bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increase in the global burden of chronic kidney disease: might it be attributable to air pollution?
Authors: Copur Sidar , Ucku Duygu , Kanbay Mehmet 
Published: April 2022

ABSTRACT
Air pollution is an emerging etiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Evidence regarding this causative relationship has been shown by several studies. Recently, Lin et al. conducted the first community-based study investigating the association between CKD prevalence and air pollutant levels utilizing a Fuzzy Logic Interference model. Despite the study's limitations, the results correlate with the previous meta-analysis and observational studies. Higher fine particular matter (PM2.5) levels are associated with the increased global burden of CKD and may also influence the unequal distribution of burden in low-to-middle income countries. Despite growing evidence of the association of air pollution with CKD risk, the underlying pathophysiology has yet to be fully understood. Future studies investigating the pathophysiology and efficiency of the potential therapeutic and preventive measures against air pollution-related kidney injury are required to reduce the CKD burden.
Network psychometrics and cognitive network science open new ways for understanding math anxiety as a complex system
Authors: Stella Massimo 
Published: April 2022

AbstractMath anxiety is a clinical pathology impairing cognitive processing in math-related contexts. Originally thought to affect only inexperienced, low-achieving students, recent investigations show how math anxiety is vastly diffused even among high-performing learners. This review of data-informed studies outlines math anxiety as a complex system that: (i) cripples well-being, self-confidence and information processing on both conscious and subconscious levels, (ii) can be transmitted by social interactions, like a pathogen, and worsened by distorted perceptions, (iii) affects roughly 20$\%$ of students in 63 out of 64 worldwide educational systems but correlates weakly with academic performance and (iv) poses a concrete threat to students’ well-being, computational literacy and career prospects in science. These patterns underline the crucial need to go beyond performance for estimating math anxiety. Recent advances in network psychometrics and cognitive network science provide ideal frameworks for detecting, interpreting and intervening upon such clinical condition. Merging education research, psychology and data science, the approaches reviewed here reconstruct psychological constructs as complex systems, represented either as multivariate correlation models (e.g. graph exploratory analysis) or as cognitive networks of semantic/emotional associations (e.g. free association networks or forma mentis networks). Not only can these interconnected networks detect otherwise hidden levels of math anxiety but—more crucially—they can unveil the specific layout of interacting factors, for example, key sources and targets, behind math anxiety in a given cohort. As discussed here, these network approaches open concrete ways for unveiling students’ perceptions, emotions and mental well-being, and can enable future powerful data-informed interventions untangling math anxiety.
Petroleum-derived naphthenic acids disrupt hormone-dependent sexual behaviours in male Western clawed frogs
Authors: Zhang Wo Su , Farmer Elizabeth J , Muhanzi Daniella , Trudeau Vance L 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Naphthenic acids (NAs), the carboxylic acids found in petroleum, are of emerging concern as they contaminate coastlines after oil spills, leech into freshwater ecosystems of oil sands areas and have wide industrial applications. They are acutely toxic in fish and tadpoles and may be endocrine disruptors at sublethal levels. We characterized androgen-dependent courtship behaviours and their disruption by NAs in male Western clawed frogs, Silurana tropicalis. Courtship primarily consists of males producing low trills and achieving amplexus, a mating position where a male clasps a female. Adult males were exposed for 5 days to 20 mg/l NA and injected with human chorionic gonadotropin to induce calling. The duration of calling activity was significantly reduced by NA exposure. Other acoustic parameters such as dominant frequency, click rate and trill length were not affected. Vocalization and amplexus were both inhibited after NA exposure and restored after 2 weeks of recovery in clean water. To determine possible disruption at the level of the testes, the effects of NA exposure on gene expression of key players in steroidogenesis was determined. Exposure to NAs decreased srd5a on average by ~ 25%. The enzyme 5α-reductase, encoded by srd5a, converts testosterone to its more bioactive form 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), so NAs may be affecting this steroidogenic step. However, the observed upregulation of lhr, star and cyp17a1 suggests that NA-exposed males may be attempting to counteract the reduced potential to produce DHT. Yet, these NA-exposed frogs have dramatically reduced calling duration, so the observed upregulation of star and cyp17a1 is decoupled from the vocalizations. Calling duration and the ability of males to amplex females is reversibly disrupted by NA exposure, implying that environmental reduction and removal of NAs may help improve habitability of contaminated ecosystems.
Physiological performance of native and invasive crayfish species in a changing environment: insights from Dynamic Energy Budget models
Authors: Marn Nina , Hudina Sandra , Haberle Ines , Dobrović Ana , Klanjšček Tin 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Crayfish are keystone species important for maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems. Crayfish species native to Europe, such as Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius torrentium, are facing decline and are increasingly endangered by changing climate and invasions of non-native crayfish, such as Pacifastacus leniusculus and Procambarus virginalis. The success of these invasions largely depends on differences in ontogeny between the native species and the invaders and how changes in the environment will affect the ontogeny. Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) models can be used to investigate such differences because the models capture dependence of metabolism, and therefore ontogeny, on environmental conditions. We develop DEB models for all four species and investigate key elements of ontogeny and metabolism affecting interspecific competition. We then use the DEB models to predict individual growth and reproduction in current and new conditions that are expected to arise from climate change. Although observations suggest that P. leniusculus poses the major threat to native species, our analysis identifies P. virginalis, in spite of its smaller size, as the superior competitor by a large margin—at least when considering metabolism and ontogeny. Our simulations show that climate change is set to increase the competitive edge of P. virginalis even further. Given the prospects of P. virginalis dominance, especially when considering that it is able to withstand and spread at least some crayfish plague strains that severely affect native species, additional research into P. virginalis is necessary.
WHAT REMAINS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CRITIQUE? ON PROFESSOR SCHEFOLD’S THESES
Authors: Petri Fabio 
Published: April 2022

AbstractProfessor Bertram Schefold’s recent papers on capital theory and the Cambridge critique argue that the very low likelihood of reswitching and reverse capital deepening that appears to emerge from empirical input–output tables is confirmed by theoretical results; these results, he concludes, largely rehabilitate traditional neoclassical views on capital and show that the Sraffian critics’ insistence on reverse capital deepening as a fundamental criticism of neoclassical theory is misplaced. The present paper raises doubts about these arguments. In particular, Professor Schefold does not give adequate consideration to the ‘supply-side’ problems with the measurability and the given endowment of the traditional notion of capital as a single factor. On the empirical evidence based on input–output tables, I agree with Professor Kurz that it suffers from very serious weaknesses. The more recent argument for an extremely low likelihood of double switching, advanced in Schefold (2016, 2018), appears criticisable too. Some weaknesses are also found in the recent argument jointly with Professor Götz Kersting on the ‘poverty of production functions.’
What Remains of the Cambridge Critique? A New Proposal
Authors: Schefold Bertram 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
The debate on capital theory is no more about the historical formation of neoclassical ideas in their original, most abstract form, but about the tools—certainly influenced by those ideas—which are used in teaching applied economics. One focus still is on the economy’s aggregate production function, almost 70 years after Joan Robinson attacked this concept. It has turned out that reswitching—once the most effective argument against the production function—is rare, and that an approximate surrogate production function can be constructed, using random matrices. This seems to weaken the critique, but a new one has emerged, which shows that the number of effective techniques on the wage curve is small and that the possibilities of substitution between capital and labour are quite restricted in the relevant range.
Mechanisms, therapeutic implications, and methodological challenges of gut microbiota and cardiovascular diseases: a position paper by the ESC Working Group on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation
Authors: Tousoulis Dimitris , Guzik Tomasz , Padro Teresa , Duncker Dirk J , De Luca Giuseppe , Eringa Etto , Vavlukis Marija , Antonopoulos Alexios S , Katsimichas Themistoklis , Cenko Edina , Djordjevic-Dikic Ana , Fleming Ingrid , Manfrini Olivia , Trifunovic Danijela , Antoniades Charalambos , Crea Filippo 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
The human gut microbiota is the microbial ecosystem in the small and large intestines of humans. It has been naturally preserved and evolved to play an important role in the function of the gastrointestinal tract and the physiology of its host, protecting from pathogen colonization, and participating in vitamin synthesis, the functions of the immune system, as well as glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism, among others. Mounting evidence from animal and human studies indicates that the composition and metabolic profiles of the gut microbiota are linked to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, particularly arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure. In this review article, we provide an overview of the function of the human gut microbiota, summarize, and critically address the evidence linking compositional and functional alterations of the gut microbiota with atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease and discuss the potential of strategies for therapeutically targeting the gut microbiota through various interventions.
Activating P2Y1 receptors improves function in arteries with repressed autophagy
Authors: Cho Jae Min , Park Seul-Ki , Kwon Oh Sung , Taylor La Salle David , Cerbie James , Fermoyle Caitlin C , Morgan David , Nelson Ashley , Bledsoe Amber , Bharath Leena P , Tandar Megan , Kunapuli Satya P , Richardson Russell S , Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham , Mookherjee Sohom , Kishore Bellamkonda K , Wang Fei , Yang Tianxin , Boudina Sihem , Trinity Joel D , Symons John David 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAimThe importance of endothelial cell (EC) autophagy to vascular homeostasis in the context of health and disease is evolving. Earlier, we reported that intact EC autophagy is requisite to maintain shear-stress-induced nitric oxide (NO) generation via glycolysis-dependent purinergic signalling to endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). Here, we illustrate the translational and functional significance of these findings.Methods and resultsFirst, we assessed translational relevance using older male humans and mice that exhibit blunted EC autophagy and impaired arterial function vs. adult controls. Active hyperaemia evoked by rhythmic handgrip exercise-elevated radial artery shear-rate similarly from baseline in adult and older subjects for 60 min. Compared with baseline, indexes of autophagy initiation, p-eNOSS1177 activation, and NO generation, occurred in radial artery ECs obtained from adult but not older volunteers. Regarding mice, indexes of autophagy and p-eNOSS1177 activation were robust in ECs from adult but not older animals that completed 60-min treadmill-running. Furthermore, 20 dyne • cm2 laminar shear stress × 45-min increased autophagic flux, glycolysis, ATP production, and p-eNOSS1177 in primary arterial ECs obtained from adult but not older mice. Concerning functional relevance, we next questioned whether the inability to initiate EC autophagy, glycolysis, and p-eNOSS1177 in vitro precipitates arterial dysfunction ex vivo. Compromised intraluminal flow-mediated vasodilation displayed by arteries from older vs. adult mice was recapitulated in vessels from adult mice by (i) NO synthase inhibition; (ii) acute autophagy impairment using 3-methyladenine (3-MA); (iii) EC Atg3 depletion (iecAtg3KO mice); (iv) purinergic 2Y1-receptor (P2Y1-R) blockade; and (v) germline depletion of P2Y1-Rs. Importantly, P2Y1-R activation using 2-methylthio-ADP (2-Me-ADP) improved vasodilatory capacity in arteries from (i) adult mice treated with 3-MA; (ii) adult iecAtg3KO mice; and (iii) older animals with repressed EC autophagy.ConclusionsArterial dysfunction concurrent with pharmacological, genetic, and age-associated EC autophagy compromise is improved by activating P2Y1-Rs.
Association of peripheral venous pressure with adverse post-discharge outcomes in patients with acute heart failure: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Nagao Kazuya , Maruichi-Kawakami Shiori , Aida Kenji , Matsuto Kenichi , Imamoto Kazumasa , Tamura Akinori , Takazaki Tadashi , Nakatsu Taro , Tanaka Masaru , Nakayama Shogo , Morimoto Takeshi , Kimura Takeshi , Inada Tsukasa 
Published: April 2022

Abstract

Aims
Congestion is the major cause of hospitalization for heart failure (HF). Traditional bedside assessment of congestion is limited by insufficient accuracy. Peripheral venous pressure (PVP) has recently been shown to accurately predict central venous congestion. We examined the association between PVP before discharge and post-discharge outcomes in hospitalized patients with acute HF.

Methods and results
Bedside PVP measurement at the forearm vein and traditional clinical examination were performed in 239 patients. The association with the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization and the incremental prognostic value beyond the established HF risk score was examined. The PVP correlated with peripheral oedema, jugular venous pressure, and inferior vena cava diameter, but not with brain-type natriuretic peptide. The 1-year incidence of the primary outcome measure in the first, second, and third tertiles of PVP was 21.4, 29.9, and 40.7%, respectively (log-rank P = 0.017). The adjusted hazard ratio of PVP per 1 mmHg increase for the 1-year outcome was 1.08 [95% confidence interval (1.03–1.14), P = 0.004]. When added onto the Meta-Analysis Global Group in Chronic HF risk score, PVP significantly increased the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for predicting the outcome [from 0.63 (0.56–0.71) to 0.70 (0.62–0.77), P = 0.02), while traditional assessments did not. The addition of PVP also yielded significant net reclassification improvement [0.46 (0.19–0.74), P &lt; 0.001].

Conclusion
The PVP at discharge correlated with prognosis. The results warrant further investigation to evaluate the clinical application of PVP measurement in the care of HF.

Trial registration number
UMIN000034279
Myocardial bridging is significantly associated to myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries
Authors: Matta Anthony , Nader Vanessa , Canitrot Ronan , Delmas Clement , Bouisset Frederic , Lhermusier Thibault , Blanco Stephanie , Campelo-Parada Francisco , Elbaz Meyer , Carrie Didier , Galinier Michel , Roncalli Jerome 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBackgroundMyocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is a common disorder characterized by the presence of clinical criteria for acute myocardial infarction in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease on angiography. We aim to investigate the relationship between myocardial bridging (MB) and MINOCA.Methods and resultsAn observational retrospective study was conducted on 15 036 patients who had been referred for coronary angiography and who fulfilled the Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. The study population was divided into ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients, from which we defined two main groups: the MINOCA group and the coronary artery disease (CAD) group. Statistical analyses were carried out by using SPSS, version 20. The prevalence of angiographic MB among the groups was significantly greater in the MINOCA group (2.9% vs. 0.8%). MINOCA accounted for 14.5% of spontaneous myocardial infarction, and the clinical presentation was more frequently NSTEMI rather than STEMI (84.3% vs. 15.7%). After adjusting for confounders, multivariate analyses showed a positive association between MB and MINOCA [odds ratio = 3.28, 95% CI (2.34; 4.61) P &lt; 0.001]. Cardiovascular risk factors were less common in the MINOCA population, which was younger and more often female.ConclusionMB is a risk factor for MINOCA. Because MB prevalence differed significantly between the controls (CAD group) and cases (MINOCA group), which were positively associated to MB, it seems likely that MB would be a potential cause of MINOCA. Investigations for MB in MINOCA cases and especially in NSTEMI patients seem necessary.
Comparison of non-invasive assessment for pulmonary vascular indices by two-dimensional echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography angiography with conventional catheter angiocardiography in unrepaired Tetralogy of Fallot physiology patients weighing more than 10 kg: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Kumar Amarendu , Sahu Ankit Kumar , Goel Pravin K , Jain Neeraj , Garg Naveen , Khanna Roopali , Kumar Sudeep , Tewari Satyendra , Kapoor Aditya 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAimsAssessment of pulmonary vascular dimensions (PVDs) in Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is an integral part of planning transcatheter and surgical interventions. We sought to examine the reliability and correlation of echocardiography (ECHO) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) measurements with those obtained by cardiac catheterization and angiography (CCA).Methods and resultsTetralogy of Fallot physiology patients undergoing ECHO, CTA, and CCA within a month prior to surgical correction during 2018–2020 were retrospectively enrolled. Indexed diameter of pulmonary annulus (iPAnn), indexed right pulmonary artery (iRPA), indexed left pulmonary artery (iLPA) and indexed descending aorta (iDA) were measured using ECHO and CTA followed by derivation of Nakata index (NI), McGoon’s ratio (MGR), ratio of predicted peak right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) pressures (pRV/pLV) and Z-scores. Comparison with CCA-derived measurements was made and correlational equations were subsequently deduced. Pulmonary vascular dimensions for 54 patients with mean age of 15.5 ± 9.3 years (range: 3–34 years) were analysed. Computed tomography angiography and CCA measurements for iPAnn, iRPA, NI, MGR, pRV/pLV, and Z-score were comparable with each other while ECHO parameters were significantly lower than CCA. However, iLPA diameter was significantly underestimated by ECHO and overestimated by CTA. Correlational analysis showed stronger correlation between CTA- and CCA-derived PVD as against ECHO measurements except for iDA, pRV/pLV, and Z-score.ConclusionsFor unrepaired TOF physiology patients weighing more than 10 kg, CTA-acquired PVD are reliable and comparable with CCA except for DA for which ECHO is non-inferior. Non-invasive modalities though are inferior to CCA for LPA sizing. Utilizing derived equations, precise estimation of PVD can be carried out using non-invasive tools.
Impact of distal aortic perfusion on ‘segmental steal’ depleting spinal cord blood flow—a quantitative experimental approach
Authors: Haunschild Josephina , von Aspern Konstantin , Herajärvi Johanna , Dietze Zara , Naumann Jörg , Ossmann Susann , Misfeld Martin , Borger Michael A , Etz Christian D 
Published: April 2022

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Aortic steal is an underestimated risk factor for intraoperative spinal cord ischaemia. A negative effect on spinal cord perfusion in thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repair has been suspected if blood drains away from the cord initiated by a reversal of the arterial pressure gradient. The amount of blood and pressure loss via back-bleeding of segmental arteries and the impact of distal aortic perfusion (DaP) have not been analysed yet. The aim of our study was to quantify ‘segmental steal’ in vivo during simulated thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repair and to determine the impact of DaP on steal and spinal cord perfusion.

METHODS
Ten juvenile pigs were put on cardiopulmonary bypass with DaP and visceral arteries were ligated. ‘Segmental steal’ was quantified by draining against gravity with/without DaP. Blood volume of ‘segmental steal’ was quantified and microspheres were injected for Post mortem spinal cord perfusion analysis. ‘Segmental steal’ was quantified with/without DaP—and with stopped DaP.

RESULTS
Quantification revealed a significantly higher steal on cardiopulmonary bypass with DaP with a mean difference of 24(11) ml/min. In all spinal cord segments, blood flow was diminished during steal drainage on DaP, compared to ‘no steal’. The least perfused region was the low thoracic to upper lumbar segment.

CONCLUSIONS
‘Segmental steal’ is a relevant threat to spinal cord perfusion—even with the utilization of DaP—diminishing spinal cord perfusion. The blood volume lost by back-bleeding of segmental arteries is not to be underestimated and occlusion of segmental arteries should be considered in thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repair.