bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Politics and Diplomacy of the First World War
Authors: Afflerbach Holger
Published: March 2021

The politics and diplomacy of First World War are a complex topic. Tens of thousands of books, articles, and editions of primary sources were published on many aspects of the question, but very few works try to cover the ground comprehensively. The reason is the sheer complexity. The attempt to cover the topic in its entirety and in depth would fail to amalgamate the enormous amount of information. There is not a simple “line of events” to follow. A thorough analysis of the politics and diplomacy of First World War has to cover the events and the political intentions and actions of key protagonists, and then to link them with internal politics, with military events and strategic expectations—and this for the entire duration of the war. The task is massive; over thirty states fought in this war. Many neutrals as well as non-state-actors, like for example the churches, would have to be included in such a survey. It is evident that it is very difficult to deliver such an analysis for the entire period of the war in reasonable depth; and maybe it would not even be sensible to try. Many studies analyze developments in politics, strategy, and war aims on the level of single states or on the level of wartime alliances, or they examine single political events of international nature. What is missing are not the “unit level” studies, but “system level” analysis of First World War diplomacy and political relations covering the entire war. We have to pay a significant price for the non-existence of thorough international studies of the war. It leads to serious and unavoidable shortfalls in interpretation because the “unit level” view—let’s say, the view of the contemporaries living during the Great War—tends to survive and perpetuate itself and to dominate research up to our present times. This bibliography reflects this state of research, by offering first an introduction to some key works on the start of the war (i.e., the July crisis) and introducing then some useful studies which cover the entire topic of international politics and wartime diplomacy. It will then turn toward the politics and diplomacy of First World War on a “unit level,” state by state. It ends with literature on the armistice in 1918. It abstains from covering the Versailles peace negotiations which are a closely linked but separate topic.
Labor Migration: Dynamics and Politics
Authors: Prokkola Eeva-Kaisa
Published: March 2021

Much of the early research on labor migration drew on the push-pull factors of migration. The emphasis was on economic and individualistic assumptions with little notion of institutions, power, and politics. Since the early 1970s, the interest has shifted toward historical and institutional processes and structural factors and their explanatory power regarding the dynamics and patterns of labor migration. The national and international regimes of migration control have expanded and directed scholarly attention toward border and migration policies and their production of migrant categories. Migration policy research has also extended the focus from receiving countries toward complex dynamics and interactions between the labor-sending and labor-receiving countries. The migration trajectories from the global South to North have been studied extensively and more and more attention is paid to South–North, South–South and North–North migrations. Different types of labor migration and mobilities are also subject to different regional, national, and international policies and policy change. In current literature, the heterogeneity of migration is underlined, as well as how labor migration politics and policies address high-skilled migrants in different ways than low-skilled ones. However, the categories of migration are in many ways arbitrary. Labor migration is a highly complex and politically contested issue that intersects and forms a continuum with other types of migration and migration politics. Migration politics and the precarious conditions of foreign workers have been studied, among other ways, in explorations of what influence the temporal nature of migration and restricted permission to stay in the foreign territory have. Moreover, although labor migration is usually understood in terms of voluntary migration, the conditions of migrants sometimes resemble those of unfree labor, illustrating the complexity of determining what is counted as labor migration and what politics it concerns. The recent research on migrant rights and political atmosphere brings together the subjects of different migrations and how migrants navigate between different legal and political statuses. The literature is organized chronologically into eight themes that have a similar theoretical approach or similar thematic perspective to labor migration: (1) Theoretical and Historical Overviews, (2) International Division of Labor, (3) the Political Economy of Labor Migration, (4) Regulation and Management of Labor Migration, (5) Regional Migration Governance, (6) Skilled Labor Migration, (7) Temporary and Precarious Labor Migration, and (8) rights and protection in a Rights-Based Approach. The historical and geographical migration trajectories are visible through the themes, revealing how and why the particular aspects of labor migration have become questions of politics in different parts of the world.
Variation Form
Authors: Ofcarcik Judith , Robertson Gillian
Published: March 2021

For centuries, variations have garnered the attention of Western composers and amassed popularity among virtuosi and audiences alike. Unfortunately, the reception of this form type within the scholarly community is less enthusiastic, especially in comparison to sonata form, which continues to draw curiosity and inquiry. This is unfortunate, as scholars who analyze variations are faced with fundamental musical questions such as: Where are the borders drawn between same, similar, and different musical material? How does a listener determine whether one passage is a variation of another? How does a composer signal that a piece is finished, and is this signal always convincing? Do musical events need to occur in a particular order to make sense, or can the ordering be changed without serious consequences? Variation form brings these issues to the fore, and the works listed in this article engage them in a variety of ways. Sections are primarily organized chronologically by time period, focusing on stylistic eras, composers, and specific compositions. Of note to readers is the almost exclusive focus on instrumental works and the limited sources addressing music written before the baroque period. There is a notable emphasis on the “canon” and “canonic composers,” especially J. S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, and Johannes Brahms, as well as structural approaches to analysis (particularly the writings of Heinrich Schenker). These shortcomings and limited perspectives reflect the current state of research on variation form; we encourage new research that will diversify the range of scholarship on this topic in regard to composers, repertoires, and analytical approaches. In particular, hermeneutic/semiotic/narrative approaches to variation form are particularly appealing, and works by underrepresented composers deserve analytical attention and scholarship.
World War I in Latin America
Authors: Rinke Stefan
Published: March 2021

The First World War was a global event that intensively involved Latin America. From the beginning, Latin Americans sensed that this war had worldwide scope. For many observers, the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 represented a profound turning point in the unfolding of history. Because of the breakdown of the European civilizational and development model, and in the unreserved belief in human progress in the years from 1914 to 1918, a world where Latin America had occupied a fixed position was effectively gone. Many contemporary witnesses agreed that an era had ended in the days of August 1914, and a new, still uncertain age had begun. The war stimulated the massive utilization of new forms of media like photography and cinema. Press photography proved to be an important instrument of propaganda, which contributed to the worldwide circulation of war pictures that seemed to depict objective reality. The understanding of reality expanded, for what was real no longer simply pertained to one’s own life, but also to events mediated through imagery. It was precisely in places like Latin America, where there was a geographical separation from the front lines that people experienced the war, both privately and publicly, through media-produced images. What is more, the World War I took place there especially as a propaganda war, which also caused a largely unprecedented form of radical hatemongering among rivals to spread in the subcontinent. Consequently, the traditional bias toward European models proved to be obsolete and the future had to be conceived anew. Due to this attitude, the call for a reorientation of identities on a national and regional level, which had already gained momentum before the war, became even louder. Scholarship on Latin American history has for decades largely ignored the First World War as a major event in which the continent played a part. This was mainly due to historiography’s focus on the nation and as well as initially on military and diplomatic, and later social and economic, topics. Only recently, with the rise of the new cultural history and global history, have the tides started to turn. Several important studies have now been published.
Nuns and Convents in Colonial Latin America
Authors: Díaz Mónica
Published: March 2021

Soon after European settlements were established in Latin America, the Catholic Church became the most important colonial institution, extending its power to all aspects of life. Prevalent views on gender among the new settlers and religious authorities, and an environment of religious fervor, fostered the rapid creation of female convents in the urban centers of Mexico and Peru in the mid-16th century, spreading to other areas of the continent later during the colony. Female cloisters were already common in the Iberian Peninsula since the Middle Ages, yet they became more popular after the religious revival of the Counter-Reformation (1545–1648). The Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila (b. 1515–d. 1582) became the model for many women to follow in the Hispanic world. Her reform of the Carmelite order brought even more popularity to the already widespread practice of life in the convent for women of all social classes. Nuns followed a religious rule that emulated the life of the saints and Jesus; they kept a strict schedule that included prayer, spiritual exercises, and physical penitence. The reformed orders would also harvest their food, make their clothes, and take care of housekeeping, while the unreformed cloisters allowed servants and slaves to perform those chores. The nuns who entered the latter convents had to provide a dowry, while nuns in reformed convents lived out of charity. Choosing conventual life was common during this time period. However, their choice was not always informed by religious devotion; many times it responded to social circumstances. The convent became a solution for the increasing number of women of European descent who could not find suitable husbands in the postconquest years in Latin America. Religious and gendered views of the time encouraged the protection of women from the dangers of the world. Women were considered weak and more prone to sin, therefore their enclosure and close supervision by male religious authorities was not only deemed ideal but also necessary; at the same time women were seen as simpleminded and therefore more likely to receive spiritual favors from God. Nuns’ prayers were considered beneficial for those whom they interceded for. Ultimately it became a matter of social and spiritual status for a city to be able to establish a convent. However, convents were not monolithic institutions, and significant differences existed between them depending on the place where they were established, the rule they followed, and the political and economic circumstances of the times.
Cultural psychology and human development
Authors: Chaudhary Nandita , Sriram Sujata , Valsiner Jaan
Published: March 2021

Cultural psychology is a theoretical approach that treats human beings as intimately intertwined with the surrounding social world, which is filled with meanings conveyed through signs. It is based on the axiom that cultural contexts and psychological phenomena are assumed to be mutual, inseparable, and co-constructive. This focus fits the general scientific status of all open systems, which exist only due to the continuous exchange of materials with the environment. Cultural psychology is an integrated approach to psychology rather than a separate branch, as is sometimes believed, since psychology and culture “make each other up.” This involves constructive internalization (intra-mental construction of personal meanings) and equally constructive externalization (changing the environment in the direction specified by the internal meanings). As a collaborative, multidisciplinary perspective, cultural psychology is closely linked with disciplines like anthropology, sociology, linguistics, literature, and others. Cultural psychology focuses on the study of cultural—sign-mediating—processes within the mind. A common misconception relates to the fact that the term “cultural” refers to the study of similarities and differences between various communities. Rather than focusing on static comparisons, meaning-making and dynamic organization of personal and collective reality are studied. Differences between societies are important only as illustrations of the possible patterns of human psychological variation as they emerge in a particular time-space coordinate. Thus, another important axiom is that there can be no psychology without culture. Culture is constructed by goal-oriented human actions and involves continuous thought, action, and emotion in the face of uncertainty. Thus, the centrally important feature of cultural psychology is the inclusion of personal, interpersonal, and collective processes as they make up the different layers of meaning in irreversible time. Culture is both inside a person’s mind, as a personal manifestation, and also a shared system or collective set of customs. Cultural psychologists tend to treat the person as a whole rather than as separate different domains of activity because a comprehensive and multidimensional approach to a person within context is believed to be the key to meaning. Cultural psychology attempts to bring the notion of context into the central focus in psychology and the notion of person back into ethnography, as these are believed to be constructive. Context is viewed in two ways—as inevitably and inseparably linked with the phenomenon and as external social setting (e.g., home, school) in which human activities take place. Another important feature is that “cultural psychology is inherently a developmental discipline and developmental psychology is inherently cultural” (Shwartz, et al. 2020, p. 2). All levels of culturally organized human ways of living—persons, communities, societies—are constantly developing systems.
T. S. Eliot
Authors: Dickey Frances , Banerjee Ria , McVey Christopher , Morgenstern John , Query Patrick , Richards Joshua , Stayer Jayme , Virkar Yates Aakanksha
Published: March 2021

Poet, dramatist, and critic Thomas Stearns Eliot (b. 1888–d. 1965) won fame for such poems as “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915), The Waste Land (1922), and “The Hollow Men” (1925), which ushered in and helped define the modernist era of literature. His critical writings also shaped literary taste and study in the 20th century. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, by a Unitarian family with deep roots in American history, he was educated at Harvard and wrote his first significant poems during his year abroad in Paris, 1910–1911. After completing most of the work for a PhD in philosophy, he found himself abroad again during the outbreak of World War I, and he decided to marry an Englishwoman, Vivienne Haigh-Wood, and put down roots in London. His first book of poems, Prufrock and Other Observations (1917), surprised readers with its modern vocabulary, free-verse rhythms, and compelling dramatic voices. While working as a teacher and then a banker, Eliot established himself as an authoritative new voice in literary criticism with essays including “Tradition and the Individual Talent” (1919), “Hamlet” (1919), and “The Metaphysical Poets” (1921). He introduced terms that shaped literary study throughout the 20th century: “impersonality,” “the objective correlative,” and “dissociation of sensibility.” In 1920 he collected his early essays in The Sacred Wood and published another volume of poems, including “Gerontion.” His personal life was not happy; he regretted having married a woman he did not love instead of the American girl he left behind in Massachusetts, Emily Hale (during his lifetime he wrote over one thousand letters to her). Considered his greatest work and probably the most significant poem of the 20th century, The Waste Land (1922) expresses his personal emotional conflict in terms of the larger historical currents of the immediate postwar period: the aftershocks of war, a crisis of faith, changing gender roles, urbanization, and a sense of deracination from the past. Erudite, multilingual, and difficult to read, but also highly charged with feeling, this poem captured the spirit of the interwar era, received more sustained attention than any other literary work in the 20th century, and is known and quoted across the globe. Eliot further distinguished himself by converting to the Anglican church in 1927 and becoming its leading poet and dramatist with his conversion poem Ash-Wednesday (1930), the play Murder in the Cathedral (first performed 1935), and the long lyric sequence Four Quartets (1936–1941). He also became a British citizen, so he can be considered both an American and an English writer. In the 1930s and 1940s he turned more toward drama and engaged with cultural and social debates in his criticism from a Christian perspective. Eliot won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1948.
Shlomo Carlebach
Authors: Ophir Natan
Published: March 2021

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (b. 1925–d. 1994) was a spiritual guide, charismatic religious leader, and influential composer of popular modern Hasidic tunes. Through his musical storytelling, inspirational insights, and personal contacts, he inspired a new form of heartfelt soulful Judaism and became a progenitor of the 20th-century neo-Hasidic renaissance. Born in Berlin on 14 January 1925, he grew up in Baden near Vienna where his father, Rabbi Naphtali Carlebach, served as chief rabbi (1931–1938). Shlomo was named after his paternal grandfather, Rabbi Dr. Shlomo (Salomon) Carlebach (b. 1845–d. 1919), chief rabbi of Lübeck, Germany. Shlomo’s maternal grandfather was Rabbi Dr. Asher (Arthur) Cohn (b. 1885–d. 1926), Chief Rabbi of Basel, Switzerland. Young Shlomo was destined by his parents to continue in the family’s rabbinic calling. With the ominous Nazi rise to power, the Carlebach family fled, eventually arriving in New York on 23 March 1939. Shlomo studied in the Haredi yeshiva high school Mesivta Torah Vodaas until April 1943, and then joined a dozen students who helped Rabbi Aharon Kotler establish the first Haredi full-time Torah-learning yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. Then, in 1949, Shlomo embarked upon a career as the outreach emissary for the Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe. From the home base of his father’s synagogue, Kehillath Jacob, in Manhattan, Shlomo set up the first Hasidic outreach program in America. But by 1955 he had begun charting a unique “outreach” career as a “singing Rabbi.” Highlights of his career include establishing the House of Love and Prayer (HLP) in Haight-Ashbury (1968–1978) and Moshav Meor Modi’in in Israel (1976). He was the featured singer at rallies of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ), and his most famous song, “Am Yisrael Chai,” was composed for their protest movement. In 1989, he led the first Jewish music tour in Russia, reaching fifty thousand people in three weeks and inspiring Soviet Jewry. He also visited Poland 1–10 January 1989 with eight concerts in ten days and thus was the first openly religious Jew to perform in Communist Poland after the 1967–1968 wave of anti-Semitism. But in his own eyes, his major achievement was as “Rebbe of the Street-Corner.” His potential constituency could be found in any forlorn corner that he encountered. And since he traveled around the world sharing his utopian vision of love and peace, he assumed a unique role as a charismatic iconoclast rebbe.
Postcolonialism
Authors: Naylor Lindsay
Published: March 2021

In the colonial period imperialism advanced in uneven ways across time and space globally. European exploration in the late 15th century first brought destructive, exploitative, and deadly changes to what became known as the Americas. The subjugation and elimination of Indigenous groups, which commenced during this period, created the conditions for accumulation by dispossession, enslavement (of both Indigenous groups and people stolen from Africa), plantation-style production systems, and the extraction of resources—the legacies of which still mark political, social, economic, and environmental landscapes today. Following rebellion and successful de jure (legal) independence from Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s (starting with the radical uprising of enslaved peoples in Haiti), Western powers turned to new regions to regain such systems of control and resource extraction. In 1848, the Berlin Conference was held— also called the “Scramble for Africa,” where European powers divided the continent and created new sites of extraction. Such patterns followed in South and Southeast Asia as well as North Africa and Central Asia in the latter parts of the 19th century. As a result of these violent campaigns, there are very few places on the globe that did not sustain, at some point, a form of colonial-imperial relation. Independence movements were ongoing and by the end of the 20th century, de jure colonial control had all but disappeared. Decolonization had occurred and the global periphery entered the period of being postcolonial. Former British colonies were assembled into the Commonwealth, which changed relations from direct control and subjugation to allegiance to the Queen and for some, drastic changes in economic relations, (this had the effect of marginalizing Indigenous struggles in many of these places). Notwithstanding the legal separation of the colonies from imperial powers, de facto (in effect) colonial arrangements lingered and remain today, giving rise to a series of critiques and new ways of thinking about imperialism and the impact of colonialism, such as the theory of postcolonialism.
Islands as Evolutionary Laboratories
Authors: Holmquist Anna , Gillespie Rosemary G.
Published: March 2021

Islands have inspired biologists for hundreds of years as locations that foster unique biotic assemblages and provide insights into ecological and evolutionary processes dictating life globally. Although by classic definition islands are subcontinental land masses surrounded by water, from a biological perspective, islands can be defined broadly as any isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by distinct environmental conditions. Therefore the study of island biology applies to any area that is habitable for a given set of organisms and is separated from a source by an inhospitable matrix. Biological islands can include lakes surrounded by land and mountaintops, caves, and land fragments surrounded by habitat in which an organism of interest cannot survive or reproduce. Given sufficient isolation, these attributes can result in a distinctive biota.
Evolution and Development of Individual Behavioral Variation
Authors: Laskowski Kate L. , Bell Alison M. , Stamps Judy
Published: March 2021

What makes individuals unique? The answer to this question lies in understanding why and how individuals respond to numerous internal and external factors that they experience over their lifetimes. This fundamental question lies at the heart of the study of human and animal behavior and is best addressed by integrating both proximate and ultimate perspectives. From a proximate perspective, we need to understand the molecular, hormonal, and physiological pathways involved in enacting behavioral changes within individuals. From an ultimate perspective, we need to understand when and why behavior changes in response to different internal and external factors and whether such changes are adaptive, a result of constraints, or pathological. Research on this topic draws links across several fields including developmental and abnormal psychology, personality in humans and animals, developmental plasticity, and parental effects. The development of individual behavioral variation encompasses many different processes because there are so many ways that behavior can vary within and across individuals. This article considers behavioral variation in both of these respects, that is, within-individual plasticity and among-individual differences. Within an individual, behavioral plasticity describes the way in which behavior can change across the lifespan as a result of changes in internal factors such as maturational state, or as a result of salient experiences. Among individuals, differences in average behavior can be a result of individual differences in internal factors, such as genetic variation, variation in their experiences, and variation in how they respond to the same experiences. Traditionally, students of behavioral variation in humans and animals focused on describing the mean levels of behavior expressed by groups of individuals as a function of changes in age or in response to specific experiences. More recently evolutionary and behavioral ecologists have become interested in patterns of within-individual plasticity and among-individual differences in behavior, and the factors that contribute to their development, which is the focus of this review here.
Approaching the Interpretation of Discordances in SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Authors: Wontakal Sandeep N , Bortz Robert H , Lin Wen-Hsuan W , Gendlina Inessa , Fox Amy S , Hod Eldad A , Chandran Kartik , Prystowsky Michael B , Weiss Louis M , Spitalnik Steven L
Published: March 2021

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has upended life throughout the globe. Appropriate emphasis has been placed on developing effective therapies and vaccines to curb the pandemic. While awaiting such countermeasures, mitigation efforts coupled with robust testing remain essential to controlling spread of the disease. In particular, serological testing plays a critical role in providing important diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic information. However, this information is only useful if the results can be accurately interpreted. This pandemic placed clinical testing laboratories and requesting physicians in a precarious position because we are actively learning about the disease and how to interpret serological results. Having developed robust assays to detect antibodies generated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and serving the hardest-hit areas within the New York City epicenter, we found 3 types of discordances in SARS-CoV-2 test results that challenge interpretation. Using representative clinical vignettes, these interpretation dilemmas are highlighted, along with suggested approaches to resolve such cases.
ESCRT Is a Great Sealer: Non-Endosomal Function of the ESCRT Machinery in Membrane Repair and Autophagy
Authors: Isono Erika
Published: March 2021

Components of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRTs) were first identified in a genetic screen in budding yeast as factors interfering with vacuolar protein sorting. In the last three decades, intensive studies have revealed the subunit composition of ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I, ESCRT-II, ESCRT-III, their structure, the assembling mechanisms and their molecular and physiological functions. In plants, ESCRTs are essential for development, growth and stress responses. ESCRTs are best known for their function in endosomal trafficking, during which they are required for sorting ubiquitylated membrane proteins into intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) of multivesicular endosomes (MVEs). The formation of ILVs requires the function of ESCRT-III, which has been shown to mediate the membrane scission. Although the function of plant ESCRTs has been predominantly discussed in the context of endosomal trafficking, recent studies in other model organisms revealed a versatile role of ESCRTs in diverse cellular events with broad physiological implications. The non-endosomal functions of ESCRTs include cytokinesis, viral budding, autophagy, nuclear envelope reformation and membrane repair, although many of these have not yet been studied in plants. In this review, recent findings on non-endosomal ESCRT functions in plant, yeast and animals are highlighted and discussed.
The Plasticity of Photosystem I
Authors: Hippler Michael , Nelson Nathan
Published: March 2021

Most of life’s energy comes from sunlight, and thus, photosynthesis underpins the survival of virtually all life forms. The light-driven electron transfer at photosystem I (PSI) is certainly the most important generator of reducing power at the cellular level and thereby largely determines the global amount of enthalpy in living systems (Nelson 2011). The PSI is a light-driven plastocyanin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, which is embedded into thylakoid membranes of cyanobacteria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic photosynthetic organism. Structural determination of complexes of the photosynthetic machinery is vital for the understanding of its mode of action. Here, we describe new structural and functional insights into PSI and associated light-harvesting proteins, with a focus on the plasticity of PSI.
Lateral root formation and nutrients: nitrogen in the spotlight
Authors: Pélissier Pierre-Mathieu , Motte Hans , Beeckman Tom
Published: March 2021

Lateral roots are important to forage for nutrients due to their ability to increase the uptake area of a root system. Hence, it comes as no surprise that lateral root formation is affected by nutrients or nutrient starvation, and as such contributes to the root system plasticity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating root adaptation dynamics toward nutrient availability is useful to optimize plant nutrient use efficiency. There is at present a profound, though still evolving, knowledge on lateral root pathways. Here, we aimed to review the intersection with nutrient signaling pathways to give an update on the regulation of lateral root development by nutrients, with a particular focus on nitrogen. Remarkably, it is for most nutrients not clear how lateral root formation is controlled. Only for nitrogen, one of the most dominant nutrients in the control of lateral root formation, the crosstalk with multiple key signals determining lateral root development is clearly shown. In this update, we first present a general overview of the current knowledge of how nutrients affect lateral root formation, followed by a deeper discussion on how nitrogen signaling pathways act on different lateral root-mediating mechanisms for which multiple recent studies yield insights.
A tobacco ringspot virus-based vector system for gene and microRNA function studies in cucurbits
Authors: Fang Le , Wei Xin-Yu , Liu Ling-Zhi , Zhou Ling-Xi , Tian Yan-Ping , Geng Chao , Li Xiang-Dong
Published: March 2021

Cucurbits are economically important crops worldwide. The genomic data of many cucurbits are now available. However, functional analyses of cucurbit genes and noncoding RNAs have been impeded because genetic transformation is difficult for many cucurbitaceous plants. Here, we developed a set of tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV)-based vectors for gene and microRNA (miRNA) function studies in cucurbits. A TRSV-based expression vector could simultaneously express GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP) and heterologous viral suppressors of RNA silencing in TRSV-infected plants, while a TRSV-based gene silencing vector could knock down endogenous genes exemplified by PHYTOENE DESATURASE (PDS) in Cucumis melo, Citrullus lanatus, Cucumis sativus, and Nicotiana benthamiana plants. We also developed a TRSV-based miRNA silencing vector to dissect the functions of endogenous miRNAs. Four representative miRNAs, namely, miR159, miR166, miR172, and miR319, from different cucurbits were inserted into the TRSV vector using a short tandem target mimic strategy and induced characteristic phenotypes in TRSV-miRNA-infected plants. This TRSV-based vector system will facilitate functional genomic studies in cucurbits.
Effects of a multi-strainBacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbial on weanling pig growth performance and nutrient digestibility
Authors: Lewton Jaron R , Woodward Adrienne D , Moser Ronny L , Thelen Kyan M , Moeser Adam J , Trottier Nathalie L , Tempelman Robert J , Rozeboom Dale W
Published: March 2021

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a multi-strain Bacillus subtilis-based direct-fed microbial (DFM) on growth performance and apparent nutrient digestibility of nursery pigs. Eighty pigs, of equal number of barrows and gilts (initial body weight: 7.0 ± 0.60 kg), were weaned at 21 ± 1 d and randomly allotted to 1 of the 16 pens, with 5 pigs per pen. Two dietary treatments were implemented, a basal control (CON) and a control plus DFM (CDFM). Both diets were corn, soybean meal, and distillers dried grains based. Diets were fed for 42 d and growth performance measures were recorded weekly. On days 21 and 42 of the experiment, one pig per pen, with equal number of males and females, was randomly selected and euthanized. Digestibility of nitrogen (N), amino acids (AA), and energy were evaluated within the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and ascending and distal colon. Relative to CON, CDFM tended to increase ADG during week 2 (P = 0.08) and significantly increased ADFI during week 2 (P = 0.04) and week 3 (P = 0.02). In addition, CDFM decreased the gain to feed ratio (G:F) during week 6 relative to CON (P = 0.04). Within the jejunum, pigs fed the DFM had greater digestibility of tryptophan (P = 0.04) and cysteine (P = 0.04) and tended to have greater digestibility of lysine (P = 0.07), methionine (P = 0.06), and threonine (P = 0.08), relative to CON. The content pH in the ascending colon did not differ between CDFM and CON. Compared with CON, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy did not differ from CDFM, whereas ATTD of nitrogen of CDFM was lower (P = 0.05). The addition of a multi-strain B. subtilis-based DFM appears to impact growth performance, AA, and N digestibility depending upon the location in the gastrointestinal tract, with primary AA differences occurring within the mid-jejunum.
First Genomic Resource of the Columbia Lance Nematode Hoplolaimus columbus
Authors: Ma Xinyuan , Baeza J. Antonio , Richards Vincent P. , Agudelo Paula
Published: March 2021

The Columbia lance nematode Hoplolaimus columbus has been reported frequently from North America due to its negative impact on agricultural production. In this study, for the first time, we sequenced the whole genome of a female specimen by using whole-genome amplification and Illumina MiSeq. Data were de novo assembled to form scaffolds of 205.75 Mbp consisting of 118,374 contigs. The largest scaffold was 636,881 bp. Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs completeness was 66.6% (eukaryotic dataset), and >8,000 unique genes were predicted by GeneMark-ES. In total, 61,855 protein sequences were predicted by AUGUSTUS, and 10,085 of them were annotated by PANNZER2 with at least one function. These data will provide valuable resources for studies focusing on pathogenicity and phylogenomics of plant-parasitic nematodes.
Students Experience Mass Casualty Nursing From the Patient Perspective in a Simulated Mass Casualty Exercise
Authors: Start Ethan , Culley Joan M. , Tavakoli Abbas , Polyakova-Norwood Vera
Published: March 2021

Life-saving response to mass casualty incidents (MCIs) requires education and training. Participation in an MCI full-scale exercise provided nursing students with a rare opportunity to experience a simulated disaster from the patient perspective to better understand the unique issues involved in mass casualty response. This innovative teaching approach enabled students to undergo triage and decontamination as victims of a chemical MCI and participate in a research study. We describe student feedback on this learning experience and the implications of incorporating a full-scale MCI for providing a patient perspective into nursing curricula.
A Systematic Review: Instruments to Measure Educator Retention Concepts
Authors: Tufano Virginia , Dolan Diana Martinez , Willson Pamela
Published: March 2021

AIM

The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative instruments that measure characteristics that support nurse educator education, specifically social support, motivation, and work opportunity.

BACKGROUND

Vacancies in nurse faculty positions have left nursing education unable to increase the number of nurses prepared to enter the workforce.

METHOD

A review of education, nursing, and psychological databases was undertaken to identify reported instruments. Identified instruments were analyzed to match three framework-derived concept categories: social support, internal motivators, and work opportunity. Search terms, retrievals, and quality assessments are discussed; identified instruments are ranked by concept categories.

RESULTS

Of 98 articles retrieved, 85 underwent full review, and 7 met the inclusion criteria. From these reports, 20 unique instruments were identified and analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS

There are quantitative instruments that measure the concepts found in the Nurse Educator Retention Framework.
Strategies to Improve Mother's Own Milk Expression in Black and Hispanic Mothers of Premature Infants
Authors: Cartagena Diana , McGrath Jacqueline M. , Reyna Barbara , Parker Leslie A. , McInnis Joleen
Published: March 2021

Background:

Mother's own milk (MOM) is the gold standard of nutrition for premature infants. Yet, Hispanic and Black preterm infants are less likely than their White counterparts to receive MOM feedings. Evidence is lacking concerning potential modifiable factors and evidence-based strategies that predict provision of MOM among minority mothers of premature infants.

Purpose:

A review of the literature was conducted to answer the clinical question: “What evidence-based strategies encourage and improve mother's own milk expression in Black and Hispanic mothers of premature infants?”

Methods/Search Strategy:

Multiple databases including PubMed, Cochrane, and CINAHL were searched for articles published in the past 10 years (2010 through May 2020), reporting original research and available in English. Initial search yielded zero articles specifically addressing the impact of lactation interventions on MOM provision in minority mothers. Additional studies were included and reviewed if addressed breastfeeding facilitators and barriers (n = 3) and neonatal intensive care unit breastfeeding support practices (n = 7).

Findings/Results:

Current strategies used to encourage and improve MOM expression in minority mothers are based on or extrapolated from successful strategies developed and tested in predominantly White mothers. However, limited evidence suggests that variation in neonatal intensive care unit breastfeeding support practices may explain (in part) variation in disparities and supports further research in this area.

Implications for Practice:

Neonatal intensive care unit staff should consider implementing scaled up or bundled strategies showing promise in improving MOM milk expression among minorities while taking into consideration the cultural and racial norms influencing breastfeeding decisions and practice.

Implications for Research:

Experimental studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of targeted and culturally sensitive lactation support interventions in Hispanic and Black mothers.
Cross-leg Ilizarov limb-salvage technique for management of combined bone and soft-tissue distal tibial defect: a case series
Authors: Fayed Mahmoud M. , Ayad Wael , Awad Mostafa I. , Hayyawi Fahad Abdulazeez , Alkasmazy Hossam H. , Elgalad Hamdy G. , Kotb Ahmed
Published: March 2021

Background:

Management of concomitant distal tibial bony and soft-tissue defects is still a major challenge for both orthopaedic and plastic surgeons. A cross-leg flap can be used as an alternative solution, particularly when the microsurgical free flap is not a feasible or applicable option. The proposed modified bilateral Ilizarov frame with cross-connection bridges provides stability to the construct and treats both soft-tissue and bone defect.

Methods:

Seven patients presented with combined posttraumatic bone and soft-tissue defects in the distal part of the leg. The defects were managed by cross-leg soft-tissue flap through two-stage procedures. Ilizarov external fixators were used for fixation of both legs to provide stability to the crossing soft-tissue flap and for bone segment transfer to manage bone defects at the same time.

Results:

In all patients, the soft-tissue flaps were successfully taken 3 weeks postoperatively. In six patients, bone segment transfer took 9 to 12 mo to unite. One patient had defects in the distal tibia and talus that needed further ankle fusion after the completion of segment transfer. In one patient, bone marrow injection was used to enhance the union, and residual osteomyelitis and nonunion were the end results in one patient.

Conclusions:

The modified cross-leg Ilizarov technique is shown to be an effective and appropriate method in simultaneous management of combined bone and soft-tissue defects in the distal leg.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV.
In-vitro 3D Analysis of Sacroiliac Joint Kinematics
Authors: Odeh Khalid , Wu Wei , Taylor Ben , Leasure Jeremi , Kondrashov Dimitriy
Published: March 2021

Study Design.

An in-vitro biomechanical study of human cadaver sacroiliac joints.

Objective.

Our study aimed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the native motion of the SIJ within the context of spinal kinematics and spinal implant evaluation.

Summary of Background Data.

Increasing attention has been given to the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) as a source of low back pain, despite its limited range of motion. We sought to characterize the rotational and translational motion in each axis utilizing standard pure moment flexion-extension (FE), lateral bending (LB), and axial rotation (AR) testing.

Methods.

Sixteen sacroiliac joints were evaluated from eight lumbosacral cadaver specimens (six females, two males) from subjects aged 28 to 57 years (mean age 46.8) with body mass index (BMI) 22 to 36 (mean BMI 30). Single leg stance was modeled by clamping the blocks on one ischium in a vise and letting the contralateral ischium hang freely. Pure moment loading was applied in FE, right/left AR, and right/left LB. Relative motions were collected with infrared markers.

Results.

The on-axis ratio was significantly lower in LB than in FE (P = 0.012) and in AR (P = 0.017). The rotation deviation angle measured 13.9 ± 9.1° in FE, 17.1 ± 8.7° in AR, and 35.7 ± 25.7° in LB. In LB the rotational deviation angle is significantly higher than both FE and AR (P = 0.003 and P = 0.011, respectively). In-plane translation was significantly higher (P = 0.005) in FE loading than in LB loading.

Conclusion.

A nontrivial amount of rotation and translation occurred out of the expected axis of motion. The largest amount of off-axis rotation was observed in lateral bending. Relative to resultant translation, in-plane translation was lowest in lateral bending. Our results indicate that rotation of the SIJ is not fully described with the in-plane metrics which are normally reported in evaluation of fusion devices. Future studies of the SIJ may need to consider including off-axis rotation measurements when describing SIJ kinematics.

Level of Evidence: 5
New Decade, Old Debate: Blocking the Cytokine Pathways in Infection-Induced Cytokine Cascade
Authors: Rizvi Mahrukh S. , Gallo De Moraes Alice
Published: March 2021

Objectives:

Our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 is evolving; however, a “cytokine storm” has been implicated. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating the value of anticytokine therapies to treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019. This review summarizes the existing literature evaluating the efficacy and safety of anticytokine therapy to tackle the dysregulated immune response to infectious pathogens, discusses potential reasons for failure, applicability to coronavirus disease 2019, and future direction.

Data Sources:

Medline, PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and media reports.

Study Selection:

The studies were included by author consensus.

Data Extraction:

Data were selected for inclusion after reviewing each study by author consensus.

Data Synthesis:

“Cytokine storm” is a nonspecific term, encompassing systemic inflammatory response to infectious pathogens, autoimmune conditions, cancers, trauma, and various chemotherapies. Like bacterial sepsis, viral pathogens may fuel immunopathogenesis by inducing a dysregulated autoamplifying cytokine cascade, ultimately leading to organ injury. This narrative review discusses what we know of the immune milieu of coronavirus disease 2019 versus noncoronavirus disease 2019 sepsis and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome, summarizes the existing literature on cytokine inhibitors in patients with sepsis and/or acute respiratory distress syndrome, and discusses possible reasons for recurrent failure. In doing so, it aims to assist decisions regarding the use of anticytokine therapy in patients with coronavirus disease 2019, as many regions of the world confront the second wave of the pandemic.

Conclusions:

As ongoing clinical trials determine the efficacy and safety of anticytokine therapy in patients with coronavirus disease 2019, clinicians should uphold caution when incorporating it into treatment protocols, while maintaining focus on established evidence-based practices and the mantra of “less is more.”
High-risk, recurrent and oligometastatic prostate cancer: recent developments on the role of radiation
Authors: Molitoris Jason K. , Alexander Gregory S. , Siddiqui Osman , Cohen Justin , Mishra Mark V. , Rana Zaker
Published: March 2021

Purpose of review

Although a standard of care in the treatment of organ-confined prostate cancer, use of radiation for treatment in the high-risk, metastatic and salvage settings is evolving rapidly.

Recent findings

Recent clinical trials have explored the role of increased treatment for high-risk disease with the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy and expanded the role of radiation in settings previously reserved for systemic therapy. Addition of adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk prostate cancer is controversial and recent evidence is discussed that continues to refine the patient population for further evaluation. Evidence recently published demonstrates that for patients with low burden metastatic disease and those with oligometastatic disease may have a survival benefit with radiation treatment to all sites of known disease. Finally, reirradiation after prior radiotherapy-based treatment offers a potential salvage option for patients with locally recurrent prostate cancer.

As treatment paradigms evolve for prostate cancer, recent evidence continues to demonstrate benefit for the use of local therapy, both in patients with organ-confined disease and, more increasingly, in those with limited metastatic or locally recurrent disease. Further work is needed to identify subgroups of patients who may benefit from available treatment escalation approaches.