the western region. (3) On a provincial scale, the highest share of no-obvious-growth type of infrastructure iron stock is in Xinjiang. The highest proportion of infrastructure iron stock of high-growth type is in Jiangsu. The highest proportion of low-grade infrastructure iron stock is in Xinjiang. The highest proportion of infrastructure iron stock of high grade is in Beijing. (4) In terms of urban agglomerations, the high-growth type of infrastructure iron stock is mainly located in Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou, while the no-obvious-growth type is mainly located in the Middle south of Liaoning. The high-grade infrastructure iron stock is mainly distributed in Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou, while the low grade is mainly distributed in Sichuan–Chongqing.
Alterations in expression of α1-adrenergic receptors possibly are involved in prevention of age-associated apoptosis in rat hippocampus by treadmill exercise
Authors: Chodari Leila , Ghasemi Maedeh , Mehranfard Nasrin 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Objectives
Exercise is assumed to attenuate age-related neuronal apoptosis, but the detailed mechanism(s) is not fully understood. α1-Adrenergic receptors (ARs) can either trigger or suppress apoptosis, therefore, here we determined the impact of treadmill exercise on the expression of the apoptosis regulatory proteins as well as α1-AR subtypes α1A- and α1B-ARs, in order to elucidate a possible association between apoptosis and the hippocampal expression of α1-ARs in aged male rats.

Methods
Twenty-one male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups (n=7): young control, aged sedentary, and aged + exercise. Western blot for α1A- and α1B-ARs as well as pro-(Bax and p53) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl2) proteins was conducted. An 8-week regular moderate-intensity treadmill exercise intervention was carried out in exercise group.

Results
In aged rats, α1A-AR expression in the hippocampus was significantly increased, and exercise markedly prevented this event. While α1B-AR expression was no altered with aging, a marked reduction in α1B-AR level was detected in exercise group when compared to aged group. Furthermore, pro-apoptotic protein levels of Bax and p53 were upregulated and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2 was downregulated in the aging hippocampus, but could be reversed by treadmill exercise. In the present research, exercise-induced reduction in α1A- and α1B-ARs was associated with an obvious downregulation of Bax/Bcl2 ratio in aged rats, suggesting that exercise may inhibit apoptosis through regulating α1-ARs, particularly α1A-AR.

Conclusions
Our study suggests that manipulations attenuating α1-AR activity, including nonselective α1-adrenergic antagonists, may protect against hippocampal neurodegeneration in aging brains.
The Call to Selfhood: Kierkegaard, Narrative Unity, and the Achievement of Personal Identity
Authors: Farris Jacob 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
This paper argues for a Kierkegaardian account of personal identity in dialogue with MacIntyre, Korsgaard, Frankfurt, Ricœur, and Marion. I engage with the scholarly debate on Kierkegaard’s relationship to practical and narrative accounts of the self and argue that he criticizes the ideal of self-authorship because authentic selfhood must be co-authored with others and embedded in the narrative setting and history that is provided by facticity. Moreover, this relation to facticity requires ethical commitment and existential faith. The phenomenology of the call can show how such commitment and faith overcomes self-alienation by synthesizing the passive and active aspects of selfhood.
Kierkegaard and Religionswissenschaft: A Source- and Reception-Historical Survey (Part 2)
Authors: Ziolkowski Eric 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
This second part of a two-part article (the first part of which appeared in the Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook 2022) surveys the varying uses made of Kierkegaard’s writings by four twentieth- and, in two of their cases, also twenty-first-century contributors to Religionswissenschaft: Joachim Wach, Mircea Eliade, Wendy Doniger, and Bruce Lincoln, all four of whom happen to have taught at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Far from being irrelevant or being regarded as a theologically-inclined persona non grata by comparatists of religion, Kierkegaard was embraced in three main capacities by these influential contributors to the field: as a datum (mostly in the history of theology and/or philosophy), as a theorist, and, in one case, as an existential soulmate. In Lincoln’s case, the reduction to memes—the memeification—of certain ideas ascribed to Kierkegaard comes under consideration.
Highly directional single-photon source
Authors: Manjavacas Alejandro , García de Abajo F. Javier 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Single-photon emitters are a pivotal element in quantum technologies, but the generation of single photons along well-defined directions generally involves sophisticated configurations. Here, we propose a photon source capable of generating single photons with high efficiency along guided modes. Specifically, we consider a quantum emitter placed in a periodically patterned linear waveguide. The latter is designed to host a single guided mode over the spectral range of interest and display a divergence in the photonic density of states at an emission wavelength close to the period. Photons are preferentially emitted along the waveguide near that spectral region. We predict that nearly all of the emission can be made to occur along the waveguide with a reduction in the temporal uncertainty by two orders of magnitude. Our study opens a conceptually new direction in the production of single photons with a high degree of directionality and reduced temporal uncertainty.
Characterization, biocompatibility, and optimization of electrospun SF/PCL composite nanofiber films
Authors: Feng Yanping , Jupei Zhang , Dong Zhihong , Tang Lu 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
In this study, composite nanofiber films for the wound dressing application were prepared with silk fibroin (SF) and polycaprolactone (PCL) by electrospinning techniques, and the SF/PCL composite nanofiber films were characterized by the combined techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the equilibrium water content, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer test, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cell viability test. The results indicated several parameters, including the rotating roller speed, solution concentration, and SF/PCL ratio, affected SF/PCL composite nanofibers’ diameter size, distribution, and wettability. The SF/PCL composite nanofiber manifested a smaller fiber diameter and more uniform nanofibers than pure PCL nanofibers. The contact angle changed from 121 ± 2° of the neat pure PCL to full wetting of 40% SF/PCL composite nanofiber films at 2,000 rpm, indicating good hydrophilicity. Meanwhile, cells exhibit adhesion and proliferation on the composite nanofiber films. These results testified that SF/PCL composite nanofiber films may provide good wettability for cell adhesion and proliferation. It was suggested that optimized SF/PCL composite nanofiber films could be used as a potential biological dressing for skin wound healing.
The Educational Responsibilities of Philosophers
Authors: Brighouse Harry 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Perpetuating the discipline of philosophy is not the main educational responsibility of philosophers. Instead, it is to equip students with those distinctively philosophical intellectual resources that will serve students in serving the public good through participation in the economy (broadly conceived) and democratic life. Given this responsibility philosophers, individually and collectively, have a duty to take teaching and learning more seriously than they do. The paper offers some confident ideas about what this means when it comes to approaching training and professional development and some more tentative ideas about what it means, specifically, for the Philosophy curriculum and the pedagogical strategies philosophers should adopt in the classroom.