bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The “dark” side of terlipressin: a case report of ischemic skin necrosis and review of literature
Authors: Shastri Arpit , Rose Sweta , Vojjala Nikhil , Bhagat Naveen , De Arka 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
Terlipressin is a commonly used drug in cirrhotic patients with acute variceal bleed (AVB) due to its vasoconstrictor effects. Ischemic complications are uncommon adverse events associated with worse outcomes.

Case presentation
We present a case of alcohol-related cirrhosis, who was started on terlipressin for AVB. However, he developed bilateral lower limb gangrene with ischemic skin necrosis and ultimately succumbed to death.

Conclusion
Although ischemic adverse events are uncommon with terlipressin, it is important to be aware of these complications as they may be severe and potentially life threatening.
The role of the Beclin-1: a gene related to autophagy in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Sarhan Shymaa A. , Saad Hassan Asmaa Ahmed , Said Nora M. , Kamal Doaa E. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder. Autophagy, a regulator of cell homeostasis, can impact innate and adaptive immune cells activation and contribute to the pathogenesis of RA. The purpose of this study was to assess the significance of autophagy in RA, by investigating the autophagy signaling Beclin-1 in RA patients.

Results
In RA patients, the Beclin-1 gene expression level was higher than the healthy controls with a statistically highly significant difference (P < 0. 001) where the gene expression mean was 3.33 ± 0.45 in patients and 0.98 ± 0.070 in controls. There was a significant positive correlation between Beclin-1 gene expression and disease duration (p = 0.013*), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and rheumatoid factor (RF) titer (P = 0.018*, 0.027*, and 0.023* respectively). Beclin-1 gene overexpression is significantly correlated with disease activity parameters (DAS 28, patient and physician global health assessment). Furthermore, the Beclin-1 gene overexpression is highly correlated with the disability index, Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) (P < 0.001).

Conclusion
The elevated autophagy-related gene Beclin-1 expression in RA patients can contribute to RA probability, high disease activity, and severity. Therefore, suppressing autophagy may be a therapeutic target for RA.
Clinical Implication of HER2 Aberration in Patients With Metastatic Cancer Using Next-Generation Sequencing: A Pan-Tumor Analysis
Authors: Jung Jaeyun , Kim Seung Tae , Ko Jihoon , Hong Jung Yong , Park Joon Oh , Ha Sang Yun , Lee Jeeyun 
Published: July 2023

PURPOSE Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein expression or gene amplification is a significant predictive biomarker for identifying patients with cancer, who may benefit from HER2-targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to survey the proportion of patients who had HER2 aberration and to investigate the correlation between HER2 amplification and HER2 overexpression in immunohistochemistry (IHC) as a real-world data. METHODS We surveyed the incidence of HER2 aberration including mutation (single-nucleotide variant [SNV]), amplification (copy-number variation), and fusion by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in 2,119 patients with cancer from Samsung Medical Center in South Korea. RESULTS Of 2,119 patients with cancer, 189 patients (8.9%) had HER2 aberration in their tumor specimen. Of 189 patients, 113 (5.3%) patients had HER2 amplification, 82 (3.9%) patients had HER2 mutations, and 11 (0.5%) patients had HER2 fusion. Of note, 10 patients (0.5%) had concurrent HER2 amplification and HER2 fusion. In addition, we identified that HER2 protein overexpression was strongly related to HER2 amplification by NGS. Of 74 patients with HER2 amplification only by NGS test, 64 patients (86.5%) had HER2 overexpression by IHC. Of 10 patients with concurrent HER2 amplification and fusion, 80% patients were HER2 overexpression. Among 51 patients with only HER2 mutation (SNV), 9 patients (17.6%) were HER2 (+). Interestingly, almost all patients with colorectal cancer (11 of 12) with HER2 amplification had very strong HER2 overexpression (3+) in their tumor specimen. CONCLUSION In conclusion, we showed that when patients with metastatic cancer receive NGS test, approximately 8.9% have HER2 aberrations in their tumor specimen. Most patients have HER2 amplification, and a small percentage of patients have HER2 fusion. A great majority of patients with HER2 amplification and/or HER2 fusion had HER2 (+) tumor by IHC.
Associations of Glucose Metabolism Status with Brain Macrostructure and Microstructure: Findings from the UK Biobank
Authors: Li Ruyi , Geng Tingting , Li Lin , Lu Qi , Li Rui , Chen Xue , Ou Yunjing , Liu Sen , Lin Xiaoyu , Tian Qingying , Qiu Zixin , Zhu Kai , Tang Ziyue , Yang Kun , Pan An , Liu Gang 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Context
Evidence linking glucose metabolism status with brain macro- and microstructure is limited and inconsistent.

Objective
We aim to investigate the associations of glucose metabolism status with brain macrostructure and microstructure, including brain volumes, subcortical gray matter volumes, and white matter microstructural metrics.

Methods
This study enrolled 29 251 participants from the UK Biobank. Glucose metabolism status was classified into normal glucose metabolism (NGM), prediabetes, type 2 diabetes (T2D) with HbA1c &lt;7%, and T2D with HbA1c ≥7%. Brain macrostructural metrics included volumes of total and subcortical gray matter, white matter, white matter hyperintensity (WMH), cerebrospinal fluid, and brain stem. Brain microstructural metrics included fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity in white matter tracts. Multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate β values and 95% CI.

Results
After multivariable adjustment including demographic and lifestyle factors, medical history, and total intracranial volume, those with prediabetes had smaller total and subcortical gray matter volumes than participants with NGM, while atrophy of total and subcortical gray matter was more pronounced in those with T2D (all P trend &lt; .05). Moreover, participants with T2D had larger volumes of white matter and WMH (both P trend &lt; .05). For brain microstructure, participants with prediabetes had lower FA values in commissural fibers (β −0.04; 95% CI −0.08, −0.003). Global and tract-specific microstructural abnormalities of white matter were observed in participants with T2D, especially for T2D with HbA1c ≥ 7% (all P trend &lt; .05), except for FA values in projection fibers.

Conclusion
These findings suggest that interventions for hyperglycemia at an earlier stage may help protect brain health.
Leptin Decreases Gluconeogenesis and Gluconeogenic Substrate Availability in Patients With Lipodystrophy
Authors: Quaye Emmanuel , Chacko Shaji , Startzell Megan , Brown Rebecca J 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Context
The effects of leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone that signals overall energy sufficiency, can only be studied in leptin-deficient conditions. In patients with lipodystrophy, a rare disease and unique model of leptin deficiency, treatment with recombinant leptin (metreleptin) improves glycemia and decreases energy expenditure. We hypothesized that these improvements might be mediated by reduced gluconeogenesis (GNG), an energy-requiring process.

Objective
To determine the effects of metreleptin on GNG and GNG substrates.

Methods
This was a single-arm prospective study of metreleptin administration in 15 patients with lipodystrophy, 9 of whom had data on GNG (NIH, 2013-2018). We analyzed total GNG, insulin-mediated suppression of GNG, glycerol, palmitate, alanine, lactate, peripheral and hepatic insulin sensitivity, and markers of glycemia (eg, HbA1c, glucose, fasting insulin).

Results
Metreleptin administration decreased basal GNG, increased insulin-mediated suppression of GNG, and improved insulin sensitivity and markers of glycemic control. Metreleptin reduced carbon sources for GNG, including plasma alanine and lactate, and rate of appearance (Ra) of glycerol, and decreased Ra of palmitate, a driver of GNG. Glycerol and palmitate Ra correlated with GNG prior to but not during metreleptin administration. Alanine strongly correlated with GNG both before and during metreleptin administration.

Conclusions
Metreleptin treatment in patients with lipodystrophy reduced GNG likely through decreased availability of carbon sources for gluconeogenesis, such as alanine, lactate, and glycerol. Associations between alanine and GNG persisted after metreleptin treatment while correlations with glycerol and palmitate Ra did not persist, suggesting reduced importance of lipolysis as a driver of GNG in the leptin-replete state.
A Commons beyond the Human
Authors: Er Yanbing 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
This article critiques current theories of the commons as having been produced and sustained by human-centered paradigms of intellectual reasoning. It develops a commons beyond the human in response, which offers another way to envisage the commons and its pledge to the construction of better, alternate futures. Rather than advance yet another definition of the commons, this article examines how its means of knowledge production might ensue differently by dislocating the concept from its existing points of epistemological orientation. At the heart of this inquiry lies an attempt to rethink the commons concept beyond its regulating logics of liberal humanism, a radical reconsideration of the kinds of politics it should and might still enable beyond the lure of progressive reason. Turning to a reading of Alexis Wright’s 2013 novel The Swan Book, the article argues that a commons beyond the human gathers in the text through the more-than-human existence engendered between a young Aboriginal girl, Oblivia, and a flock of black swans. The novel presents neither the disavowal of the inherited knowledges of the commons nor a concrete policy to herald its appearance in a conjectural future, but a critical expansion of its transitive acts of worlding. This is made feasible by its insistence on upholding an Indigenous Australian ontological reality as the structuring provision for its narratives—one that has long stressed its dissonance from dominant Western genres of thinking and being.
New Materialism and the Eco-Marxist Challenge
Authors: Skiveren Tobias 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
In recent years, the critical vocabulary of the environmental humanities has shifted. After a decade burgeoning with new materialist explorations of intra-active entanglements and nonhuman vitalities, scholars are today becoming increasingly interested in the environmental effects of capitalism, its ecological rifts, fossil economy, and omnipresent wastescapes. Driving this shift is a reinvigoration of eco-Marxist thinking, which not only offers new focus points but also launches philosophical polemics against the field’s longstanding turn to matter. Facing these polemics, scholars in the environmental humanities are currently facing a difficult choice: should we opt for an “old” or a “new” materialism? This essay argues that this confrontation between new materialism and eco-Marxism pivots not on ontological differences, as is often assumed, but on diverging attitudes toward critical methodologies. It claims specifically that many of the recent polemics practice a kind of philosophical shadowboxing that blurs a more fundamental disagreement about the role and status of “critique.” Staging an encounter between Andreas Malm’s The Progress of This Storm (2018) and Jane Bennett’s Influx and Efflux (2020), the essay makes its case by demonstrating, first, how an attachment to critical methodologies drives eco-Marxists to polemicize against ontologies that, in fact, resemble their own. It then shows how new materialists advance such ontologies to supplement these critical methodologies with more affectively engaged modes of scholarship. By framing the debate in this way, the essay ultimately aims to push back against the methodological dogmatism of eco-Marxists who take critique to be the only legitimate mode of inquiry.
The Correlation of Global Spinal Realignment With the Quality of Life After Corrective Surgery for Delayed Thoracolumbar Osteoporotic Fracture–Related Kyphosis
Authors: Zhong Junlong , Lin Sijian , Xiong Jiachao , Zhou Zhenhai , Yu Honggui , Ma Shengbiao , Cao Kai 
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Few studies have been conducted to evaluate the precise impact of corrective surgery on sagittal spinal realignment and clinical outcomes in cases of delayed thoracolumbar osteoporotic fracture–related kyphosis. To assess the efficacy of corrective surgery on sagittal spinal alignment and investigate the relationship between spinal alignment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with delayed thoracolumbar osteoporotic fracture–related kyphosis.

METHODS:
A total of 78 patients were enrolled. The characteristics and surgical variables were meticulously documented. The sagittal spinal parameters were measured, and the HRQoL was evaluated using Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), SF-12 Physical Component Score (SF-12 PCS), and Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire (SRS-22) before and after surgery. The changes in spinal parameters and HRQoL were analyzed through the paired t-test. The Pearson correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation of parameters with HRQoL. Then, a multiple stepwise regression analysis was performed with HRQoL scores as the dependent variable and spinal parameters as the independent variable.

RESULTS:
The operative time was 185.9 ± 33.2 min, and the estimated blood loss was 782.8 ± 145.2 mL. The results of the paired t-test revealed a significant difference preoperatively and at the final follow-up in the thoracic kyphosis, thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK), lumbar lordosis, T9 tilt, pelvic tilt, sacral slope, sagittal vertical axis, and spinosacral angle as well as the ODI, SF-12 PCS, and SRS-22 (P < .05). Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that TLK and pelvic tilt, TLK and sagittal vertical axis, and TLK were the primary parameters affecting the ODI, SF-12 PCS, and SRS-22, respectively.

CONCLUSION:
Corrective surgery can effectively realign the global spine and improve HRQoL in patients with delayed thoracolumbar osteoporotic fracture–related kyphosis. The change of TLK is a driving factor to realign the global spine.
Novel Nerve-Sparing In Situ Assembly of an Expandable Titanium Cage to Maximize Endplate Coverage After Posterior Corpectomy for Comminuted Lumbar Burst Fractures
Authors: Felton Jason , John Albin A. , Daneshfar Shahriar C. , Cox Cameron T. , Grochmal Joey 
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
The ability to maximize corpectomy cage endcap size and vertebral endplate coverage after corpectomy for lumbar burst fractures (L1-L5) is limited by the presence of lumbar nerve roots and the larger cross-sectional area of the lumbar endplates relative to the restrictive corridor for cage insertion. This work aims to provide details and clinical examples of a novel operative technique for 3-column reconstruction and stabilization of comminuted lumbar burst fractures.

METHODS:
Through a standard posterior midline approach and following posterior instrumentation and lateral extracavitary corpectomy, an in-situ assembly of a modular corpectomy cage that respects adjacent neural structures, restores segmental alignment, and maximizes endplate coverage across a lordotic segment is completed.

RESULTS:
Radiographic evidence of anatomic spinal reconstruction and stabilization with complete or near-complete endplate coverage without incurrence of new clinical deficit after this novel treatment of lumbar burst fractures.

CONCLUSION:
The fixation approach described in this report may be a valuable modification to a long-standing technique used for treating comminuted lumbar burst fractures (L1-L5) from a posterior-only approach without incurring additional neurological deficits and by improving endplate and apophyseal ring coverage.
OPA1 deficiency impairs oxidative metabolism in cycling cells, underlining a translational approach for degenerative diseases
Authors: Millet Aurélie M. C. , Coustham Corentin , Champigny Camille , Merabet Nadege , Botella Marlène , Demeilliers Christine , Devin Anne , Galinier Anne , Belenguer Pascale , Bordeneuve-Guibé Joel , Davezac Noélie 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT
Dominant optic atrophy is an optic neuropathy with varying clinical symptoms and progression. A severe disorder is associated with certain OPA1 mutations and includes additional symptoms for &gt;20% of patients. This underscores the consequences of OPA1 mutations in different cellular populations, not only retinal ganglionic cells. We assessed the effects of OPA1 loss of function on oxidative metabolism and antioxidant defences using an RNA-silencing strategy in a human epithelial cell line. We observed a decrease in the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, associated with a reduction in aconitase activity related to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In response, the NRF2 (also known as NFE2L2) transcription factor was translocated into the nucleus and upregulated SOD1 and GSTP1. This study highlights the effects of OPA1 deficiency on oxidative metabolism in replicative cells, as already shown in neurons. It underlines a translational process to use cycling cells to circumvent and describe oxidative metabolism. Moreover, it paves the way to predict the evolution of dominant optic atrophy using mathematical models that consider mitochondrial ROS production and their detoxifying pathways.
Who Benefits from State Corporate Tax Cuts? A Local Labor Markets Approach with Heterogeneous Firms: Comment
Authors: Malgouyres Clément , Mayer Thierry , Mazet-Sonilhac Clément 
Published: July 2023

Suárez Serrato and Zidar (2016) identify state corporate tax incidence in a spatial equilibrium model with imperfectly mobile firms. Their identification argument rests on comparative statics omitting a channel implied by their model: the link between common determinants of a location’s attractiveness and the average idiosyncratic productivity of firms choosing that location. This compositional margin causes the labor demand elasticity to be independent from the product demand elasticity, impeding the identification of incidence from the four estimated reduced-form effects. Assigning consensual values to the unidentified parameters, we find that the incidence share borne by firm owners is closer to 25 percent than 40 percent. (JEL H22, H25, H32, H71, R23, R51)
A randomized interventional clinical trial assessing the safety and effectiveness of PeaNoc XL tablets in managing joint pain and inflammation in arthritis patients
Authors: Kadanangode Narayanaswam Nandakumar , Caston Eric , Satish Kumar Rajappan Chandra , Vijayakumar Thangavel Mahalingam , Vanangamudi Vishagan Sulur , Pankaj Negi , Sukkur Abdul 
Published: July 2023

Background: Globally, alternative medicine is used widely by most patients for several health challenges. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of PeaNoc XL Tablet in managing pain and inflammation, a randomized clinical trial and systematic study was designed. PeaNoc XL Tablet has been widely utilized for pain and inflammation management, but no previous studies have examined its efficacy and safety. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness and safety profile of PeaNoc XL in patients with arthritis experiencing joint pain and inflammation. Methods: A randomized, controlled, and an open-label trial was conducted. A total of 155 patients (18 to 60 years) with arthritis were enrolled for participation. Using computer-generated random sequences, the study population was divided into two groups in a randomized manner. Group A received Standard therapy and Group B received Standard therapy with PeaNoc XL Tablet 400mg (two tablets OD after food). Results: Out of 155 patients, a total of 83 individuals were excluded from the study, leaving 72 patients who were randomly assigned to either Group A (n=36) or Group B (n=36). The administration of PeaNoc XL as an adjunct to standard therapy resulted in a significant reduction in levels of TNF-α (P<0.01), IL-1β (P<0.001), IL-6 (P<0.01), and CRP (P<0.01) in arthritis patients experiencing joint pain and inflammation. Conversely, no notable differences were observed from the baseline in the standard therapy group. Conclusions: After 12 weeks of supplementation of PeaNoc XL tablets, as an add-on therapy helps in the reduction of pain score, joint stiffness, and physical stiffness. Trial registration: CTRI/2022/10/046693.
Repeating Christmas jump in LIBOR
Authors: Mikheev Vikenty , Miheev Serge E. 
Published: July 2023

Background: London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) exists since 1986 as a benchmark interest rate. Methods: Using two-layer linear regression method, we found a pattern of shortterm nature in LIBOR behaviour. Results: To wit, 2-month LIBOR experiences a jump after Xmas for the last two decades. The direction and size of the jump depend on the data trend on 21 days before Xmas. Conclusions: The obtained results can be used to build a winning strategy on the Swap Market.
Medical debt during epidemics: A case for resolving the situation in low- and middle-income countries such as Kenya
Authors: Obengo Tom 
Published: July 2023

This paper evaluates the problem of medical debt in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic. The medical debt problem is compounded during pandemics such as COVID-19 when patients seek treatment and end up in insurmountable debt because illnesses related to the pandemic are not covered by the Kenyan National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the public health coverage body under government control. As a result, discharged patients may be detained in hospitals and dead bodies are locked away in mortuaries, until relatives and friends fundraise and clear the bills. Apart from causing vulnerability, fear, and emotional stress among the poor, this practice leads to a growing lack of trust in the healthcare system, with patients deliberately avoiding hospitals whenever they suspect they have COVID-19. The resulting vicious cycle makes healthcare more inaccessible by limiting the choices that people may have. User fees, which were introduced in all public health facilities by the Kenyan government as part of a World Bank prescription for cost-sharing, normally affect more women than men. Although Kenya has implemented a general waiver system in public hospitals for those who cannot pay their medical bills, the process of obtaining this waiver can be burdensome, demeaning, and dangerous for the health of the patients. This undermines the government’s commitment to the provision of equitable and affordable health care for the citizens. In this article, the problem of medical debt in Kenya is addressed as a multi-faceted problem drawing on issues of justice and fairness, human dignity, good governance, the interplay between global and local policies, as well as politics and law. It argues that it is in the best interest of Kenya and other African countries to ensure that public health coverage covers pandemics so that the majority poor can afford and access healthcare.