bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What the Pandemic Couldn’t Take Away
Authors: Norton Kay
Published: May 2024

A choir in Mount Vernon, Washington, United States made international headlines in March of 2020 when epidemiologists studying the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 began to document the viral aftermath of one of its weekly rehearsals. Responding to mounting evidence from the scientific community, people across the globe simply stopped singing in groups. With the goal of illuminating which rewards survived when virtual group singing replaced live group singing in this watershed year, this author launched a survey on November 25, 2020. The participants, 204 English-speaking respondents from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, included professional and amateur, religious, and secular singers participating in process- and performance-oriented singing. The limitations of platforms such as Zoom left many participants frustrated, but several benefits of virtual group vocalization survived or surfaced: singing with those far away, a greater sense of democracy among inhibited and more confident singers, the freedom to do household chores while rehearsing, and a sense of inter-group cohesion. In addition, the more isolated or otherwise limited the respondents felt, the more important virtual opportunities were. Those most dissatisfied with virtual group singing appeared to be the ones for whom live group rehearsals posed the fewest challenges. This chapter synthesizes and discusses the broad range of responses from singers who both participated in live group singing during the three months before March 31, 2020 and in virtual group singing after that date. For many, group singing was too important to postpone during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Role of Hate Songs among Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Fans
Authors: Bensimon Moshe , Hen Shiran
Published: May 2024

Chants add color and atmosphere to football (aka US soccer) games and constitute an integral part of the spectator experience. However, chanting cheers for a favorite football team and fans or hate songs against opposing teams and fans may play a more significant role in the football scene than providing mere entertainment. The current phenomenological study focuses on the perception, meaning, and mechanisms of hate songs in football games as seen through the eyes of nine Israeli football fans. Analysis of semi-structured interviews shows that, while in the stadium, participants identified with the atmosphere of hegemonic masculinity that emphasized chauvinism and patrilineal transmission (“father-to-son”) of racist views and dehumanization of rival fans and players. Participants rationalized the collective values expressed in the hate songs by applying techniques to neutralize their feelings of guilt. The findings point to intergenerational transmission of actual hatred through hate songs, whereby fathers serve as role models for continuing this legacy. Finally, the chapter’s original conception, the entrapping loop of hatred, reflects the mechanisms involved in creating hatred that is passed down from one generation to the next.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes of Entrainment in Communal Singing
Authors: Hayward Guy
Published: May 2024

From a scientific perspective, this chapter examines the dynamic process of group synchronization/entrainment inherent within communal singing, and explores how it can be elucidated by top-down and bottom-up explanations. Much of the theoretical basis for understanding this interaction between the volatile actions of individuals and the stable system of the temporal pulse in communal music-making comes from systems theory and complexity theory, briefly reviewed here. In addition, the author assesses more practical research that focuses on real-life collective behavior in animals (e.g., flocks of birds and schools of fish) and humans. Also included are several current explanations of embodied entrainment. Human experimental psychological research into joint action is also referenced to show how the processes of embodied entrainment and joint action are currently explained, as well as empirical literature that examines gesture, visual communication, leader-follower relationships in group hierarchy, joint speech entrainment, and even inter-group entrainment, all in the context of group musical interaction, which forms the basis of community singing. This chapter’s purpose is to gather together the various investigative methods and frameworks that underpin our understanding of how entrainment works in group singing. It shows the relative explanatory power of each and how they can be integrated.
Community Singing in the Age of Coronavirus
Authors: Duchan Joshua S.
Published: May 2024

Collegiate a cappella gained popularity in the United States during the 20th century and had expanded internationally by the turn of the 21st as a result of recordings and live performance competitions. As a genre and practice, it features groups of college-aged singers who rehearse and perform popular songs without accompaniment. Vocalists often emulate instrumental sounds, a cappella, while supporting a lead singer. Importantly, through their participation, group members gain not only opportunities for performance but also social support during a critical period of transition in their lives: college.

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced many colleges to offer virtual classes and limit campus residency, opportunities for the support that membership in an a cappella group once provided could have vanished. Yet many groups found new ways to make music and maintain social ties in this new, mediated world. This essay uses the genre of collegiate a cappella to examine the ways socio-musical practices shifted during the pandemic, utilizing new ethnographic interviews to build on existing research in ethnomusicology and music education. It ultimately concludes that a cappella groups have embraced virtual forms of musicking precisely because of the value they place on the creation and maintenance of community.
Islam and Music in Turkey
Authors: Korkmaz Harun , Stokes Martin
Published: May 2024

This chapter presents an overview of the field of Islamic music, listening, and sonic arts in modern Turkey, from the latter Ottoman years to the first decades of the 21st century. It describes distinctions between Mosque music (including Istanbul’s Qur’anic recitation traditions) and Tekke (Sufi lodge) music, discussing the effects of the official closure of the lodges in 1925, and subsequent efforts to preserve these repertories in notation and sound recording. The chapter goes on to explore musical distinctions and connections between Mevlevî and Alevî culture under the broad rubric of tasavvuf (Islamic mysticism) in its literary, poetic and ritual contexts (including ayin and cem). It also discusses ongoing debates about the legitimacy of sema (audition). The final section discusses religious music, media, and the “new piety” of the AKP years.
Religious Minorities and the Construction of Turkish Islam
Authors: Dreßler Markus
Published: May 2024

This chapter analyzes the formation of the concept of Turkish Islam in the final two decades of the Ottoman Empire and its consolidation as a main marker of national identity in the early Republic of Turkey. It discusses the contours of Turkish nationalism and its ambivalent relation to religion and Islam, which was heavily shaped by the violent political turmoil during the transition period from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish nation-state. The nation-building process was from the beginning marked by complex relations between the new state’s Muslim and Turkish subjects, on the one hand, and their respective non-Muslim and non-Turkish others on the other hand. While the non-Muslims were as “minorities” positioned outside Turkish nationhood, the relationship that the Sunni-Muslim Turkish majority developed in relation to its non-Turkish and non-Sunni coreligionists, mainly Alevis and Kurds, was marked by ambivalence. To the extent that the social contours of Turkish nationhood were defined by religion, non-Sunni and non-Turkish Muslims could be integrated. Nevertheless, their ethnic and/or religious otherness could be used to put their loyalty to the Turkish nation-state in doubt and historically led to a politics of assimilation in the name of ethnoreligious homogeneity. The chapter argues that Turkish Islam is primarily a political and not a religious concept.
Passing the Light of Buddhism in Malaysia through Dharma Class
Authors: Lee Ooi Tan
Published: May 2024

This chapter presents a case study of a Friday dharma class in a local public university, University of Science Malaysia. Undergraduate students with one- or two-year seniority without formal teaching training are actively involved in conducting dharma class and sharing religious doctrines with their juniors. Despite a lack of formal training, they are crucial forces in ensuring the young learn Buddhism. The class is articulated with a sense of mission to pass on the wisdom of Buddha called Xùfó huìmìng. Through ethnographic research, the case exhibits complexities of how an informal religious education setting is resilient, even though it totally lacks state support. The scarcity of religious education has triggered a sense of mission among lay volunteers to undertake the role and responsibility in continuing the learning of Buddhism. At the personal level, the journey is transformative and life changing. At the community level, the dharma class is not only an educational tool but also a political tool to defend the religious right of Chinese Buddhists within a multireligious context in the Muslim-majority nation state.
Africa
Authors: Hickman Jared
Published: May 2024

This chapter redefines Romanticism as a project of ‘prosing’, a period term that captures the fraught investment of thought and language with worldmaking/destroying power, and traces this faith in the realization of the ideal to the momentous restructuring of planetary life effected by the interlocking initiatives of the Anglo-Atlantic slave trade and Anglo settler colonialism. The first Anglophone prose produced by diasporic Africans—unsettled from their ancestral homelands in Africa in order to be made to serve the settling of Indigenous homelands in North America and the Caribbean and then, as they increasingly threatened not to serve those purposes, (re)settled in West Africa—emerges as a defining version of and critical metacommentary on Romantic prosing. Revisiting Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s ‘signifying chain’, this chapter argues that it is ultimately a trope of Black/Indigenous synergy, rather than the talking book, that structures the formation of an Afro-diasporic literary tradition.
Education
Authors: Barnett Suzanne L.
Published: May 2024

This chapter traces the extraordinary transformations that occurred to British attitudes and approaches to education and childhood in the Romantic era and into the later nineteenth century. Education was an ideological battleground on which progressive and conservative factions grappled over social mobility, domestic morality, and potential political radicalism, among a host of related issues, and education engaged the attention of many of the most prominent authors and thinkers of the period including William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, and Maria Edgeworth. These and other figures wondered: should the children of the poor be taught to read, or will literacy only teach them sedition and insubordination to their social superiors? How much education can a young woman attain before she moves from ‘accomplished’ to ‘Bluestocking’? In short: who should control education, and whom should be educated at all?
Letters
Authors: Richardson Thomas
Published: May 2024

This chapter surveys letter writing in the Romantic age, not only as a means of personal communication, but also as a firmly established literary genre. Citing specific examples from a range of authors, this chapter explores the various artistic and practical uses of the letter as literature. Personal letters were almost formulaic in the recipients’ expectations for form and content, and such rigidity easily lent itself to parody. The letter was a popular form for both periodical essays and travel writing. Letters show that authors were attentive to literary style, their celebrity status, and their potential for literary immortality, and their letters consciously provided details for future biographers and literary critics. Letters were popular with the authors’ contemporaries and were widely preserved by collectors and publishers; this interest resulted in substantial modern collections of both major and minor writers, providing ample material for modern literary study.
Metropolitanism
Authors: Sangster Matthew
Published: May 2024

This chapter explores how different genres shaped Romantic-period perspectives on cities, with a particular focus on London. It opens by considering viewpoint and scale, discussing poetry and novels that frame the metropolis negatively through the lenses of alienated subjectivities. The chapter then explores the suspicions voiced by the Lake Poets in their prose writings and Edmund Burke’s dark evocations of the madness of crowds before considering genres of nonfiction that provide more positive accounts. It first analyses topographical works including Modern London (published by Richard Phillips), The Microcosm of London (published by Rudolph Ackermann), and Thomas Pennant’s Of London (along with its annotators and extra-illustrators). Subsequently, the chapter discusses Patrick Colquhoun’s Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis, articles published in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine and the London Magazine, and essays by Thomas De Quincey and Charles Lamb. It concludes with Pierce Egan’s kaleidoscopic and multigeneric intertextual experiment Life in London.
Translation
Authors: DeWispelare Daniel
Published: May 2024

The dynamics of Romantic-era translation offer important insights into the forms of prose aesthetics during the period. By first reframing the question of translation to one of ‘gain’ rather than ‘loss’, this chapter shows diverse ways that the dynamics of translation in the period contributed to literary prose, and especially the development of the novel. These emergent prose forms include everything from pseudotranslation—that is, pretending something is a translation when it is not—to word-for-word foreignizing or formal translation—that is, acting on and altering the target language using the expressive capacities of the source language. What is clear is that literary producers were clearly influenced by the ambient translational practices of the period, practices that were proliferating given the metastatic growth of empire and linguistic contact.
Biography
Authors: Schoenfield Mark , Jordan Alec
Published: May 2024

This chapter explores biography as a complex of various genres that challenge and extend autobiography and claim the social intelligibility of another’s life. Contributing to authorized histories and secret histories, biography solidified a historiography that centred on the individual and connected psychology and politics. Romantic print culture consolidated possessive individualism and its literary figure, the realistic hero, and biography helped establish the realistic analogue of fiction, the celebrity. The inaugural Public Characters (1798) declared biography ‘the most fascinating and instructive species of literary composition’; such comments, whether earnest or flippant, bolstered the production of Boswellian biographies, such as Thomas Moore’s Life of Byron, a reconstruction of the Romantic hero of self-consciously autobiographical living. Similarly, Walter Scott’s, William Hazlitt’s, and William Henry Ireland’s competing multi-volume lives of Napoleon, each stemming from distinct political and literary sensibilities, all seek to define European modernity through biography.
Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Middle Eastern Contexts
Authors: Abualsameed Suhail
Published: May 2024

This chapter will explore the challenge of applying global approaches to queer and LGBTI standards of work, mostly governed by Western principles and paradigms, to Middle Eastern contexts within the international humanitarian and development sectors. It will also explore the association of this tension with the global human rights narrative, which is often critiqued as lacking alignment with local realities and cultural norms. The chapter will attempt to identify points of divergence as well as the influence between Western definitions of sexual identities (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, etc.), experiences, and historic relevance to legal and structural frameworks, and those within cultures of the Middle East, and particularly the Levant countries of Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq. It will also try to explain why the translation of such Western narratives to Middle Eastern contexts fails to be true to the lived realities of people with diverse sexual and gender identities and/or lived experiences.
What Is Innovation?
Authors: Rawlings Bruce S. , Reader Simon M.
Published: May 2024

Innovation, new or modified learned behaviour, is core to cultural evolution and fundamental to the success of humans. Innovations allow us to adapt to and change habitats, solve novel problems, and survive and flourish in diverse environments. Innovation also appears to be pervasive across the animal kingdom, with adaptive importance within a wide range of species. This chapter covers how innovation and its subcategories are defined and studied and its importance to both cultural and genetic evolution. The authors discuss the difficulty of creating useful, operational definitions that can link disparate fields, and controversies in the study of innovation, such as the independence of innovation from processes such as exploration and creativity. Considering costs and benefits to innovation, the authors address how individual, social, and ecological influences shape innovative propensities. The chapter finishes by discussing how cross-disciplinary research is key to resolving controversies within the field.
Greek and Roman Slaveries: Methodological Issues
Authors: Vlassopoulos Kostas
Published: May 2024

This introductory chapter traces the historiography of the study of slavery in antiquity and the dominant approaches that have shaped it. Building on this outline, it presents an alternative processual framework for the study of Greek and Roman slaveries: the diverse modalities of conceptualizing slavery that were employed for the most varied purposes; the various slaving strategies employed by masters and the contexts in which they took place; and the dialectical relationships between masters and slaves, between free and slave, and within the communities that slaves created or participated in. These three processes exhibited substantial degrees of spatial diversity between ancient societies, while also shaping the historical change of ancient slave systems. Finally, we explore the significance of comparative perspectives for the study of ancient slaveries, as well as the need to examine systematically the nature of our various kinds of sources and their particular features.
Targeting enhanced cell death represents a potential therapeutic strategy for VEXAS syndrome
Authors: Adachi Soichiro , Kirino Yohei , Higashitani Kana , Hirahara Lisa , Maeda Ayaka , Horita Nobuyuki , Takase-Minegishi Kaoru , Yoshimi Ryusuke , Nakajima Hideaki
Published: May 2024

Objectives

To unravel the mechanisms underlying cell death in the vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic (VEXAS) syndrome using peripheral blood samples and to assess the clinical value of this knowledge.

Methods

Nine patients undergoing treatment for VEXAS syndrome at Yokohama City University Hospital were included in this study. Monocytes and neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood and then monocytes were differentiated into polarized macrophages. Viable cell counts, cell death assays and measurements of various indicators such as high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) concentration, extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration, annexin V level and caspase 1, 3 and 7 activities were performed.

Results

Elevated cell death of monocytes and neutrophils was observed in VEXAS syndrome patients, as indicated by cultured cell counts and cell death assays. Annexin V assays and measurements of caspase 1, 3 and 7 activities suggested increased apoptosis and pyroptosis in these cells. Serum HMGB1 levels were significantly elevated in VEXAS syndrome patients and decreased after prednisolone (PSL) dose escalation. Monocytes and neutrophils from the VEXAS group exhibited heightened extracellular ATP secretion, which was significantly reduced by soluble PSL co-culture.

Conclusion

This study confirms increased cell death of monocytes and neutrophils and damage-associated molecular patterns in VEXAS syndrome, and these findings may be valuable for drug screening, therapeutic strategies and as biomarkers.
Disruption of memory B-cell trafficking by belimumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Arends Eline J , Zlei Mihaela , Tipton Christopher M , Cotic Jasna , Osmani Zgjim , de Bie Fenna J , Kamerling Sylvia W A , van Maurik Andre , Dimelow Richard , Gregan Yun Irene , Fox Norma Lynn , Rabelink Ton J , Roth David A , Sanz Ignacio , van Dongen Jacques J M , van Kooten Cees , Teng Y K Onno
Published: May 2024

Objectives

Autoreactive memory B cells (MBCs) contribute to chronic and progressive courses in autoimmune diseases like SLE. The efficacy of belimumab (BEL), the first approved biologic treatment for SLE and LN, is generally attributed to depletion of activated naïve B cells and inhibition of B-cell activation. BEL’s effect on MBCs is currently unexplained. We performed an in-depth cellular and transcriptomic analysis of BEL’s impact on the blood MBC compartment in patients with SLE.

Methods

A retrospective meta-analysis was conducted, pooling flow cytometry data from four randomized trials involving 1245 patients with SLE treated with intravenous BEL or placebo. Then, extensive MBC phenotyping was performed using high-sensitivity flow cytometry in patients with mild/moderate SLE and severe SLE/LN treated with subcutaneous BEL. Finally, transcriptomic characterization of surging MBCs was performed by single-cell RNA sequencing.

Results

In BEL-treated patients, a significant increase in circulating MBCs, in a broad range of MBC subsets, was established at week 2, gradually returning to baseline by week 52. The increase was most prominent in patients with higher SLE disease activity, serologically active patients and patients aged ≤18 years. MBCs had a non-proliferating phenotype with a prominent decrease in activation status and downregulation of numerous migration genes.

Conclusion

Upon BEL initiation, an increase of MBCs was firmly established. In the small cohort investigated, circulating MBCs were de-activated, non-proliferative and demonstrated characteristics of disrupted lymphocyte trafficking, expanding on our understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of B-cell-activating factor inhibition by BEL.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00071487, NCT00410384, NCT01632241, NCT01649765, NCT03312907, NCT03747159.
Low-density granulocytes and neutrophil extracellular trap formation are increased in incomplete systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Henning Svenja , Reimers Tobias , Abdulahad Wayel , Fierro Juan J , Doornbos-van der Meer Berber , Bootsma Hendrika , Horvath Barbara , de Leeuw Karina , Westra Johanna
Published: May 2024

Objective

To investigate the proportion of low-density granulocytes (LDGs), circulating plasma neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and serum-induced NET formation in patients with incomplete SLE (iSLE) and SLE.

Methods

LDGs were measured cross-sectionally in 18 iSLE patients, 11 SLE patients and 14 healthy controls (HCs), whereas circulating NETs and serum-induced NET formation were assessed in 35 iSLE patients, 41 SLE patients and 16 HCs. LDGs (CD14lowCD15+) were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using flow cytometry, and circulating plasma NETs were measured using anti-myeloperoxidase-DNA, anti-citrullinated histone H3 and anti-elastase-DNA complex ELISAs. Serum-induced NET formation was assessed by incubating healthy neutrophils with serum from iSLE patients, SLE patients or HCs and visualizing NETs with fluorescence microscopy.

Results

Proportions of LDGs and circulating plasma NETs were similarly elevated in iSLE and SLE patients compared with those in HCs. Furthermore, patients under HCQ treatment had lower proportions of LDGs than those without. Serum from iSLE and SLE patients similarly induced NET formation in healthy neutrophils. In iSLE patients, myeloperoxidase-DNA complexes were correlated with proportions of age-associated B-cells, memory B-cells and negatively with naïve B-cells, while we did not find associations between measures of NETs or serum-induced NET formation and interferon score or clinical parameters.

Conclusion

These results show that neutrophil dysfunction, including higher proportions of LDGs, and increased NET formation, already occur in iSLE, similar to SLE, despite differences in disease manifestations. Thereby, neutrophil dysfunction may contribute to sustained exposure to autoantigens and autoreactivity in early stages of SLE.
Serum proteomic profiles of patients with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis
Authors: Kawada Jun-ichi , Yamaguchi Makoto , Haruta Kazunori , Fukuda Yuto , Iwata Ken-ichi , Suzuki Takako , Torii Yuka
Published: May 2024

Objectives

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is an autoinflammatory disease characterized by sterile bone inflammation; however, its pathophysiology is poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the serum proteomic profiles of patients with CRMO to better understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning CRMO pathogenesis.

Methods

Proteomic profiling of the sera collected from 11 patients with CRMO (5 patients were in active phase, 6 were in inactive phase) was conducted using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Sera from four children without inflammatory diseases were used as controls. Pathway analysis was performed to identify the upregulated and downregulated proteins in patients with active CRMO.

Results

Compared with the control group, 19 and 41 proteins were upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in patients with active CRMO. Pathway and process enrichment analyses revealed that axon guidance was the most enriched category of upregulated proteins in patients with active CRMO, followed by neutrophil degranulation and mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade regulation. In comparison to patients with inactive CRMO, 36 proteins, including 11 keratin proteins, were upregulated and highly enriched in the intermediate filament organization category. Rho GTPase pathway-related proteins were downregulated in ibuprofen-treated patients.

Conclusion

Proteomic analysis identified upregulated proteins in the sera of patients with acute CRMO. These proteins can be used as biomarkers for disease diagnosis and activity. Furthermore, we anticipate that this study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of CRMO, which, in turn, will contribute to the discovery of potential novel therapeutic targets.
Pathophysiology and transcriptomic responses of Pinus armandii defenses to ophiostomatoid fungi
Authors: Wang Huimin , Liu Ya , Wang Tiantian , Liu Duanchong , Lu Quan
Published: May 2024

Pinus armandii Franch. is an ecologically and economically important evergreen tree species native to western China. Dendroctonus armandi Tsai and Li and pathogenic ophiostomatoid fungi pose substantial threats to P. armandii. With the interplay between species, the defense mechanisms of P. armandii have evolved to withstand external biotic stressors. However, the interactions between P. armandii and pathogenic ophiostomatoid fungal species/strains remain poorly understood. We aimed to analyze the pathophysiological and molecular changes in P. armandii following artificial inoculation with four ophiostomatoid species (Graphilbum parakesiyea, Leptographium qinlingense, Ophiostoma shennongense and Ophiostoma sp. 1). The study revealed that L. qinlingense produced the longest necrotic lesions, and G. parakesiyea produced the shortest. All strains induced monoterpenoid release, and monoterpene levels of P. armandii were positively correlated with fungal virulence (R2 = 0.93, P < 0.01). Co-inoculation of two dominant highly (L. qinlingense) and weakly virulent (O. shennongense) pathogens reduced the pathogenicity of the highly virulent fungi. Transcriptomic analysis of P. armandii (LQ: L. qinlingense treatments, QS: co-inoculation treatments and OS: O. shennongense treatments) showed that the expression pattern of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between QS and OS was similar, but different from that of LQ. The DEGs (LQ vs QS) involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis were downregulated. Notably, compared with LQ, QS significantly decreased the expression of host defense-related genes. This study provides a valuable theoretical basis for managing infestations of D. armandi and associated ophiostomatoid fungi.
Dark septate endophyte Anteaglonium sp. T010 promotes biomass accumulation in poplar by regulating sucrose metabolism and hormones
Authors: Qu Dehui , Wu Fanlin , Guo Yingtian , Zhang Jin , Li Mengyuan , Yang Lina , Wang Lei , Su Hongyan
Published: May 2024

Plant biomass is a highly promising renewable feedstock for the production of biofuels, chemicals and materials. Enhancing the content of plant biomass through endophyte symbiosis can effectively reduce economic and technological barriers in industrial production. In this study, we found that symbiosis with the dark septate endophyte (DSE) Anteaglonium sp. T010 significantly promoted the growth of poplar trees and increased plant biomass, including cellulose, lignin and starch. To further investigate whether plant biomass was related to sucrose metabolism, we analyzed the levels of relevant sugars and enzyme activities. During the symbiosis of Anteaglonium sp. T010, sucrose, fructose and glucose levels in the stem of poplar decreased, while the content of intermediates such as glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) and UDP-glucose (UDPG), and the activity of enzymes related to sucrose metabolism, including sucrose synthase (SUSY), cell wall invertase (CWINV), fructokinase (FRK) and hexokinase, increased. In addition, the contents of glucose, fructose, starch, and their intermediates G6P, F6P and UDPG, as well as the enzyme activities of SUSY, CWINV, neutral invertase and FRK in roots were increased, which ultimately led to the increase of root biomass. Besides that, during the symbiotic process of Anteaglonium sp. T010, there were significant changes in the expression levels of root-related hormones, which may promote changes in sucrose metabolism and consequently increase the plant biomass. Therefore, this study suggested that DSE fungi can increase the plant biomass synthesis capacity by regulating the carbohydrate allocation and sink strength in poplar.
Screening for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force
Authors: Henderson J.T. , Webber E.M. , Thomas R.G. , Vesco K.K.
Published: May 2024

(JAMA. 2023;330:11:1083–1091)

The incidence of hypertensive disorders, including pre-eclampsia, during pregnancy has been increasing since the early 1990s, putting more pregnant women and neonates at risk of death or illness. The Black population is affected disproportionately, with the risk of dying of pre-eclampsia 5 times higher for Blacks than for Whites. In 2017, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening pregnant women for pre-eclampsia by taking blood pressure (BP) readings throughout pregnancy at office visits. This systematic review examined different screening protocols to evaluate if some were more effective than others.
Education in Obstetric Anesthesiology: An International Approach
Authors: Benhamou D. , Mercier F.J. , Van de Velde M. , Lucas N. , Sng B.L. , Gaiser R.
Published: May 2024

(Int J Obstet Anesth. 2023;55:103896/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoa.2023.103896 0208-5216/)

Obstetric anesthesiology has transformed from administering inhaled anesthetics to handling complex cases in pregnant or postpartum patients, driven by enhanced education in the field. Different countries employ diverse approaches to prepare anesthesiology trainees for obstetric anesthesia, but common threads include competency-based education and the challenge of assessing clinical judgment and skills. In the United States, anesthesiologists undergo basic obstetric anesthesia training with optional advanced programs. Maternal mortality reduction in the 20th century reflects improved education. However, racial disparities persist in pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality, emphasizing the ongoing need for evolving obstetric anesthesiology education to help address this issue and maternal safety in general. The process involves residency and optional fellowship, ensuring competence through clinical experience. Board certification and ongoing education further contribute to advancing obstetric anesthesiology.
State of the Art: Intrapartum Antibiotics in Cesarean Section—The Infant Microbiota and Allergic Diseases
Authors: Moore J. , Navarro S. , McCarthy K. , Rashid R.B. , Phipps S. , Amoako A. , Callaway L. , Eley V.
Published: May 2024

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2023;102:811–820)

Recent changes in guidelines for administering maternal antibiotics for cesarean deliveries (CD) have increased neonatal exposure to antibiotics. Potential long-term effects of this exposure are relatively unknown; recent evidence in other fields has indicated a long-lasting impact of antibiotic exposure on gut microbiota composition, which raises concerns about the effects of antibiotics on the fragile and new gut microbiota of neonates around the time of birth. This review assessed the current guidelines and applications for CD antibiotics, as well as discussed the importance of neonatal intestinal microbiota and the potential consequences of antibiotic prophylaxis in the development of the neonatal immune system and allergic disease.
Association of the US Affordable Care Act-Dependent Coverage Provision With Labor Neuraxial Analgesia Use
Authors: Guglielminotti J. , Daw J.R. , Landau R. , Friedman A.M. , Li G.
Published: May 2024

(Anesthesiology. 2023;139:274–286)

Neuraxial analgesia during labor is both safe and effective and has been associated with a lower risk of severe maternal morbidity. However, utilization is lower in minority groups, who experience a higher risk of severe maternal morbidity. Therefore, it is imperative to increase utilization and access, especially among minority ethnic and racial groups. This study examined the factor of health insurance access, specifically the effect of the Dependent Coverage Provision for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the use of neuraxial analgesia during labor, both in women from minority groups and overall.
Association Between Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Cardiovascular Diseases Within 24 Months After Delivery
Authors: Ackerman-Banks C.M. , Lipkind H.S. , Palmsten K. , Ahrens K.A.
Published: May 2024

(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023;229(1):65.e1–65.e15)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. The association between hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (HDP) and CVD are well known with an increased risk of long-term morbidity. For short-term CVD outcomes after HDP, most existing data are limited to the immediate postpartum period and the data are limited on which specific cardiovascular diagnoses have the greatest risk profiles during the first 24 months after delivery. This study aimed to assess the risk of various cardiovascular diagnoses in the initial 24 months postdelivery among individuals with HDP compared with those without.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Labor Analgesia: Nationwide Register‐Based Analysis in Finland
Authors: Kuitunen I. , Vähä‐Tuisku S. , Huttunen T.
Published: May 2024

(Acta Diabetol. 2022;59:1515–1517)

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has an impact on patient analgesia, necessitating higher postoperative analgesia doses. Gestational DM’s (GDM) influence on labor analgesia must be studied better. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence lacks recommendations. A lone study found increased opioid use postcesarean delivery (CD) in GDM patients, who are generally more obese. Previous analyses revealed minimal differences in labor analgesia based on obesity grade. With rising GDM incidence, understanding its impact on labor analgesia is crucial. Our national-level study aims to compare labor analgesia between GDM and non-GDM patients, addressing this gap in research.
Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic—Broader Sociodemographic Causes, Connections and Implications
Authors: Krámská L. , Slabá S. , Hrešková L. , Kajdy A. , Sys D. , Poon L. , Calda P.
Published: May 2024

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2023;102:1014–1025)

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted various aspects of life, posing risks not only to physical health but also to mental well-being. Psychological effects such as stress, anxiety, and depression are prevalent, particularly among pregnant women, with potential repercussions for pregnancy outcomes. This study explored the sociodemographic and psychological factors during the COVID pandemic that affected the mood of pregnant Czech women. Conducted through the MindCOVID study, our survey included 1830 pregnant women, utilizing standardized instruments (GAD-7 and PHQ-9) to assess anxiety and depression. The study focused on culturally specific characteristics and risk factors for mental disorders, providing valuable insights for effective multidisciplinary health care planning.
Effect of an Oxytocin Protocol on Secondary Uterotonic Use in Patients Undergoing Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Davis P.R. , Sviggum H.P. , Arendt K.W. , Pompeian R.J. , Kurian C. , Torbenson V.E. , Hanson A.C. , Schulte P.J. , Hamilton K.D. , Sharpe E.E.
Published: May 2024

(Can J Anaesth. 2023;70(7):1194–1201)

Following childbirth, it is customary to administer oxytocin to prevent postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Oxytocin, the first line uterotonic, is typically given intravenously immediately after vaginal and cesarean delivery. Different oxytocin protocols exist and the optimal dosing regimen is yet to be determined. A rule of three’s oxytocin protocol was previously described and found to reduce the overall amount of oxytocin administered during scheduled cesarean deliveries (CD) while maintaining adequate uterine tone. The aim of the study was to compare a modified rule of three’s oxytocin protocol to a free-flow oxytocin infusion after CD.
Implementation and Outcomes of a Uterine Artery Embolization and Tranexamic Acid Protocol for Placenta Accreta Spectrum
Authors: Munoz J.L. , Blankenship L.M. , Ramsey P.S. , McCann G.A.
Published: May 2024

(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023;229(1):61.e1–61.e7)

During pregnancy, complications may arise such as placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders. PAS is a continuum of conditions characterized by abnormal placental invasion, posing intraoperative risks during delivery. Patients with PAS often face postpartum complications, typically necessitating scheduled cesarean deliveries (CD) between 34 and 36 weeks gestation, making the delivery high risk. High blood loss and post-CD complications are common in women with placenta accreta, prompting the implementation of specific observations and protocols in medical facilities.
Economic Cost of Secondary Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Case-Control Study at a Tertiary Hospital in Australia
Authors: Young N. , Quinlivan J. , Fox R. , Anderson J. , Davis L. , Mooney S.
Published: May 2024

(Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2023;63:308–313)

Secondary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is excessive vaginal bleeding occurring up to 12 weeks after childbirth. The incidence ranges from 0.2% to 3.0%, usually presenting 1 to 2 weeks postnatally and commonly caused by endometritis and retained products. Despite its impact on health, evidence for managing and understanding its cost burden is lacking compared with primary PPH. Australian public hospitals are subsidized, but reproductive care costs were $8.7B in 2018 to 2019. Effective resource allocation is vital amidst rising health care expenses. Limited evidence guides secondary PPH treatment, potentially leading to multiple presentations and increased costs. Consequences include resuscitation, transfusion, surgery, and hysterectomy, elevating health care expenses. This study sought to analyze the economic impact of secondary PPH.
Maternal Outcomes of Placental Abruption With Intrauterine Fetal Death and Delivery Routes: A Nationwide Observational Study
Authors: Wada Y. , Takahashi H. , Sasabuchi Y. , Usui R. , Ogoyama M. , Suzuki H. , Ohkuchi A. , Fujiwara H.
Published: May 2024

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2023;102:708–715)

Both maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality are associated with placental abruption (PA), a condition where the placenta prematurely separates from the uterine wall before or during labor. PA and intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) can co-occur, making a delivery more complex as well as high risk, as shown through increased maternal morbidity rates. Worldwide, delivery for mothers with PA and IUFD varies between vaginal delivery (VD) and cesarean delivery (CD), although various sources cite VD as the preferred method. Frequent complications of VD for PA with IUFD includes a longer delivery time, uterine rupture, and substantial blood loss. CD is associated with hemorrhagic shock and hematoma formation due to a greater increase in blood loss. Limited, small-scale studies have been performed comparing VD and CD and the effect on maternal morbidity in cases with IUFD and PA; however, this study uses a large data set to understand the relationship between delivery method and morbidity in cases of PA with IUFD.
Planned Delivery or Expectant Management for Late Preterm Pre-Eclampsia in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries (CRADLE-4): A Multicenter, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Beardmore-Gray A. , Vousden N. , Seed P.T. , Vwalika B. , Chinkoyo S. , Sichone V. , Kawimbe A.B. , Charantimath U. , Katageri G. , Bellad M.B. , Lokare L. , Donimath K. , Bidri S. , Goudar S. , Sandall J. , Chappell L.C. , Shennan A.H. ,   CRADLE-4 Study Group
Published: May 2024

(Lancet. 2023;402:386–396)

Pre-eclampsia is a relatively common condition and poses a disproportionately high risk to women in low-income and middle-income countries where it is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, estimated to have caused more than 42,000 deaths. The only known treatment is delivery, but there are also risks associated with preterm delivery that can contribute to both maternal and neonatal outcomes. Evidence suggests delivery at 37 weeks optimizes outcomes for both mother and infant, but there is little evidence about delivery in the late preterm gestational period leading up to that, between 34 and 36 and 6/7 weeks. Research in higher income settings has shown that fetal death in these cases is rare, but there are factors in such settings that are unavailable or unrealistic in low-income and middle-income settings. This study aimed to address the gap in knowledge by assessing outcomes related to planned delivery between 34 and 37 weeks in women with pre-eclampsia compared with expectant management during the same gestational period in India and Zambia.
Early Delivery for Pre-eclampsia Might Save Lives in Low-Income and Middle-Income Settings
Authors: Cluver C.A. , Walker S.P.
Published: May 2024

(Lancet. 2023;402(10399):350–352)

It is well known in the field that pre-eclampsia is a large contributor to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, with the burden disproportionately falling on lower income countries; much of the research surrounding pre-eclampsia and its management has been done in high-income countries, even though the disease burden in these countries is felt less severely. This article is a commentary arguing for more research in this area particularly for the settings in which people are most affected.
Prenatal Intravenous Magnesium at 30 to 34 Weeks’ Gestation and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Offspring: The MAGENTA Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Crowther C.A. , Ashwood P. , Middleton P.F. , McPhee A. , Tran T. , Harding J.E.
Published: May 2024

(JAMA. 2023;330(7):603–614)

Preterm infants have a greater risk of cerebral palsy, a common motor disability for which there is no cure. As such, primary prevention is especially important. The use of magnesium sulfate while pregnant has been shown in randomized clinical trials to be helpful for those at risk of early preterm delivery by improving an infant’s chance of survival without cerebral palsy. As a result, magnesium sulfate is recommended for fetal neuroprotection. However, there is a lack of data surrounding the ideal gestational age for using it prenatally.
Direct Current Cardioversion in Pregnancy: A Multicenter Study
Authors: Cauldwell M. , Adamson D. , Bhatia K. , Bhagra C. , Bolger A. , Everett T. , Fox C. , Girling J. , Head C. , English K. , Hudsmith L. , James R. , Johnson M. , MacKiliop L. , McAuliffe F.M. , Mariappa G. , Orchard E. , O'Brien M. , Siddiqui F. , Simpson L. , Simpson M. , Timmons P. , Vause S. , Wander G. , Walker N. , Steer P.J.
Published: May 2024

(BJOG. 2023;130(10):1269–1274)

The physiological changes that occur in pregnancy have been associated with new onset and recurrent cardiac arrhythmias. It is common for pregnant patients to experience palpitations in pregnancy, and most of these do not require treatment. However, some arrhythmias require treatment including medications and/or direct current cardioversion (DCCV) to restore the patient’s rhythm. In a recent inquiry into maternal deaths in the United Kingdom (UK), DCCV was not applied consistently and may have resulted in maternal deaths. This study aimed to understand practice surrounding DCCV in the UK, assessing which arrhythmias occurred and how they were treated. In addition, they evaluated outcomes associated with obstetric and neonatal health, including the use of fetal monitoring and whether there were cases where DCCV caused harm to the fetus.
Occipital Nerve Block Compared With Acetaminophen and Caffeine for Headache Treatment in Pregnancy
Authors: Bushman E.T. , Blanchard C.T. , Cozzi G.D. , Davis A.M. , Sinkey R.G. ,   et al
Published: May 2024

(Obstet Gynecol. 2023;142:1179–1188)

Tension and migraine headaches affect a significant portion of individuals of reproductive age and are a common complaint during pregnancy. Unfortunately, headache treatment during pregnancy can be difficult because of the effect of some treatments on fetal health and a fear of masking secondary headaches that could be related to pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia. One treatment that has been established as effective in a nonobstetric population is occipital nerve block, which involves a subcutaneous injection of local anesthetic into the area surrounding the occipital nerves. The local anesthetics typically used are consistent with those used in epidural analgesia during labor and delivery, and thus are theoretically safe in pregnant individuals. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of occipital nerve block treatment for acute headache in pregnancy compared with standard care.