bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of health inequity on spatial variation of COVID-19 transmission in England
Authors: Rawson Thomas , Hinsley Wes , Sonabend Raphael , Semenova Elizaveta , Cori Anne , Ferguson Neil M
Published: May 2024

Considerable spatial heterogeneity has been observed in COVID-19 transmission across administrative areas of England throughout the pandemic. This study investigates what drives these differences. We constructed a probabilistic case count model for 306 administrative areas of England across 95 weeks, fit using a Bayesian evidence synthesis framework. We incorporate the impact of acquired immunity, of spatial exportation of cases, and 16 spatially-varying socio-economic, socio-demographic, health, and mobility variables. Model comparison assesses the relative contributions of these respective mechanisms. We find that spatially-varying and time-varying differences in week-to-week transmission were definitively associated with differences in: time spent at home, variant-of-concern proportion, and adult social care funding. However, model comparison demonstrates that the impact of these terms is negligible compared to the role of spatial exportation between administrative areas. While these results confirm the impact of some, but not all, static measures of spatially-varying inequity in England, our work corroborates the finding that observed differences in disease transmission during the pandemic were predominantly driven by underlying epidemiological factors rather than aggregated metrics of demography and health inequity between areas. Further work is required to assess how health inequity more broadly contributes to these epidemiological factors.
Geospatial and temporal mapping of detectable HIV-1 viral loads amid dolutegravir rollout in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors: Gounder Lilishia , Tomita Andrew , Lessells Richard , Moodley Sandrini , Francois Kerri-Lee , Khan Aabida , Pillay Melendhran , Manyana Sontaga C. , Govender Subitha , Govender Kerusha , Moodley Pravi , Parboosing Raveen , Msomi Nokukhanya , Tanser Frank , Naidoo Kogieleum , Chimukangara Benjamin
Published: May 2024

South Africa rolled out dolutegravir (DTG) as first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in December 2019 to overcome high rates of pretreatment non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor drug resistance. In the context of transition to DTG-based ART, this study spatiotemporally analysed detectable HIV viral loads (VLs) prior to- and following DTG rollout in public-sector healthcare facilities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, the epicentre of the HIV epidemic in South Africa. We retrospectively curated a HIV VL database using de-identified routine VL data obtained from the National Health Laboratory Service for the period January 2018 to June 2022. We analysed trends in HIV viraemia and mapped median log10 HIV VLs per facility on inverse distance weighted interpolation maps. We used Getis-Ord Gi* hotspot analysis to identify geospatial HIV hotspots. We obtained 7,639,978 HIV VL records from 736 healthcare facilities across KZN, of which 1,031,171 (13.5%) had detectable VLs (i.e., VLs ≥400 copies/millilitre (mL)). Of those with detectable VLs, we observed an overall decrease in HIV VLs between 2018 and 2022 (median 4.093 log10 copies/mL; 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.087–4.100 to median 3.563 log10 copies/mL; CI 3.553–3.572), p<0.01 (median test). The downward trend in proportion of HIV VLs ≥1000 copies/mL over time was accompanied by an inverse upward trend in the proportion of HIV VLs between 400 and 999 copies/mL. Moreover, specific coastal and northern districts of KZN had persistently higher VLs, with emergent hotspots demonstrating spatial clustering of high median log10 HIV VLs. The overall decrease in HIV VLs over time shows good progress towards achieving UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets in KZN, South Africa. The DTG-transition has been associated with a reduction in VLs, however, there is a need for pre-emptive monitoring of low-level viraemia. Furthermore, our findings highlight that specific districts will need intensified HIV care despite DTG rollout.
Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practice among HIV-positive mothers in Tanzania. An exploratory qualitative study
Authors: Augustino Goodluck , Anaeli Amani , Sunguya Bruno F.
Published: May 2024

Background

Ensuring optimal nutrition through early breastfeeding is vital for infant mental development and overall health. HIV infections complicate decisions regarding exclusive breastfeeding, jeopardizing effective infant and young child feeding, which affects nutrition and health outcomes. Recognizing the lack of evidence on barriers to infant feeding in the context of HIV in Tanzania, this study was conducted to explore individual, household, and community obstacles in the Ilala district, Dar es Salaam.

Materials and methods

A case study design employing a qualitative approach was used. The study was executed at the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Clinic within Amana Regional Referral Hospital, Mnazi Mmoja Health Centre, and Buguruni Health Centre. Data collection ensued through the purposive sampling of healthcare providers and HIV-positive mothers, utilizing in-depth interview techniques. The textual data accrued were analyzed using inductive and deductive content analysis strategies, thereby enabling the delineation and formulation of principal thematic constructs.

Results

The study involved interviews with twenty-seven key informants, encompassing HIV-positive mothers, nurses, clinicians, and community-based healthcare workers. The analysis of these interviews resulted in the identification of three major themes. Firstly, individual barriers to exclusive breastfeeding were delineated, encompassing sub-themes such as occupation-related hectic schedules, early motherhood-related non-compliance to safe infant feeding directives, postpartum depression, and issues related to breast sores and abscesses. Secondly, household-level barriers were identified, highlighting challenges like food insecurity and inaccessibility to key resources, the influence of male partners and family members on decision-making, and barriers arising from non-disclosure of HIV status affecting Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) support. Lastly, community-level barriers were explored, revealing a sub-theme related to the low retentivity of HIV-positive women in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programs.

Conclusions

Individual barriers encompass practical, psychological, and physical challenges, while household-level obstacles include food insecurity, limited resources, and family dynamics influencing decisions. At the community level, there’s a concern about the low retentivity of HIV-positive women in PMTCT programs, indicating broader societal challenges in supporting exclusive breastfeeding. There is a need for tailored interventions at individual, household, and community levels to promote and support optimal infant feeding practices among HIV-positive women.
Patient characteristics and predictors of mortality among children hospitalised with tuberculosis: A six-year case series study in Uganda
Authors: Amuge Pauline Mary , Becker Greta Lassance , Ssebunya Rogers Nelson , Nalumansi Esther , Adaku Alex , Juma Michael , Jackson Jay Brooks , Kekitiinwa Adeodata Rukyarekere , Elyanu Peter James , Wobudeya Eric , Blount Robert
Published: May 2024

Background

The high case-fatality rates among children with tuberculosis (TB) are reportedly driven by in-hospital mortality and severe forms of TB. Therefore, there is need to better understand the predictors of mortality among children hospitalised with TB. We examined the patient clinical profiles, length of hospital stay from date of admission to date of final admission outcome, and predictors of mortality among children hospitalised with TB at two tertiary hospitals in Uganda.

Methods

We conducted a case-series study of children below 15 years of age hospitalised with TB, from January 1st, 2016, to December 31st, 2021. Convenience sampling was done to select TB cases from paper-based medical records at Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH) in urban Kampala, and Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital (FRRH) in rural Fort Portal. We fitted linear and logistic regression models with length of stay and in-hospital mortality as key outcomes.

Results

Out of the 201 children hospitalised with TB, 50 were at FRRH, and 151 at MNRH. The male to female ratio was 1.5 with median age of 2.6 years (Interquartile range-IQR 1–6). There was a high prevalence of HIV (67/171, 39%), severe malnutrition reported as weight-for-age Z-score <-3SD (51/168, 30%). Among children with pulmonary TB who initiated anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) either during hospitalisation or within seven days prior to hospitalisation; cough (134/143, 94%), fever (111/143, 78%), and dyspnoea (78/143, 55%) were common symptoms. Children with TB meningitis commonly presented with fever (17/24, 71%), convulsions (14/24 58%), and cough (13/24, 54%). The median length of hospital stay was 8 days (IQR 5–15). Of the 199 children with known in-hospital outcomes, 34 (17.1%) died during hospitalisation. TB meningitis was associated with in-hospital mortality (aOR = 3.50, 95% CI = 1.10–11.17, p = 0.035), while male sex was associated with reduced mortality (aOR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.12–0.95, p = 0.035). Hospitalisation in the urban hospital predicted a 0.48-day increase in natural log-transformed length of hospital stay (ln-length of stay) (95% CI 0.15–0.82, p = 0.005), but not age, sex, HIV, malnutrition, or TB meningitis.

Conclusions

In-hospital mortality was high, and significantly driven almost four times higher by TB meningitis, with longer hospital stay among children in urban hospitals. The high in-hospital mortality and long hospital stay may be reduced by timely TB diagnosis and treatment initiation among children.
Using camera-guided electrode microdrive navigation for precise 3D targeting of macaque brain sites
Authors: Crayen Max Arwed , Kagan Igor , Esghaei Moein , Hoehl Dirk , Thomas Uwe , Prückl Robert , Schaffelhofer Stefan , Treue Stefan
Published: May 2024

Spatial accuracy in electrophysiological investigations is paramount, as precise localization and reliable access to specific brain regions help the advancement of our understanding of the brain’s complex neural activity. Here, we introduce a novel, multi camera-based, frameless neuronavigation technique for precise, 3-dimensional electrode positioning in awake monkeys. The investigation of neural functions in awake primates often requires stable access to the brain with thin and delicate recording electrodes. This is usually realized by implanting a chronic recording chamber onto the skull of the animal that allows direct access to the dura. Most recording and positioning techniques utilize this implanted recording chamber as a holder of the microdrive or to hold a grid. This in turn reduces the degrees of freedom in positioning. To solve this problem, we require innovative, flexible, but precise tools for neuronal recordings. We instead mount the electrode microdrive above the animal on an arch, equipped with a series of translational and rotational micromanipulators, allowing movements in all axes. Here, the positioning is controlled by infrared cameras tracking the location of the microdrive and the monkey, allowing precise and flexible trajectories. To verify the accuracy of this technique, we created iron deposits in the tissue that could be detected by MRI. Our results demonstrate a remarkable precision with the confirmed physical location of these deposits averaging less than 0.5 mm from their planned position. Pilot electrophysiological recordings additionally demonstrate the accuracy and flexibility of this method. Our innovative approach could significantly enhance the accuracy and flexibility of neural recordings, potentially catalyzing further advancements in neuroscientific research.
Homophily and social mixing in a small community: Implications for infectious disease transmission
Authors: Pasquale Dana K. , Welsh Whitney , Bentley-Edwards Keisha L. , Olson Andrew , Wellons Madelynn C. , Moody James
Published: May 2024

Community mixing patterns by sociodemographic traits can inform the risk of epidemic spread among groups, and the balance of in- and out-group mixing affects epidemic potential. Understanding mixing patterns can provide insight about potential transmission pathways throughout a community. We used a snowball sampling design to enroll people recently diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 in an ethnically and racially diverse county and asked them to describe their close contacts and recruit some contacts to enroll in the study. We constructed egocentric networks of the participants and their contacts and assessed age-mixing, ethnic/racial homophily, and gender homophily. The total size of the egocentric networks was 2,544 people (n = 384 index cases + n = 2,160 recruited peers or other contacts). We observed high rates of in-group mixing among ethnic/racial groups compared to the ethnic/racial proportions of the background population. Black or African-American respondents interacted with a wider range of ages than other ethnic/racial groups, largely due to familial relationships. The egocentric networks of non-binary contacts had little age diversity. Black or African-American respondents in particular reported mixing with older or younger family members, which could increase the risk of transmission to vulnerable age groups. Understanding community mixing patterns can inform infectious disease risk, support analyses to predict epidemic size, or be used to design campaigns such as vaccination strategies so that community members who have vulnerable contacts are prioritized.
The anatomy of prejudice during pandemic lockdowns: Evidence from a national panel study
Authors: Kempthorne JohnMark , Yogeeswaran Kumar , Sibley Chris G. , Bulbulia Joseph A.
Published: May 2024

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a spike in the reporting of hate crimes (Human Rights Watch, 2020). However, the extent to which the pandemic affected prejudice across a general population—not merely among those disposed to hate crimes—remains unclear. Also unclear is the extent to which prejudice was restricted to specific minority groups associated with the virus, or whether prejudice spilled over to other minority groups. To address these questions, we use panel data collected from participants in a large national longitudinal (panel) study of New Zealanders before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic and systematically quantified social warmth ratings across a broad range of minority-groups (The New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, N = 30,327, years 2018–2020). We discover reduced warmth toward Chinese, Asians (broadly defined), immigrants, Muslims, refugees, Indians, and the mentally ill. In absolute terms, warmth towards Chinese decreased the most (0.11 SD). Notably, changes in warmth were not detected toward NZ Europeans, Māori, Pacific Islanders, the overweight, or the elderly. Overall, these findings suggest that in New Zealand, pandemic prejudice may spread beyond minority groups associated with the virus to other groups perceived as non-prototypical of national identity.
Osteoporosis induced by cellular senescence: A mathematical model
Authors: Siewe Nourridine , Friedman Avner
Published: May 2024

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by loss of bone mass, where bones become fragile and more likely to fracture. Bone density begins to decrease at age 50, and a state of osteoporosis is defined by loss of more than 25%. Cellular senescence is a permanent arrest of normal cell cycle, while maintaining cell viability. The number of senescent cells increase with age. Since osteoporosis is an aging disease, it is natural to consider the question to what extend senescent cells induce bone density loss and osteoporosis. In this paper we use a mathematical model to address this question. We determine the percent of bone loss for men and women during age 50 to 100 years, and the results depend on the rate η of net formation of senescent cell, with η = 1 being the average rate. In the case η = 1, the model simulations are in agreement with empirical data. We also consider senolytic drugs, like fisetin and quercetin, that selectively eliminate senescent cells, and assess their efficacy in terms of reducing bone loss. For example, at η = 1, with estrogen hormonal therapy and early treatment with fisetin, bone density loss for women by age 75 is 23.4% (below osteoporosis), while with no treatment with fisetin it is 25.8% (osteoporosis); without even a treatment with estrogen hormonal therapy, bone loss of 25.3% occurs already at age 65.
Assessment of community pharmacists’ knowledge, attitudes and their willingness to provide vaccination services in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Meraya Abdulkarim M. , Syed Mamoon H. , Shabi Abdulwahab A. , Madkhali Huthaifa A. , Yatimi Younis A. , Khobrani Khalied Y. , Mubarki Yahia A. , Khardali Amani , Thaibah Hilal , Yasmeen Ayesha
Published: May 2024

Background

Community pharmacists play an important role in increasing vaccination rates especially in countries where they offer vaccination services and administration. However, little is known about community pharmacist’s willingness to provide vaccination services in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, willingness and beliefs of community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia towards providing vaccines at pharmacies.

Methods

A cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based study using convenience sampling (Snowball technique) was used to obtain responses from community pharmacists across Saudi Arabia. The survey collected information on participants’ demographics, knowledge about vaccine, attitude towards vaccine and their attitude to be immunization providers. Bivariate analysis and multiple linear regression models were employed to assess the relationships between demographic variables and outcomes.

Results

The study sample consisted of 384 community pharmacists. More than half of participants had poor knowledge about vaccines (54%). Only 8.4% of participants had good knowledge about vaccines. The results indicated that community pharmacists in the study sample have positive attitude toward vaccines and are willing to provide vaccination services. There was a significant relationship between knowledge about vaccine and attitude toward vaccines. Pharmacists with poor knowledge about vaccines had negative attitude toward vaccines as compared to those with high knowledge (β = -1.743; P-value = 0.024). Additionally, there was a significant relationship between knowledge about vaccine and attitude to be immunization providers. Pharmacists with poor knowledge about vaccines had negative attitude to be immunization providers as compared to those with high knowledge (β = -2.631; P-value = 0.002). Furthermore, a significant number of the community pharmacists reported facing critical barriers to provide vaccines including legal liability, lack of personal resources and lack of appropriate training.

Conclusion

Comprehensive training and certification programs for pharmacists are crucial to improve their competencies in handling and administering vaccines to increase the rate of vaccinations in Saudi Arabia.
Biomedical named entity recognition based on multi-cross attention feature fusion
Authors: Zheng Dequan , Han Rong , Yu Feng , Li Yannan
Published: May 2024

Currently, in the field of biomedical named entity recognition, CharCNN (Character-level Convolutional Neural Networks) or CharRNN (Character-level Recurrent Neural Network) is typically used independently to extract character features. However, this approach does not consider the complementary capabilities between them and only concatenates word features, ignoring the feature information during the process of word integration. Based on this, this paper proposes a method of multi-cross attention feature fusion. First, DistilBioBERT and CharCNN and CharLSTM are used to perform cross-attention word-char (word features and character features) fusion separately. Then, the two feature vectors obtained from cross-attention fusion are fused again through cross-attention to obtain the final feature vector. Subsequently, a BiLSTM is introduced with a multi-head attention mechanism to enhance the model’s ability to focus on key information features and further improve model performance. Finally, the output layer is used to output the final result. Experimental results show that the proposed model achieves the best F1 values of 90.76%, 89.79%, 94.98%, 80.27% and 88.84% on NCBI-Disease, BC5CDR-Disease, BC5CDR-Chem, JNLPBA and BC2GM biomedical datasets respectively. This indicates that our model can capture richer semantic features and improve the ability to recognize entities.
Postoperative trachomatous trichiasis and associated factors among adults who underwent trachomatous trichiasis surgery in Ambassel District, North-East Ethiopia
Authors: Tabor Yimam Abdu , Wassie Gizachew Tadesse , Alene Getu Degu
Published: May 2024

Background

In Trachoma endemic countries, many people who underwent Trichiasis surgery faced a recurrence of the disease. Postoperative Trichiasis is a significant problem for patients and health care providers because it puts the eye at renewed risk of sight loss. Despite the low utilization of Trachomatous Trichiasis surgery and the high recurrence rate, evidence that elucidate why it recurs after surgery is limited. This study was aimed to assess the magnitude and associated factors of postoperative Trichiasis among 18 years and above individuals who underwent Trachomatous Trichiasis surgery between 2013 and 2019 in Ambassel District, Northeast Ethiopia, 2020.

Methods

The community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 10 to March 23/2020 in selected kebeles of Ambassel District. The required sample size (506) was calculated using EPI-INFO Version 7. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to employ study participants. Data were collected through the interviewer-administered structured pre-tested questionnaire and entered into EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23.0 for analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify associated factors of Postoperative Trachomatous Trichiasis.

Results

Four hundred ninety two individuals participated in this study with a response rate of 97.2%. In Ambassel district, the prevalence of postoperative Trichiasis was 23.8% (95% CI = 19.9–27.8). Among associated factors of postoperative Trachomatous Trichiasis: age 50–59 (AOR = 3.34, CI = 1.38–8.1), 60–69 (AOR = 3.24, CI = 1.38–7.61), ≥70 years (AOR = 6.04, CI = 2.23–16.41), duration since surgery (AOR = 1.7, CI = 1.35–2.14), complication (AOR = 2.98, CI = 1.24–7.2), washing the face two times (AOR = 0.25, CI = 0.13–0.47), washing the face three and more times (AOR = 0.1, CI = 0.41–0.25), taking Azithromycin following surgery (AOR = 0.19, CI = 0.09–0.41), pre-operative epilation history (AOR = 2.11, CI = 1.14, 3.9) and having a knowledge about TrachomaTtrichiasis (AOR = 0.21, CI = 0.08–0.58) showed a statistical significant association.

Conclusions

The prevalence of postoperative Trichiasis in Ambassel District was higher than most Ethiopian studies. Age, frequency of face washing, medication following surgery, duration since the last surgery, knowledge about trachoma, pre-operative epilation history, and complication after surgery were identified to be independent factors. To minimize postoperative Trachomatous Trichiasis stakeholders need to consider health education for patients, provision of Azithromycin after surgery, and proper training for integrated eye care workers.
Purification and characterization of lipase from a new strain Staphylococcus argenteus MG2 (MTCC 12820)
Authors: Golani Mahima , Hajela Krishnan
Published: May 2024

The lipase enzyme was isolated and purified from Staphylococcus argenteus MG2 (MTCC 12820) to homogeneity using ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by chromatographic techniques. This process resulted in a purification factor of 40.96-fold and a 26.25% recovery with a specific activity of 744.68 U mg-1. The molecular weight of the purified lipase was determined by SDS-PAGE to be 45 kDa. The Km and Vmax values of the purified lipase were calculated to be 4.95 mM and 79.36 µmol/min/mg-1, respectively. The maximum lipase activity was observed at pH 7.0 and 30 ºC with 100% stability, and it was also found to be stable in a broad range of pH (5-12) and temperature (30-90 ºC). The enzymatic activity of this Staphylococcal lipase was increased by Ca2+ to 105.71% at a concentration of 1 mM CaCl2. Additionally, it exhibited marked stability and activity in organic solvents. In the presence of 1% SDS surfactant, it retained 85.16% residual activity, while the metal chelator EDTA (inhibitor) reduced the lipase activity to 83.87% residual activity at a concentration of 1% w/v. This alkali-stable and thermo-stable lipase can be exploited by extending its use in the preparation of detergents and in various industrial and biotechnological applications.
Effect of coconut shell extract on the growth performance and some haemato-biochemical parameters of broiler chicken
Authors: Alagbe John Olujimi
Published: May 2024

This experiment was carried out at Sumitra Research Institute, Gujarat, India to evaluate the effect of coconut shell extract on the growth performance and some haemato-biochemical parameters of broiler chicken. 240 – 1 day old Hubbard broiler chicks of mixed sex were randomly distributed to six treatments with six replicates containing ten birds each in a completely randomized design. Birds in treatment 1(T1) was fed standard diet with no coconut shell extract; T2: standard diet with 1.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water; T3: standard diet with 2.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water and T4: standard diet with 3.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water. Standard diet was formulated according to the nutritional needs of broilers. The study lasted for fifty-six day and birds were offered fresh clean water and feed ad libitum. Phenols (410.3 mg/g-1), tannins (98.21 mg/g-1), alkaloids (100.6 mg/g-1), flavonoids (309.5 mg/g-1), saponins (71.4 mg/g-1) and steroids (28.7 mg/g-1) were identified coconut shell extract. Overall weight gains of birds fed T3 (2506.3 g) and T4 (2527.6 g) had a numerical and a remarkable significant improvement if feed conversion ratio from 1.92 to 1.59 compared to T2 (2210.0 g) and T1 (1996.1 g). Mortality was only recorded among birds in T1 (2.00 %) (p < 0.05). Pack cell volume, red blood cell, white blood cell, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentrations were influenced (p < 0.05) by the treatments. However, values were within the normal range for healthy birds. Total protein, albumin and globulin values were higher in T2, T3 and T4 except for alanine phosphatase, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase values which were not significantly (p > 0.05) different among the treatment. Total cholesterol was higher (p < 0.05) in T1 relative to the other treatments. It was concluded that coconut shell extract can be fed to broilers up to 3.0 mL without causing any negative effect on the health status of animals.
What a Difference a Day Makes
Authors: Bergsman Steve , Walker-Moss Lillian
Published: May 2024

In What a Difference a Day Makes: Women Who Conquered 1950s Music, Steve Bergsman highlights the Black female artists of the 1950s, a time that predated the chart-topping girl groups of the early 1960s. The era featured former jazz and blues singers, who first came to prominence in the 1940s, and others who pioneered early forms of rock ’n’ roll. The songs of African American vocalists like Dinah Washington and Etta James were segregated to the R&B charts or covered by pop singers in the early and mid-1950s but burst into prominence in the last part of the decade and well into the 1960s. In this volume, Bergsman takes a look at both the renowned and the sadly faded stars of the 1950s, placing them and their music back in the spotlight.
What a Diff’rence a Day Makes (1959 and Beyond)
Authors: Bergsman Steve
Published: May 2024

Although rock ‘n’ roll now dominates the music world, three females from other genres of music crash the charts: Sarah Vaughan, Della Reese and Nina Simone. The great Dinah Washington also goes against the grain, with one of the best songs in her lengthy career, the quiet, bluesy “What A Diff’rence a Day Makes.”
Mothers and the God of the Oppressed
Authors: Splawn P. Jane
Published: May 2024

This chapter examines the pre-Harlem Renaissance writer Carrie Williams Clifford’s role in the building of Black America in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Specifically, the chapter argues that Clifford merits a place in the African American literary canon, particularly given the historical context in which she wrote. As activist, writer, and teacher, Clifford consciously chose to focus on communal interests rather than her own ambitions, and like many of her educated, elite Black women contemporaries, she understood and accepted her obligation to improve the educational, social, and economic condition of African Americans still facing the crisis of illiteracy sixty years after Emancipation. Clifford viewed education and strong black community leadership as paths to end racial injustice, and as a member of a select vanguard of leaders within the African American community, she devoted herself to issues taken up in the NAACP’s Crisis Magazine, such as women’s suffrage.
An International Megahit
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

By 1870, the Esther score had traveled north to Canada and then overseas to British Commonwealth nations and territories, and to Africa and Asia. Not-surprisingly, English-speaking regions were particularly enthusiastic participants in the international Esther vogue. As might be expected, performances not only served charitable fund-raising causes, but they also served as persuasive missionary vehicles. Esther became identified as an agency for the temperance movement, along with the international spread of music education and music literacy. Arguably, the most noteworthy of African productions took place in 1930 in Angola where hundreds of singers performed the work out-of-doors to thousands of enthusiastic onlookers. Several surviving photographs document the immensity of this production and the ways a rural population adapted the score for a performance on a hillside.
The Metaphor That Destroyed New York
Authors: Hantke Steffen
Published: May 2024

Featuring a monster defined primarily by its physical excess, Cloverfield is situated within a rich multinational cinematic tradition with its own literary prehistory. While abandoning the colonial themes of the literary prehistory, Cloverfield applies and transcends its genre’s Cold War relevance, and serving as a harbinger of post-9/11 iterations of its genre.
Hopeful Monsters
Authors: Hantke Steffen
Published: May 2024

As Cloverfield’s topical urgency continues to fade over time, the Cloverfield franchise, as well as the giant creature film in general, are adjusting their thematic focus to a pervasive sense of global catastrophe related to climate change, deindustrialization, and economic instability. While the global scale of these crises and the anxieties they trigger appear to be in step with the steady increase in size of cinematic monsters, giant creatures are increasingly ill-suited to represent anything but their own genre history. At its most creative and original, however, Cloverfield might provide a model for the genre’s potential to reconnect with larger topical concerns and regain its former relevance.
Respite and New Beginnings
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter illustrates Luke's struggle to transition back to medical school. Leaving the Democratic convention, he finally came home with Gail Falk. Their days at home were filled with conversations around the kitchen table—the author and her parents getting to know Gail, hearing their stories, and learning to sing freedom songs. Many of the freedom songs derived from old gospel tunes that had been sung for years in Black churches. Not long after, Gail requested a leave of absence from her studies at Radcliffe College to continue her work in Meridian. Luke approved of Gail's decision and probably envied her choice to return. He missed his friends in Mississippi, the intensity of their community life, and the great sense of purpose they shared. In Rochester, beginning college, the author dedicated herself to her studies.
Contribution to the Delinquency of Minors
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes how Luke and Freeman were arrested on charges of “contribution to the delinquency of minors.” For the “crime” of helping teens test the Civil Rights Act, which was, after all, the law of the land, Luke and Freeman were charged with several different offenses. The police just could not make up their minds, it seemed, until they finally settled on the crime of contributing to the delinquency of minors. Luke and Freeman were placed together in a tiny holding cell at the police station. To buoy their spirits, they sang freedom songs. At five o'clock in the morning, Freeman and Luke were awakened abruptly and transferred to the Meridian City Jail. Later that morning, they were transferred yet again, this time to the county jail for the preliminary arraignment. At the preliminary arraignment, Judge Harwell gave them a continuance, and they were placed in a new cell at the county jail.
Crossing the Threshold
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter details Luke's marriage to Syrtiller McCollum. Now entering his last year of medical school, Luke's future with Syrtiller looked bright. As they settled into their married life in East Palo Alto, Luke and Syrtiller went together to antiwar and antinuclear protests; demonstrated in support of the California grape pickers' strike led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta; and worked with activists on the goal of incorporating East Palo Alto. Luke began meeting with a small group to plan a summer Freedom School for teens, modeled on the Meridian Freedom School. He dreamed of opening a free medical–dental community clinic in East Palo Alto. This project, close to his heart, would combine knowledge of medicine and community service. Unfortunately, on May 27, 1966, Luke died from lung cancer, just two weeks after his twenty-seventh birthday and one month after the diagnosis. As a volunteer during Freedom Summer, Luke had grappled with the realities of nonviolence, both as a principle and as a tactic. Little did he know he was creating his own epitaph when one day he scribbled into his diary: “I am fighting a nonviolent battle because I believe that hate begets hate and perhaps that love begets love.”
Vibe
Authors: Miles Corey J.
Published: May 2024

Maps may be able to tell us how to get somewhere, but they don’t easily tell us what somewhere is and how it is situated. After spending time with Black people from the deep South, Corey J. Miles felt lost because they often challenged his southern-ness contending that “North Carolina ain’t the real South.” Miles travels to his hometown, which sits at the upper most tip of the Black belt, to find the South. For four years, he sat, laughed, mourned, and lived in the 2-5-2 area code trying to make sense of where he was.
This academic and intimate journey demonstrates that to know anything about anywhere first you must be able to hear, feel, and vibe with the people who make that place possible. Miles hears and feels the South most honestly in trap music. Vibe reflects on the ways that Black southerner’s trap music is more than a genre but a way of making sense of the world. Through living alongside artists and those who came of age in the trap music era, Miles uses the sound, emotion, and choreography of trap to understand what it means to be southern, rural, and modern. Miles learns that the 2-5-2 is not the South, but one of the multiple Souths where Black people work at making beauty through the pain and violence of the region.
The 2–5–2
Authors: Miles Corey J.
Published: May 2024

This chapter introduces the concept ‘vibe’ as an important tool used by Black southerners to make sense of the world. Vibe is more than intuition, but understood as the social climate produced when ideas, people, and spaces collide. Through conversations with Black trap rappers the introduction demonstrates that emotions have a racialized component. The artists hold feelings that language often fails to approximate, and vibe is used to name and make sense of the often-unsayable dimensions of social experience. This chapter argues that Black southerners can feel the criminalization of Blackness. Southern hip-hop is a mode to hear and feel the South in ways counter this criminalization. To make space for Blackness in the South, the artist’s work to change the vibe of the region.
Introduction
Authors: Williams Hettie V.
Published: May 2024

American intellectual history is directly connected to the lives, thought, and activism of black preaching women, writers, politicians, artists, and journalists. This volume brings together chapters that analyze the place of black women within the broader framework of American intellectual history as public intellectuals. Black women preachers, writers, and political figures collectively had a pervasive influence on the formation of not only the black church but the American intellectual tradition as a whole.
“Did Not Mary First Preach the Risen Savior?”
Authors: Williams Hettie V.
Published: May 2024

Jarena Lee, Zilpha Elaw, and Mary Prince helped to inaugurate the activist tradition that is so fundamental to the historical development of black intellectualism within the larger framework of the American intellectual tradition. These women occupy a distinct place in this history. Lee and Elaw, among others, helped to inaugurate the Holiness tradition in American Christianity, embraced an intersectional approach to black women’s empowerment as abolitionists, advocated temperance, and supported women’s rights. These preaching women advanced an activist approach to knowing, provided the groundwork for American feminist thought, wrote spiritual biographies that predate black women’s slave narratives, and facilitated the development of evangelical Christianity into the first four decades of the nineteenth century.
Relevant Examples of US Civic Beaux-Arts Architecture
Authors: Achurra G. Maria Eugenia
Published: May 2024

Chapter 2 highlights relevant examples of Federal architecture from the Tarsney Act era. Many of these structures became prominent prototypes for State, County, and City buildings in the United States and its possessions during the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuries.
This chapter also describes prominent examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the Caribbean, designed and constructed during the Tarsney Act era. Such buildings embody components of a trademarked, exceptionalist Federal architecture extensively implemented in U.S. possessions from that time.
Message for the People Party
Authors: Kubatanna Kofi
Published: May 2024

This chapter focuses on hip-hop art and culture, which is one of the most powerful mediums utilized to dispel the Western myths of Africa while internationalizing the diasporic experience. It presents an Africological approach totally encapsulated in Afrocentricity as a means to properly identify the importance of a specific utterance of hip-hop. Erudite individuals have analyzed the impact of what some call “unconscious,” “nonconscious,” and “commercial” rap with the hope of locating a coherent message, only to advocate for a bibliophilic redress of poetic prerogative. Gangsta rap is assigned placement in the mentioned categories. In the past, AfroFuturism was primarily regarded as a cultural mode of expression and philosophically as a form of aesthetics. What is less understood is how AfroFuturism is related to the cultural production of hip-hop music, that is, how AfroFuturism is linked to the hip-hop culture that emerged during the decline of urban inner-city cores in the latter half of the twentieth century and its digital transition in the twenty-first century, especially in visual culture. The chapter then considers hip-hop artists such as Nipsey Hussle and the poet Knowledge Reign Supreme Over Nearly Everyone, commonly called KRS-ONE.
To Jazz, or Not to Jazz
Authors: Prouty Ken
Published: May 2024

As jazz was starting to gain traction in American popular culture, numerous individuals sought to take advantage of the music’s growing popularity. The relatively nebulous state of knowledge about this new form presented an opportunity for authors and publishers to capitalize on these developments, In the process, they sought to construct particular ways of understanding the music, often drawing up racialized language and stereotypes. These publications, often in the form of method books, were among the first attempts to make sense of the musical language of jazz on a technical level. This chapter explores how publications directed at nascent jazz trombonists through the mid 1920s reflect these ideas, building an understanding of what jazz was through the fostering of particular musical practices and ideas.
We don’t Know What We Don’t Know
Authors: Prouty Ken
Published: May 2024

The nature of jazz’s canon has long been a topic of fierce debate among critics, musicians, and jazz audiences. Conventional histories have generally relied upon narratives of “great” musicians, with a more or less standard narrative taking hold by the 1950s. This chapter focuses on “lost voices” in jazz history, narratives which have, for various reasons, been overlooked. The first of the two main case studies examines the work of Paul Eduard Miller, a noted writer in the 1930s and 1940s, and his ultimately unsuccessful attempts to create a comprehensive historical book on jazz. Following this, the chapter focuses on relationships between jazz’s major historical figures and the more “ordinary” jazz musician; following the work of Malcolm Gladwell and others, major figures are positioned as “outliers” within jazz communities, artists who are simultaneously thought to stand for entire stylistic movements, but who are by their nature exceptional figures.
Burbanking Bigger and Bette the Bitch
Authors: Binggeli Elizabeth
Published: May 2024

In the chapter, Elizabeth Binggeli analyzes Warner Bros. story department decisions concerning Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940), Ann Petry’s The Street (1946), and white author Ellen Glasgow’s In This Our Life (1941). Discussing the process that led Glasgow’s novel to be produced while the other works were shelved or substantially compromised, the chapter analyzes archival documents that describe the debates about Wright’s characterization of his central character and the risks in making the story palatable to white audiences. Archival records reveal that Warner Bros. found Petry’s central character more appropriate for a studio picture, but that there were debates about ways to create commercial film adaptations, including the studio’s proposal to have white central characters in films based on Wright’s and Petry’s stories. Warner Bros. eventually found a way to feature a villain and explore the narrative dynamic of miscegenation in the adaptation of Glasgow’s In This Our Life.
Einleitung
Authors: Bubmann Peter
Published: May 2024

Die Einleitung nähert sich der Verhältnisbestimmung von Kunst und Religion und fokussiert auf die Räumlichkeit von Religion. Die Beiträge des Bandes werden vorgestellt und der Anlass der Tagung, die mit dem Band dokumentiert wird, vorgestellt.
»Ich vergleiche den Genuß der edleren Kunstwerke dem Gebet«
Authors: Buntfuß Markus
Published: May 2024

Markus Buntfuß untersucht das Konzept der Kunstreligion bei Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder. Das Ziel einer Ästhetisierung der Religion um 1800 war demnach nicht deren Ersetzung durch die Kunst, sondern die Selbständigkeit der Religion. Das Ziel einer Sakralisierung der Kunst war wiederum nicht die Restituierung der vormodernen ars sacra, sondern die Unverfügbarkeit ihres Gelingens. Kunstreligion um 1800 war zudem ein protestantisches Schreibexperiment, mit dessen Hilfe Kunst und Religion von ihren Funktionszuschreibungen seitens der Aufklärung (gesellige Unterhaltung und sittlich-moralische Disziplinierung) befreit werden sollten, um selbstständig zu werden und ihr eigenes Sinnpotential entfalten zu können.
Kunst im Kirchenraum
Authors: Braun Helmut
Published: May 2024

Der Text skizziert einige Überlegungen zum Zusammenhang von Kunst und (Selbst-)Bildung, der Frage nach der Möglichkeit einer Abbildung von Selbstbildung, der Bedeutung und der Unwiederholbarkeit eines ersten Versuchs für die künstlerische Arbeit. Aus der Perspektive eines bildenden Künstlers anhand einiger exemplarischer Werkbeispiele.
Sustaining Containability
Authors: Resnick Elana
Published: May 2024

Environmental sustainability initiatives in Bulgaria generate new forms of racialization. Although institutionally framed as progressive in the name of “green” Europeanization, in practice these initiatives rely on undervalued and unrecognized racialized labor. By attending to the materiality of recycling bins in downtown Sofia and their physical openings—designed to keep hands out—I show how people engage with recycling-based sustainability regimes and the environmental systems in which they are embedded. Bridging analyses of progressivist environmentalism and anthropologies of enclosure, this article introduces the idea of containability to understand the relationship between waste and race. Containability marks a realm of human-waste relations predicated on the aspirational goal of boundedness and the everyday disruptions of it. I examine these relations from the perspectives of waste collectors, recycling executives, Romani neighborhood residents, and international environmental consultants. These insights invite us to rethink the racial and material politics of environmentalism that constitute contemporary urban life. 

РЕЗЮМЕ

Инициативите за екологична устойчивост в България създават нови форми на расово разделение. Тези инициативи, въпреки че са институционално формулирани като прогресивни в името на „зелената“ европеизация, разчитат на подценен и незачитан расово маркиран труд. Обръщайки внимание на веществеността на контейнерите за рециклиране в центъра на София и на техните физически отвори, проектирани да държат ръцете вън от тях, показвам какво е отношението на хората към устойчивите режими за рециклиране, както и към екологичните системи, в които са вградени. Включвайки анализи от прогресивната екология и от антропологията на ограждането, тази статия въвежда идеята за съдържаемост, за да обясни връзката между отпадъците и расата. Съдържаемостта е област, принадлежаща на връзката хора—отпадъци, която е основана на стремежа към ограничаване и на всекидневните ѝ прекъсванияя. Изследвам тази връзка от перспективата на сметосъбирачи, ръководители по рециклирането, жители на Ромски квартали и международни консултанти по екология. Този поглед ни подканва да преосмислим расовата и материалната екологична политика, върху които е изграден съвременният градски живот.