bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Displacement between anterior chamber width obtained by swept-source anterior segment optical coherence tomography and white-to-white distance
Authors: Taechameekietichai Teerajet , Nguyen Anwell , Chansangpetch Sunee , Lin Shan C.
Published: May 2021

Purpose

To determine the relationship between the external limbal location, represented by white-to-white (WTW) distance, and the actual angle location, represented by spur-to-spur (STS) and angle-to-angle (ATA) distances.

Methods

166 eyes from 166 participants were imaged using CASIA2 anterior chamber optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and LenStar LS 900 optical biometer. The horizontal ATA and STS were measured using the swept-source Fourier-domain AS-OCT (CASIA2). The horizontal WTW was automatically measured using LenStar. The displacement lengths (DL) between WTW-STS and WTW-ATA were calculated. Bland-Altman plots and intraclass correlation were performed.

Results

The study showed that WTW has a positive correlation with STS (ICC = 0.82, p<0.001) and ATA (ICC = 0.82, p<0.001). The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that the mean difference of WTW-STS is 0.10 mm (95% CI 0.06 to 0.14 mm) with limits of agreement of -0.42 to 0.63 mm between WTW and STS, and the mean difference of WTW-ATA is 0.10 mm (95% CI 0.06 to 0.15 mm) with limits of agreement of -0.48 to 0.64 mm between WTW and ATA. Linear regression with adjustment showed that a WTW value greater than 12.07 mm is associated with a greater DL (WTW-STS DL ß 0.18, p = 0.003; WTW-ATA DL ß 0.14, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Greater WTW was significantly associated with higher displacement of WTW from the two distances representing anterior chamber width. External limbal location may not accurately represent the actual angle location in eyes with larger WTW.
Establishment and validation of a predictive model for mortality within 30 days in patients with sepsis-induced blood pressure drop: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Wang Bin , Chen Jianping
Published: May 2021

Objectives

To establish and validate an individualized nomogram to predict the probability of death within 30 days in patients with sepsis-induced blood pressure drop would help clinical physicians to pay attention to those with higher risk of death after admission to wards.

Methods

A total of 1023 patients who were admitted to the Dongyang People’s Hospital, China, enrolled in this study. They were divided into model group (717 patients) and validation group (306 patients). The study included 13 variables. The independent risk factors leading to death within 30 days were screened by univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses and used for Nomogram. The discrimination and correction of the prediction model were assessed by the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve and the calibration chart. The clinical effectiveness of the prediction model was assessed by the Decision Curve Analysis (DCA).

Results

Seven variables were independent risk factors, included peritonitis, respiratory failure, cardiac insufficiency, consciousness disturbance, tumor history, albumin level, and creatinine level at the time of admission. The area under the ROC curve of the model group and validation group was 0.834 and 0.836. The P value of the two sets of calibration charts was 0.702 and 0.866. The DCA curves of the model group and validation group were above the two extreme (insignificant) curves.

Conclusions

The model described in this study could effectively predict the death of patients with sepsis-induced blood pressure drop.
Exploring providers’ perceived barriers to utilization of antenatal and delivery services in urban and rural communities of Ebonyi state, Nigeria: A qualitative study
Authors: Eke Pearl Chizobam , Ossai Edmund Ndudi , Eze Irene Ifeyinwa , Ogbonnaya Lawrence Ulu
Published: May 2021

Objective

To determine providers’ perceived barriers to utilization of antenatal and delivery services in urban and rural communities of Ebonyi state, Nigeria.

Methods

A descriptive exploratory study design was used. Qualitative data was collected through the use of a pre-tested interview guide. Twelve providers participated in the study in urban and rural communities of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. They included nine officers in charge of primary health centers, two Chief Nursing Officers of a tertiary health institution and mission hospital and one Medical Officer-in-charge of a General hospital. QDA Miner Lite v2.0.6 was used in the analysis of the data.

Results

Most providers in urban and rural communities attributed good utilization of maternal health services to delivery of quality care. Most providers in urban linked poor utilization to poor health seeking behavior of women. In rural, poor utilization was credited to poor attitude of health workers. Few of participants (urban and rural) pointed out the neglect of primary health centers resulting in poor utilization. Most participants (urban and rural) considered ignorance as the main barrier to using health facilities for antenatal and delivery services. Another constraint identified was cost of services. Most participants attested that good provider attitude and public enlightenment will improve utilization of health facilities for antenatal and delivery care. All participants agreed on the need to involve men in matters related to maternal healthcare.

Conclusions

Participants were aware of values of good provider attitude and this is commendable. This combined with the finding of poor attitude of health workers necessitates that health workers should be trained on quality of care. There is need for public enlightenment on need to utilize health facilities for antenatal and delivery services. Community ownership of primary health centers especially in rural communities will enhance utilization of such facilities for maternal healthcare services and should be encouraged. Involvement of men in matters related to maternal healthcare may have a positive influence in improving maternal health in Nigeria.
Impact of paravertebral blocks on analgesic and non-analgesic outcomes after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: A propensity matched cohort study
Authors: Ranganath Yatish S. , Ramanujam Vendhan , Onodera Yoshiko , Keech John , Arshava Evgeny , Parekh Kalpaj R. , Sondekoppam Rakesh V.
Published: May 2021

Background

Regional analgesic techniques such as paravertebral blocks (PVBs) have been popularized for analgesia following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). In this single center retrospective propensity matched cohort of subjects, we investigate the impact of paravertebral blocks on the analgesic and non-analgesic outcomes.

Methods

Institutional database was queried to identify all patients undergoing VATS between January 2013 and July 2019 and these patients were divided into those who received paravertebral blocks in combination with general anesthesia (GA) [PVB group] and those who received GA without paravertebral blocks [GA group]. Propensity score matching based on common patient confounders were used to identify patients in each group. Primary outcomes of the study were average pain scores and opioid consumption in the first 24 hours. Secondary analgesic outcomes included pain scores and opioid requirements at other timepoints over the first 48 hours. Non analgesic outcomes were obtained from STS General Thoracic Surgery Database and included length of hospital stay, need for ICU admission, composite outcome of any complication during the hospital course and 30-day mortality. Exploratory analyses were conducted to investigate the impact of PVB on analgesia following different types of surgery and as to whether any other covariates had a greater influence on the included patient centered outcomes.

Main results

After propensity score matching, a total of 520 patients (260 per group) were selected for the study out of 1095 patients. The opioid consumption in terms of oral morphine milligram equivalent (MME) [Median (IQR)] for the first 24 hours was significantly lower with the use of PVB [PVB group– 78.5 (96.75); GA group—127.0 (111.5); p<0.001] while the average pain scores in the first 24 hours did not differ significantly [PVB group—4.71 (2.28); GA group—4.85 (2.30); p = 0.70]. The length of hospital stay, opioid requirements at other timepoints, need for ICU admission in the immediate post-operative period and the composite outcome–‘any complication’ (35% vs 48%) were significantly lower with the use of PVB. Subgroup analysis showed a longer duration of benefit following major lung surgeries compared to others.

Conclusion

Paravertebral blocks reduced the length of stay and opioid consumption up to 48 hours after VATS without significantly impacting pain scores.
Prevalence of common mental disorders and associated factors among adults with Glaucoma attending University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital tertiary eye care and training center, Northwest, Ethiopia 2020
Authors: Tilahun Mikias Mered , Yibekal Betelhem Temesgen , Kerebih Habtamu , Ayele Fisseha Ademassu
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of common mental disorders and associated factors among adults with glaucoma at Gondar university comprehensive specialized hospital tertiary eye care and training center. Glaucoma predisposes patients to common mental problems and leads to wasteful, costly and inefficient use of medical services and complications of the diagnoses. So, determining the level and factors associated with common mental disorders among glaucoma patient would help to improve and integrate comprehensive ophthalmic services which address common mental disorder in a follow-up visit.

Methods

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 495 glaucoma patients selected by using systematic random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interview and chart review. Self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to assess the presence of common mental disorders. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with common mental disorders. Variables with P<0.05 were considered as factors significantly associated with common mental disorders.

Result

Four hundred sixty-eight patients were included in this study with a response rate of 94.54%. The mean age of the participant was 58 ± 14.11 years. The prevalence of common mental disorders was found to be 29.5% (95% CI 25.4–33.3). Female sex (AOR = 3.79, 95% CI: 1.66–8.62) (p-value = 0.001), average monthly income of less than 1200 birr (AOR = 6.05 95% CI: 2.26–16.22) (p-value = 0.001), poor level of social support (AOR = 17.39 95% CI: 7.79–38.82) (p-value = 0.001), moderate and high risk of alcohol use (AOR = 10.42 95%CI: 2.74–39.54) (p-value = 0.001), presence of chronic medical illness (AOR = 3.85 95% CI: 2.07–7.16) (p-value = 0.001), receiving both drug and surgical treatment (AOR = 2.50, 95%CI: 1.30–4.83) (p-value = 0.006) and presence of systemic carbonic anhydrase inhibitors use (AOR = 3.16, 95%CI: 1.65–6.06) (p-value = 0.001) were significantly associated with increased level of common mental disorders.

Conclusion

Significant numbers of glaucoma patients have CMD and found significantly associated with socio-economic, ocular and systemic clinical factors. Therefore, the integration of psychosocial care into the current treatment of patients with glaucoma would have a significant advantage to help these patients.
Anopheles coluzzii stearoyl-CoA desaturase is essential for adult female survival and reproduction upon blood feeding
Authors: Ferdous Zannatul , Fuchs Silke , Behrends Volker , Trasanidis Nikolaos , Waterhouse Robert M. , Vlachou Dina , Christophides George K.
Published: May 2021

Vitellogenesis and oocyte maturation require anautogenous female Anopheles mosquitoes to obtain a bloodmeal from a vertebrate host. The bloodmeal is rich in proteins that are readily broken down into amino acids in the midgut lumen and absorbed by the midgut epithelial cells where they are converted into lipids and then transported to other tissues including ovaries. The stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) plays a pivotal role in this process by converting saturated (SFAs) to unsaturated (UFAs) fatty acids; the latter being essential for maintaining cell membrane fluidity amongst other housekeeping functions. Here, we report the functional and phenotypic characterization of SCD1 in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles coluzzii. We show that RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of SCD1 and administration of sterculic acid (SA), a small molecule inhibitor of SCD1, significantly impact on the survival and reproduction of female mosquitoes following blood feeding. Microscopic observations reveal that the mosquito thorax is quickly filled with blood, a phenomenon likely caused by the collapse of midgut epithelial cell membranes, and that epithelial cells are depleted of lipid droplets and oocytes fail to mature. Transcriptional profiling shows that genes involved in protein, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and immunity-related genes are the most affected by SCD1 knock down (KD) in blood-fed mosquitoes. Metabolic profiling reveals that these mosquitoes exhibit increased amounts of saturated fatty acids and TCA cycle intermediates, highlighting the biochemical framework by which the SCD1 KD phenotype manifests as a result of a detrimental metabolic syndrome. Accumulation of SFAs is also the likely cause of the potent immune response observed in the absence of infection, which resembles an auto-inflammatory condition. These data provide insights into mosquito bloodmeal metabolism and lipid homeostasis and could inform efforts to develop novel interventions against mosquito-borne diseases.
UPEC kidney infection triggers neuro-immune communication leading to modulation of local renal inflammation by splenic IFNγ
Authors: Steiner Svava E. , Choong Ferdinand X. , Antypas Haris , Morado-Urbina Carlos E. , Schulz Anette , Bersellini Farinotti Alex , Bas Duygu B. , Svensson Camilla I. , Richter-Dahlfors Agneta , Melican Keira
Published: May 2021

Bacterial infection results in a veritable cascade of host responses, both local and systemic. To study the initial stages of host-pathogen interaction in living tissue we use spatially-temporally controlled in vivo models. Using this approach, we show here that within 4 h of a uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) infection in the kidney, an IFNγ response is triggered in the spleen. This rapid infection-mediated inter-organ communication was found to be transmitted via nerve signalling. Bacterial expression of the toxin α-hemolysin directly and indirectly activated sensory neurons, which were identified in the basement membrane of renal tubules. Nerve activation was transmitted via the splenic nerve, inducing upregulation of IFNγ in the marginal zones of the spleen that led to increasing concentrations of IFNγ in the circulation. We found that IFNγ modulated the inflammatory signalling generated by renal epithelia cells in response to UPEC infection. This demonstrates a new concept in the host response to kidney infection; the role of nerves in sensing infection and rapidly triggering a systemic response which can modulate inflammation at the site of infection. The interplay between the nervous and immune systems is an exciting, developing field with the appealing prospect of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Our study identifies an important role for systemic neuro-immune communication in modulating inflammation during the very first hours of a local bacterial infection in vivo.
Radical genome remodelling accompanied the emergence of a novel host-restricted bacterial pathogen
Authors: Yebra Gonzalo , Haag Andreas F. , Neamah Maan M. , Wee Bryan A. , Richardson Emily J. , Horcajo Pilar , Granneman Sander , Tormo-Más María Ángeles , de la Fuente Ricardo , Fitzgerald J. Ross , Penadés José R.
Published: May 2021

The emergence of new pathogens is a major threat to public and veterinary health. Changes in bacterial habitat such as a switch in host or disease tropism are typically accompanied by genetic diversification.Staphylococcus aureusis a multi-host bacterial species associated with human and livestock infections. A microaerophilic subspecies,Staphylococcus aureussubsp.anaerobius, is responsible for Morel’s disease, a lymphadenitis restricted to sheep and goats. However, the evolutionary history ofS.aureussubsp.anaerobiusand its relatedness toS.aureusare unknown. Population genomic analyses of clinicalS.aureussubsp.anaerobiusisolates revealed a highly conserved clone that descended from aS.aureusprogenitor about 1000 years ago before differentiating into distinct lineages that contain African and European isolates.S.aureussubsp.anaerobiushas undergone limited clonal expansion, with a restricted population size, and an evolutionary rate 10-fold slower thanS.aureus. The transition to its current restricted ecological niche involved acquisition of a pathogenicity island encoding a ruminant host-specific effector of abscess formation, large chromosomal re-arrangements, and the accumulation of at least 205 pseudogenes, resulting in a highly fastidious metabolism. Importantly, expansion of ~87 insertion sequences (IS) located largely in intergenic regions provided distinct mechanisms for the control of expression of flanking genes, including a novel mechanism associated with IS-mediated anti-anti-sense decoupling of ancestral gene repression. Our findings reveal the remarkable evolutionary trajectory of a host-restricted bacterial pathogen that resulted from extensive remodelling of theS.aureusgenome through an array of diverse mechanisms in parallel.
A Review of Fluid Sloshing in Cylindrical and Rectangular containers under varied motions
Authors: Rathore Mihir Raj , Sharma Tarun , Singh Prince Kumar , Sriram Angara Sai
Published: May 2021

This paper illustrates detailed study of various methods and solutions that effects of liquid sloshing. The study includes the prismatic and cylindrical containers while in motion and in stationary. This gives us a picture about how sloshing can affect depending upon various parameters like velocity and acceleration of container, velocity of fluid inside moving container, viscosity of fluid, length of container and specific density of the fluid. The sloshing can be measured by using different approaches depending on the shape and motion of the container.
Capital Adequacy A Moderating Effect of Asset Growth on Performance of Nigerian Agricultural Firms
Authors: Hassan Shehu Usman , Baba Masud Abdullahi , Danlami Tukur , Kambai Ibrahim Ayuba
Published: May 2021

This study examines capital adequacy and the moderating impact of asset growth on the performance of firms in the agricultural sector. 4 listed agricultural firms were examined over a period of 10 years and data were extracted from their financial statements which were analyzed through a STATA 13 tool of analysis. Regression, correlation matrix and descriptive methods of analysis were employed to present and analyze results. Other post estimation tests like skewness and kurtosis test, Variance Inflation Factor test, specification test, heteroskedasticity tests and hausman test to select between fixed effect and random effect regression model were conducted to ensure robustness of results. The fixed effect stochastic longitudinal regression analysis model was adopted as guided by the hausman test. From the findings posited by the study, liquidity structure, liquidity structure moderated by asset growth and the combined effect of firm size moderated by asset growth were found to be significantly impacting on return on asset of firms at 1% level of significance. Firm size was found not to have any significant impact on return on assets. It was therefore recommended that the management should ensure considerable excess of current assets over current liabilities at all times so that there will always be positive liquidity structure; management should ensure consistent and prudent capital acquisition to ensure larger firm size; management should ensure steady asset growth by asset revaluation and new acquisition over time; the regulatory authority in the agricultural sector should establish a firm size benchmark below which no firm should operate.
Risk Management and Organizational Resilience: Analysis of the Italian Scenario During Covid-19 Pandemic, with A Look at the Challenges of Technology and Sustainability
Authors: Renzetti Cristina , Mango Lucio
Published: May 2021

The Coronavirus emergency represents an epochal challenge for all world health organizations. In these times of profound destabilization of healthcare organizations, become urgent some thoughts on how to deal with the organization and re-engineering process as well as on concepts, relatively new, such as "resilience" and "business continuity". The company management need having to predict, design and plan a profound process of change in their Clinical and Corporate Governance. With the implementation of phases 2 and 3 of management of the pandemic and the coexistence of doctors and citizens with the new Coronavirus, it has become a priority to develop territorial models of assistance to established or suspected Covid patients, starting with the creation of monitoring networks based on the model of the “sentinel” general practitioner. One of the main concerns of Healthcare, since the beginning of the Covid-19 emergency has been to get closer to the citizen-patient. It is therefore necessary to find stimuli to restart with new methods of care, new health and social-health services, moving the current care paradigm for Covid-19 from the hospital to the territory, optimizing the constituent elements of the districts, primary care and general practice in a multidisciplinary approach.
Mining Frequent Sequential Patterns
Authors: KRIBII Rajae , FAKIR Youssef
Published: May 2021

In recent times, the urge to collect data and analyze it has grown. Time stamping a data set is an important part of the analysis and data mining as it can give information that is more useful. Different mining techniques have been designed for mining time-series data, sequential patterns for example seeks relationships between occurrences of sequential events and finds if there exist any specific order of the occurrences. Many Algorithms has been proposed to study this data type based on the apriori approach. In this paper we compare two basic sequential algorithms which are General Sequential algorithm (GSP) and Sequential PAttern Discovery using Equivalence classes (SPADE). These two algorithms are based on the Apriori algorithms. Experimental results have shown that SPADE consumes less time than GSP algorithm.
Comic Art in Museums: An Overview
Authors: Kitchen Denis
Published: May 2021

This 2017 essay by cartoonist, publisher, and curator Denis Kitchen touches on many of the business and practical aspects of comic art exhibitions, as well as providing us with a first-person view of the rapid evolution of comics from early strips to today’s diverse range of award-winning graphic novels. He discusses the importance of exhibit catalogs, particularly Masters of American Comics, the increasing valuation of comic art drawings, importance of collectors, Al Capp (Li’l Abner), R. Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, underground comix, having the “eye,” and the importance of narrative. Images: Will Eisner (P’Gel), catalog covers Underground Classics and Masters of American Comics
Substance and Shadow: The Art of the Cartoon
Authors: Walker Brian
Published: May 2021

Brian Walker was a founder and former director of the Museum of Cartoon Art, where he worked from 1974 to 1992, continuing afterward to curate many important shows.  Here, he brings his experienced curator’s eye and life-long knowledge of cartooning to the task of explaining the value of seeing original comic art and the techniques, idioms, and methods of storytelling used in comics from 1843 to the present. This essay was written for the opening of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum and Library (2013) Images: Punch cartoon 1843, Mort Walker, drawings from The Lexicon of Comicana.
The Evolution of Comics Art Exhibitions in the United States, 1930–1951
Authors: Munson Kim A.
Published: May 2021

This 2018 essay by art historian Kim A. Munson shares the details of her research on exhibits of original comic art in U.S. museums and galleries from 1930-1954.  This chapter discusses several shows of the 1930’s from Thomas Nast at the Whitney (1932) to the display of the first Walt Disney animation cel purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1939). This chapter discusses World War II exhibits at the Metropolitan. This chapter discusses The Comic Strip: Its Ancient and Honorable Lineage and Present Significance, organized for the American Institute of Graphic Arts by Jessie Gillespie Willing (AIGA, 1942), which is a touring exhibit with historical works, comics, and comic books. Milton Caniff was a pioneer and advocate of comics exhibits representing himself (The Art of Terry and the Pirates 1939-1946) and  later with the newly formed National Cartoonist Society organizing many shows including 20,000 Years of Comics (1949 Savings Bond Tour), and American Cartooning (Met Museum, 1951).
Narrative Illustration: The Story of the Comics
Authors: Gaines M. C.
Published: May 2021

This chapter contains a 1942 article written by publisher M.C. Gaines about the exhibit The Comic Strip: Its Ancient and Honorable Lineage and Present Significance, organized for the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) by Jessie Gillespie Willing, which first opened at the National Arts Club, NY. It was the first known touring exhibit to show comics in art historical context with ancestors like Japanese scrolls, Mayan Panels, and cave paintings alongside contemporary comic strips and comic books. This may have been the first exhibit to include a wide selection of comic books including More Fun, Superman, and Wonder Woman #1. Gaines opines on the educational importance of comics in reply to the decency movements that were attempting to censor comics in this era. Images: Caniff exhibit 1946, Fred Cooper cartoon 1942.
The First International: I Exposicao Internacional de Historias em Quadrinhos
Authors: de Moya Alvaro
Published: May 2021

This chapter contains the 2017 recollection by curator and professor Alvaro de Moya about the birth and growth of comics fandom in Brazil, and the organization of I Exposicao Internacional de Historias Quadrinhos, the first known international exhibition and comics studies conference held in San Paulo at the Centro Cultura e Progresso with the participation of Will Eisner. de Moya discusses his advocacy for the comics medium during the rest of his career.
Mort Walker, Historian
Authors: Murphy Cullen
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2017 tribute to Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey, Hi & Lois) after his passing, by Cullen Murphy, author of the book Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe. This chapter discusses the founding of the Museum of Cartoon Art and Walker’s determination to gain recognition for comic artists, and his efforts at the preservation of original comic art drawings. This chapter explains how Mort began collecting comics drawings as a youth and the importance of comics as a cultural record. Image: art print of Beetle Bailey and Sarge.
Review/Art: Cartoon Masters—Cartoonists Finally Get Some Respect
Authors: Baker Kenneth
Published: May 2021

This is a review written by the San Francisco Chronicle’s long-time art critic Kenneth Baker of Drawn to Excellence: Masters of Cartoon Art, the first formal exhibition of the Cartoon Art Museum, which opened in 1988 during the National Cartoonist Society’s Rueben Awards weekend. This chapter discusses the abundance of comics shows, high art versus low art, increased value of comic art, comics influence on modern art, and the cultural importance of comics. This chapter includes praise for George Herriman, Cliff Sterrett, Walt Kelly, R.Crumb, Alex Raymond, and Hal Foster.
Comics, Community, and the ToonSeum: An Interview with Joe Wos
Authors: Munson Kim A.
Published: May 2021

This chapter contains a 2018 interview conducted by art historian Kim A. Munson with Joe Wos, Mazetoons cartoonist, Charles Shultz Museum artist in residence, and founder of the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh (2007). This chapter discusses key exhibitions, running a non-profit Museum, community engagement, outreach to children, importance of geek culture, and speculation on the future of art museums. Image: ToonSeum superhero exhibit, Joe Wos with NCS mural at Overlook Bar, NY.
Hypercomics: The Shape of Comics to Come
Authors: Gravett Paul
Published: May 2021

In 2010, the British curator, Paul Gravett, stretched the rules established for exhibiting comic art as far as possible, experimenting with the basic elements of sequential art itself. A variation on “gallery comics” (comics created specifically for gallery display), Gravett’s Hypercomics: The Shape of Comics to Come broke comics out of the page-by-page format and played with the concepts of multi-linear narrative and self-guided navigation. Taking its cue from the digital devices that are dominating our attention, Gravett wonders if this style of show might be the future of comics and comics exhibitions. Image: “The Rut” by Dave McKean.
Comics as Art Criticism: The Cartoons of Jonah Kinigstein
Authors: Green Karen , Munson Kim A.
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2018 essay by art historian Kim A. Munson and Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia’s Butler Library, about the satirical cartoons of Jonah Kinigstein, a classically trained painter whose ambitions were frustrated by the New York art world’s obsession with Abstract Expressionism and the lucrative industry that grew up around it.  This chapter discusses Kinigstein’s exhibition at the Society of Illustrators, his training and influences, and his protest of the art world by pasting up his bitingly critical cartoons on walls all over SoHo. This chapter includes an interview of his life and career conducted by Karen Green. Images: Kinigstein cartoon and studio photo, Society of Illustrators exterior.
Here Are the Great Women Comic Artists of the United States
Authors: Robbins Trina
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2008 article briefly describing popular women cartoonists by feminist herstorian, author, and curator Trina Robbins. This article was the text of her presentations on women cartoonists in Los Angeles and New York during the all-male Masters of American Comics exhibition and her concurrent show She Draws Comics at MoCCA in NY. This chapter discusses incidents of women left out of articles, exhibits and panels. This chapter lists reasons why comics by women are not taken seriously. Image: She Draws Comics promo.
In Our Own Image, After Our Likeness
Authors: Hatfield Charles
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2010 article by author, scholar, and California State University Northridge professor, Charles Hatfield, recollecting his experience viewing the R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and providing in-depth analysis of Crumb’s Genesis book. This chapter discusses narrative in exhibitions, exhibition design, comparison of Crumb’s work with illustrations by Basil Wolverton, Picture Stories from the Bible, The Picture Bible, and DeMille’s film The Ten Commandments. Images: Hammer exhibition photo, comparative panels from Crumb and Wolverton.
Curating Comics Canons: Daniel Clowes and Art Spiegelman’s Private Museums
Authors: Crucifix Benoit
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2017 essay by Belgian comics scholar Benoit Crucifix examining two artist curated shows celebrating their own comics heroes and influences: Eye of the Cartoonist: Daniel Clowes’s Selections from Comics History (Wexner Center in collaboration with the Billy Ireland, 2014) and  Le Musée prive d’Art Spiegelman, a selection from Spiegelman’s own collection, accompanied Co-Mix, a major retrospective of his work at the 2012 Angoulême International Comics Festival. This chapter discusses the relationship between museum and archive, cultural role of curator, comics canon, and individual’s comics history. Images: 3 exhibition photos
Co-Mix and Exhibitions: Interview with Art Spiegelman
Authors: Munson Kim A.
Published: May 2021

This chapter includes a 2017 interview conducted by art historian Kim A. Munson with Pulitzer prize winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman about his touring retrospective Co-Mix, exhibition strategies, Masters of American Comics, narrative in exhibits relating to Maus and R. Crumb’s Genesis, Hogarth’s Marriage A-la-Mode paintings, the wordless comics of Si Lewen, and the flattening of art history.
“What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue?”: Synesthesia in God Help the Child
Authors: Wardi Anissa
Published: May 2021

This essay argues that Toni Morrison’s lean art of storytelling in God Help the Child is evocative of a synesthetic experience. Synesthesia is defined as a union of the senses; it is a neurological condition in which the five senses are not locked into their separate channels but are intertwined in any number of ways. This is not to suggest that any one character in the novel is a synesthete; rather, Morrison’s handling of color offers a distilled, yet cross-sensory vision of pain and trauma saturated with chromatic pigmentation. This essay contextualizes Morrison’s turn to color as an alternative signifying system in God Help the Child with her earlier work, revealing a sophisticated improvisation of narrative and color.
Return of the Repressed: The Politics of Engraving and Erasure and the Quest for Selfhood in God Help the Child
Authors: Tally Justine
Published: May 2021

God Help the Child strikingly calls to a re-envisioning of Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye, in its emphasis on the superficial nature of beauty as skin-deep, two compelling and interrelated aspects that consistently reveal themselves throughout the text. The first picks up on Beloved’s concern with how much memory is beneficial to the human psyche, and how the politics of “engraving” that memory runs the risk of becoming a form of erasure of the self. The second is the author’s insistence on a sense of self-worth as something to be achieved through generosity, not through self-centeredness. In this novel no matter what trauma has occurred in the lives of the children, whether within or without the family, it is incumbent upon the affected as adults to get beyond that affliction and move toward an affirmation of an “other” in order to gain a personal sense of self.
The Simulacrum of Hypermasculinity in Comic Book Cinema
Authors: Connell Daniel J.
Published: May 2021

This chapter discusses the intensification of hypermasculinity’s physical aspect through the character of Wolverine as portrayed by Hugh Jackman. Delving into Baudrillard’s concept of the simulacrum and the hyperreal, Connell’s chapter discusses the impact of live action actors depicting our superheroes, blurring the line between what is physically achievable and what is not. This chapter posits that this proliferation of muscularity – a near requisite of male actors portraying hero roles – has paradoxically moved the aesthetics of the film further along Baudrillard’s phases of the image even while bringing the reality of the film closer to its source material.
Torchwood’s Supermen
Authors: Haslop Craig
Published: May 2021

Focusing on the spin-off series Torchwood, lauded by academics and popular media for its liberating and frank representations of fluid sexuality, this chapter discusses audience research using focus groups exploring Torchwood’s representations of queer masculinity, analyzing respondents’ responses to the masculinity of the leading character, Captain Jack Harkness, and the recurring character, Captain John Hart. While not ostensibly superheroes or supervillains in the comic book sense, research participants positioned them as super-human or god-like. Using the notion of homonormativity, the pressure on queer people to conform to heteronormativity, this chapter highlights how, despite foregrounding the leading man as fluidly sexual, Torchwood suggests a homonormative hypermasculinity dominating much of Western gay male culture, which deradicalizes queer identity and renders it safe for heteronormativity and, by association, hypermasculinity.
Albus Dumbledore and the Curse of Toxic Masculinity
Authors: Sugrue Karen
Published: May 2021

In both the worlds of sociology and psychotherapy, a crisis of masculinity can be seen in a number of very concerning trends in violence, mental health, education, media, and in wider social domains. Having explored the traditional representations of ‘superhero’ masculinity through the discussion of superheroes and villains in the previous sections, this chapter analyzes how Albus Dumbledore represents the old superhero masculine archetype by contrasting it with Harry Potter’s, who provides a newer and more hopeful model of masculine behavior based on friendship, connection, teamwork, and love. This chapter delves into how characters can model alternative masculinities as an effective strategy to combat the pervasiveness of toxic masculinity, and its effects on children and adults alike.
Hate, Marginalization, and Tramp-Bashing
Authors: Wysocki Lydia
Published: May 2021

This chapter uses three examples of “British comics” taken from a larger empirical project about the connection between comics and discourses of “Britishness,” and aligns these with a Critical Realist framework. These are: the normalization of hate in MAC’s Daily Mail cartoon, marginalization in Beano’s "Ball Boy,” and (parodies of) stereotypes in Tillotson and Brookes’ The Manly Boys Annual and Comely Girls Annual. This advances and uses specific social science theoretical and analytical tools for understanding comics as material culture. As such, in the later part of this chapter I make explicit a wider conceptual framework based in sociocultural theory, using this to show how the study of comics can approach larger questions of representation and identity formation.
Comics and Heteroglossia
Authors: Davies Paul Fisher
Published: May 2021

This chapter explores the concept of ‘heteroglossia’ as it might apply to comics production. After adopting the word from Bakhtin, the chapter explores in particular its uses by Martin and White as a component of ‘appraisal’ in language, investigating the ways in which a range of voices might be incorporated in comics form. Using concepts drawn from Michael Halliday, it establishes that there is phylogenetic and ontogenetic dialogue of voices behind comics, before concentrating on the logogenesis of the comics text in the use of hypotactic as well as paratactic forms of image relationship. It argues that the engagement of the reader in mutual text construction, and the necessary incorporation of multiple viewpoints and voices in the text, support the interpersonal and evaluative functions of the comics text.
“So You Still Believe in the Future?”
Authors: Green Matthew J. A.
Published: May 2021

The third in a trilogy of graphic novels by Mary and Bryan Talbot, The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia both explores the intersection of violence, law, and gender, and allows an unprecedented opportunity to explore what can be called the expository function of graphic narrative. This chapter provides the first ever exploration of the continuity between Mary Talbot’s writing for comics and her academic work, whilst also addressing the surprising gap in scholarly work on Bryan Talbot whose international reputation and pioneering work in the medium merit further enquiry. Drawing on a Marxist tradition of critique embodied by Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Žižek, the chapter explores the political commitments of this graphic novel, enriching our understanding of the way Red Virgin combines fiction and non-fiction, as well as text and image, to provide a nuanced contribution to debates concerning utopianism and revolutionary politics within critical comics studies.
The Parable of Bill Ayers
Authors: Gearey Adam
Published: May 2021

This chapter sees the comic as an allegorical form that is useful in re-thinking terms such as alienation and reification that are relevant to both critical legal studies and critical legal thinking. Its focus is a comic called To Teach, a collaboration between Ryan Alexander-Tanner and the progressive activist/theorist Bill Ayers.
The Bill of Sale
Authors: Ford Sarah Gilbreath
Published: May 2021

The introduction explores how the American dream of being able to create one’s identity is entangled with the American nightmare of slavery where personhood is denied. Both the dream and the nightmare depend on the same system of property rights. The very first American narratives use gothic markers, such as ghosts or haunted houses, to question the American dream revealing anxieties about property and property rights, but those anxieties are magnified in narratives that depict slavery. While critics have long argued that American gothic works are driven by slavery, what is missing in the critical conversation is the more direct target of the gothic energy in the eleven texts this book examines: the way that slavery turns people into property. This chapter introduces the four key components of the book’s argument: the gothic, property, slavery, and the South.
Playing Con Games in Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno, Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson, and Sherley Anne Williams’s Dessa Rose
Authors: Ford Sarah Gilbreath
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on confidence games played in Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno (1855), Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894), and Sherley Anne Williams’s Dessa Rose (1986). These con games expose the weakness in the legal construction of people as property. In each novel, white characters conflate enslaved people with animals, but this conflation allows black characters to hide their agency. Blinded by racism, white characters become the dupes of con games in which black characters outwardly perform the identity of property while covertly taking on the agency of people. Despite legal resolutions that seem to restore order in Melville’s and Twain’s texts, lingering haunting reveals that the racial categories destroy everyone. Williams offers a twentieth-century answer to this destruction by imagining people formerly enslaved escaping to the West, thereby crafting the only con game that works.
John T. Flynn, “Nasty Man”
Authors: Yogerst Chris
Published: May 2021

John T. Flynn was the testimony of the day. Flynn opened by introducing himself to the three hundred attendees as a journalist who primarily writes on economic and social issues. Flynn also worked as an associate editor for Collier’s and served as contributing editor for the New Republic in addition to being an author of several books. Senator Worth Clark inquired about relevant background for this investigation, but Flynn had nothing new to add. When McFarland asked Flynn’s purpose in testifying, Flynn stated his role as New York chairman of the America First Committee. Flynn and McFarland had a lively bout while trying to find out Flynn’s role in this investigation. McFarland pegged Flynn as a propagandist himself and argued circles around the journalist. Flynn outlined a long list of films he felt were propagandistic war mongering.
Schenck Stands Strong
Authors: Yogerst Chris
Published: May 2021

As Schenck’s testimony was about to begin, McFarland told the mogul he could have his counsel beside him as he speaks. “We are perfectly confident that Mr. Schenck can take care of himself,” Willkie responded as he waived the right. “Despite the newspaper comments,” noted Senator Worth Clark, “you have nothing to fear in the way of unfairness from this committee.” Worth Clark continued to assure Scheck that he would get a fair shake and that politicians around town have nothing but praise for the studio mogul. The day’s line of questioning largely deviated from the talk of film propaganda. The isolationist senators were more interested in pegging Scheck to show that Hollywood was indeed a monopoly. Much of the day served as a useful history for the senators that knew nothing about how the film industry worked.
Dietz Delivers
Authors: Yogerst Chris
Published: May 2021

As director of advertising and publicity for MGM, Howard Dietz had a long industrial knowledge after working with the company since 1924. Dietz informed the subcommittee that his team organizes film promotions and works with local representatives as well as the staff at the studio in California. Senator Tobey threw the same questions at Dietz about defining freedom of the press. “Freedom of speech within those definitions as relates to the press itself,” Dietz answered. Defining censorship of the press, Dietz argued it would take “a legal measure to restrain the press.” Tobey pressed Dietz on the possibility of legislation against censorship of the press, but Dietz noted that the Constitution already protected the freedoms of the press – no new laws should be necessary. Dietz also put to rest the controversy surrounding a theater in Nashville and possible interference from the studio. Schenck also resumed testimony.
Warner’s War
Authors: Yogerst Chris
Published: May 2021

Harry Warner’s testimony was a well-crafted, thoughtful, and passionately delivered denunciation of the propaganda accusations. If any previous testimony showed cracks in the isolationists’ wall, Warner had just blown the barrier to bits. The isolationist senators tried to pick Warner apart but got nowhere. The senators went back and forth with Warner on the definition of war propaganda. Warner maintained his films were not propaganda, as they were all based on previously published accounts of actual events.
Second Recess, National Unity, and the End of the Investigation
Authors: Yogerst Chris
Published: May 2021

The second recess began with the plan to resume the hearings in October after watching a series of films discussed during the investigation. However, the mounting criticism would make it difficult to predict a victory for the isolationist senators. Because the films had not yet been screened, and with the growing divide within the subcommittee with Senator Tobey’s antics on the last day, the Los Angeles Times predicted the end of the investigation was near. The Senate subcommittee on Motion Picture Propaganda was finally disbanded on December 18, 1941. The subcommittee would never reconvene as Hollywood, along with the rest of the country, had become wholeheartedly dedicated to the war effort. The isolationists had no choice but to go along for the ride. Those involved with the Senate investigation would continue to do their jobs and live their lives. Unlike other events in political history, this one would not have many ripple effects after December 7, 1941. The United States senators would see a mixed bag of career success.
“A Song Calling for You”
Authors: Anderson Crystal S.
Published: May 2021

Korean pop groups cite the R&B tradition by emulating R&B musical and vocal elements in catchy pop songs and enhance the tradition through Korean music strategies that infuse multiple genres with R&B elements. Korean pop groups emulate the R&B tradition by citing elements of funk, club, and urban R&B. Moreover, Korean and African American producers infuse K-pop with different varieties of R&B. These artists also enhance the R&B tradition by mixing pop genres with R&B within individual songs and over the course of their careers. In music videos, they cite the choreography and styles of African American performance in ways that provide alternatives to Asian stereotypes. This intertextuality is driven by promotions that focus on image and music quality; strategies that mirror those employed by Black American music producers. The combination of dynamic image and quality music production fuels K-pop’s cultural work and global crossover, thereby making it part of a global R&B tradition.