bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vector meson spectral function in a dynamical AdS/QCD model
Authors: Zhao Yan-Qing , Hou Defu 
Published: December 2022

AbstractBy using gauge/gravity duality, we calculate the spectral function of the heavy vector mesons with the presence of an intense magnetic field in a hot and dense medium. The results show that, a general conclusion, as the increases of magnetic field, chemical potential and temperature, the height of the peak of the spectral function decreases and the width increases. A nontrivial result is the change from the peak position of spectral function. We explain this non-trivial behavior by the interplay of the interaction between the two heavy quarks and the interaction between the medium with each of the heavy quarks.
Device-Sizing and Associated Complications With Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: Findings From the NCDR LAAO Registry
Authors: Sandhu Amneet , Varosy Paul D. , Du Chengan , Aleong Ryan G. , Tumolo Alexis Z. , West J. Jason , Tzou Wendy S. , Curtis Jeptha P. , Freeman James V. , Friedman Daniel J. , Hess Paul L. 
Published: December 2022

Background:
Left atrial appendage occlusion is an important alternative to anticoagulation in select patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Trends in real-world device sizing and associated short-term complications have not been characterized.

Methods:
Using the National Cardiovascular Data Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (NCDR LAAO) Registry, patients who underwent left atrial appendage occlusion with a Watchman 2.5 device from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2020, were identified. Patients were stratified by device size based on left atrial appendage orifice size, and categorized as receiving a device that was undersized, oversized, or per manufacturer recommendation. Relationships between device sizing and short-term outcomes, including pericardial effusion, device embolism, and significant leak, were assessed.

Results:

Of the 68 456 patients, 6539 (10.5%) of patients received undersized devices, 17 791 (26.0%) according to manufacturer recommendations, and 44 126 (64.4%) received an oversized device. The 27-mm device was most commonly deployed [21 736 (31.8%)], whereas the smallest and largest devices (21 and 33 mm) were least commonly deployed [7695 (11.2%) and 9077 (13.3%), respectively]. Compared with manufacturer recommended sizing, there was no difference in the odds of pericardial effusion for either undersized (1.048 [95% CI‚ 0.801–1.372];
P=
0.733) or oversized (1.101 [95% CI‚ 0.933–1.298];
P=
0.254) devices. Similarly, relative to manufacturer recommended sizing, the odds of a composite adverse outcome of device migration or embolization and significant peridevice leak at 45 days were similar among undersized devices (1.030 [95% CI‚ 0.735–1.444];
P=
0.863) and favorable for oversized devices (0.701 [95% CI‚ 0.561–0.876];
P=
0.002) devices, primarily driven by lower odds of leak. Selection of oversized devices increased significantly over the study period (from 60.3% in 2016 to 66.0% in 2020;
P
<0.001).

Conclusions:
Among patients undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion with the first-generation Watchman device, receipt of oversized devices was common and increased over time. The high prevalence of oversizing was associated with lower odds of significant leak or device embolization without increased odds of other adverse events.
Population-Based Epidemiology of Heart Failure in a Low-Income Country: The Haiti Cardiovascular Disease Cohort
Authors: Kingery Justin R. , Roberts Nicholas L. , Lookens Pierre Jean , Sufra Rodney , Dade Eliezer , Rouzier Vanessa , Malebranche Rodolphe , Theard Michel , Goyal Parag , Pirmohamed Altaf , Yan Lily D. , Hee Lee Myung , Nash Denis , Metz Miranda , Peck Robert N. , Safford Monika M. , Fitzgerald Daniel , Deschamps Marie M. , Pape Jean W. , McNairy Margaret 
Published: December 2022

Background:
Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects persons living in low- and middle-income countries and heart failure (HF) is thought to be a leading cause. Population-based studies characterizing the epidemiology of HF in these settings are lacking. We describe the age-standardized prevalence, survival, subtypes, risk factors, and 1-year mortality of HF in the population-based Haiti Cardiovascular Disease Cohort.

Methods:
Participants were recruited using multistage cluster-area random sampling in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A total of 2981 completed standardized history and exam, laboratory measures, and cardiac imaging. Clinical HF was defined by Framingham criteria. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression assessed mortality among participants with and without HF; logistic regression identified associated factors.

Results:

Among all participants, the median age was 40 years (interquartile range, 27–55), and 58.2% were female. Median follow-up was 15.4 months (interquartile range, 9–22). The age-standardized HF prevalence was 3.2% (93/2981 [95% CI, 2.6–3.9]). The average age of participants with HF was 57 years (interquartile range, 45–65), and 67.7% were female. The first significant increase in HF prevalence occurred between 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 years (1.1% versus 3.7%,
P
=0.003). HF with preserved ejection fraction was the most common HF subtype (71.0%). Age (adjusted odds ratio, 1.36 [1.12–1.66] per 10-year increase), hypertension (2.14 [1.26–3.66]), obesity (3.35 [95% CI, 1.99–5.62]), poverty (2.10 [1.18–3.72]), and renal dysfunction (5.42 [2.94–9.98]) were associated with HF. One-year HF mortality was 6.6% versus 0.8% (hazard ratio, 7.7 [95% CI, 2.9–20.6];
P
<0.0001).

Conclusions:
The age-standardized prevalence of HF in this low-income setting was alarmingly high at 3.2%—5-fold higher than modeling estimates for low- and middle-income countries. Adults with HF were two decades younger and 7.7× more likely to die at 1 year compared with those in the community without HF. Further research characterizing the population burden of HF in low- and middle-income countries can guide resource allocation and development of pragmatic HF prevention and treatment interventions, ultimately reducing global cardiovascular disease health disparities.

Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT03892265.
Head Elevation, Cerebral Venous System, and Intracranial Pressure: Review and Hypothesis
Authors: Sattur Mithun G. , Patel Sunil J. , Helke Kristi L. , Donohoe Max , Spiotta Alejandro M. 
Published: December 2022

Background
Facilitation of venous outflow from the brain is largely believed to be responsible for the beneficial effect of head elevation on intracranial pressure (ICP). However, the impact on cerebral perfusion pressure can be deleterious. Although the adverse effect of obstructing venous outflow in the setting of intracranial hypertension is well documented, the converse (improvement with augmented drainage) has not been demonstrated. Our hypothesis is that the effect of active augmentation of cerebral venous outflow on ICP, although unknown, could be potentially beneficial under conditions of intracranial hypertension.

Methods
Published literature was perused to ascertain known relationships between head elevation, ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure, and the cerebral venous system.

Results

Head elevation benefits ICP control in intracranial hypertension from improved venous outflow via various networks and craniospinal cerebrospinal fluid displacement; but patients on the severe spectrum have a high likelihood of experiencing cerebral perfusion pressure decline especially beyond 30°. In addition, the interaction between autoregulation, compliance, head elevation, ICP pulse amplitude, cerebral perfusion pressure, and ICP becomes increasingly dyssynchronous in the severely affected brain. Although the detrimental effects of
obstructing
venous drainage are well documented, the possibility of
augmenting
venous outflow by withdrawal of sagittal sinus blood has not been described previously.

Conclusion
There could exist a potential role for targeted sagittal sinus venous aspiration in favorably influencing control of increased ICP conditions, without significant risk to cerebral perfusion.
Role of Rostral Superior Colliculus in Gaze Stabilization during Visual Fixation
Authors: Marino Robert A. , Munoz Douglas P. , Levy Ron 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Visual fixation (i.e., holding gaze on a specific visual object or location of interest) has been shown to be influenced by activity in the rostral pole of the intermediate layers of the superior colliculus (SCi)—a sensory–motor integration nucleus in the midbrain involved in visual fixation and saccadic eye movement generation. Neurons in the rostral SCi discharge tonically during visual fixation and pause during saccades to locations beyond their foveal visual-sensory or saccadic-motor response fields. Injection of muscimol to deactivate rostral SCi neurons also leads to an increase in fixation instability. However, the precise role of rostral SCi activity for controlling visual fixation has not been established and is actively debated. Here, we address whether this activity reflects signals related to task demands (i.e., maintaining visual fixation) or foveal visual stimulus properties. Two non-human primates performed an oculomotor task that required fixation of a central fixation point (FP) of varying luminance at the start of each trial. During this fixation period, we measured fixational saccades (≤ 2° of the FP, including microsaccades) and fixation-error saccades (&gt; 2° from the FP) in combination with activity from the rostral SCi. Fixation of the lowest FP luminance increased the latency (onset time relative to initial FP foveation) for both fixational and fixation-error saccades. Fifty percent of the rostral SCi neurons exhibited activity that opposed the change in FP luminance and correlated with delayed fixational saccades and increased fixation-error saccades. Twenty-two percent of rostral SCi neurons exhibited activity that followed the change in FP luminance and correlated with earlier fixational saccades and decreased fixation-error saccades. This suggests the rostral SCi contains both sensory-driven and task-related motor signals related to foveal sensory stimuli and visual fixation. This evidence supports a role for the rostral SCi in gaze stabilization and can help inform artificial computational models of vision.
Unraveling the Entangled Brain: How Do We Go About It?
Authors: Druckmann Shaul , Rust Nicole C. 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
An impactful understanding of the brain will require entirely new approaches and unprecedented collaborative efforts. The next steps will require brain researchers to develop theoretical frameworks that allow them to tease apart dependencies and causality in complex dynamical systems, as well as the ability to maintain awe while not getting lost in the effort. The outstanding question is: How do we go about it?
Young People in the Greek, Jewish and Palestinian Diasporas: Emotional Attachments to Multiple Homelands
Authors: Mavroudi Elizabeth , Huxter Cíntia Silva 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
This essay examines how children and young people aged 11–25 in the Jewish, Greek and Palestinian diasporas in England feel towards homelands, by exploring the range of emotions that homelands elicit. Using qualitative research with young people and their parents, the essay discusses and complicates assumptions around the relationships between diasporic youth and their homelands from the perspective of mainly second- and later-generation young people. In particular, the essay contributes to the growing realisation of the importance of emotions in diaspora, as it focuses on the complexities of belonging, attachment and identity. It adds to work which stresses the need for flexible notions of diaspora, in which people are positioned differently: in this case, young people who very much feel part of a diaspora and have differing and sometimes complicated relationships with the idea(l) and reality of a defined homeland.
China under Western Aggression: Discourse Transformations, Identity Shifts, and National Reconstruction
Authors: Ma Rong 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Following the Opium Wars, traditional notions of China as encompassing “all under heaven” (tianxia 天下) and the “Sino-barbarian dichotomy” (huayi 華夷) could no longer be sustained. Under the pressure and intimidation of the Great Powers’ advanced warships and fire power, the Qing government signed the unequal treaties and China was forced to adopt Western conceptual reasoning, discursive language, and rules of conduct. Western knowledge and lexicon was successively translated into Chinese, affecting transformations in local discourse and society. As part of this process, Japanese texts, which contained a great volume of Chinese characters, became an important medium for the transmission of Western epistemology. During the first Opium War between China and England, the cultural and political hegemony of the Great Powers were demonstrated through debates over interpretations of the Chinese character yi 夷. During the Late Qing, Chinese intellectuals drew on their foundations in traditional Chinese lexicon to understand and adopt the foreign-derived words zhongzu 種族 (race) and minzu 民族 (nation). This process reflects both shifts in how Chinese people regarded collective identity and the various presumptions underlying state-building visions.
Tianxia: The Threefold Connotation, Vehicle of Language, and Journey to Reestablishment
Authors: Ren Jiantao 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Tianxia 天下 has recently become a buzzword in Chinese academia. The word’s threefold connotation in relation to geographical, political, and international systems needs to be analyzed to illustrate its different meanings. These three meanings were centered around China in the self-sufficient traditional Chinese civilization; however, they all need reinterpretation in the current age of globalization. Reinterpreting tianxia requires an appropriate vehicle of language: weak and regressive language, early modern language that has undergone transformation, and pretentious usage cannot effectively reinterpret tianxia. A non-literati, nonpolitical approach to linguistic expression is necessary to avoid the corruption of language and reinterpret the word from a universal perspective. The principal matter to be addressed in reinterpreting tianxia is its notion in relationship to nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Merely reinterpreting the best intentions of tianxia is insufficiently convincing for the concept in the age of globalization. How tianxia is elucidated through the lens of the individual, state, and international world determines the reliability and credibility of the interpretation.
Masters of the Manuscript, Makers of Knowledge: Colonial New England Students and their Shorthand Notes
Authors: Delwiche Theodore R. 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
By failing to keep up with the praxeological turn of early modern Europeanists in the 1980s, scholarship on colonial America has consistently discounted the historical student. Uninterested in examining the intellectual habits of colonial students, early American historians have had little to say about seventeenth- and eighteenth-century schools beyond rehearsing worn, and often demonstrably false platitudes. This article seeks to take colonial students seriously by examining one of their most common, yet little studied intellectual practices: shorthand. When we apply the focus on intellectual praxis to modest subjects, when we look across boundaries of space and time, placing colonial America back into the fold of early modern history, a different image of the historical student snaps into focus. Rather than negligible rote memorizers, colonial students become active and engaged learners who sought to propagate the latest scribal technologies of their times.
The Influence of Regional Meteorology on Carbon Emissions from California Wildfires
Authors: Murphy Patrick , Mass Clifford 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between daily carbon emissions for California’s savanna and forest wildfires and regional meteorology over the past 18 years. For each fuel type, the associated weather [daily maximum wind, daily vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and 30-day-prior VPD] is determined for all fire days, the first day of each fire, and the day of maximum emissions of each fire at each fire location. Carbon emissions, used as a marker of wildfire existence and growth, for both savanna and forest wildfires are found to vary greatly with regional meteorology, with the relationship between emissions and meteorology varying with the amount of emissions, fire location, and fuel type. Weak emissions are associated with climatologically typical dryness and wind. For moderate emissions, increasing emissions are associated with higher VPD from increased warming and only display a weak relationship with wind speed. High emissions, which encompass ∼85% of the total emissions but only ∼4% of the fire days, are associated with strong winds and large VPDs. Using spatial meteorological composites for California subregions, we find that weak-to-moderate emissions are associated with modestly warmer-than-normal temperatures and light winds across the domain. In contrast, high emissions are associated with strong winds and substantial temperature anomalies, with colder-than-normal temperatures east of the Sierra Nevada and warmer-than-normal conditions over the coastal zone and the interior of California.

Significance Statement
The purpose of this work is to better understand the influence of spatially and temporally variable meteorology and spatially variable surface fuels on California’s fires. This is important because much research has focused on large climatic scales that may dilute the true influence of weather (here, high winds and dryness) on fire growth. We use a satellite-recorded fire emissions dataset to quantify daily wildfire existence and growth and to determine the relationship between regional meteorology and wildfires across varying emissions in varying fuels. The result is a novel view of the relationship between California wildfires and rapidly variable, regional meteorology.
Small (≤5 cm) soft tissue tumors of the extremity and superficial trunk: MRI features and demographic characteristics associated with malignancy
Authors: Jin Kiok , Yoon Min A , Kim Do Yeon 
Published: December 2022

Background Although a substantial proportion of small soft tissue tumors are malignant, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features and demographic characteristics associated with these tumors have not been well described. Purpose To investigate the MRI features and demographic characteristics associated with small (≤5 cm) malignant soft tissue tumors, and to identify independent predictors that allow differentiation of small benign and malignant soft tissue tumors. Material and Methods This retrospective study evaluated patients who underwent surgical excision of small soft tissue tumors of the extremities and superficial trunk, and preoperative contrast-enhanced MRI. Seven MRI findings (tumor depth, tumor-fascia relationship, heterogeneity of signal intensity, necrosis, peritumoral edema, peritumoral enhancement, and margin) and two demographic parameters (age and sex) were included in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to identify independent predictors of small malignant soft tissue tumors. Results A total of 221 patients (102 men; mean age=45.6 ± 17.6 years) with 72 malignant and 149 benign tumors were included. In the univariate analysis, peritumoral edema (odds ratio [OR] = 3.854; P < 0.001) and peritumoral enhancement (OR = 3.966; P < 0.001) and patient age (≥46 years) (OR = 2.154; P = 0.009) were significantly associated with malignancy. Multivariate analysis showed that peritumoral enhancement on MRI (OR = 3.728; P < 0.001) and patient age (≥46 years) (OR = 1.907; P = 0.036) were independent predictors of malignancy. The combination of these two parameters showed accuracy of 75.1%, sensitivity of 55.6%, and specificity of 84.6% to predict malignancy. Conclusion Among several MRI and demographic features, the presence of peritumoral enhancement on MRI and patient age (≥46 years) were independent predictors of malignancy in small soft tissue tumors.
Prescribing Patterns of Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis
Authors: Reyes Jorge L. , Herzog Charles A. , Yan Heng , Roetker Nicholas S. , Wetmore James B. 
Published: December 2022

Background: The association of patient and prescriber characteristics with use of warfarin versus direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not well studied. Methods: The 20% Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Parts A, B, and D claims data from 2010 to 2017 were used to identify patients with stage 3, 4, or 5 CKD and AF who received a DOAC (apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban) or warfarin. Prescribers were categorized as cardiologists, primary care providers (PCPs), and others. Using logistic regression, we estimated odds ratios (ORs) for the association of baseline characteristics and prescriber specialty with first use of a DOAC, relative to warfarin. Results: We identified 22,739 individuals with CKD who were newly initiated on oral anticoagulation for AF. New DOAC prescriptions increased from 490 in 2011 to 3261 in 2017, and displaced warfarin over time (1849, 2011; 945, 2017). By Q4 of 2014, cardiologists prescribed DOACs as initial treatment more frequently than warfarin, but non-cardiologists did not do so until 2015. As of 2017, apixaban was the most widely prescribed anticoagulant, comprising 56% and 50% of prescriptions by cardiologists and non-cardiologists, respectively. PCPs (OR 0.54, 0.51-0.58) and other providers (OR 0.55, 0.51-0.59) were less likely than cardiologists to prescribe DOACs. Conclusions: DOAC prescriptions, particularly apixaban, increased over time and gradually displaced warfarin. The total number of patients with AF and CKD receiving anticoagulation increased over time. Cardiologists increased DOAC prescriptions more rapidly than non-cardiologists.
Specificity and sensitivity of the social communication questionnaire lifetime screening tool for autism spectrum disorder in a UK CAMHS service
Authors: Staton Amelia , Dawson David , Moghaddam Nima , McGrath Barbara 
Published: December 2022

Introduction The Social Communication Questionnaire is used to identify children and young people (CYP) who may require formal ASD assessment. However, there is a paucity of research on its utility in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services. This evaluation aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) in a UK, Midlands CAMHS service. Method Forty young people (mean age 13.75 years) were screened using the caregiver reported SCQ before completing ‘gold standard’ assessment. Results The SCQ had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 25.7%. ROC curve analysis indicated low diagnostic accuracy. Differences in predictive accuracy of SCQ and diagnostic standard were statistically significant ( p < 0.0001). Conclusion This evaluation builds on previous research suggesting that the SCQ may not be an efficient screening tool in CAMHS settings.