bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the optical and radiation shielding parameters of erbium-doped zinc sodium tungsten borate glass using MCNP5 simulations
Authors: Iliyasu Usman , Sanusi Mohamad Syazwan Mohd , Ahmad Nor Ezzaty
Published: October 2024

This study explores the potential of (20Na2O+25ZnO+10WO3+(60-x)B2O3+xEr2O3 where x = 0.1, 0.5, 0.7, and 1 mol%) glass for optical and radiation shielding applications, fabricated using the melt quenching method. Optical, structural, and radiation shielding properties were analyzed using UV–visible spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, MCNP5, and Phy-X/PSD software. Results show a 9.01% decrease in refractive index from 2.22 to 2.02 and a significant increase in band gap energy from 2.29 eV to 3.12 eV with increasing Er2O3 content. The addition of Er3+ ions convert BO3 units into BO4 units, creating a denser glass network. The linear attenuation coefficient (

LAC

) increased in BTEr1 glass to 0.676 cm−1, compared to 0.607 cm−1 for BTEr0.1 glass, reflecting an approximate rise of 11.5% in

LAC
.

The BTEr1 glass shows enhanced radiation shielding, with a 10.25% reduction in the half-value layer (HVL) from 1.15 cm in BTEr0.1 to 1.03 cm in BTEr1 at 0.284 MeV, and a further reduction of 8.17% from 4.77 cm in BTEr0.1 to 4.42 cm in BTEr1 at 2.506 MeV for 0.1 and 1 mol% Er2O3 level in the BTEr glass. The BTEr glass enhances light transmission in the visible spectrum and increases glass stability with Er2O3 addition , making it suitable for advanced optical applications. Additionally, its improved photon radiation shielding properties make it a promising candidate for radiation protection.
Is the personal political?
Authors: Jenkins Katharine
Published: October 2024

This chapter explores the feminist slogan ‘the personal is political’, which repositions women’s apparently individual difficulties (such as navigating intimate relationships or developing positive self-image) as systematic issues facing women, and hence as political problems rather than personal problems. The chapter showcases feminist philosophical arguments that aim to reveal political significance in topics that are often considered to be merely personal, such as body image and beauty practices. These arguments challenge a distinction between a ‘private sphere’ and a ‘public sphere’. The chapter also considers parallel arguments regarding sexual objectification, sexual preferences, and the interplay between sex, power, and control.
Varieties of authoritarianism
Authors: Loxton James
Published: October 2024

This chapter discusses the major subtypes of authoritarianism, focusing on what it calls The Big Three: military, single-party, and personalist regimes. Military regimes involve some kind of power-sharing among the armed forces, often symbolized by the creation of a junta. Single-party regimes are dominated by a ruling party, which may or may not formally ban opposition parties. Personalist regimes concentrate power in the hands of one man. The chapter concludes by examining the rise of “competitive authoritarianism,” in which multi-party elections are held but the playing field is tilted in favor of the government. It asks whether this represents a new type of authoritarianism, or simply a new set of techniques employed by The Big Three.
The birth of authoritarian regimes
Authors: Loxton James
Published: October 2024

This chapter examines the birth of authoritarian regimes and the related concept of democratic breakdown. It shows that democratic breakdown can occur at the hands of the military (coup) or at the hands of an elected leader (self-coup). It discusses the role of two key actors: the “disloyal” opposition, who oppose democracy on principle, and the “semi-loyal” opposition, who may turn against democracy under certain circumstances. The chapter discusses how polarization and fear often contribute to democratic breakdown, as illustrated by the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s and the 1973 coup that put an end to democracy in Chile.
Structure-preserved integration of scRNA-seq data using heterogeneous graph neural network
Authors: Zhang Xun , Qian Kun , Li Hongwei
Published: October 2024

The integration of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from multiple experimental batches enables more comprehensive characterizations of cell states. Given that existing methods disregard the structural information between cells and genes, we proposed a structure-preserved scRNA-seq data integration approach using heterogeneous graph neural network (scHetG). By establishing a heterogeneous graph that represents the interactions between multiple batches of cells and genes, and combining a heterogeneous graph neural network with contrastive learning, scHetG concurrently obtained cell and gene embeddings with structural information. A comprehensive assessment covering different species, tissues and scales indicated that scHetG is an efficacious method for eliminating batch effects while preserving the structural information of cells and genes, including batch-specific cell types and cell-type specific gene co-expression patterns.
Intra-individual variability in lipoprotein(a) levels: findings from a large academic health system population
Authors: Awad Kamal , Mahmoud Ahmed K , Abbas Mohammed Tiseer , Alsidawi Said , Ayoub Chadi , Arsanjani Reza , Farina Juan M
Published: October 2024

Aims

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels are known to be mainly genetically determined. However, only scarce data are available on the intra-individual variability of Lp(a) levels across time.

Methods and results

We included adult patients (≥18 years old) who had baseline and follow-up Lp(a) measurements (between 1997 and 2024) with a minimum of 1 year apart. Patients were categorized into three groups as follows: normal (<30 mg/dL), borderline (30 to 50 mg/dL), and high Lp(a) (≥50 mg/dL). Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to assess the predictors of the intra-individual changes in Lp(a) ≥ 10 mg/dL. A total of 11 669 individuals (median age: 54 years, 60% males) were included in our analysis, with median time between measurements of 4.5 years [interquartile range (IQR): 2.2, 10.6]. The median Lp(a) was 16 mg/dL (IQR: 7, 52) at baseline, compared with 15 mg/dL (IQR: 7, 52) at follow-up. At follow-up, 96.4% of individuals with normal Lp(a) and 89.9% with high Lp(a) remained in their categories, while 51.2% with borderline Lp(a) changed their category. Of the included population, 24.9% had an intra-individual Lp(a) change ≥ 10 mg/dL. Female sex (P < 0.001), history of ASCVD (P = 0.003), statin therapy (P = 0.003), and elevated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels ≥ 100 mg/dL (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher odds of intra-individual Lp(a) changes ≥ 10 mg/dL.

Conclusion

Lipoprotein(a) levels were generally stable over time; however, patients with borderline levels may require more than one Lp(a) measurement, especially if they are females, have a history of ASCVD, have elevated LDL-C levels, or are on statin therapy.
Growth of soil ammonia-oxidizing archaea on air-exposed solid surface
Authors: Abiola Christiana , Gwak Joo-Han , Lee Ui-Ju , Awala Samuel Imisi , Jung Man-Young , Park Woojun , Rhee Sung-Keun
Published: October 2024

Soil microorganisms often thrive as microcolonies or biofilms within pores of soil aggregates exposed to the soil atmosphere. However, previous studies on the physiology of soil ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs), which play a critical role in the nitrogen cycle, were primarily conducted using freely suspended AOM cells (planktonic cells) in liquid media. In this study, we examined the growth of two representative soil ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), Nitrososphaera viennensis EN76 and “Nitrosotenuis chungbukensis” MY2, and a soil ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC 19718 on polycarbonate membrane filters floated on liquid media to observe their adaptation to air-exposed solid surfaces. Interestingly, ammonia oxidation activities of N. viennensis EN76 and “N. chungbukensis” MY2 were significantly repressed on floating filters compared to the freely suspended cells in liquid media. Conversely, the ammonia oxidation activity of N. europaea ATCC 19718 was comparable on floating filters and liquid media. N. viennensis EN76 and N. europaea ATCC 19718 developed microcolonies on floating filters. Transcriptome analysis of N. viennensis EN76 floating filter-grown cells revealed upregulation of unique sets of genes for cell wall and extracellular polymeric substance biosynthesis, ammonia oxidation (including ammonia monooxygenase subunit C (amoC3) and multicopper oxidases), and defense against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. These genes may play a pivotal role in adapting AOA to air-exposed solid surfaces. Furthermore, the floating filter technique resulted in the enrichment of distinct soil AOA communities dominated by the “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus” clade. Overall, this study sheds light on distinct adaptive mechanisms governing AOA growth on air-exposed solid surfaces.
Of Rare and Obsolete Words
Authors: Bromirskaya Anna , Grishin Nikolay , Häberl Charles G , Loesov Sergey
Published: October 2024

Older residents of the Modern Western Aramaic-speaking village of Maaloula are keenly aware of the progressive impoverishment of their lexicon as the younger generations come to maturity without direct knowledge of traditional ways of life and material culture. In this short Modern Western Aramaic text, two such residents discuss both the localities in which these ways of life unfolded and the words associated with them, which have become rare and even obsolete among contemporary speakers. The text is furnished with interlinear morphosyntactic glosses, a short lexicon of terms that do not appear in the standard dictionary of Modern Western Aramaic (NWAW), a translation into the local vernacular Arabic, and images illustrating the words and the locations that the speakers discuss.
Introduction
Authors: Lüders Hans O. , Noachtar Soheyl , Rémi Jan
Published: October 2024

Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the cornerstones of technical diagnostics in neurology. This EEG-book is an instructional textbook and reference atlas, serving as an instruction guide for the beginner in EEG and a reference atlas for the experienced EEG-reader. It is a highly systematic guide through the process of understanding and interpreting EEG and should be on the tabletop of everyone using EEG in the medical field.

It provides normal and abnormal EEG patterns in a structured classification based on more than 400 figures. All EEG examples shown in the book are available electronically in reformatted EEG montages. This allows the reader of the book a completely new approach to EEG interpretation which follows the routine of EEG reading with digital EEG machines.
Funding Mental Health Care in the United States
Authors: Olmstead Todd A. , Casey Kathleen A. , Weden David , Stuckey Ginny , Evans David
Published: October 2024

This chapter examines the complexity of the US mental health care funding system and its associated harms from the perspectives of individuals experiencing mental illness, mental health care providers, and society. It briefly describes the history and underlying reasons for the current fragmentation in the delivery and financing of behavioral health and primary care. It discusses the financial barriers to initiating, developing, and sustaining behavioral health integration programs in the United States. It also discusses the strengths and limitations of potential solutions to overcoming these financial barriers. Such solutions range from fundamental payment reform (single-payer model) to a wide variety of incremental reforms, including expanding the breadth and depth of covered services, providers, and treatment modalities in existing plans; payer alignment; risk-adjusted global payments; and value-based payments.
Telemedicine Advancements
Authors: Hemani Umair M. , Robinson Mari , Vo Alexander
Published: October 2024

This chapter describes the use of technology to establish a telehealth network to serve the mental health population. Several challenges in creating a lasting and effective program are addressed, such as licensing, privacy, equipment, and consent. It additionally provides information on creating a model and then needed steps to implement a telehealth, integrated model. Proof that an implemented telehealth model works is supported through the Virtual Health Network described as a case to be used throughout the United States. This is further detailed through a specific success case treating behavioral health in partnership with a state hospital system.
Introduction: The Clinician’s Roadmap to Anxiety Disorders
Authors: Espinel Zelde , Crocco Elizabeth
Published: October 2024

The book addresses anxiety disorders, prevalent globally and affecting daily life when overwhelming. Clinicians, often initial points of contact, require expertise to identify and manage these conditions effectively. Understanding anxiety's role as a natural emotion and its escalation is crucial for timely intervention. The text aims to equip healthcare providers with case-specific insights, fostering tailored treatment plans integrating medication, lifestyle adjustments, and psychotherapy. By enhancing clinical knowledge, the book supports clinicians in addressing the pressing question: “What do I do now?” Ultimately, it strives to improve outcomes by facilitating early recognition and comprehensive management of anxiety disorders in diverse clinical settings.
I Can’t Help but Worry About My Bills and Finances
Authors: Oldak Sean E. , Alkharboush Feras , Crocco Elizabeth
Published: October 2024

This chapter focuses on the case of Mr. B, a 72-year-old male who presents with anxiety-related concerns, primarily revolving around financial matters. His anxiety has led to compulsive behaviors, including triple-checking accounting and saving receipts. While Mr. B attributes some of his symptoms to loneliness, there are emerging cognitive issues, including memory lapses and repetition of stories. Recognizing anxiety and its relationship to cognitive decline is crucial in assessing Mr. B’s condition. Given his age and symptoms, the possibility of a neurocognitive disorder should be considered. The chapter emphasizes the importance of comprehensive evaluation, including interviews with caregivers, cognitive and functional assessments, and medical workup. Late-onset anxiety is commonly associated with neurocognitive disorders in older adults. Anxiety can worsen cognitive decline and functional impairment, and the two often coexist. The treatment of anxiety in neurocognitive disorders involves a combination of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions, tailored to the patient’s specific context.
Writing a Compelling Introduction
Authors: Fontanarosa Phil B. , Greenland Philip
Published: October 2024

In scientific articles, an effective and concise Introduction section serves important purposes by providing a prelude to what will follow and setting the tone for the article. This chapter provides guidance on writing an effective Introduction for a scientific manuscript and recommends including specific information regarding the background, importance, and objective of the study. The background should include specific information about the problem the study will address and should avoid including well-known, general information about the topic. The importance of the study should be established by explaining the need for the study, identifying research gaps, and including selected key, current references. The objective should represent the focused question the study is designed to answer and generally should not include study results or the answer to the research question.
Writing a Convincing Discussion Section
Authors: Zylke Jody W.
Published: October 2024

The Discussion section of a manuscript provides the interpretation of the study and places the study results in context. As recommended in this chapter, the Discussion section should include a description of the key findings and conclusion; a section on the most likely explanation for the results and alternative explanations (while avoiding speculation); a section that compares and contrasts the results of the study with findings from related studies in the literature; and an objective description of the strengths and limitations of the study. Relevant clinical, economic, and policy implications and future research directions may be mentioned, and a concluding paragraph should provide a “take-home” statement of the main study conclusion. The chapter also advises that in the Discussion section, authors should avoid introducing new results, raising unrelated issues, or expressing unsupported opinions as these can detract from clear, objective, and circumspect interpretation of the findings.
Effective Use of Figures and Graphs in Scientific Publications
Authors: Disis Mary (Nora) L. , Cecil Denise L.
Published: October 2024

Visual representation of data is a key feature of any scientific manuscript. This chapter emphasizes that a well-designed figure or suite of figures can significantly enhance understanding of the data presented in a scientific manuscript and indicates that the use of higher density figures composed of several panels has increased. The effective use of figures and statistical graphs also is discussed, including how to choose the appropriate type of figure or graphic to include and how to enhance interpretation of figures and graphics (such as with the use of color). Three visual examples are included to demonstrate correlation, the reduction of complex studies into a schema, and the organization of data from a clinical trial into a graph.
Letters to the Editor
Authors: Golub Robert M.
Published: October 2024

Letters to the Editor provide a forum for the scientific interaction between the authors of a published article and readers. As this chapter explains, formal letters published in the correspondence section of the journal are useful to promote scholarly and informative interchanges and are generally indexed in MEDLINE and other bibliographic databases. Many journals encourage these exchanges by providing online commenting options for some of or all their articles. This chapter also provides 10 do’s and 5 don’ts for writing an effective letter. It underscores that Letters should be written in a professional scholarly style, with assertions supported with references, and suggests that the principles that apply to writing a good Letter also apply to writing an informed and useful online comment.
Peer Review in Scholarly Publication
Authors: Flanagin Annette
Published: October 2024

Peer review is the process used by scholarly journals to evaluate the quality of submitted manuscripts and is generally regarded as an essential step prior to biomedical publication. This chapter addresses the purposes and roles of journal peer review and includes a brief history of peer review and a discussion of its limitations and weaknesses. The types of peer review that can be conducted—double-anonymous, single-anonymous, and open—are discussed. A table provides an overview of the models of peer review from traditional and conservative to newer and liberal models and includes types of peer review, modes of reviewer assignment, acceptance criteria, transparency, and cascading and reuse of peer reviews. As the chapter emphasizes, authors should recognize that, even though peer review is used to assess and improve the quality of manuscripts submitted to journals, peer reviewers are advisors, and editors make the final decisions about manuscripts at most journals.
Group Authorship and Team Science
Authors: Fontanarosa Phil B. , Bauchner Howard , Flanagin Annette
Published: October 2024

Collaborative research involving multiple investigators and research groups has been referred to as group science, ensemble science, or more commonly, team science. As this chapter explains, how authors and nonauthor collaborators are identified in publications to ensure appropriate credit and recognition of team science can be challenging and is important to the scientific community and individual investigators. This chapter emphasizes that authors of team science research reports involving multiple investigators and research consortia must adhere to the principles and standards of authorship to ensure accountability and responsibility for the work being reported. Guidance with several options is provided for designating authorship in reports based on team science, including whether the author byline of the report includes the names of individual authors, the names of research groups, or the names of both.
A Failed Messiah and a New Beginning
Authors: deSilva David A.
Published: October 2024

This chapter covers the aftermath of the First Revolt: the formal restructuring of Judea as a Roman province; Flavian propaganda concerning the taking of Judea; Judean voices attempting to make sense of the devastation and reinforce the ongoing value of the Jewish way of life; and economic recovery. It then moves on to developments under Hadrian, the Second Revolt led by Simeon Bar Kochba, and the refounding of Jerusalem as a fully Roman city—Aelia Capitolina, a proper colony for the families and retainers attached to the Tenth Legion “Fretensis” stationed there. As literary sources are scarce for this period, archaeological evidence and nonliterary papyri are particularly important. The chapter concludes with a brief examination of the trajectory set by the incipient rabbinic movement and, especially, the achievements of Judah ha-Nasi.
The Beatles
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

The peak of the Bulge Generation turned 16 in 1963. Many left school to find jobs, while others enrolled in art schools, polytechnics, and universities. They also began to realize their power. Outnumbering adults in clubs, dance halls, and theaters, they felt able to express themselves through clothing and a host of magazines dedicated to their interests. The Beatles arrived at precisely this point in British history, taking ideas from American pop to create a new British pop and defying adult conventions. Television brought them into homes, tours took them around the UK, and their management arranged interviews with every possible new outlet. Their image and sound captured the moment and built an ecstatic fan base that the press described as Beatlemania. In their music, the critic William Mann heard an “imaginative and inventive . . . indigenous” English musical style.
Sixties British Pop, Outside In
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

Itchycoo Park, 1964–1970—the second volume of Sixties British Pop, Outside In—explores how London songwriters, musicians, and production crews navigated the era’s cultural upheavals by reimagining the pop-music envelope. British songwriters, musicians, and production crews explored form, sound, and subject matter as Western society grappled with racism, sexism, war, revolution, and migration in a postcolonial world. As these creators and curators of popular culture combined interests in jazz, folk, blues, Indian ragas, and Western classical music, they created sophisticated hybrid forms that redefined pop music. Based on extensive research and drawing on vintage and original interviews, Itchycoo Park, 1964–1970 contextualizes the world of the Beatles through King Crimson in the frameworks of the postwar surge in births that created the Bulge Generation in the UK (and the Baby Boomers in America), emergent technologies, English behavior, and the places and spaces in which people created and consumed pop music.”
Beatles ’67
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

In the second half of the sixties, Beatlemania subsided, the Beatles' contract with EMI expired, and the group ceased touring to focus on recording. A condition of their new EMI contract meant releasing a single, a decision their producer, George Martin, described as his biggest mistake. When that disc failed to top British charts for the first time in several years, they turned to Paul McCartney’s idea of a fictitious band: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The resulting album proved to be the summer of 1967’s soundtrack, with praise from both the alternative and conservative presses. Their performance on the Our World program combined prerecorded and live elements, and when the disc was released it brought them back to the top of international charts, just as tragedy was to strike their enterprise. As they worked on their next project, manager Brian Epstein died of a drug overdose.
The Establishment Strikes Back
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

During the so-called Summer of Love, when the leading edge of the Bulge Generation was turning 21, adult culture pushed back against the change that youth culture was demanding. In pop music, the BBC censored recordings it felt promoted drug use and/or sexual promiscuity, and the police strip-searched club patrons and arrested pop stars. In the chaos of that summer, the Rolling Stones terminated their relationship with manager Andrew Oldham and replaced him with American Allen Klein to self-produce an album celebrating psychedelia. This atmosphere of intimidation included Parliament passing a law that abolished the pirate radio stations. In response, the Who celebrated the programs that had played their discs with an album created to sound like a Radio London broadcast. With the BBC firmly in control of radio broadcasting, the Who’s East London Mod counterparts, the Small Faces, abandoned R&B for thinly disguised psychedelic tableaux.
Classic Progressives
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

As the Bulge Generation gained cultural power, musicians added sophistication to the art that some called progressive pop. Some turned to ideas from non-Western music, with Indian classical music emerging as a favored inspiration. The songs of George Harrison, the most successful and influential British musician incorporating these ideas, involved the use of the sitar with the tabla, tambura, and other instruments while adapting Indian musical forms for the contexts of pop recordings. Musicians such as Keith Emerson reinterpreted Western classical and jazz compositions, while Procol Harum’s Keith Reid and Gary Brooker with Matthew Fisher combined ideas” from Johann Sebastian Bach, the Band, and Jimmy Smith with lyrics reminiscent of T. S. Eliot. The Moody Blues took this approach down a light classical path when keyboardist Mike Pinder bought a Mellotron. The result was a series of successful albums that embedded pop songs in orchestral settings.
Something Old, Something New
Authors: Thompson Gordon Ross
Published: October 2024

During a visit to a Brazilian ranch, Jagger and Richards drew on country blues to rediscover themselves and the Rolling Stones as a performing band. Evicting Brian Jones, they recruited guitarist Mick Taylor to replace him and toured America, establishing a reputation as the premier purveyors of rock despite the tragedy at Altamont Speedway in California. Against the backdrop of 1968’s riots, protests, and invasions, the Beatles produced an expansive album, denounced violent revolution, and attempted to calm troubled souls. The next winter, they embarked on a project devised by Paul McCartney that filmed them writing, rehearsing, and recording songs they thought they would perform in a spectacular concert. In the end, they documented the beginnings of their dissolution. Their final album saw them back in the EMI Recording Studios in St. John’s Wood before lawyers and lawsuits rended what music had united.
Snowmobiles in Yellowstone
Authors: Nelson Thomas E.
Published: October 2024

This chapter examines the history of the “winter use” debate—that is, the controversy over how much snowmobiling should be permitted in Yellowstone National Park. Similarities and differences between the winter use debate and the intelligent design (ID) debate are described. The chapter traces the winter use debate back to the founding of the national parks system and the mandate that the parks must uphold the oft-conflicting values of preservation and recreation. It shows how the modern debate touches on both values, along with freedom, democracy, fairness, and others. Like ID opponents, opponents of snowmobiling were put on the defensive by their adversaries’ recruitment of popular values. The chapter describes the author’s winter visit to Yellowstone, during which he observed firsthand how the national park mandate produces difficult choices among treasured values.
Yellowstone Interviews
Authors: Nelson Thomas E.
Published: October 2024

This chapter describes in detail 17 interviews that were conducted with individuals involved in one way or another with the controversy over snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park. Both activists and policymakers were interviewed, including former Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Mike Finley, who engineered the ban on snowmobiles. The interviews show that, as with the intelligent design (ID) debate, both sides of the winter use issue competed over many of the same values, including preservation and recreation. Snowmobile promoters naturally seized upon the recreation mandate, but they also laid claim to being just as environmentally sensitive as their opponents. Those who wished to ban or curtail snowmobiling often availed themselves of the institutional role assignment tactic—arguing that snowmobiling is all well and good but is not appropriate inside a national park.
A Cold War Conjuncture
Authors: Amar Tarik Cyril
Published: October 2024

Chapter 7 discusses similarities and differences between Stakes Greater than Life, Seventeen Moments of Spring, and The Invisible Visor. It also compares the spy hero popular culture of the Cold War East with that of the West. The chapter explores the relationship between the memory of World War II and the Cold War. It also details the diversity of the Cold War East and shows that images of the Cold War Other depended on the trajectories of national history. Also discussed are the historically unprecedented global rise of the spy to the status of popular culture hero; the development of public relations by secret police and intelligence agencies; and the emergence of traditional—predigital and pre-internet—television as the most dynamic and single most important mass media of the Cold War period.
How Catholics Encounter the Bible
Authors: Peppard Michael
Published: October 2024

This book describes and analyzes the multifaceted relationship between Catholics and the Bible. It explores the paradoxical role of the Bible for Catholics—a book central to their tradition, but not usually in the form of a book. The opening chapters explore the role of the Bible in the Mass, highlighting the centrality of Gospel narratives and the often predictive interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures. Special attention is paid to the depiction of biblical women and the representation of Jews and Judaism in liturgical readings. Subsequent chapters examine the Bible’s presence in rituals of the Catholic life cycle, devotional practices, and cultural expressions. A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the visual arts, tracing the development of Catholic biblical art from the late Roman Empire through the Middle Ages, including everything from sarcophagi to stained glass to liturgical drama. The Bible also infuses the Catholic imagination in literature and popular media, and thus the book examines representative figures from poetry, fiction, music, and film. The book concludes with analysis of direct textual engagement of Catholics with the Bible in devotional reading and scholarship, considering its impact on doctrine and ethics. From beginning to end, the argument is framed by the Annunciation and the Pietà, symbolizing the central roles of Jesus and Mary in Catholic biblical engagement. This guided tour shows the dynamic ways in which Catholics encounter, interpret, and embody the Bible throughout their lives.
The Bible in Catholic Worship
Authors: Peppard Michael
Published: October 2024

This chapter describes and analyzes how the Bible is mediated by the Catholic Mass, especially the Sunday Mass. It explains the history of using scripture in Christian worship and analyzes the current lectionary of readings, showing how the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection undergird the Catholic liturgical design. The chapter highlights the reforms to the lectionary undertaken during Vatican II and analyzes the principles behind those reforms. Even with a larger set of readings for Mass, the Hebrew scriptures of the Christian Old Testament are often still interpreted only as predictions of later revelations. The Psalms, however, are sometimes allowed to speak for themselves in Catholic biblical proclamation. The chapter concludes by critiquing patterns of omission in the lectionary, especially its treatment of biblical women.
Bible Study and Scholarship
Authors: Peppard Michael
Published: October 2024

This final chapter covers what some readers of this book might have assumed the entire book is about. When Catholics do actually sit down to read the text of the Bible, how do they proceed and how do they interpret? Contexts of prayer still remain important, whether for Latin American “base communities” that study the Bible together or an individual listening to a chart-topping Catholic podcast about the Bible. Catholics have sometimes sought guidance from Bible reading to think through doctrinal controversies or illuminate ethical gray areas. As for scholarly approaches to the Bible, Catholics had long been transmitters and translators of biblical manuscripts but had been slow to adopt modern critical readings. The late twentieth century finally saw significant growth in this area, following papal approval of the modern discipline of “biblical studies.”
The Middle English Losenger
Authors: Bowers John M. , Steffensen Peter
Published: October 2024

During the 1940s while working on The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien became increasingly fascinated with the Chaucerian word losenger, meaning a “lazy fraud”, probably in some measure as self-accusation for wasting his time on fantasy writings rather than philological studies. He made this word the subject of his 1947 lecture to the Oxford Dante Society, and he drafted a letter to the Times on the word faynights with related senses of “shirking” and “excuse-making”. Inspired by Chaucer’s use of the word losenger in Legend of Good Women, Tolkien made it the subject of a conference paper delivered in Liège in 1951. The 1953 publication of this lecture “Middle English Losenger” strenuously demonstrated the sort of philological skills which he had shirked for years while working on The Lord of the Rings.
Valedictory to Chaucer, 1959
Authors: Bowers John M. , Steffensen Peter
Published: October 2024

Tolkien used the occasion of his retirement lecture to continue his career-long advocacy of language over literary studies, and he steadily emphasized Chaucer as an author who benefited most from careful philological studies. He addressed a packed audience in Merton College’s hall on 5 June 1959. We extract relevant Chaucerian passages from the version published in the 1979 memorial volume J. R. R. Tolkien: Scholar and Storyteller. In his 1983 collection Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, Christopher Tolkien published a text incorporating further emendations, but could not say whether these were made before or after the actual lecture. Drafting for the lecture survives in the Bodleian Library.
Neurocognitive, Neuropsychiatric, and Neurological Aspects of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19)
Authors: Chakraborty Stuti
Published: October 2024

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also referred to as the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), belongs to the Sarbecovirus subgenus of the genus Betacoronavirus. In December 2019, unbiased sequencing in samples obtained from a cluster of patients symptomatic for pneumonia of unknown cause led to the discovery of Covid-19. The virus was highly transmittable and rapidly spreading, which led to the declaration of a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The symptoms of infection with Covid-19 replicated those seen in viral pneumonia and included cough, fever, and chest congestion and discomfort. More than two-thirds of patients hospitalized with the disease suffered from damage to the central nervous system in addition to respiratory symptoms. Along with neurological manifestations, evidence of psychiatric and cognitive involvement was also recorded in Covid-19 infection. Commonly reported psychiatric and neuropsychiatric presentations included depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, delirium, altered consciousness, and dysexecutive syndrome. Cognitive decline because of Covid-19 infection was observed in functioning related to memory, executive functioning, and verbal fluency. This chapter discusses the multifold acute as well as persistent neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and neurological manifestations of Covid-19.
Neuropsychological and Neuropsychiatric Functioning in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease
Authors: Touradji Pegah
Published: October 2024

Lyme disease is a prevalent tick-borne infectious disease across temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Chronic, persistent symptoms primarily characterized by fatigue, pain, and/or cognitive difficulties occur in a subgroup of individuals with Lyme disease even after receiving timely and appropriate treatment. Only a subgroup of individuals with post-treatment Lyme disease show mild cognitive deficits in verbal memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed on objective neuropsychological testing. Similarly, only a subgroup of post-treatment Lyme patients present with mild depressive symptoms and it is unclear if mood issues have a neuropsychiatric etiology. Though there are no clear biomarkers associated with chronic post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms, neuroradiological studies show cortical and subcortical white matter vulnerabilities with microglial activation suggestive of circulating inflammatory markers.
Associations Between Toxocara and Neurocognitive Function
Authors: Holland Celia V.
Published: October 2024

Human toxocariasis remains a neglected disease despite a recent estimate that 19 percent of the world’s population is exposed to infection. Reasons for this neglect include diagnostic difficulties and a disease picture that remains, in many cases, cryptic. However, as improvements in diagnostic certainty increase and the knowledge of the disease entities associated with toxocariasis continue to accumulate, the public health significance of this enigmatic zoonosis becomes more apparent. Undoubtedly, of the four clinical syndromes associated with human toxocariasis, cerebral toxocariasis remains the most poorly understood despite the potentially devastating effects of brain involvement, with a relatively large etiological agent. However, recent large-scale human studies have provided important evidence for an association between Toxocara seropositivity and cognitive deficits in both children and adults. Presently, evidence is lacking for the impact of infection on human behavior but animal models, particularly mice, provide ample evidence for a range of behavioral changes in infected animals. Recent advances in the understanding of the cerebral immune response in infected mice, including biomarkers of brain injury, further underline the potential significance of cerebral toxocariasis in humans. Of importance, the link between the observed behavioral changes in mice and evidence of pathological and immunological changes has not yet been firmly established. To conclude, progress in the ability to understand the impact of cerebral toxocariasis has been made but it is also clear that significant gaps in knowledge remain. Parallel observations in both humans and animal models are required to provide important lines of enquiry to pursue. Perhaps the most fundamental of these relate to the link between Toxocara infection and neurodegenerative disease.
Dementia Risk Associated with Infectious Disease
Authors: Farrer Thomas J.
Published: October 2024

Dementia risk factors are important to recognize with the growing population of older adults. Due to immunosenescence and common comorbidities, older adults are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases, and the scientific literature demonstrates a strong association between infectious diseases and dementia risk. Many such infections are potentially preventable through vaccinations, and studies show that antiviral agents reduce dementia risk. As such, public health measures related to infectious diseases may also lower dementia incidence. This chapter discusses a broad range of central nervous system and other infections, the risk of dementia among individuals with infectious diseases, and common mechanisms of action.
Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Dunn Nicky , Fogdell-Hahn Anna
Published: October 2024

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. While the exact etiology of MS remains unknown, it appears to be triggered by environmental factors in genetically susceptible people. From an environmental perspective, viral infections, in particular, herpesviruses, are among the most plausible agents triggering MS. Interestingly, several current treatments for MS either directly or indirectly target viral infections. This chapter explores similarities and differences of MS with other central nervous system diseases triggered by viral infections and provides examples of animal models that have assisted in elucidating the mechanisms underpinning the disease. It then explores the association between MS and herpesviruses in further detail and introduces an alternative mechanistic hypothesis to molecular mimicry, the incorporation hypothesis, for how viruses could trigger MS as well as other diseases.
The Possible Infectious Origins of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia and Other Infectious Diseases Causing Cognitive Consequences
Authors: Friedman Kenneth J. , Ruhoy Ilene S. , Fennell Patricia A. , George Shane
Published: October 2024

Research findings from multiple countries and spanning decades support the hypothesis that one or more specific infections may precede myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) and that ME/CFS and FM can be associated with cognitive dysfunction. This chapter discusses the most frequent viral precedents of ME/CFS and the evidence for some bacterial infections preceding ME/CFS and FM including discussing the strongest candidates for FM and commenting on the risk of FM in those with human immunodeficiency virus. Patients with conditions such as osteomyelitis, periodontitis, and rhinosinusitis are also more likely to develop FM. Reports of cognitive dysfunction after the onset of ME/CFS and FM come from multiple countries and have been reported for decades. However, the lack of consistency in the characterizations of the cognitive impairments associated with ME/CFS and FM and the lack of standardization of cognitive assessment instruments prevent a determination as to whether ME/CFS and FM can be differentiated from each other based on cognitive performance. Finally, cognitive dysfunction in long Covid appears to be similar to that of ME/CFS and FM. Other less-studied infectious diseases, including Chikungunya virus and dengue virus, also may be associated with cognitive dysfunction and may be of greater importance than previously appreciated.
Conclusion
Authors: Hedges Dawson W. , Gale Shawn D.
Published: October 2024

There is a substantial global burden of cognitive dysfunction, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia, and neuropsychiatric disease. Unfortunately, for many people with mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and neuropsychiatric conditions, there is no currently available effective treatment, making the identification of potentially modifiable risk factors important. Some types of infectious diseases including certain bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections have been associated with cognitive dysfunction, dementia, and neuropsychiatric conditions. The association between infectious diseases and cognitive function, dementia, and neuropsychiatric conditions is likely complex, likely involving different types of mechanisms but also potentially offering new insights into the etiologies of diseases affecting the brain. Moreover, infectious diseases potentially affecting brain function appear to disproportionately affect people including children in low-income and middle-income regions. Overall, however, more research is needed to better characterize associations between infectious diseases and brain function and the strength and validity of these associations. As the authors of the chapters in this book have indicated, a large but still developing body of research has implicated viral, bacterial, and parasitic diseases in the pathogenesis of cognitive deficits, neurodegenerative diseases, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Despite the need for additional evidence, infectious diseases are potentially modifiable risk factors for neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Introduction
Authors: Gill Ann-Katrin , Smith Mark
Published: October 2024

The Introduction gives an overview of the Glorification Recited on Each Due Occasion of the Embalming Place and sets it in its wider historical, religious, and sociological context. It provides full descriptions of all known textual witnesses, including information about their materiality, date, provenance, and original owners, with comprehensive bibliographies for each version. It is divided into individual sections devoted to the title of the work, previous work done on it by other scholars, the main textual witnesses preserved on papyrus, the scribes who wrote them and their relationships with one another, objects inscribed with individual spells from the collection, the number of spells, sources and parallels for these, the sequence of spells, the ritual context in which they were employed, the diffusion of the text, its grammar and style, and the conventions employed in our edition.
Life and Death at the Convent of Chelles
Authors: Moreira Isabel
Published: October 2024

In the wake of Ebroin’s coup, Balthild was sent to live the remainder of her life at the convent of Chelles. This chapter considers what life would have been like for a queen who entered a convent. It examines the other royal models for this life-change and asks whether Balthild lived as a nun in the convent and discusses the demands of monastic rules used at the convent. The chapter discusses events taking place outside the convent walls including the murder of her son, Chilperic, her daughter-in-law, and her unborn grandchild. It examines Balthild’s acquisition of relics for her convent and examines her final year of life, her sickness and diet, and her death. It explains how she was buried and how her body was exhumed, examined, and reburied, and how her relics, including clothing, came to be held and distributed by the convent. The chapter concludes with a discussion of her nascent cult as a saint and how the Carolingians reinvested in her cult and the convent.
Mother, Mutilator—and Murderer?
Authors: Moreira Isabel
Published: October 2024

This chapter delves into the medieval legends that surrounded Balthild. From her characterization as a Jezebel in the Life of Wilfrid, to the legend of the hamstrung princes, and the romances of the late medieval period, Balthild emerged in these stories variously as a saint, a mutilator, and a murderer of bishops. The chapter analyses Eligius of Noyon’s prophecy about the birth of her son and Balthild’s actions at Eligius’ funeral as described by Audoin of Rouen. The chapter describes how the legend of “Les énervés de Jumièges” inspired a famous painting by Évariste-Vital Luminais exhibited in the Paris salon in 1880, thus contributing further to the bizarre reputation of Balthild in the late nineteenth century.