bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Option-based guarantees to accelerate urgent, high-risk vaccines: a new market-shaping approach
Authors: Manheim David , Foster Derek
Published: September 2020

Accelerating the availability of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to preventing further waves and mitigating the impact on society. However, preparations for large-scale manufacturing, such as building production facilities, are typically delayed until a vaccine is proven safe and effective. This makes sense from a commercial perspective, but incurs great costs in terms of lives lost and damage to the economy. Several policy options are available to reduce this delay, all of which involve incentives or subsidies to invest in production facilities. We review existing approaches, then propose a novel alternative using “option-based guarantees” in which the government commits to paying a proportion of the manufacturer’s preparation costs should the product turn out not to be viable. Counterintuitively, this “payment for failure” is appropriate because in the case of success, a company makes a profit from the product itself, and does not need additional money from the government. While other approaches have critical roles, we argue that option-based guarantees are the most promising approach to ensuring a rapid vaccine for COVID-19. Compared to the alternative approaches, they reduce both costs to the government and risk to the companies, while maintaining an incentive to produce a high-quality product quickly and at scale.
Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder – literature analyzing: symptoms, statistics and therapies
Authors: Kozyra Magdalena , Zimnicki Patryk , Kaczerska Justyna , Śmiech Natalia , Nowińska Martyna , Milanowska Joanna
Published: September 2020

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that affects 10-20% of people who will experience a serious mental injury in their lives. Soldiers are one of the most vulnerable social groups to develop PTSD as they reach several factors which may induce the PTSD. The aim of the study: The purpose of this work was to find literature on PTSD among people in the military service. Material and method: Literature has been found and selected among articles found in the websides such as PubMed and Google Scholar. Description of the state of knowledge: Literature describes both - factors predisposing to PTSD, and describtions of numerous methods of therapy for soldiers such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and Exposure Therapy. In addition, the literature provides many innovative methods to help combat the PTSD. It is important not only to inform the soldier about the therapy, but also to enable him to undergo it regularly. It is worth mentioning, for example, video to home - VTH, which is an extension of Exposure Therapy. Thanks to it, even if someone for some reason cannot participate in therapy in the place where it takes place, it can be done at home without fear of getting to the therapy. Summary: There are many methods of PTSD therapy. In addition to pharmacological, psychotherapy is very important. Soldiers should undergo these therapies and should be encouraged to complete cycles so that they can feel the effects of the therapy.
Metformin as a medicine decreasing cardiovascular risk in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Wieteska Małgorzata , Kaczyńska Agnieszka , Maj Dominik , Stanicki Paweł , Chałupnik Aleksandra , Wójcik Piotr
Published: September 2020

Almost half of deaths in Poland (approximately 49%) are caused by cardiovascular system diseases. It means that in 2018 it contributed to the death of over two hundred thousand people in our country. Myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure are the most common of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The main risk factor for progression of cardiovascular diseases is type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). It is estimated that almost 3 million people suffer from T2D in Poland. Metformin is a promising medicine that reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. It is currently used as the first line drug in patients suffering from T2D. The aim of the presented article is to review current research on the effectiveness of the metformin as a medicine that reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. Metformin is the oldest and most commonly used medicine that reduces the concentration of glucose in the peripheral blood in patients with T2D. Due to its very good safety profile, low cost and high effectiveness, metformin is used in the first-line treatment for T2D. Recent studies indicate its protective effect by vasodilation, reducing the size of myocardial infarction, inhibiting apoptosis of cardiomyocytes or reducing oxidative stress. Currently, metformin can be seen to have a great potential in the treatment of cardiovascular complications occurring in the course of T2D. Despite the fact that this medicine has been on the market for many years, the studies on its cardioprotective effects have been carried out for a relatively short period of time. It is possible that the detailed understanding of all mechanisms of action of metformin will lead to future advances in the treatment of not only T2D, but also cardiovascular and cancer diseases.
The organisational and psychosocial aspekts of adherence to diabetes therapy
Authors: Rolinska Agnieszka
Published: September 2020

The global prevalence of diabetes is on the rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030. People with untreated or inadequately controlled diabetes are at greater risk of developing complications from SARS-CoV-2 infection in the COVID-19 pandemic. Adapting to therapy for diabetes is a complex process. Numerous studies show the importance of many indirect, non-clinical factors in the treatment of patients with diabetes. It is necessary to develop methods that facilitate the selection of patients at risk of non-adherence to the disease due to psychological, organizational and/ or socio-demographic factors, including in the medical tele-counseling system currently intensively developing in diabetology.
Effects of growth hormone-replacement therapy in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome - review of recent clinical trials
Authors: Piwoński Michał , Żak Klaudia , Kozłowska Marta , Zaremba Bartłomiej , Milanowska Joanna
Published: September 2020

Introduction and objective: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a severe genetic disorder being manifested by several symptoms such as infantile hypotonia and poor thriving outcomes, low height, hyperphagia, endocrine, reproductive and internal malfunctions and malformations. In the disease treatment, growth hormone (GH)-replacement therapy is commonly carried on. In this article, we sum up the latest clinical trials’ results concerning the effectiveness and safety of GH-replacement therapy.Abbreviated description of the state of knowledge: Taking into consideration six clinical trials performed in the years 2019-2020, most of them showed positive results of GH-replacement therapy in PWS patients, not only in case of better motor skills or body composition, but also concerning their social and adaptive functioning. Moreover, as for the cessation of GH treatment, some authors seem to highlight no deterioration in cognitive functioning in patients who attained adult height after GH-treatment.Summary: GH-replacement therapy seems to be a good therapeutic option for PWS-affected individuals. Nonetheless, in our research we did not come across on any clinical trials with more than one-year-long observations. Thus, on the long term, these results can not exclude a gradual deterioration of cognitive functioning.
Trend or disease? - gluten-free diet
Authors: Zimna Aleksandra Iwona , Chojęta Dariusz , Wróblewski Hubert , Zygmunt Ewelina , Maziarz Barbara
Published: September 2020

Introduction and purpose of work: Over the past few years, the topic of gluten-free diets has become very popular. In the past, it was understood only in the context of a specific medical indication, implemented in the event of a disease, e.g. celiac disease, as part of the patient's treatment. Today, the concept has changed a bit. The abatement of the concept of a gluten-free diet is attributed to social media, which, in a way, suggests recipients to use it on a daily basis, clearly emphasizing the harmful effects of gluten on the human body. better mood".The aim of the study is to analyze the awareness of the society on the use of a gluten-free diet.Material and method: The results of the study were obtained on the basis of an online survey.Results: 213 respondents took part in the survey, 36.2% of the respondents were women and 63.8% men, 88.7% of the surveyed respondents correctly answered the question what gluten is, but 65.7% are associated with the presence of gluten in products food industry with the development of this industry, 42.3% of respondents believe that consumption of gluten should be avoided. Only 8.9% of people on a gluten-free diet heard from a doctor for the first time, over 36% from the media. As many as 78.4% of respondents are not aware of about the need to balance this diet, but still uses it.Conclusions: The study shows that the society is not fully educated on the use of a gluten-free diet. It can be concluded that the approval of the society is not based on the merits, but rather an expression of a trend. The dissemination of this concept is due to the media.
Analysis of evidence in forensic medicine. Validation of the test method as a tool to control parameters determining the reliability of the analysis results
Authors: Szczęśniak Angelika , Serwin Natalia , Cecerska-Heryć Elżbieta , Stangret Anna , Mularczyk Agata , Grzeszczak Konrad , Topczewska Katarzyna
Published: September 2020

Currently, forensic research foundation is comprised of the methods of genetic analysis. The study of DNA polymorphism became a source of highly reliable evidence, which allow the determination of the genetic profile of biological traces containing genetic material of barely a few cells, collected from all possible substrates, and their further comparison with the genetic profile of the victim or suspect. The forensic expertise of such research, supported by relevant statistical calculations is one of the few objective evidence in criminal proceedings.The process of DNA testing for forensic purposes is composed of several stages and a number of analyzes. After securing suitable test specimen, the isolation of genetic material is performed. For the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the isolate, the Real Time PCR reaction is performed. This is a crucial moment for the study because it is the assessment of the suitability of samples for further testing. The next step is the amplification of DNA fragments with Multiplex PCR technique. Then, as a result of electrophoretic separation of the sequencer we obtain a genetic profile. Thus obtained profiling results are interpreted as well as compared by specialists.For analysts in the field of forensic medicine it is necessary to obtain clear genetic profiles. Given the often small amount of DNA that can be obtained and the need for unquestionability of the evidence, it is very important to develop a method with high sensitivity, which allows to obtain completely reliable results. In order to ensure the quality of the research, forensic laboratories must apply the standards and guidelines set by international associations, periodically calibrate their testing equipment, keep complete records of the results and, above all, to validate the used methods. In the laboratory, which intends to apply the procedure in question, internal validation must be carried out. The aim of this process is to determine the reliability and limitations of the method. During the test, the results of manufacturers’ verification are validated and the level of efficiency of the said procedure within a particular lab is checked.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors
Authors: Baran Marzena , Miziak Paulina Anna , Bonio Katarzyna
Published: September 2020

The human genome is contained in chromatin, which is a complex macromolecular complex. It is made of DNA, histones and non-histone proteins. The structure of chromatin and the process of its rearrangement regulate the process of transcription, and hence gene expression.  Deacetylase (HDAC) is a group of enzymes that catalyzes the cleavage of acetyl groups from lysine residues in histone and nonhistone proteins. This reaction is catalyzed by zinc or NAD + ions [3]. Histone deacetylases are present in the cytoplasm or nucleus of eukaryotes [4, 5]. These enzymes have been divided into 5 classes (I, IIa, IIb, III and IV) due to the similarity in structure and origin. Vorinostat is one of the most studied HDAC inhibitors. It belongs to the second generation polar-planar hydroxamic acid derivatives that inhibit class I and II histone deacetylases. Panobinostat and belinostat are HDAC inhibitors derived from hydroxamic acid that have also entered clinical trials. Valproic acid, from the group of aliphatic acids, belongs to inhibitors of class I and IIα deacetylases and is an established drug anticonvulsants. Histone deacetylase inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of neoplasms because they influence the action of factors related to cell proliferation, may cause cell cycle arrest, and coordinate the action of apoptotic factors and induce apoptosis. There are several deacetylase inhibitors available as drugs and are in different phases of clinical trials. They differ in potency and enzyme specificity. However, it is still unknown which deacetylases are essential for initiating and sustaining metabolic pathways leading to tumor development.
Impact of oral isotretinoin therapy on musculoskeletal system and physical activity in patients with acne
Authors: Drozd Małgorzata , Czarnota Jakub , Dobrzyński Michał , Skubel Tomasz , Sokół Dorota , Dudek Iga , Piecewicz-Szczęsna Halina
Published: September 2020

Introduction and purpose: Isotretinoin, the vitamin A derivative, has been commonly used in treatment of acne vulgaris for years. Despite its unquestionable efficacy, chronic oral isotretinoin treatment leads to multiple side effects. The aim of study is analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms prevalence during oral isotretinoin treatment and their impact on physical activity.Material and methods: The study was conducted using the original survey questionnaire shared online among members of Polish group of patients treated for acne. Total of 196 responses were analyzed and compared with up-to-date literature related to the topic.Results: 86,7% of respondents reported at least one of the musculoskeletal symptoms. The most common were back pain (82,7%), fatigue and lethargy (70,4%), myalgia (55,1%) and arthalgia (32,1%). In 97,6% cases adverse effects were developed within the first 6 months of treatment. In 64,2% they persisted during the whole therapy, sometimes even beyond. Due to musculoskeletal side effects, in 2,4% cases dose reduction was necessary, 1,8% of respondents had to stop treatment and 48% had to limit or stop physical activity. 71,4% of repondents reported that lower back pain occurred or escalated during isotretinoin treatment.Conclusions: Prevalence of reported musculoskeletal symptoms is very high and totals 86,7%. They result in prolonged limiting or stopping of physical activity in almost 50% of people. Although musculoskeletal symptoms are typically benign, possibility of severe disorders and potential permanent effects must be taken into consideration.
The etiology and psychomotor characteristics of intellectual disability
Authors: Dobosiewicz Anna Maria , Litwa Ewelina , Zmaczyńska Teresa , Badiuk Nataliia
Published: September 2020

Disability is a broad concept, used not only in the medical world, but permeates many spheres of life. One type of disability is intellectual disability defined as a developmental condition characterized by reduced cognitive functions, including learning abilities, adaptability and skills with a variety of etiologies. People with intellectual disabilities also have sensory-motor disturbances. Depending on the degree of disability, these disorders may be manifested to a lesser or greater extent.
Too Good to Be True: Firm Social Performance and the Risk of Data Breach
Authors: D’Arcy John , Adjerid Idris , Angst Corey M. , Glavas Ante
Published: September 2020

Data breaches are now a daily occurrence. What corporate leaders may not realize is that certain actions they are taking in the social responsibility space may, in fact, be placing a proverbial target on their backs. Indeed, there is evidence that the hacking community is not homogeneous, and at least some hackers from both internal and external sources appear to be motivated by what they dislike as opposed to solely financial gain. Recent hacks against the World Health Organization, as a result of its actions (or supposed inactions) related to the COVID-19 pandemic, are a case in point. In this paper, we put forth the idea that espoused positive social performance in areas that are peripheral to core business operations (e.g., philanthropy, recycling programs) can be a detriment to information security, particularly when firms have simultaneous high levels of social concerns (e.g., poor employee relations, product safety concerns, involvement in an environmental controversy). Our results support this outcome. It appears that some perpetrators can “sniff out” firm social actions that attempt to give the appearance of social responsibility and possibly mask poor social performance, and consequently, these firms are victimized by a malicious data breach more often.
Stationary Waiting Time in Parallel Queues with Synchronization
Authors: Olvera-Cravioto Mariana , Ruiz-Lacedelli Octavio
Published: September 2020

Motivated by database locking problems in today’s massive computing systems, we analyze a queueing network with many servers in parallel (files) to which jobs (writing access requests) arrive according to a Poisson process. Each job requests simultaneous access to a random number of files in the database and will lock them for a random period of time. Alternatively, one can think of a queueing system where jobs are split into several fragments that are then randomly routed to specific servers in the network to be served in a synchronized fashion. We assume that the system operates on a first-come, first-served basis. The synchronization and service discipline create blocking and idleness among the servers, which leads to a strict stability condition compared with other distributed queueing models. We analyze the stationary waiting time distribution of jobs under a many-server limit and provide exact tail asymptotics. These asymptotics generalize the celebrated Cramér–Lundberg approximation for the single-server queue.
Latest clinical research
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: September 2020

Mark Greener summarises the latest studies relevant to primary care nurses
Materials science findings to trigger some industrial applications
Authors: De Udayan , Bhattacharya Bhaskar
Published: September 2020

Often newer practical materials and devices, with huge economic gains, have resulted from commercialization of suitable selections of latest research on materials and their applications. Spread of laboratory discoveries of semiconductors and their properties to practical applications in every sphere of life and industry is the easiest example. Present work will focus on a few random examples of newer materials science research topics that is, or may possibly be, commercially exploited. Piezoelectric (PE) materials including High Temperature (HT) PE materials will be outlined for industry to explore novel applications ranging from ultrafine manipulation to heavy duty drilling and making PE sensors, actuators and ultrasonic devices. Higher electrical conductivity of a defect form of II=VI oxides (Cd-O in particular) is highlighted for possible practical exploitations. For 2nd generation Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding, polymeric composites with either newer absorbing agents or newer reflecting agents or their mixtures will be outlined. Novel Fe- or Ni- based HTSCs (high temperature superconductors) are less anisotropic and rather metallic in contrast to Cu-oxide HTSCs. So, these offer added advantage for making superconducting electrical cables. A balanced presentation of these potentially usable materials and their basic physics will be attempted.
Impact Strength Analysis of Polymer Composite Materials (PCM) Fiber Reinforced in the Fiberboat Application
Authors: Ruzuqi Rezza
Published: September 2020

Analysis of the mechanical properties of Polymer Composite Materials (PCM) fiberglass-reinforced is important for fiberboat manufacturing. Mechanical properties can be determined by carrying out mechanical testing. The mechanical properties of this research using the Impact test have been completed. In this research each test was carried out on variations in the amount of fiberglass lamination CSM 300, CSM 450 and WR 600 and the variation in weight percentages of 99.5% -0.5%, 99% -1%, 98.5% -1 , 5%, 98% -2% and 97.5% -2.5% have been used. The result show that the more the amount of laminate the greater impact strength, which is equal to 413,712 MPa, and the more the percentage hardener the greater the impact strength 2.0 wt .-%, which is equal to 416,487 MPa.
Use of DNA barcode in the identification of catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from Malaysia
Authors: ABDULLAH MOHD LUTFI , NOR SITI AZIZAH MOHD , NAIM DARLINA MD.
Published: September 2020

Abdullah ML, Nor SAM, Naim DMd. 2017. Use of DNA barcode in the identification of catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from Malaysia. Biodiversitas 18: 1358-1366. The genus Ariidae contains many valuable fish species threatened by overfishing, but knowledge on distribution and threats is still limited due to taxonomic ambiguities. The aim of this study was to apply DNA barcoding techniques to establish a resource of DNA for identification of Ariidae species in Malaysia. A 621 bp of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was utilized to resolve phylogenetic relationships and molecular taxonomy of eight presumed Malaysian Ariid species. We found the monophyly of most species was well established with a mean Kimura-2 parameter (K2P) interspecies distance of 9.6% except for two species, Arius venosus, and Nemapteryx caelata that have very low interspecies genetic distance. The BLAST result shows only two species matched the presumably eight identified fish species. Such discrepancies could arise as a result of misidentifications or errors in GenBank database input, hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting. We suggest the use of DNA barcoding is integrated into the workflow during taxonomic studies as it could significantly increase knowledge about species distributions.
Monthly range of adolescent orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) based on fruit availability in Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: SAPUTRA FAJAR , FARAJALLAH DYAH PERWITASARI- , ATMOKO SRI SUCI UTAMI- , ARIYANTO TOMI , NOORDWIJK MARIA A. VAN
Published: September 2020

Setyawan. 2017. Monthly range of adolescent orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) based on fruit availability in Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 1445-1452. Adolescent orangutans become competitors with mothers supporting newborn infants. Thus, adolescent orangutans must coordinate with other orangutans in order to find fruit. How adolescent orangutans respond is reflected in the size and utilization of their home range area. The aims of our research were to determine (i) fruit availability, as an important component of orangutan diet, (ii) and the effect of fruit availability on home range use by adolescent orangutan. This research was conducted from August 2013 to July 2014 in Tuanan Orangutan Research Station, Central Kalimantan. The fruit trail method was used to estimate abundance of fruits (both from trees and lianas).Fallen fruit on census trails was assessed once per month, while focal animal sampling was used to estimate the home range by tagging a GPS point every 30 minutes during the tracking of an orangutan. In total, 62 tree and 15 liana species included in the known orangutan diet were fruiting during this study period. The highest period of fruit abundance for orangutan food occurred in November until January. Adolescent orangutans responded by increasing their monthly ranging area during this time of high fruit availability and decreased their range when fruit availability was low. Adolescent orangutans often used areas in their monthly range that had a high to medium abundance of fruit trees. When the number of trees bearing fruit decreased (low period), adolescent orangutans changed their monthly range to areas that consisted of medium to high abundance of liana fruit. Their ranging strategy optimized use of low quality habitat in order to survive in degraded forests.
Short Communication: The normal karyotyping result of Indonesian native breed bull qualified for artificial insemination
Authors: CIPTADI GATOT , IHSAN MUH NUR , NURGIARTININGSIH VERONICA M. ANI , ARDYAH IRSANTI PUTRI , MUDAWAMAH MUDAWAMAH
Published: September 2020

Ciptadi G, Ihsan MN, Nurgiartiningsih VMA, Ardyah IP, Mudawamah M. 2017. Short Communication: The normal karyotyping result of Indonesian native breed bull qualified for artificial insemination. Biodiversitas 18: 1462-1467. Bali and Madura cattle are important native breed in Indonesia, both descendants of wild banteng (Bos javanicus). These breeds are categorized as a small type beef cattle, and are indigenous, well adapted and, have high resistance to diseases. The aims of this research were to analyze dendrograms of these breed and karyotype breeding bull selected for Artificial Insemination (AI). The result showed that the 2n diploid number of chromosome of all cattle was 60 and they were considered normal, based on the number and structure of chromosomes. Fiftyeight acrocentric autosomes and 2 sex chromosome were observed, including a submetacentric X-large chromosome submetacentric and a small Y chromosome. Dendrogram analysis showed that Bali and Madura cattle were closely related and derived more from their ancestor wild banteng than from Java cattle. It is recommended to perform a chromosomal investigation of breeding bulls especially those used for freezing semen production and AI implementation.
Childcare in uncaring times: emotional processes in a nursery and their political context
Authors: Gitz-Johansen Thomas
Published: September 2020

This article reports on a study that uses the method of infant observation to investigate emotional processes among young children and their professional carers in a nursery for 0- to three-year-olds. The article focuses on the effects of political regulations and reforms in the area of public daycare, which have a deep impact on the emotional lives of both children and their carers. First, a dominant political and regulatory language, in which learning is the dominant concept, plays the role of making the basic emotional needs of both children and carers invisible. In this way, some of the most obvious questions and concerns about young children and their care needs are rendered collectively unconscious. Second, decades of spending reductions (‘effectivisation’) in the field of public daycare have put an increased pressure on both carers and children, who are forced to try to have their fundamental needs met in a situation of an historically high rate of children per staff member. Third, the article points to the effects of a culture of quality control through evaluation and assessment, which the paradigm of New Public Management has promoted in the field of daycare. This culture enhances persecutory anxieties among the staff, which run counter to the containment and care that they need in order to care well for the children. Finally, it is argued that the field of public daycare should be informed by a paradigm that is oriented towards the care needs of both children and their professional carers.
Use of social marketing principles in sexual health: An exploratory review
Authors: Akbar M. Bilal , French Jeff , Lawson Alison
Published: September 2020

Purpose: This paper presents a systematic review of the use of social marketing principles in sexual health studies in order to determine the effectiveness of the programmes. Method: A systematic literature review method was used, and Andreasen’s (2002) benchmark criteria were adopted to analyse the use of social marketing principles in the selected studies.Findings: There is evidence of full use of some elements of Andreasen’s (2002) benchmark criteria, for example consumer research, behaviour change objectives and segmentation. The use of the marketing mix theory and exchange elements were limited, whereas the evidence of the use of competition is not noted. In addition, the majority of the selected studies focus on short-term objectives, leading to varying and inconsistent outcomes. Overall, no single element of Andreasen’s (2002) benchmark criteria was independently associated with the success of any of the selected studies. Implication: The review highlights a need to use more social marketing principles in planning and implementing sexual health programmes to enhance their effectiveness. Improvement in performance might be achieved through the development and application of a new social marketing informed methodology for designing social programmes on sexual health.
Directional coupler design for orbital angular momentum mode-based photonic integrated circuits
Authors: Lee In Joon , Kim Sangin
Published: September 2020

An orbital angular momentum (OAM) dividable on-chip directional coupler design is proposed. To guide OAM modes of topological charge number l = ±1, a waveguide needs to support TE01 and TE10 modes with degeneracy. When a directional coupler is made with such an OAM mode waveguide, it is additionally required to equalize the horizontal-direction coupling strengths of those two OAM constitutive eigenmodes. Base on the coupled mode theory formulation, we have found that this requirement can hardly be satisfied and devised a modified cross-shaped waveguide structure to solve this problem. An example design of OAM mode directional coupler is demonstrated. The coupling length of the designed device is 670 µm, and our numerical simulation showed negligible degradation of OAM mode purity during the operation of complete optical power transfer between two waveguides. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first proposal of the on-chip OAM mode directional coupler. The proposed design approach can be applied to implement various devices for OAM mode-based photonic integrated circuits.
Dynamic tuning of photon-plasmon interaction based on three-dimensionally confined microtube cavities
Authors: Naz Ehsan Saei Ghareh , Yin Yin , Wang Jiawei , Madani Abbas , Ma Libo , Schmidt Oliver G.
Published: September 2020

We present tunable coupling between surface plasmon resonances supported by a metal-nanoparticle-coated tip and three-dimensionally (3D) confined optical modes supported by a microtube cavity. The competition and transition between two types of coupling mechanisms, i.e., dielectric-dielectric and plasmon-dielectric coupling, are observed in the tunable system. Owing to the competition between the two coupling mechanisms, the resonant modes can be dynamically tuned to first shift from higher to lower energies and then revert to higher energy. Moreover, the unique spatial field distribution of 3D confined modes allows selective coupling of odd and even order axial modes with surface plasmon resonances.
Avifauna of adjoining coastal areas of Purba Medinipur district, southern West Bengal, India: additional records and updated list
Authors: Payra Arajush
Published: September 2020

Present study was carried out in Digha-Shankarpur estuary region of Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India, during December 2018 to March 2020. During survey period, a total of 176 species of birds were recorded from the area including 30 previously unreported species. With the compilation of previously published literature and present records, the number of known avifauna of the coastal area of Purba Medinipur district goes to 206. Study also reveals the presence of 7 species of Near Threatened birds in the area. Some new and noteworthy records are given in detail.
Practicing Jametteness: The Transmission of “Bad Behavior” as a Strategy of Survival
Authors: Jones Adanna Kai
Published: September 2020

Caribbean bodies are sexually marked and recognized by their renowned abilities to roll their “its”—a skill informally learned at a very young age. This movement includes, at the very least, dexterous and vigorous rolls, gyrations, thrusts, and shakes of the hip, pelvis, and buttocks. It is colloquially known as “winin’” (or the wine) in Trinidad, Guyana, and Jamaica, “wukkin’-up” in Barbados, “despelote” in Cuba, “perreando” (or el perreo) in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and “gouye” (or the gouyad) in Haiti (just to name a few). The rolling “it” is often associated with festive spaces—such as Dancehall, Carnival, and parties—as well as with popular music genres like soca, dancehall-reggae, reguetón, and kompa.
The Hospitable Aesthetics of Alison Bechdel
Authors: Lauber Vanessa
Published: September 2020

The birth of queer studies as an academic discipline is defined by its break from LGBT politics, with the goals of marriage and military service pitted against radical queer liberation. In broad strokes, LGBT studies produces sexual orientation as a category, while queer studies seeks to upend categorical thought. Alison Bechdel’s unique insight into that tension arises from her complex and nuanced attempts to represent marginalized identities in a form that has been itself marginalized. Her politics of the outsider cannot be cast off in a dismissive reading of her popularity in the cultural imagination, nor hewn from the longer history of her formal innovation. Taken as a whole, the paradoxical and yet co-constitutive relationship between the queerness of her forms and the mainstream popularity of her texts performs a sort of queer world-building. To the extent that her work cultivates empathy or community, it does so not only, perhaps, in the service of identity-based movements or bald market capitalism, but also by modeling a more radical, relational aesthetic that illuminates the ongoing power of queer critique.
Mo Van Pelt
Authors: Abate Michelle Ann
Published: September 2020

This chapter explores the numerous and heretofore overlooked physical, personal, and psychological areas of overlap between Mo Testa in Dykes to Watch Out For and Linus van Pelt in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts. Many of Mo’s signature traits and hallmark qualities are ones she shares with Linus: from her insecurity and intellectualism to her philosophical nature and her role as reflective commentator for the group. Indeed, even Mo’s penchant for striped clothing can be seen as taking a sartorial cue from Linus, who is always clad in a t-shirt with strikingly similar horizontal stripes. While Bechdel never identified Schulz as an inspiration for her work nor the Peanuts gang as a model for her DTWOF crew, the suggestive echoes between Mo and Linus seem too numerous to be merely coincidental. Exploring the similarities between Mo and Linus reveals a compelling kinship between Bechdel’s work and one of the most well-known strips in the history of American comics, while it also sheds new light on the relationship that DTWOF has to its socio-cultural milieu.
Generational Trauma and the Crisis of Après-Coup In Alison Bechdel’s Graphic Memoirs
Authors: Chestopalova Natalja
Published: September 2020

This essay suggests that Bechdel’s two autographic memoirs are indicative of the potential that exists in graphic narrative to provoke new dialogues with regard to how we approach, how we interpret, and how we interact with generational and familial trauma that stems from dysfunctional relationships with parental figures. Specifically, it examines how Bechdel’s Are You My Mother? builds upon the juxtapositions of the father-daughter bond in Fun Home by shifting the focus towards Bechdel’s traumatic relationship with her mother. This chapter argues that by explicitly weaving the narrative around a backdrop of psychology and psychoanalysis (D. W. Winnicott, Freud, Jung, and Lacan), Bechdel intentionally situates the “reader in the position of the analyst” (as quoted in The Paris Review). Drawing on Bechdel’s theory-rich content, this essay examines the figure of the mother as a shifting entity that mutates and molds itself onto substitute transitional objects and experiences, including Bechdel’s therapists and romantic attachments. Alternating among transcribed audio dialogues, diary entries, counseling sessions, dreams, letters, photographs, and memories, Are You My Mother? is an illustration of the Freudian concept of “afterwardness,” or, as Lacan coined it, après-coup—a retroactive understanding and re-visitation of earlier trauma.
A Once and Future Pedagogy
Authors: Kirtley Susan E. , Garcia Antero , Carlson Peter E.
Published: September 2020

In this chapter the editors offer an overview of the need for a comics pedagogy and center the work of this volume’s scholarship within traditions of comic studies, critical theory, and curriculum studies.
Text, Object, Transaction: Reconciling Approaches to the Teaching of Comics
Authors: Jacobs Dale
Published: September 2020

Dale Jacobs examines the vexed relationships educators have had with comics, with some suggesting that comics are distractions seen as antithetical to both literacy and morality, while others posit graphic narratives as a site on which alphabetic literacy might be scaffolded. These parallel developments of comics pedagogy have left us with two distinct ways of thinking about teaching with comics that seldom overlap, and this chapter reconciles these approaches within a larger framework that advocates for a diverse set of methodologies in the teaching of comics.
Transmedia Superheroes, Multimodal Composition, and Digital Literacy
Authors: Bolling Ben
Published: September 2020

This article describes an approach to “Networked and Multimodal Communication: The Transmedia Batman,” a class in which students engage the Batman mythos in print, radio, television, film, music, and other media. Coupled with textual analysis of Batman narratives, students simultaneously learn to compose in the forms they study. While analyzing the expressive potential of various media, students may build proficiency in multimedia composition using applications like the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and in the process develop critical twenty-first century skills from brand management to professional communication.
Truth, Justice, and the Victorian Way: How Comics and Superheroes Might Subvert Student Reading of Classic Literature
Authors: Villarreal Benjamin J.
Published: September 2020

This chapter explores theories informing and attempting the use of comics and their themes to help College English students make sense of Victorian literature and the challenges that offers. Through classroom examples, this chapter explores how studying the similarities between Victorian literature, modern comics, and superheroes would support a better understanding of the workings of both. At the same time, this work cautions that a literary analysis of these genres’ differences can demonstrate the pitfalls of such an approach as well.
Comic Art Research: Achievements, Shortcomings, and Remedies
Authors: Lent John A.
Published: September 2020

In his review of the burgeoning Comics Studies field, John Lent reminds us that there are tremendous areas of scholarship still waiting to be excavated. His is a vision of further growth through interdisciplinary scholarship. In particular, we emphasize the need to understand political economy and intellectual property as tied to comics production and labor. These are big areas of comics studies that fundamentally shape what is taught, under what conditions, and for what purposes.
Misunderstanding Comics
Authors: Flowers Johnathan
Published: September 2020

In this chapter, Jonathan Flowers offers an important critique of some of the foundational tenets of comics studies and questions the epistemological grounding on which our pedagogies stand. By exploring how Scott McCloud’s work has shaped our field, Flowers deftly illustrates that this field is constantly moving and evokes a call for new voices and pedagogies. He does this through interlinking power and visibility with politics and race within the field of comics studies.
Transforming the Intangible into the Real
Authors: Yamamura Koji
Published: September 2020

Seven short animated films are examined by the auteur-animator as he self-reflects on their creations. Making animation is not only an extension of the pictorial and comic-like expression, but also the act of mystically creating movement to be perceived in the real. The artist shares his personal experiences during the animation making process including the unconscious imaginative realm that creeps into his creative thoughts. Technology may play an important part of the animation production but the author maintains that there is a deeper spiritual world where he is somehow drawn into when he is making animation. Spiritually, he feels the transcendence of the dualism of mind and matter during the creative process, and is able to unite the subconscious with reality. Citing motifs including natural, inorganic, or imaginative entities, the author demonstrates the influence of the psyche in his artistic expressions. To the artist, the spiritual assimilation aspects of his work are profound, complex, and illuminating.
White Working-Class Identity and US Nationalism in Twenty-First-Century Popular Texts
Authors: Dominy Jordan J.
Published: September 2020

This chapter addresses recent portrayals of the US South in popular texts of the 2010s. Through the reality television program Duck Dynasty and J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy (2017), it demonstrates how Cold War intellectuals’ and authors’ influence on discourse around the term “southern” has thoroughly permeated the imagination and political sentiments of Americans. The analysis and close reading of Duck Dynasty shows how popular culture perpetuates ideas associated with southern exceptionalism into the twenty-first-century. In the fractured political climate since the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, these portrayals of southern dialect, imagery, and values become not only a shibboleth for American, democratic values of liberty, tradition, and honor, but also are coded language for white nationalism and resistance to progressive social values.
The Supervillain1
Authors: Coogan Peter
Published: September 2020

This essay outlines the responsibilities of the villain as a story engine. The villain acts as an agent of misfortune, damage, or harm to disturb the peace of those happily living their lives. The villain oftentimes dons a disguise to deceive those objects of said villainy. Villains usually cause harm or injury to the families of those they target. The victim unwittingly submits to the villain’s deception and thereby helps their enemy. In literary tradition the villain is often defeated and sometimes punished.
Shakespeare’s Supervillain: Coriolanus
Authors: Abrams Jerold J.
Published: September 2020

Villains are an important part of Shakespeare’s works. They often use soliloquies to make sure the audience is informed about what they are doing and their purpose. Villains in Shakespeare are generally subtle and ingenious, excellent role-players and actors and are often murderers or capable of murder.
Disability and the Silver Age Supervillain1
Authors: Alaniz José
Published: September 2020

The Joker is Batman’s most enduring and iconic nemesis. From his very first appearance in Batman# 1, the Joker has proved to be the Dark Knight’s opposite and most interesting villain. Bill Finger wrote the Joker with relish, finding, as he did with Batman, fresh and unremittingly inventive ways to reintroduce the villain.
A Darker Truth Underneath
Authors: Later Naja
Published: September 2020

Inspired by Superman’s longstanding foe Lex Luthor, this essay outs the Man of Steel as a monster once and for all. Utilizing a super-villainous methodology that relishes in the desire to expose, this essay scrutinizes the ways in which comic artists have attempted to repress Superman’s own monstrosity by deflecting attention onto the more-visibly abject figure of Bizarro. However, unlike previous interpretations of Superman’s Otherness, this essay adopts a trans reading position that attends to how the Frankenstein-inspired figure of Bizarro exposes Superman specifically as a transsexual monster. This chapter argues that Bizarro signals and ultimately enacts what Superman cannot – namely, the hero’s own profound sense of corporeal otherness, one that is uncannily akin to certain trans articulations of embodiment.
The Comic Grotesque
Authors: Cole Jean Lee
Published: September 2020

A particularly grotesque form of the comic sensibility emerged in the closing years of the nineteenth century in the works of George Luks. Luks was called on to take over Richard Outcault’s phenomenally popular Yellow Kid comic strip at Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World in 1896; he soon made the Yellow Kid his own. As Outcault’s duplicate or twin, Luks capitalized on the grotesque potential of twinning, doubling, and replication to question the social order from below, laying bare—and then savagely mocking—fears of the rapidly growing immigrant and ethnic populations in the United States. In subsequent strips, including The Little Nippers and Mose’s Incubator, his representations of polyglot America become positively fantastical, even monstrous, reflecting the interchangeability and reproducibility of ethnic identity that formed the logical basis of the “melting pot.”
Illustration and the Narrative Quality of Appeal
Authors: Cole Jean Lee
Published: September 2020

Illustrators of popular magazine fiction struggled to reconcile the distortions of caricature with realistic modes of representation. William Glackens was one who succeeded. Combining close attention to narrative with a style of sketch-drawing that neither promised absolute fidelity to reality nor resorted to caricature, Glackens also used perspective and composition to connect readers to the story on the page. This chapter focuses on Irish-Jewish writer Edward Raphael Lipsett’s “Denny the Jew” stories, which depict a young Irish immigrant to New York who decides to pass as Jewish. Through masterful deployment of dialect, Lipsett heightens rather than erases individual identity in his immigrant fiction. Glackens’ illustrations, meanwhile, use a sketched-from-life technique rather than caricature to depict closely observed individuals rather than types. These stories exemplify how textual and visual strategies worked together to convey the comic sensibility in illustrated magazine fiction.
Hope and the Sa’a of Ms. Marvel
Authors: Lewis A. David
Published: September 2020

In 2015, Marvel Comics, the publisher of Ms. Marvel, brought about an end to its many parallel realities—its fictional multiverse—with an end-of-days eschaton. Collected as the Last Days volume, these "final" issues of Ms. Marvel seem to feature no overtly Qur’anic signs, though one could force an interpretation of the events in Islamic terms (e.g. that the sky is torn from a collapsing multiverse, etc.). The greater opportunity here, though, is affirming both Khan’s hope and optimism in the face of darkening odds, and a larger truth within an Islamic context, given that Marvel did restore(/resurrect) its universe. These Last Days of Ms. Marvel, therefore, provide an opportunity to read a multiplicity of eschatologies into the superheroic crisis, rather than either to dismiss it entirely or to demand one sole interpretation.
Madina On The Light Rail (That Girl is Me)
Authors: Alaniz JosÉ
Published: September 2020

This visual/illustration chapter features a one-page comic about the cultural impact of Ms. Marvel.