bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thoracic sympathetic ganglion blocks: real-world outcomes in 207 chronic pain patients
Authors: Kim Jeongsoo , Yun Minsu , Han Andrew Hogyu , Pauzi Mohd Faeiz , Jeong Jae Hoon , Yoo Yongjae , Moon Jee Youn 
Published: September 2023

BackgroundThoracic sympathetic ganglion block (TSGB) is a procedure to manage sympathetically maintained upper extremity pain (sympathetically maintained pain). To date, only a few studies have evaluated the clinical effectiveness of TSGB in pain medicine. This study investigated (1) the relationship between technical success of TSGB and pain reduction in patients with chronic upper extremity pain and (2) relevant clinical factors for a positive TSGB outcome.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed medical data in 232 patients who received TSGB from 2004 to 2020. Technical success and a positive outcome of TSGB were defined as a temperature increase of ≥1.5°C at 20 min and a pain reduction with ≥2 points on the 11-point Numerical Rating Scale at 2 weeks post-TSGB, respectively. Correlations were assessed using correlation coefficients (R), and multivariable regression model was used to identify factors relevant to TSGB outcomes.Results207 patients were ultimately analyzed; among them, 115 (55.5%) patients positively responded to TSGB, and 139 (67.1%) achieved technical success after TSGB. No significant relationship existed between the pain reduction and the temperature increase after TSGB (R=0.013, p=0.855). Comorbid diabetes (OR 4.200) and adjuvant intake (OR 3.451) were positively associated, and psychiatric comorbidity (OR 0.327) and pain duration (OR 0.973) were negatively associated with TSGB outcome.ConclusionsWe found no significant association between the temperature increase and pain reduction after TSGB. Further studies are warranted to identify significant factors associated with TSGB outcomes in patients with complex regional pain syndrome and neuropathic pain diseases.
Lost and Found in Translation
Authors: Yaffe Philip 
Published: September 2023

Each "Communication Corner" essay is self-contained; however, they build on each other. For best results, before reading this essay and doing the exercise, go to the first essay "How an Ugly Duckling Became a Swan," then read each succeeding essay.
Most people write in their native language, which is why too many pay too little attention to how precisely they say what they want to say. "Well, everyone will understand." People who write or translate into other languages know this isn't true.
Personalized Query Expansion with Contextual Word Embeddings
Authors: Bassani Elias , Tonellotto Nicola , Pasi Gabriella 
Published: September 2023

Personalized Query Expansion, the task of expanding queries with additional terms extracted from the user-related vocabulary, is a well-known solution to improve the retrieval performance of a system w.r.t. short queries. Recent approaches rely on word embeddings to select expansion terms from user-related texts. Although promising results have been delivered with former word embedding techniques, we argue that these methods are not suited for contextual word embeddings, which produce a unique vector representation for each term occurrence.
In this article, we propose a Personalized Query Expansion method designed to solve the issues arising from the use of contextual word embeddings with the current Personalized Query Expansion approaches based on word embeddings. Specifically, we employ a clustering-based procedure to identify the terms that better represent the user interests and to improve the diversity of those selected for expansion, achieving improvements of up to 4% w.r.t. the best-performing baseline in terms of MAP@100. Moreover, our approach outperforms previous ones in terms of efficiency, allowing us to achieve sub-millisecond expansion times even in data-rich scenarios. Finally, we introduce a novel metric to evaluate the expansion terms’ diversity and empirically show the unsuitability of previous approaches based on word embeddings when employed along with contextual word embeddings, which cause the selection of semantically overlapping expansion terms.
Reversible Pulsed Electrical Fields as an In Vivo Tool to Study Cardiac Electrophysiology: The Advent of Pulsed Field Mapping
Authors: Koruth Jacob S. , Neuzil Petr , Kawamura Iwanari , Kuroki Kenji , Petru Jan , Rackauskas Gediminas , Funasako Moritoshi , Aidietis Audrius , Reddy Vivek Y. 
Published: September 2023

BACKGROUND:

During electrophysiological mapping of tachycardias, putative target sites are often only truly confirmed to be vital after observing the effect of ablation. This lack of mapping specificity potentiates inadvertent ablation of innocent cardiac tissue not relevant to the arrhythmia. But if myocardial excitability could be transiently suppressed at critical regions, their suitability as targets could be conclusively determined before delivering tissue-destructive ablation lesions. We studied whether reversible pulsed electric fields (PF
REV
) could transiently suppress electrical conduction, thereby providing a means to dissect tachycardia circuits in vivo.

METHODS:

PF
REV
energy was delivered from a 9-mm lattice-tip catheter to the atria of 12 swine and 9 patients, followed by serial electrogram assessments. The effects on electrical conduction were explored in 5 additional animals by applying PF
REV
to the atrioventricular node: 17 low-dose (PF
REV-LOW
) and 10 high-dose (PF
REV-HIGH
) applications. Finally, in 3 patients manifesting spontaneous tachycardias, PF
REV
was applied at putative critical sites.

RESULTS:

In animals, the immediate post-PF
REV
electrogram amplitudes diminished by 74%, followed by 78% recovery by 5 minutes. Similarly, in patients, a 69.9% amplitude reduction was followed by 84% recovery by 3 minutes. Histology revealed only minimal to no focal, superficial fibrosis. PF
REV-LOW
at the atrioventricular node resulted in transient PR prolongation and transient AV block in 59% and 6%, while PF
REV-HIGH
caused transient PR prolongation and transient AV block in 30% and 50%, respectively. The 3 tachycardia patients had atypical atrial flutters (n=2) and atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. PF
REV
at putative critical sites reproducibly terminated the tachycardias; ablation rendered the tachycardias noninducible and without recurrence during 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS:
Reversible electroporation pulses can be applied to myocardial tissue to transiently block electrical conduction. This technique of pulsed field mapping may represent a novel electrophysiological tool to help identify the critical isthmus of tachycardia circuits.
Shapes, Wholes, History: For Benjamin
Authors: Haidu Rachel 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
How can we understand the phrase “Painting After the Subject of History,” which forms the subtitle of Benjamin Buchloh's opus on Gerhard Richter? This essay proposes that that post-subject might be addressed by shapes, rather than figures, closely examining paintings from Philip Guston's celebrated “return to figuration” in the 1970s, when, it is argued, figuration's referentiality is exceeded by the force of Guston's painted shapes. Indeed that force registers as the public dimension of the artist's paintings, addressing an American hellscape, or its unconscious register, populated by images from Kent State, Civil Rights massacres, Vietnam, and more. As Gestalt theorists (Max Wertheimer) and philosophers (Ludwig Wittgenstein) have determined, shapes are respectively “imprinted as wholes” and participate in sign systems––becoming, thereby, not-whole. It is with this ambivalent relation to the sign that Guston's painting explores how shapes can make unconscious forces public. Rather than understanding shapes along a continuum between figuration and abstraction, however, this essay argues that it is Guston's collaborations with poets such as Frank O'Hara that serve as the origin point of his “shape painting.”
Mondrian's Boogie Woogie
Authors: Dickerman Leah 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
This essay looks at Piet Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43), one of the most iconic paintings in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art since it was acquired in 1943, offering a counterpoint to persistent readings that fundamentally position the work within a narrative of the European avant-garde. In a story that is both familiar and new, this essay highlights the structural and political insights provided by Mondrian's engagement with boogie-woogie music in America, through both recordings and visits to the nightclub Cafe Society, positioning the painting at the confluence of two streams of migration: one that brought Mondrian to New York as a war refugee and another that brought boogie-woogie sound northward with the Great Migration. Tracing these parallel histories, and how boogie-woogie signified in specific historical and political ways, deepens our understanding of how it modeled a space of freedom for Mondrian and shaped the vision realized in his two final paintings.
IL-1β knockout increases the intestinal abundancy of Akkermansia muciniphila
Authors: Bechberger M. , Eigenbrod T. , Boutin S. , Heeg K. , Bode K.A. 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is known to be upregulated in patients suffering from metabolic syndrome. IL-1β contributes to insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 diabetes, yet its influence on the intestinal microbiome is incompletely understood. The data presented here demonstrate that mice genetically deficient in IL-1β show a specific alteration of intestinal colonisation of a small group of bacteria. Especially Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium reported to be inversely associated with obesity, diabetes, cardiometabolic diseases and low-grade inflammation, showed increased colonisation in IL-1β knockout mice. In comparative microarray analysis from mucus scrapings of the colon mucosa of IL-1β knockout and wildtype mice, angiogenin 4 mRNA was strongly reduced in IL-1β knockout animals. Since the presence of angiogenin 4 in the culture medium showed a significant growth inhibition on A. muciniphila which was not detectable for other bacteria tested, IL-1β induced expression of angiogenin 4 is a strong candidate to be responsible for the IL-1β induced suppression of A. muciniphila colonisation. Thus, the data presented here indicate that IL-1β might be the lacking link between inflammation and suppression of A. muciniphila abundance as observed in a variety of chronic inflammatory disorders.
Trackability of proteins from probiotic Bifidobacterium spp. in the gut using metaproteomics
Authors: Hendrickx D.M. , An R. , Boeren S. , Mutte S.K. , the PRESTO study team  , Wopereis H. , Belzer C. 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Beneficial effects of Bifidobacterium spp. on gut microbiota development and infant health have been reported earlier. Therefore, supplementation of infant formulas with probiotic bifidobacteria, as well as prebiotics stimulating bifidobacterial growth, has been proposed. Here, we studied the faecal microbiome of infants supplemented with specialized nutrition, of which some received a standard amino acid-based formula (AAF) and others an AAF with a specific mixture of prebiotics and a probiotic (synbiotics) using metaproteomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Faecal samples were taken at baseline, as well as after 6 and 12 months fed with the specialized formula. The aim was to compare microbial differences between infants treated with the standard AAF and those who received the additional synbiotics. Our findings show that infants who received AAF with synbiotics have significantly higher levels of Bifidobacteriaceae DNA as well as significantly increased levels of Coriobacteriaceae proteins, over time. Moreover, at visit 12 months higher levels of some bifidobacterial carbohydrate-active enzymes, known to metabolize oligosaccharides, were observed in the synbiotic group compared to the non-synbiotic group. The results indicate that the synbiotics provided in our study are trackable in faecal samples on the DNA and protein level during the intervention period.
Legal Constraints on Policymaking for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture in Indonesia
Authors: Zahar Alexander , Nurhidayah Laely 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Agricultural regulation in Indonesia is almost entirely focused on adaptation and food security. Mitigation of emissions from the sector is not presented as an obligation in the country’s body of agricultural law. This situation, which emphasizes autarky, does not facilitate a strong agricultural mitigation policy in the country; and, in fact, Indonesia’s policies and planned actions on greenhouse-gas-emission reduction in agriculture are narrow, vague, and lacking in ambition. The emphatic adaptation focus of Indonesia’s body of agricultural regulation may reflect entrenched values about the role of agriculture in society. An alternative explanation is that the regulatory emphasis on adaptation is an instance of regulatory inertia, sustained by a tradition of agricultural protectionism that deflects risky reforms. Inertia is problematic in itself, as it closes off the sector to innovation. But inertia is not as serious as a values-based resistance in the country to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. A government’s mandate in a democratic society to act ambitiously on climate change, in a climate-treaty context that demands little more than “national determination” of ambition, must necessarily be obtained from, in large part, those most directly affected by a regulatory change – in this case, farmers. An inquiry that seeks to elicit their opinion in this respect is overdue. A survey of farmers’ views on their willingness to support mitigation of emissions from their sector would add to our understanding of the risks that our slow response to climate change entails, for it is a response that presumes that a significant mitigation contribution will eventually be made by each and every economic sector, including agriculture. If the issue is mere inertia, the outlook is more optimistic than if the issue is active resistance. Because agriculture is still a closed sector, not only in developing but also in developed countries, this article contributes to our understanding of research priorities for climate law around the world. The article is the first in a series this journal will publish under our co-editorship on climate change law in Indonesia.
Beyond Colonial Rupture: Print Culture and the Emergence of Muslim Modernity in Nineteenth-Century South Asia
Authors: Sobers-Khan Nur , Uddin Layli , Basu Priyanka 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Scholarly discussions on Islam in print have focused predominantly on the role of Urdu in the development of North Indian Muslim publics (Dubrow, 2018; Robb, 2020), ʿulama and Islamic jurisprudence (Tareen, 2020) and relations between Islam and colonial modernity (Robinson, 2008; Osella & Osella, 2008) This special issue instead offers fine-grained investigations on technology and labour; print landscapes, networks and actors; subaltern languages; and popular Islam. We critique the idea of an “epistemic rupture” brought about by colonial modernity, providing a more systematic analysis of continuities and changes in Islamic knowledge economy. Examining two centuries of print authored by South Asian Muslims, the articles in the issue provide new ways of thinking about questions of knowledge production, distribution, circulation and reception. The issue broadens the scope of earlier scholarship, examining genres such as cosmology, divination, devotional poems, salacious songs, romances and tales of war in Urdu, Persian, Arabic, dobhāṣī do Bangla, Arabic Malayalam, Sindhi, Balochi and Brahui. The articles show the different ways that pre-colonial practices and cultures of writing and reading persisted in the print landscape, in terms of copying, adaptation, translation and circulation of texts. They inquire into new technologies, labour and networks that evolved, and how it provided fertile ground for both new and traditional forms of religious activities and authorities. The articles present new Muslim publics, geographies, and imaginaries forged through the vernacularisation of Islam, and their relationship to the transnational or global community.
A Social Space for Religious Reform: Maktaba-i Durkhan and the Emergence of a Vernacular Print Culture in Colonial Balochistan (1882–1948)
Authors: Jamali Hafeez Ahmed 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
The development of manuscript and print cultures in colonial Balochistan have eluded scholarly attention due to the representation of the princely state of Kalat as a savage frontier space. Despite a Baloch nationalist awakening in the late colonial period and the flourishing of Balochi and Brahui language books and periodicals in postcolonial Pakistan, only a handful of scholars have taken note of these developments and their transformative effects on Baloch society. Understanding these dynamics in a frontier space is important not only in its own right but also to help shed light on the politics of religious and nationalist reform in South Asia. This paper seeks to understand these dynamics by exploring the emergence of the Maktaba-i-Durkhan (1883–1960), a madrasah and publishing house in the village of Durkhan in eastern Balochistan that pioneered the use of books in Balochi and Brahui languages for teaching Quran, Hadith, and other religious literature.
The Garden and the Fire: The Hereafter in the Bengali Muslim Literary Imagination
Authors: Halder Epsita 
Published: September 2023

Abstract
Hell (al-nar, the Fire) and Paradise (al-janna, the Garden), as punishment and reward for Muslims for failing in performing obligatory practices or perfecting them, appeared in popular print in late nineteenth-century Bengal, to coalesce an audience as belonging to the umma. In a reformist attempt to offer Islamic eschatology to the masses, references were based on Qurʾanic and hadith-based traditions, available in Urdu and Bangla and borrowed freely from several sources. The fear of torment in Hell and sensory indulgence in Paradise, articulated by the ʿulamaʾ as part of reformist Islam in Bengal, drew awe towards God and piety towards the Prophet. With the Qurʾan and hadis repertoire in Bangla, sharīʿa-based knowledge was standardized, but ʿulamaʾ who were writing doctrinal treatises for the masses created multiple layers of negotiation between high and popular forms of eschatology by exploring the creative potential of the hereafter.
Prevalence and risk factors of COVID-19 infection, mortality, and post-infection lung fibrosis in patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Farah Randa , Al-Hawari Hussam , Albtoush Asma , Nofal Amani , Hyasat Tala Basheer , Abu Jabeh Raghed Abdel Hay , Suboh Lojayn Tareq , Toubasi Ahmad A. , Eqrai Tareq Fatah , Abufaraj Mohammad 
Published: September 2023

Objectives The clinical course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is often aggressive, with unfavorable outcomes for those with comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of COVID-19 infection, mortality, and post-infection lung fibrosis in patients with COVID-19 infection who had T2DM. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we included adult patients with T2DM who attended an endocrinology clinic and underwent testing for COVID-19 infection. Results Among 1039 included patients, the mean age was 59.5 ± 11.0 years and 429 (41.3%) were men. Overall, 87.1% of patients had received COVID-19 vaccination and 32.3% had confirmed COVID-19 infection. The COVID-19-related mortality was 3.0% and rate of post-COVID-19 lung fibrosis was 19.1%. Vaccination was associated with lower COVID-19-related mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 0.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.0–0.3) and post-COVID-19 lung fibrosis risk (OR: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1–0.9). Conclusion Patients with T2DM exhibited a high prevalence of COVID-19 infection and associated mortality. However, COVID-19 vaccines were beneficial in reducing the risks of COVID-19-related mortality and post-infection lung fibrosis in these patients. COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are recommended for patients with T2DM. Further studies involving larger study populations are necessary to validate these findings.
Levan-based bioactive hydrogels containing herbal liposome in treating acute wounds
Authors: Erdal Altıntaş Özlem , Aytar Çelik Pınar 
Published: September 2023

Hydrogels in active wound care products are 3D polymeric scaffolds that provide the desired moisture balance in the wound area with their high water retention capacity. Thanks to their biocompatible properties, flexible and porous structures, and high hydrophilic properties, they have frequently been preferred in the repair and regeneration of cells and tissues and the controlled release of bioactive substances to the target area. In this study, hydrogel structures were developed for the first time with levan produced by Halomonas elongata 153B halophilic bacteria. Extracts from Plantago lanceolata L., commonly known as a wound herb, which has medicinal importance for cell regeneration, ensuring tissue integrity in a short time and reducing infections in the wound area, were obtained and extract-loaded liposome structures were formed for controlled release into the wound area. The wound healing efficacy of the composite material developed by loading herbal liposomes into levan-based hydrogel structures was evaluated in an in vitro wound model. Thus, a natural, biocompatible, biodegradable, and functional wound care product containing herbal liposomes suitable for both clinical applications and point-of-care use has been developed. The developed bioactive hydrogels are a promising therapeutic approach for the healing of acute wounds. Graphical abstract [Formula: see text]
Examining the Role and Strategies of Advocacy Coalitions in California’s Statewide Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Debate (2001-2018)
Authors: Garibay Kesia K. , Burke Nancy J. , Ramírez A. Susana , Payán Denise D. 
Published: September 2023

Purpose California’s failed attempts to enact a statewide sugary beverage tax presents an opportunity to advance understanding of advocacy coalition behavior. We investigate the participation of advocacy coalitions in California’s statewide sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax policy debate. Design Document analysis of legislative bills and newspaper articles collected in 2019. Setting California. Method A total of 11 SSB tax-related bills were introduced in California’s legislature between 2001-2018 according to the state’s legislative website. Data sources include legislative bill documents (n = 94) and newspaper articles (n = 138). Guided by the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we identify advocacy coalitions involved in California’s SSB tax debate and explore strategies and arguments used to advance each coalitions’ position. Results Two coalitions (public health, food/beverage industry) were involved in California’s statewide SSB tax policy debate. The public health coalition had higher member participation and referred to scientific research evidence while the industry coalition used preemption and financial resources as primary advocacy strategies. The public health coalition frequently presented messaging on the health consequences and financial benefits of SSB taxes. The industry coalition responded by focusing on the potential negative economic impact of a tax. Conclusion Multiple attempts to enact a statewide SSB tax in California have failed. Our findings add insight into the challenges of enacting an SSB tax considering industry interference. Results can inform future efforts to pass evidence-based nutrition policies.