bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incidence and predictors of death from COVID-19 among patients admitted to treatment center of Wollega University Referral Hospital, Western Ethiopia: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Tolossa Tadesse , Wakuma Bizuneh , Ayala Diriba , Seyoum Dejene , Fetensa Getahun , Getahun Ayantu , Mulisa Diriba , Atomssa Emiru Merdassa , Tsegaye Reta , Shibiru Tesfaye , Turi Ebisa , Bayisa Lami , Fekadu Ginenus , Bekele Balay , Feyisa Ilili
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Currently, COVID-19 contributes to mortality and morbidity in developed as well as in developing countries since December 2019. However, there is scarcity of evidence regarding the incidence and predictors of death among patients admitted with COVID-19 in developing country including Ethiopia, where the numbers of deaths are under-reported. Hence, this study aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of death among patients admitted with COVID-19 in Wollega University Referral Hospital (WURH), western Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution based retrospective cohort study design was conducted among 318 patients admitted with COVID-19 in WURH treatment center. Patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 by using rRT-PCR test and admitted with the diagnosis of severe COVID-19 cases from September 30, 2020 to June 10, 2021 were a source population. Epidata version 3.2 was used for data entry, and STATA version 14 for analysis. A Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with mortality from COVID-19. Multivariable Cox regression model with 95% CI and Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) was used to identify a significant predictor of mortality from COVID-19 at p-value < 0.05.

Results

A total of 318 patients were included in final analysis with mean age of 44 (SD±16.7) years and about two third (67.9%) were males. More than half (55.7%) of patients had no comorbidity on admission. The majority, 259 (81.45%) of patients recovered from COVID-19 and 267 (84%) of patients were censored at the end of follow up. The incidence rate of mortality was 14.1 per/1000 (95%CI: 10.7, 18.5) person days observation. Age ≥ 59 years (AHR: 5.76, 95%CI: 2.58, 12.84), low oxygen saturation (AHR: 2.34, 95% CI: (2.34, 4.17), and delayed presentation (AHR: 5.60, 95%CI: 2.97, 10.56) were independent predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients.

Conclusion

The mortality rate of COVID-19 pandemic was high in the study area, and most of death was happened during the first 10 days. Being old age, low oxygen saturation and delayed presentation were factors which predict mortality due to COVID-19. Hence, strengthening the health care delivery system to satisfy the need of the patients should get due attention to reduce the incidence of mortality from COVID-19 cases.
The use of spatial data and satellite information in legal compliance and planning in forest management
Authors: Taylor Chris , Lindenmayer David B.
Published: July 2022

A key part of native forest management in designated wood production areas is identifying locations which must be exempt from logging. Forest laws, government regulations, and codes of practice specify where logging is and is not permitted. Assessing compliance with these regulations is critical but can be expensive and time consuming, especially if it entails field measurements. In some cases, spatial data products may help reduce the costs and increase the transparency of assessing compliance. However, different spatial products can vary in their accuracy and resolution, leading to uncertainty in forest management. We present the results of a detailed case study investigating the compliance of logging operations with laws preventing cutting on slopes exceeding 30°. We focused on two designated water catchments in the Australian State of Victoria which supply water to the city of Melbourne. We compared slopes that had been logged on steep terrain using spatial data based on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from LiDAR, a 1 arc second DEM derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) with a resolution of 10m. While our analyses revealed differences in slope measurements among the different spatial products, all three datasets (and the on-site slope measurements) estimated the occurrence of widespread logging of forests on slopes >30° in both water catchments. We found the lowest resolution Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM underestimated the steepness of slopes, whilst the DTM was variable in its estimates. As expected, the LiDAR generated slope calculations provided the best fit with on-site measurements. Our study demonstrates the value of spatial data products in assessing compliance with logging laws and codes of practice. We suggest that LiDAR DEMs, and DTMs also can be useful in proactive forest planning and management by helping better identify which areas should be exempt from cutting before logging operations commence.
Disease progression role as well as the diagnostic and prognostic value of microRNA-21 in patients with cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Gebrie Alemu
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Cervical cancer is the fourth commonest and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in females globally. The upregulated expression of microRNA-21 in cervical cancer has been investigated in numerous studies, yet given the inconsistency on some of the findings, a systematic review and meta-analysis is needed. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the role in disease progression as well as the diagnostic and prognostic value of microRNA-21 in patients with cervical cancer.

Methods

Literature search was carried out through visiting several electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE/ PubMed Central, Web of Science, Embase, WorldCat, DOAJ, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. After extraction, data analysis was carried out using Rev-Man 5.3, STATA 15.0 and Meta-disk 1.4. I2 and meta-bias statistics assessed heterogeneity and publication bias of the included studies, respectively. The area under summary receiver operating characteristic curve and other diagnostic indexes were used to estimate diagnostic accuracy.

Result

A total of 53 studies were included for this systematic review and meta-analysis. This study summarized that microRNA-21 targets the expression of numerous genes that regulate their subsequent downstream signaling pathways which promote cervical carcinogenesis. The targets addressed in this study included TNF-α, CCL20, PTEN RasA1, TIMP3, PDCD-4, TPM-1, FASL, BTG-2, GAS-5, and VHL. In addition, the meta-analysis of reports from 6 eligible studies has demonstrated that the overall area under the curve (AUC) of summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) of microRNA-21 as a diagnostic accuracy index for cervical cancer was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.86). In addition, evidence from studies revealed that upregulated microRNA-21 led to worsening progression and poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients.

Conclusion

microRNA-21 is an oncogenic microRNA molecule playing a key role in the development and progression of cervical malignancy. It has good diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. In addition, the upregulation of microRNA-21 could predict a worse outcome in terms of prognosis in cervical cancer patients.
Corpus callosum anatomical changes in Alzheimer patients and the effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on corpus callosum morphometry
Authors: Khasawneh Ramada R. , Abu-El-Rub Ejlal , Alzu’bi Ayman , Abdelhady Gamal T. , Al-Soudi Hana S.
Published: July 2022

The Corpus Callosum (CC) is an important structure that includes the majority of fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres. Several neurodegenerative diseases may alter CC size and morphology leading to its atrophy and malfunction which may play a role in the pathological manifestations found in these diseases. The purpose of the current study is to determine any possible changes in CC size in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The Study also investigated the effect of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) on the size of CC and its association with improvement in the Alzheimer disease severity scores. Midsagittal size of CC were recorded prospectively from 439 routine T1-weighted MRI brain images in normal individuals. The internal skull surface was measured to calculate CC/ internal skull surface ratio. Two groups of patients were studied: 300 (150 male / 150 female) were healthy subjects and 130 (55 males / 75 females) had Alzheimer disease. Out of the 130 Alzheimer disease pateints, 70 patients were treated with Donepezil or Rivastigmine or both. The size of the CC was measured based on T1-weighted MRI images after the treatment to investigate any possible improvement in CC size. The mean surface area of CC in controls was 6.53±1.105 cm2. There was no significant difference between males and females (P < 0.627), and CC/ internal skull surface ratio was 4.41±0.77%. Patients with mild or severe Alzheimer disease showed a significant reduction in CC size compared to healthy controls. Treating mild Alzheimer patients with either Donepezil or Rivastigmine exerts a comparable therapeutic effect in improving the CC size. There was more improvement in the size of CC in patients with severe Alzheimer disease by using combined therapy of Donepezil and Rivastigmine than using single a medication. we measured the mean size of the various portions of the corpus callosum in normal individuals and Alzheimer patients before and after taking Donepezil and Rivastigmine. Alzheimer patients have pronounced reduction in CC which is corrected after taking Donepezil and Rivastigmine leading to remarkable improvement in Alzheimer disease severity scores.
Palaeoproteomics identifies beaver fur in Danish high-status Viking Age burials - direct evidence of fur trade
Authors: Brandt Luise Ørsted , Taurozzi Alberto J. , Mackie Meaghan , Sinding Mikkel-Holger S. , Vieira Filipe Garrett , Schmidt Anne Lisbeth , Rimstad Charlotte , Collins Matthew J. , Mannering Ulla
Published: July 2022

Fur is known from contemporary written sources to have been a key commodity in the Viking Age. Nevertheless, the fur trade has been notoriously difficult to study archaeologically as fur rarely survives in the archaeological record. In Denmark, fur finds are rare and fur in clothing has been limited to a few reports and not recorded systematically. We were therefore given access to fur from six Danish high status graves dated to the Viking Age. The fur was analysed by aDNA and palaeoproteomics methods to identify the species of origin in order to explore the Viking Age fur trade. Endogenous aDNA was not recovered, but fur proteins (keratins) were analysed by MALDI-TOF-MS and LC-MS/MS. We show that Viking Age skin clothing were often composites of several species, showing highly developed manufacturing and material knowledge. For example, fur was produced from wild animals while leather was made of domesticates. Several examples of beaver fur were identified, a species which is not native to Denmark, and therefore indicative of trade. We argue that beaver fur was a luxury commodity, limited to the elite and worn as an easily recognisable indicator of social status.
Covariance predicts conserved protein residue interactions important for the emergence and continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2 as a human pathogen
Authors: Robins William P. , Mekalanos John J.
Published: July 2022

SARS-CoV-2 is one of three recognized coronaviruses (CoVs) that have caused epidemics or pandemics in the 21st century and that likely emerged from animal reservoirs. Differences in nucleotide and protein sequence composition within related β-coronaviruses are often used to better understand CoV evolution, host adaptation, and their emergence as human pathogens. Here we report the comprehensive analysis of amino acid residue changes that have occurred in lineage B β-coronaviruses that show covariance with each other. This analysis revealed patterns of covariance within conserved viral proteins that potentially define conserved interactions within and between core proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2 related β-coronaviruses. We identified not only individual pairs but also networks of amino acid residues that exhibited statistically high frequencies of covariance with each other using an independent pair model followed by a tandem model approach. Using 149 different CoV genomes that vary in their relatedness, we identified networks of unique combinations of alleles that can be incrementally traced genome by genome within different phylogenic lineages. Remarkably, covariant residues and their respective regions most abundantly represented are implicated in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and are also enriched in dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Impact of extrapulmonary comorbidities on physical activity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Japan: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Yoshida Makoto , Hiramoto Tetsuya , Moriwaki Atsushi , Osoreda Hisayuki , Iwanaga Tomoaki , Inoue Hiromasa
Published: July 2022

Physical activity, which can be affected by airflow limitation and extrapulmonary comorbidities, has been reported to be reduced in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and reduced physical activity is associated with higher risks of exacerbation and mortality. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the comprehensive effect of extrapulmonary comorbidities on physical activity in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, of which evidence is lacking. We conducted a cross-sectional study with a series of tests, including lung function, physical activity, symptom scores, and parameters for comorbidities. Sixty outpatients with stable disease were enrolled, and the relationship between the parameters and physical activity was evaluated. Physical activity was assessed over 7 consecutive days using a triaxial accelerometer, which records total daily energy expenditure, step count, and walking time. Cardiovascular status was assessed via echocardiography, and pulmonary artery pressure was estimated using Doppler sonography. As to mental status, depression and anxiety were assessed using the Self-Rating Depression Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Physical activity level was significantly correlated with step count, walking time, body mass index, lean body mass index, lung function, pulmonary artery pressure, depression, anxiety, and serum total cholesterol level. In a median regression model analysis, low lung function, low lean body mass index, depression, and low serum total cholesterol level were independently associated with decreased physical activity level. These findings suggest that physical inactivity is affected by multiple extrapulmonary factors, including skeletal muscle dysfunction, depressive symptoms, and nutritional state, in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Primary stability of multi-hole cups compared to plate osteosynthesis in osteoporotic anterior column and posterior hemi-transverse acetabular fractures—A biomechanical comparison
Authors: Höch Andreas , Reise Rebekka , Pieroh Philipp , Heyde Christoph-Eckhard , Fakler Johannes Karl Maria , Schleifenbaum Stefan
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Acetabular fractures pose high demands on the surgeon and in the case of osteosynthetic treatment, anatomical reconstruction has the highest priority to achieve a good outcome. However, especially in older patients with poor bone quality, even anatomical reconstruction is no guarantee for a good clinical outcome and may nevertheless end in early osteoarthritis. Primary arthroplasty therefore has an increasing importance in the treatment of these patients. The aim of this study was to biomechanically compare fracture gap displacement and failure load as an assessment measure of the primary stability of conventional plate osteosynthesis with the treatment using a sole multi-hole cup for acetabular fractures.

Methods

Six hemi-pelvises each with anterior column and posterior hemi-transverse (ACPHT) fracture were treated with either plate osteosynthesis or a multi-hole cup. The tests were carried out in a standardised test set-up with cyclic loading in various stages between 150 N and 2500 N. The fracture gap displacement was recorded with optical 3D measuring and the failure load was determined after the cyclic measurement.

Results

With increasing force, the fracture gap displacement increased in both procedures. In each group there was one treatment which failed at the cyclic loading test and a bone fragment was broken out. The primary stability in arthroplasty was comparable to that of the standard osteosynthesis.

Conclusions

The results found seem promising that the primary arthroplasty with a sole multi-hole cup and corresponding screw fixation achieves an initial stability comparable to osteosynthesis for typical ACPHT fractures. However, further clinical studies are needed to prove that the cups heal solidly into the bone.
Spillovers and contagion between BRIC and G7 markets: New evidence from time-frequency analysis
Authors: Agyei Samuel Kwaku , Owusu Junior Peterson , Bossman Ahmed , Asafo-Adjei Emmanuel , Asiamah Oliver , Adam Anokye Mohammed
Published: July 2022

We examine the time-frequency spillovers, contagion, and pairwise interrelations between the BRIC index and its constituents, and between BRIC and G7 economies. The extent of interdependencies between market blocs and their constituents needs to be ascertained in the time-frequency domain for efficient asset allocation and portfolio management. Accordingly, the Baruník and Křehlík spillover index is employed with daily data between 11th December 2015 and 28th May 2021. We find the overall and net spillovers between BRIC and G7 to be significant in the short-term, with France, Germany, and the UK transmitting the greatest shocks to BRIC markets. We find no significant evidence of any sporadic volatilities for the studied markets in the COVID-19 period across all frequencies. However, we reveal contagious spillovers between the BRIC and G7 economies across all time scales in 2017 and 2019, which respectively reflect the persistent effect of Brexit and the US-China trade tension. Our findings divulge that in the short-term (mid-to-long-term), France and the UK (Canada and the US), are the sources of contagion between the BRIC and G7 markets. From the net-pairwise spillovers, we report high connectedness between the BRIC index and its members. BRIC countries are found to be transmitters of net-pairwise spillovers to the G7 markets excluding Japan. We recommend portfolio diversification using BRIC and G7 stocks in the intermediate-to-long-term horizon, where spillovers are less concentrated. Additionally, since individual markets are impacted by their unique shocks, investors should pay close attention to these shocks when distributing assets. In the interim, policy-makers and governments across the globe should ensure effective liberalisation of their economies to encourage international trade flows to boost portfolio diversification.
Evaluation of the use of GeneXpert MTB/RIF in a zone with high burden of tuberculosis in Thailand
Authors: Pongpeeradech Nathakorn , Kasetchareo Yuthichai , Chuchottaworn Charoen , Lawpoolsri Saranath , Silachamroon Udomsak , Kaewkungwal Jaranit
Published: July 2022

GeneXpert MTB/RIF is a reliable molecular diagnostic tool capable of detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and identifying genetic determinants of rifampicin (RIF) resistance. This study aimed to assess physicians’ diagnostic decision-making processes for TB based on GeneXpert MTB/RIF results and how this affected the initiation of multidrug resistance (MDR) treatment. This study employed a mixed method: data were collected retrospectively from the medical records of TB patients and in-depth interviews were conducted with healthcare workers in areas with a high TB burden in Thailand. A total of 2,030 complete TB records from 2 patient groups were reviewed, including 1443 suspected cases with negative smear results and 587 with high risk of MDR-TB. GeneXpert MTB/RIF was routinely used to assist the physicians in their decision-making for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and the initiation of MDR-TB treatment. The physicians used it as a “rule-in test” for all patients with negative chest X-rays (CXR) and smear results, to ensure timely treatment. Approximately one-fourth of the patients with negative CXR/smear and GeneXpert MTB/RIF results were diagnosed with PTB by the physicians, who based their decisions on other evidence, such as clinical symptoms, and did not use GeneXpert MTB/RIF as a “rule-out test.” GeneXpert MTB/RIF proved effective in early detection within a day, thereby radically shortening the time required to initiate second-line drug treatment. Despite its high sensitivity for detecting PTB and MDR-TB, GeneXpert MTB/RIF had contradictory results (false positive and/or false negative) for 21.8% of cases among patients with negative smear results and 41.1% of cases among patients with high risk of MDR-TB. Therefore, physicians still used the results of other conventional tests in their decision-making process. It is recommended that GeneXpert MTB/RIF should be established at all points of care and be used as the initial test for PTB and MDR-TB diagnosis.
Effects of experimental warming on two tropical Andean aquatic insects
Authors: Gallegos-Sánchez Silvana , Domínguez Eduardo , Encalada Andrea C. , Ríos-Touma Blanca
Published: July 2022

Temperatures have increased around the globe, affecting many ecosystems, including high-elevation Andean streams where important aquatic insect species coexist. Depending on the magnitude of change, warming could lead to the mortality of sensitive species, and those tolerant to rising water temperatures may exhibit differences in growth rates and development. Taxon-specific optimal temperature ranges for growth determine how high or low temperatures alter an organism’s body size. In this study, we observed the effects of different climate change scenarios (following three scenarios of the 2021 IPCC predictions) in two aquatic insect species distributed in high-elevation streams in Ecuador: the mayflyAndesiops peruvianus(Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) and the caddisflyAnomalocosmoecus illiesi(Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). We assessed how increased water temperatures affect larval growth rates and mortality during a 10-day microcosm experiment. Our results showed thatAndesiops peruvianuswas more thermally sensitive thanAnomalocosmoecus illiesi. Mortality was higher (more than 50% of the individuals) in mayflies than in caddisflies, which presented mortality below 12% at +2.5°C and +5°C. Mortality in mayflies was related to lower dissolved oxygen levels in increased temperature chambers. Higher temperatures affected body size and dry mass with a faster growth rate ofAndesiops peruvianuslarvae at experimentally higher temperatures, suggesting an important response of this hemimetabolous species to stream temperatures. ForAnomalocosmoecus illiesi, we did not find significant changes in mortality, body size or growth rate in response to temperature changes during our experiment.In situoutcomes of species survival and growth in Andean streams are difficult to predict. Nevertheless, our results suggest that at only +2.5°C, a water temperature increase affected the two insect taxa differentially, leading to a drastic outcome for one species’ larvae while selecting for a more tolerant species. Our study suggests that climate change might produce significant mortality and growth rate effects on ectotherm tropical aquatic insects, especially Andean mayflies, which showed higher sensitivity to increased water temperature scenarios.
Climate change and spatio-temporal trend analysis of climate extremes in the homogeneous climatic zones of Pakistan during 1962-2019
Authors: Khan Firdos , Ali Shaukat , Mayer Christoph , Ullah Hamd , Muhammad Sher
Published: July 2022

Climate extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, extreme rainfall can lead to harvest failures, flooding and consequently threaten the food security worldwide. Improving our understanding about climate extremes can mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and extremes. The objective here is to investigate the changes in climate and climate extremes by considering two time slices (i.e., 1962–1990 and 1991–2019) in all climate zones of Pakistan by utilizing observed data from 54 meteorological stations. Different statistical methods and techniques were applied on observed station data to assess changes in temperature, precipitation and spatio-temporal trends of climatic extremes over Pakistan from 1962 to 2019. The Mann-Kendal test demonstrated increasing precipitation (DJF) and decreasing maximum and minimum temperatures (JJA) at the meteorological stations located in the Karakoram region during 1962–1990. The decadal analysis, on the other hand, showed a decrease in precipitation during 1991–2019 and an increase in temperature (maximum and minimum) during 2010–2019, which is consistent with the recently observed slight mass loss of glaciers related to the Karakoram Anomaly. These changes are highly significant at 5% level of significance at most of the stations. In case of temperature extremes, summer days (SU25) increased except in zone 4, TX10p (cold days) decreased across the country during 1962–1990, except for zones 1 and 2. TX90p (warm days) increased between 1991–2019, with the exception of zone 5, and decreased during 1962–1990, with the exception of zones 2 and 5. The spatio-temporal trend of consecutive dry days (CDD) indicated a rising tendency from 1991 to 2019, with the exception of zone 4, which showed a decreasing trend. PRCPTOT (annual total wet-day precipitation), R10 (number of heavy precipitation days), R20 (number of very heavy precipitation days), and R25mm (very heavy precipitation days) increased (decreased) considerably in the North Pakistan during 1962–1990 (1991–2019). The findings of this study can help to address some of the sustainable development goals related climate action, hunger and environment. In addition, the findings can help in developing sustainable adaptation and mitigation strategies against climate change and extremes. As the climate and extremes conditions are not the uniform in all climate zone, therefore, it is suggested to the formers and agriculture department to harvest crops resilient to the climatic condition of each zone. Temperature has increasing trend in the northern Pakistan, therefore, the concerned stakeholders need to make rational plans for higher river flow/flood situation due to snow and glacier melt.
The new generation: Contemporary Chinese art in the diaspora
Authors: Bao Hongwei
Published: July 2022

This Special Issue of Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art focuses on the social significance and political relevance of diaspora Chinese art in the contemporary era. Although artists and authors may hold different stances towards Chinese and diaspora identities, their works and discussions showcase the importance of identity and identity-inflected art in contemporary times; they also demonstrate the productivity of treating Chinese diaspora art as a valuable subject of study in researching contemporary Chinese art. This editorial essay outlines the social and scholarly contexts related to a new generation of contemporary Chinese diaspora art and artists; it also introduces the structure and content of the Special Issue. The text is arranged in the following order: it first clarifies key words such as ‘diaspora’ and ‘Chinese diaspora’ and introduces scholarly debates surrounding these terms; it then briefly maps the study of contemporary Chinese art in a transnational and diasporic context to articulate the significance and scholarly contribution of the current issue. The essay ends with a mapping of the key topics and themes covered in this issue – which have implications for the study of Chinese diaspora art overall – and a brief outline of the key content and argument of each article.
The aesthetics of export in Chinese art outside China
Authors: Burchmore Alex
Published: July 2022

This article counters the prevailing and frequently disparaging economic and diplomatic associations of the term ‘export’ in discussions of contemporary Chinese art, and especially those artists who live and work outside China. Drawing attention to the previously underacknowledged political, social and affective aspects of this term, the article offers a new reading of foundational works by Huang Yong Ping (1954–2019), resident in Paris from 1989 until his death; Ni Haifeng (b. 1964), resident in Amsterdam since 1994; and Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), resident in Tokyo from 1986 to 1995, then subsequently in New York. The article also highlights a concern shared by these artists with the persistence of colonial legacies in contemporary global capital, the connections uniting past and present modes of production and consumption and the essentializing impulses of chinoiserie, Pan-Asianism and related cultural trends. The combined study of these themes is intended to introduce a renewed focus on contexts of display and interpretation, and material, subjective and affective dimensions of meaning, to our understanding of these canonical works.
Art practices of the Chinese women diaspora: On cultural identity and gender modernity
Authors: Pan Gaojie
Published: July 2022

Since the early twentieth century, Chinese women artists have emigrated to other countries. Their works are influenced and shaped by diaspora experiences, which vary across time phases. However, the world history of diasporic women is often lost in the larger historical narrative. As such, women diaspora artists also remain an under-represented segment in art realms, both within and outside of China. This is a case study of three Chinese diaspora women artists – Pan Yuliang, Shen Yuan and Pixy Liao. Their works reveal engagement in cultural identity as well as gender identity through an autobiographical approach. For cultural identity, dynamic interaction between the culture of the artist’s homeland and that of her host country play a vital role throughout their art practices. Rather than using elements of typical Chinese cultural heritage, women artists tend to engage in cultural emblems, which connect to their personal-gendered experiences. Albeit confronting the double otherness on cultural and gender identity in a foreign country, the experience of diaspora pushes women artists to pursue independence, self-awakening and broader world-views. With modern conceptions of gender, their practices, particularly the family-theme, convey reflections on the conventional ideology of the family, as well as traditional gender roles.
From identity to relation: Patty Chang’s diasporic cartography
Authors: Wang Xueli
Published: July 2022

This article examines the works of the Chinese American artist Patty Chang, tracing how Chang’s early deconstructive approach to Asian American identity evolves into her more recent diasporic approach to landscape and travel. The first section covers the early ‘body art’ phase of Chang’s career (from the late 1990s to the early 2000s). The second section focuses on the pivotal work Shangri-La (2005), which usefully illuminates Chang’s evolution from identity to relation, from deconstruction to ‘diasporic cartography’, using her diasporic body to forge a mode of navigation and world-making that is embodied, anti-systematic and relational in nature.
Body and language as carriers of transculturality in two Sinophone transnational artists
Authors: Pedone Valentina , Picerni Federico
Published: July 2022

In a global context characterized by a growing complexity of the dynamics of Chinese transnational mobility, we find the need to resort to a new vocabulary to understand the localized artistic expressions related to such dynamics. In this article, we focus on two Chinese artists, Musk Ming (1979–present) and Tony Cheung (1987–present), who live and work across China and Europe, reflecting on how their transnational life trajectories combine with the transculturality expressed in their works. Considering body and language as two privileged sites of ethnicity, the article suggests that, in their representation, the authors engage in a process of critical deconstruction of ‘national culture’ and ‘ethnic identity’. Such deconstruction is achieved by disconnecting cultural tokens from their ‘ethno-national’ or historical referents, creating instead unlikely or unexpected associations with elements extracted from non-Chinese contexts, or using them to critique the very cultural lineage they are supposed to embody. Considering the critical reception of the artists’ work in Europe, the article also discusses how this act of defamiliarization provokes the viewer by contesting both the ‘Chineseness’ and the ‘westernization’ of the artwork itself. The critical representation of body and language thus creates a powerful discourse to question the equation of ethnicity and culture, compelling viewers to go beyond a superficial characterization of the two artists’ work as either ‘genuinely’ Chinese or ‘critically’ hybrid.
The queer art of Yan Xing: Towards a global visual language of sex, desire and diaspora
Authors: Kyan Winston
Published: July 2022

This article discusses the work of Yan Xing, who has established an international career as a Chinese diaspora artist. This transnational identity, however, raises certain questions, including how Yan Xing’s work changed from when he lived in China to when he became a US resident in 2015, and how these changes differ from the globalized art of earlier diasporic Chinese artists. Accordingly, this article first argues that overt references in Yan Xing’s earlier work to sex and sexuality shift to an exploration of desire, truth and fiction in his later work that aligns with discourses on queer diasporas and minor theories. Secondly, this article argues that the new generation of Chinese diaspora artists live and work in a different political climate from the earlier generation of Chinese diaspora artists; the new generation works in an art world in which they are not exoticized objects, but actively participates in the making of a global visual language.
Negotiating disappearance: Protective abstraction in Simon Liu’s quasi-protest trilogy
Authors: Holton Delaney Chieyen
Published: July 2022

The simultaneous phenomena of the political upheaval in Hong Kong and Sinophobia in the United States produce a double bind for diasporic artists working about and between Hong Kong, China and the United States. Hong Kong diaspora filmmaker Simon Liu navigates this political landscape through experiments in abstract film as a medium for documenting protest and urban transformation sans spectacle. This article locates Liu’s work in the transnational matrix of Hong Kong’s post-colonial non-sovereignty and American Sino-diaspora politics to analyse the ways in which the filmmaker’s diasporic positioning necessitates abstraction and to demonstrate the potential of abstraction as an apparatus for geopolitically vulnerable subjects to continuously deconstruct and re-establish their subjectivity under political conditions that threaten their erasure. I posit that abstraction in Liu’s quasi-protest trilogy – consisting of Signal 8, Happy Valley and Devil’s Peak – offers a sensory orientation for finding blind spots between recognition and indecipherability, opening up new ways of documenting a crisis through the disarticulation of discrete events into atmospheric conditions.
‘Speaking nearby’: Reflections on the conversations with Erika Tan
Authors: Lua Lenette , Zhang Huanzhi
Published: July 2022

How can we reconfigure the concept of Chinese art when the term Chinese extends beyond geographical specificity? From May to December 2021, researchers Lenette Lua and Huanzhi Zhang initiated a series of informal, open conversations with London-based Singaporean artist Erika Tan over Zoom. In these conversations, Tan shared the thinking process behind her moving image Journeys of Remembrance ([1993] 2008) and project The ‘Forgotten’ Weaver (2016–19), as well as her involvement in calling for Arts Council England to defund Centre for Chinese Contemporary Arts in Manchester for its White occupancy. By reflecting on the conversations with Tan and her propositions, the conversation unveils the struggle in grasping the exponentiality of Chineseness and seeks to unravel Chineseness as a fluctuating silhouette of continuous constructions and deconstructions that defies definition.
The algorithm of nature in the age of global health and environmental crisis
Authors: Gao Shiyu , Lee Lisa Chang
Published: July 2022

The London-based multimedia artist Lisa Chang Lee, born in Beijing, China, is a representative example of exploring alternative identification in the context of the global health and environmental crisis. The conversation focuses on her artistic experiments with algorithms and digital technologies to transcend established norms of ‘Chineseness’ culturally and artistically. Gao Shiyu will investigate Lee’s projects to question the binary distinctions between humans and non-humans, nature and culture, the East and the West. The discussion intends to show a shift in the new generation of diasporic Chinese artists’ creative practices and challenge the tendency in contemporary Chinese art criticism that locates these works in large-scale, systemic and political ways.
Bureaucratizing Black Lives Matter murals: Racial capitalism, policing and erasure of radical politics
Authors: Lennon John
Published: July 2022

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder during the summer of 2020, protestors painted large ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’ murals on streets of the United States, forcing politicians to confront these words tattooing their cities. Each creation and reception of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) mural is entwined within the machinations of city bureaucracies whose foundations are built upon racial capitalism and is enforced by militarized police. To analyse the removal of Black Lives Matter murals is to contextualize them within this history of racialized police violence and erasure, but to do so within an environment of mundane policy-hearings. The removal of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s BLM mural by its city government will be a case study of how bureaucracy can implement ‘race neutral’ policy language that ‘leaves no choice’ but erasure. But while some conservative politicians erased BLM murals to neutralize the radical abolitionist and police reform messages, other politicians similarly embraced the creation of BLM murals as a buffer against, instead of a bridge to, making substantial structural change. Washington, DC’s famous BLM mural will be my exemplar of this type of deceptive radical performative politics. This article explores how protest movements and bureaucracies interact, focusing on how the radical demands of the BLM movement can be subsumed by ‘colour blind’ city responses and/or performative politics while pointing to larger combative histories of how race is policed within the United States.
Online vásárlásösztönző üzenetek pszichológiai nyomásgyakorlásának mérése szemmozgáskövetéssel és szívritmus-variabilitással
Authors: Szabó Bálint , Köles Máté , Komándi Krisztián , Rusz Dorottya
Published: July 2022

Consumers face a range of messages during online shopping or accommodation reservations that aim to speed up their decision-making process. However, there is a fine line between sales promotion messages that support consumers in making the right decision and ones that exert psychological pressure. The first goal of this paper is to review current literature on sales promotion messages that use psychological pressure, especially those relying on cognitive biases. The second goal is to present a study that measures the impact of various applications of such messages during online reservations. By using eye-tracking and electrocardiography, the authors studied the physiological signals of 12 participants, during a lab-based usability study. Based on the results, the authors propose that the inappropriate use of the sales promotion messages is not recommended for companies, as these are detrimental to the long-term loyalty of potential customers.
Berry Mayall and Roy Bhaskar: critical thinkers
Authors: Alderson Priscilla
Published: July 2022

Exchanges between the great range of disciplines and experts within IOE (Institute of Education), UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society (University College London, UK), can be very productive. This article celebrates two professors who, in markedly different ways, have transformed interdisciplinary understanding of their chosen specialties. Some of their ideas are summarised here to encourage readers who could benefit from their publications and are not yet familiar with them to be keen to study and gain from them. Berry Mayall and Roy Bhaskar might seem too dissimilar to fit into one article. Berry worked here for nearly fifty years, Roy for only seven. One was a sociologist, working mainly on empirical research, the other a philosopher developing extremely advanced theories. Yet they both developed critical new ideas and were under-recognised within IOE despite their international influence. Roy is such a prestigious philosopher, many may wonder why a whole article is not dedicated to him. My aims include recording some benefits of the interdisciplinary thinking he promoted. This article briefly considers some of the ideas that each developed and why these are important; their collaborative work; memories from colleagues they have influenced; and their contribution to IOE’s history and, potentially, to its future.
Agronegocios lecheros y transformaciones territoriales. Los casos de Argentina y Ecuador
Authors: Zamboni Virginia , Martínez Diego
Published: July 2022

Durante el proceso de globalización los territorios rurales sufren distintas desestructuraciones en función del grado de avance de los procesos de mercantilización de estos espacios. A nivel mundial, la producción lechera constituye un elemento estratégico para la consolidación del capital agroindustrial. Actualmente, Latinoamérica es el primer continente productor de leche en polvo y el tercero a nivel de producción lechera (FAO, 2011). En esta región, si bien la leche es producida, en su mayoría, por pequeños y medianos agricultores, el procesamiento, industrialización y comercialización dependen de lógicas dominadas por grandes agroindustriales. El artículo presentado pretende comparar la realidad de dos países como Argentina (segundo productor en la región) y Ecuador (quinto productor en la región) para comprender cuales son las transformaciones generadas en los territorios rurales y como en función de las múltiples respuestas provenientes de las economías campesinas, las estrategias de expansión del capital agroindustrial también se ven modificadas.
El neodesarrollismo como el programa de la industria dependiente
Authors: Cantamutto Francisco , Costantino Agostina
Published: July 2022

Es posible denominar como neodesarrollista al proceso político-económico que atravesó la Argentina entre 2002 y 2015. Estuvo caracterizado por un cambio en las políticas macroeconómicas que, hasta 2008, impulsaron una recuperación económica, con énfasis en la industria y la creación de empleo. Este artículo sostiene el argumento de que el neodesarrollismo fue el programa de la fracción industrial del bloque en el poder, que buscó reproducirse a sí mismo en función de sus propias características de dependencia. De modo que sus alcances estaban determinados por la capacidad de apropiarse de flujos de valor que garantizaran su reproducción ampliada, lo cual tensionaba con otras clases sociales –centralmente, las clases populares y las fracciones agroexportadoras del bloque en el poder. Se ofrece una periodización del neodesarrollismo basada en la dinámica de la acumulación y las disputas por la legitimación.
Treatment of chest wall osteoradionecrosis with a contralateral breast Y-V flap: a case report
Authors: Kong Tae Hyun , Kim Il-Kug
Published: July 2022

Chest wall osteoradionecrosis, one of the most serious complications of radiation therapy for breast cancer treatment, is usually treated by wide debridement followed by coverage with a well-vascularized flap. However, the extent of radiation-induced injury and limits in performing wide resection of the injured bones often present challenges in treatment. Herein, we present our experience treating chest wall osteoradionecrosis with a contralateral breast Y-V flap in an 81-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with chest wall osteoradionecrosis and had grade 3 ptotic breasts. Redundant contralateral breast tissue was used for reconstruction to cover the wound. The flap was elevated in the subfascial plane after an inverted-T incision was made in the lower pole and inframammary fold of the contralateral breast, while preserving the perforators of the left lateral thoracic artery. The flap was spread using the Y-V advancement fashion to cover the wound. The patient was discharged 2 weeks after surgery. At 19 months postoperation, there were no complications or recurrence. The patient was satisfied with the short recovery time and surgical results. The contralateral breast Y-V flap allows simple and quick reconstruction, potentially expanding the available treatment options and therefore increasing flexibility in choosing a treatment plan for patients.
Dual cortical tunneling method for endoscopic forehead lift
Authors: Kim Mijung , Lee Nara , Tark Woohyun , Lee Won Jai , Roh Tai Suk , Baek Wooyeol
Published: July 2022

Background Endoscopic forehead lift with cortical tunneling is an effective option for rejuvenation of the upper third of the face. Although it has been considered safe and reliable, with relatively consistent long-term results, relapse and weakening of adhesion have been common problems.Methods We suggest the dual-tunneling method for overcoming these limitations. A total of 100 patients aged 17 to 65 years underwent forehead lifting with cortical tunneling by the senior author from August 2016 to December 2017. The single-tunnel method was applied in one half of the patients and the dual-tunnel method in the other half. Bilateral brow positions were measured immediately following surgery and 6 months later.Results For all cases, cortical tunneling was done at the central incision and both paramedian incisions; therefore, three tunnels were used in the control group and six tunnels in the experimental group. In the single-tunnel group, relapse distances were 2.39±0.83 mm for the medial brow and 3.26±0.91 mm for the lateral brow (6 months postoperatively; n=100). The dual-tunnel group showed significantly smaller (P<0.001) relapse distances, with values of 1.69±0.46 mm and 2.17±0.59 mm for the medial and lateral brow, respectively (6 months postoperatively; n=100). The experimental group did not show an increase in complications.Conclusions The dual-tunneling method, designed to minimize the cheese-wiring effect, uses a triangular plane to avoid a focal fixation. The fixation also includes the periosteum to hold the forehead tissue in place, inducing stronger adhesion.