bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COVID-related constrictive pericarditis requiring pericardiectomy: a case report
Authors: Boyles Rachel , Lu Joseph , Yoo Joseph , Samuels Louis
Published: July 2024

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic was primarily considered a respiratory malady in the early phases of the outbreak. However, as more patients suffer from this illness, a myriad of symptoms emerge in organ systems separate from the lungs. Among those patients with cardiac involvement, myocarditis, pericarditis, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia were among the most common manifestations. Pericarditis with pericardial effusion requiring medical or interventional treatments has been previously reported in the acute setting. Notably, chronic pericarditis with pericardial thickening resulting in constriction requiring sternotomy and pericardiectomy has not been published to date.

Case presentation

A patient with COVID-19-associated constrictive pericarditis three years after viral infection requiring pericardiectomy was reported. The COVID-19 infection originally manifested as anosmia and ageusia. Subsequently, the patient developed dyspnea, fatigue, right-sided chest pressure, bilateral leg edema, and abdominal fullness. Following recurrent right pleural effusions and a negative autoimmune work-up, the patient was referred for cardiothoracic surgery for pericardiectomy when radiographic imaging and hemodynamic assessment were consistent with constrictive pericarditis. Upon median sternotomy, the patient’s pericardium was measured to be 8 mm thick. Descriptions of the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic features are provided. Within the first week after the operation, the patient’s dyspnea resolved; one month later, leg edema and abdominal bloating were relieved.

Conclusions

Although an association between COVID-19 and cardiac complications has been established, this case adds another element of virus severity and chronic manifestations. The need for sternotomy and pericardiectomy to treat COVID-19-related constrictive pericarditis is believed to be the first reported diagnosis.
Implantable cardiac monitor and leadless pacemaker in the management of syncope due to intermittent high-degree atrioventricular block: a case report
Authors: Tang Nian , Chen Xiaoxiao , Zhang Denghong , Li Hongfei
Published: July 2024

Background

Lead dislodgements, tricuspid valve failure, and wound infections are prominent issues addressed by leadless pacemakers (LPM). These devises have emerged as viable alternatives to conventional transvenous pacemakers. LPMs offer minimized complications and effective pacing, particularly beneficial for elderly patients with a low body mass index (BMI) who are at heightened infection of risk. The Micra AV leadless pacemaker was released in the US in 2020, featuring a VDD pacing mode akin to conventional pacemakers. It senses atrial activity to pace ventricular beats while maintaining the natural atrioventricular activation sequence. Micra AV achieves atrioventricular synchronization through mechanical sensing principles. Ongoing research aims to assess its efficacy, implantation feasibility, and clinical safety.

Case presentation

An 83-year-old man with a history of syncope was the focus of this case study. An implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) recorded occasional high-degree atrioventricular block in the patient. Subsequently, the Micra AV was implanted via the left femoral vein, and its settings were adjusted in accordance with data obtained from the ICM. No significant issues regarding pacing threshold or impedance were found during the follow-up examinations post-surgery. Importantly, the patient experienced a noticeable reduction in symptoms compared to before the implantation.

Discussion

This case underscores the significance of ICM monitoring in elucidating cardiac events leading to syncope and guiding appropriate treatment. It also highlights the successful outcomes and reliable implantation of the Micra AV for managing high-degree atrioventricular block. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the adoption of leadless pacemakers as a viable option for patients requiring cardiac pacing, particularly those vulnerable to complications associated with traditional pacemakers. It provides real-world evidence of Micra AV’s efficacy and safety, further validating its role in clinical practice.
Comparison of microscopic full-laminectomy (open surgery) and microendoscopic minimally invasive hemilaminectomy for thoracic extramedullary spinal tumours
Authors: Chen Gang , Yu Yong , Qian Chengxing , Jiang Yong , Chen Jie
Published: July 2024

Background

Minimally invasive treatments for spinal cord tumours are common. The aim of this study was to compare the perioperative outcomes of patients with thoracic extramedullary spinal tumours (TEST) treated by microendoscopic minimally invasive surgery—hemilaminectomy through a homemade tubular retractor (MIS-TR) and microscopic full laminectomy (open surgery).

Methods

Between February 2016 and February 2021, 51 patients with TEST were included. According to their clinical data, patients were classified into the MIS-TR group (n = 30) and the open surgery group (n = 21) and assessed.

Results

In both groups, the mean operation time, change in perioperative ASIA score, and modified Macnab score were comparable. The average postoperative hospital stay in the MIS-TR group was substantially shorter than that in the open surgery group (p < 0.0001). The mean blood loss volume in the MIS-TR group was substantially lower than that in the open surgery group (p = 0.001). The perioperative complication rate in the MIS-TR group was considerably lower than that in the open surgery group (p < 0.0001). At the 3-month follow-up, there was no substantial difference in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score improvement between the two groups. Nonetheless, at the 12-month follow-up, the average ODI in the MIS-TR group was considerably lower than that in the open surgery group (p = 0.023). The main influencing factors for complete postoperative recovery were preoperative ASIA score (OR 7.848, P = 0.002), surgical complications (OR 0.017, P = 0.008) and age (OR 0.974, P = 0.393).

Conclusions

MIS-TR is safer and more effective than open surgery for treating TEST, but the long-term recovery of MIS-TR is not better than that of open surgery.
Optimising a digitally delivered behavioural weight loss programme: study protocol for a factorial cluster randomised controlled trial
Authors: Wren Gina M. , Koutoukidis Dimitrios A. , Scragg Jadine , Preston Grace , Hennessy Marianne , Estephane Daisy , Whitman Michael , Jebb Susan A.
Published: July 2024

Background

Digitally delivered weight loss programmes can provide a convenient, potentially cheaper, and scalable treatment option for people who may need to lose weight. However, outcomes are often inferior to in-person interventions in the long-term. This trial will use principles from the Multiphase Optimisation Strategy (MOST) framework to test whether it can enhance the effectiveness of a commercial digital behavioural weight loss programme. This trial aims to identify an optimised combination of four intervention components to enhance weight loss over a 24-week period. We will also explore which components contribute to improvements in participant retention and engagement with the programme.

Methods

Approximately 1400 adults with a BMI > 21 kg/m2 will be enrolled and randomised to one of 16 experimental conditions in a 24 factorial cluster design. The trial will test four intervention components: an introductory video call with the health coach, drop-in webchat sessions with the health coach, goal setting statements, and food diary review and feedback. All participants will receive the core digital behavioural weight loss programme and up to four new intervention components. Participation in the trial will last for 24 weeks. The primary outcome will be weight change at 16 weeks. Other outcomes, measured at 4, 16, and 24 weeks, include programme drop-out and engagement (number of interactions with the three main app functions). Fidelity and acceptability will be assessed using data on component adherence and self-report questionnaires. Decision-making for the enhanced programme will be based on components that contribute to at least a minimal improvement in weight loss, defined as ≥ 0.75kg, alone or in combination with other components.

Discussion

The factorial design is an efficient way to test the efficacy of behavioural components alone, or in combination, to improve the effectiveness of digital weight loss programmes. This trial will test the implementation of the MOST framework in an industry setting, using routinely collected data, which may provide a better way to refine and evaluate these types of interventions in a model of continuous service improvement.

Trial registration

Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN14407868. Registered 5 January 2024, 10.1186/ISRCTN14407868.
Enhancing monolignol ferulate conjugate levels in poplar lignin via OsFMT1
Authors: Unda Faride , de Vries Lisanne , Karlen Steven D. , Rainbow Jordan , Zhang Chengcheng , Bartley Laura E. , Kim Hoon , Ralph John , Mansfield Shawn D.
Published: July 2024

Background

The phenolic polymer lignin is one of the primary chemical constituents of the plant secondary cell wall. Due to the inherent plasticity of lignin biosynthesis, several phenolic monomers have been shown to be incorporated into the polymer, as long as the monomer can undergo radicalization so it can participate in coupling reactions. In this study, we significantly enhance the level of incorporation of monolignol ferulate conjugates into the lignin polymer to improve the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass.

Results

Overexpression of a rice Feruloyl-CoA Monolignol Transferase (FMT), OsFMT1, in hybrid poplar (Populus alba x grandidentata) produced transgenic trees clearly displaying increased cell wall-bound ester-linked ferulate, p-hydroxybenzoate, and p-coumarate, all of which are in the lignin cell wall fraction, as shown by NMR and DFRC. We also demonstrate the use of a novel UV–Vis spectroscopic technique to rapidly screen plants for the presence of both ferulate and p-hydroxybenzoate esters. Lastly we show, via saccharification assays, that the OsFMT1 transgenic p oplars have significantly improved processing efficiency compared to wild-type and Angelica sinensis-FMT-expressing poplars.

Conclusions

The findings demonstrate that OsFMT1 has a broad substrate specificity and a higher catalytic efficiency compared to the previously published FMT from Angelica sinensis (AsFMT). Importantly, enhanced wood processability makes OsFMT1 a promising gene to optimize the composition of lignocellulosic biomass.
The C-terminal region of the Plasmodium berghei gamete surface 184-kDa protein Pb184 contributes to fertilization and male gamete binding to the residual body
Authors: Nakayama Kazuhiko , Haraguchi Asako , Hakozaki Jun , Nakamura Sakure , Kusakisako Kodai , Ikadai Hiromi
Published: July 2024

Background

Malaria, a global health concern, is caused by parasites of the Plasmodium genus, which undergo gametogenesis in the midgut of mosquitoes after ingestion of an infected blood meal. The resulting male and female gametes fuse to form a zygote, which differentiates into a motile ookinete. After traversing the midgut epithelium, the ookinete differentiates into an oocyst on the basal side of the epithelium.

Methods

Membrane proteins with increased gene expression levels from the gamete to oocyst stages in P. berghei were investigated utilizing PlasmoDB, the functional genomic database for Plasmodium spp. Based on this analysis, we selected the 184-kDa membrane protein, Pb184, for further study. The expression of Pb184 was further confirmed through immunofluorescence staining, following which we examined whether Pb184 is involved in fertilization using antibodies targeting the C-terminal region of Pb184 and biotin-labeled C-terminal region peptides of Pb184.

Results

Pb184 is expressed on the surface of male and female gametes. The antibody inhibited zygote and ookinete formation in vitro. When mosquitoes were fed on parasite-infected blood containing the antibody, oocyst formation decreased on the second day after feeding. Synthesized biotin-labeled peptides matching the C-terminal region of Pb184 bound to the female gamete and the residual body of male gametes, and inhibited differentiation into ookinetes in the in vitro culture system.

Conclusions

These results may be useful for the further studying the fertilization mechanism of Plasmodium protozoa. There is also the potential for their application as future tools to prevent malaria transmission.

Graphical Abstract
Increasing the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in the citrus postharvest pathogen Penicillium digitatum
Authors: Ropero-Pérez Carolina , Marcos Jose F. , Manzanares Paloma , Garrigues Sandra
Published: July 2024

Background

Penicillium digitatum is a fungal plant pathogen that causes the green mold disease in harvested citrus fruits. Due to its economical relevance, many efforts have focused on the development of genetic engineering tools for this fungus. Adaptation of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology was previously accomplished with self-replicative AMA1-based plasmids for marker-free gene editing, but the resulting efficiency (10%) limited its practical implementation. In this study, we aimed to enhance the efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in P. digitatum to facilitate its practical use.

Results

Increasing the culture time by performing additional culture streaks under selection conditions in a medium that promotes slower growth rates significantly improved the gene editing efficiency in P. digitatum up to 54–83%. To prove this, we disrupted five candidate genes that were chosen based on our previous high-throughput gene expression studies aimed at elucidating the transcriptomic response of P. digitatum to the antifungal protein PdAfpB. Two of these genes lead to visual phenotypic changes (PDIG_53730/pksP, and PDIG_54100/arp2) and allowed to start the protocol optimization. The other three candidates (PDIG_56860, PDIG_33760/rodA and PDIG_68680/dfg5) had no visually associated phenotype and were targeted to confirm the high efficiency of the protocol.

Conclusion

Genome editing efficiency of P. digitatum was significantly increased from 10% to up to 83% through the modification of the selection methodology, which demonstrates the feasibility of the CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene disruption in this phytopathogenic fungus. Moreover, the approach described in this study might help increase CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing efficiencies in other economically relevant fungal species for which editing efficiency via CRISPR/Cas9 is still low.
Biogeographical distribution and community assembly of Myxococcota in mangrove sediments
Authors: Zou Dayu , Zhang Cuijing , Liu Yang , Li Meng
Published: July 2024

Background

Myxococcota, characterized by their distinct social lifestyles, are widely distributed micro-predators in global sediments. They can feed on a wide range of bacterial, archaeal, and fungal prey. Myxococcota are capable of producing diverse secondary metabolites, playing key roles in microbial food webs, and regulating the microbial community structures in different ecosystems. However, Myxococcota are rarely pure cultured due to the challenging and stringent culturing conditions. Their natural distribution, niche differentiation, and predator–prey relationships in a specific habitat are poorly understood.

Results

In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence data from public databases and our collection. We compared the abundance, diversity, and distribution patterns of Myxococcota in various habitats, with a specific focus on mangroves. We found that Myxococcota accounted for 1.45% of the total prokaryotes in global sediments based on the abundance of 16S rRNA genes. Myxococcota are abundant and diverse in mangrove sediments. They tend to be more generalistic in mangroves than in other habitats due to their wide niche breadth. Besides, the deterministic processes (variable selection) influenced the assembly of mangrove Myxococcota communities significantly more than stochastic processes. Further, we determined that environmental factors explained a greater amount of total community variation in mangrove Myxococcota than geographical variables (latitude and sediment depth). In the end, through the analysis of microbial co-occurrence networks, Myxococcota emerges as a key component and functions as a connector in the mangrove microbial community.

Conclusions

Our study enhances comprehension of mangrove Myxococcota's biogeography, assembly patterns, driving factors, and co-occurrence relationships, as well as highlights their unique niche and ecological importance in mangrove sediments.
Effectiveness study of the dual application of new Indigenous entomopathogenic nematode isolate Heterorhabditis taysearae and entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana against armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
Authors: Abd El Azim Amany M. , Khashaba Etr H. K. , El Kady Gamal A.
Published: July 2024

Background

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a polyphagous insect pest species that travel great distances every summer to disperse. They mostly feed on maize and over 350 other crops. In this investigation, two entomopathogens: Beauveria bassiana and Heterorhabditis taysearae, were utilized to test the efficacy of each against S. frugiperda separately and then as a group by inoculating H. taysearae two days after fungal infection.

Results

Evaluations were done on mortality percentage, infective juvenile (IJ) production, and conidia production. The LT50 continually reduced with increases in nematode and fungus concentrations. For the LC50 value, the H. taysearae isolate was 289 IJs/larva after 96 h of treatment, while for B. bassiana isolate, it was 106 CFU/ml after 144 h of treatment. Dual infections with B. bassiana and H. taysearae had a beneficial effect on pest mortality, resulting in 83% mortality, and caused a significant increase in conidia production while utilizing the nematode or fungal separately caused decrease in mortality (63 and 73%, respectively).

Conclusions

The study’s findings indicated a quicker time to death and suggested that combining a moderately pathogenic fungal isolate with nematodes could raise the mortality rate. The mutually beneficial relationship between B. bassiana and H. taysearae controls S. frugiperda.
Wave dissipation effect of a new combined breakwater and its protective performance for coastal box girder bridges
Authors: Leng Shuangjin , Xue Shihao , Jin Yuanjie , Xu Guoji , Xie Weibo
Published: July 2024

Breakwaters play an important role in in mitigating wave-induced damage to marine structures. However, conventional submerged breakwaters often exhibit limited wave dissipation capabilities, while floating breakwaters may lack adequate safety performance. Therefore, this study introduces a novel combined breakwater design aimed at addressing the shortcomings of both traditional types. The proposed breakwater integrates a floating structure with a trapezoidal submerged breakwater via an anchor chain connection. To evaluate its efficacy, numerical simulations of wave interactions with structures were conducted using the OpenFOAM computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software in a two-dimensional (2D) numerical flume. Dynamic mesh technology was employed to simulate the motion of the floating body, and the resulting wave loads on a box girder bridge deck positioned behind the breakwater were analyzed to assess the combined breakwater’s protective capabilities and influencing factors. Analysis of wave heights and loads on the bridge deck revealed that the combined breakwater outperformed traditional submerged breakwaters in terms of wave dissipation. Furthermore, it was observed that the protective efficacy of the combined breakwater was more sensitive to variations in the size of the floating body compared to the submerged structure, and more responsive to changes in wave period than wave height. Leveraging the ability of the floating body to attenuate waves near the surface and the enhanced impact resistance provided by the combined floating and submerged structures, the proposed breakwater offers a promising approach to improving wave attenuation performance and enhancing safety for coastal infrastructure.
Longitudinal Increases in Time to Surgery for Patients with Breast Cancer: A National Cohort Study
Authors: Tortorello Gabriella N. , Shafique Neha , Keele Luke , Susman Carolyn G. , Dheer Anushka , Fayanju Oluwadamilola M. , Tchou Julia , Miura John T. , Karakousis Giorgos C.
Published: July 2024

Background

Longer time to surgery (TTS) is associated with worse survival in patients with breast cancer. Whether this association has encouraged more prompt care delivery remains unknown.

Methods

The National Cancer Database was used to identify patients ≥18 years of age diagnosed with clinical stage 0–III breast cancer between 2006 and 2019 for whom surgery was the first mode of treatment. A linear-by-linear test for trend assessed median TTS across the interval. Adjusted linear regression modeling was used to examine TTS trends across patient subgroups.

Results

Overall, 1,435,584 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 63 years (interquartile range [IQR] 53–72), 84.3% of patients were White, 91.1% were non-Hispanic, and 99.2% were female. The median TTS in 2006 was 26 days (IQR 16–39) versus 39 days in 2019 (IQR 27–56) [p < 0.001]. In a multivariable linear regression model, TTS increased significantly, with an annual increase of 0.83 days (95% confidence interval 0.82–0.85; p < 0.001). A consistent, significant increase in TTS was observed on subgroup analyses by surgery type, reconstruction, patient race, hospital type, and disease stage. Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and having either Medicaid or being uninsured were significantly associated with prolonged TTS, as were mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

Conclusions

Despite evidence that longer TTS is associated with poorer outcomes in patients with breast cancer, TTS has steadily increased, which may be particularly detrimental to marginalized patients. Further studies are needed to ensure the delivery of timely care to all patients.
Extreme Oncoplasty: Oncologically Safe When Compared with Mastectomy
Authors: Hossino Deena , Silverstein Melvin J. , Savalia Nirav , Jayich Margaret , Khan Sadia
Published: July 2024

Background

Extreme oncoplasty is a breast-conserving operation using oncoplastic techniques in a patient who does not meet the traditional criteria for breast conservation and in whom most physicians would suggest a mastectomy. These tumors are generally multicentric and/or multifocal, they span more than 50 mm, or they can be large recurrences in a previously irradiated breast.

Methods

A prospective single institution database was queried from 2008 through mid 2023 for patients who met the criteria for extreme oncoplasty and were treated with excision plus whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT) or mastectomy without WBRT. Patients with recurrent breast cancer were excluded. Endpoints were local, regional, and distant recurrence as well as overall and breast-cancer-specific survival.

Results

272 patients were treated with oncoplastic mammaplasty, using a standard or split reduction excision followed by postoperative WBRT. An additional 101 patients elected to be treated with mastectomy without postoperative radiation therapy. With a median follow-up of 7 years, there were no significant differences in local, regional, or distant recurrence, nor in breast-cancer-specific survival or overall survival.

Conclusions

We strongly support extreme oncoplasty plus WBRT as the default procedure of choice for patients with large multifocal/multicentric lesions amenable to reconstruction with volume displacement mammaplasty.
Supporting behaviour change and self-management in diabetes
Authors: Bostock Beverley
Published: July 2024

Beverley Bostock looks at how nurses can use their communication skills to support patients
How to write a great CV
Authors: Oxtoby Kathy
Published: July 2024

Nurses share their tips and advice about how to write a CV that will help give you the best chance of securing your next step up the career ladder. By Kathy Oxtoby
Career profile
Authors: Gallagher Sara
Published: July 2024

Sara Gallagher, enhanced nurse practitioner and Vaccine Programme Clinical Lead Gloucestershire ICB
Priorities for the new Government
Authors: Rajagopalan Upasana
Published: July 2024

Health care leaders and key opinion formers share their thoughts on how the new Government can transform the way we provide care, and make the health sector a better place to work. By Upasana Rajagopalan
The haunting melody of loss in the racist imagination
Authors: Keval Narendra
Published: July 2024

This article aims to explore the appeal of racist narratives and how they are used in populist politics to manipulate and exploit, leading to a rise in xenophobia and race hate crimes. Beneath the surface of the rhetoric is a predictable constellation of thoughts and feelings that create a racist imagination whose emotional atmosphere is melancholic and potentially murderous. The entangling of grief with racism is exploited through political messaging which aims to create false narratives of hope that attempt to bring to life a regressive fantasy of a return to an idealised past, into the material reality of the present by racialising others and treating them with impunity. I consider the extent to which we can learn about the challenges of engaging with these forces by turning to the experience of working clinically with these states of mind to translate a psychoanalytic sensibility to the political, one that is sensitive to the complexity and conflation of race, class and biography.
The political economy of senior care in China: theorising with Chinese feminisms
Authors: Xu Feng , Strauss Kendra
Published: July 2024

This article explores the political economy of eldercare labour and the gendered politics of care work in China. Building on insights from research conducted in 2016–17 in Shanghai, we argue that gendered regimes of productive and reproductive labour, processes of class formation and economic reforms articulate with a regime of differential urban citizenship rights – urban and rural hukou – in shaping and influencing the lived experience of paid eldercare workers. As a framework for understanding ‘who cares’ in local eldercare labour markets in China, we follow recent work interweaving social reproduction theory (SRT) and intersectionality. In conversation with those debates, we experiment with mobilising intersectionality alongside SRT as we explore these eldercare workers’ paths into the sector, but argue that attention to the Chinese context and Chinese feminist contributions can also transform SRT and intersectional approaches through historically and materially grounded analyses of evolving relations of exploitation and oppression. This approach enriches the feminist political economy of paid eldercare through attention to who is channelled into this work in one of the world’s largest, and fastest-ageing, economies.
The Douglass Effect in Biofiction: The Case of Colum McCann's TransAtlantic
Authors: Husband Julie
Published: July 2024

Abstract: The contemporary proliferation of public memorials to Frederick Douglass in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland signals Douglass's centrality to the global, humanitarian aspirations of these regions. Colm McCann's novel TransAtlantic builds on this public, historic memory, making Douglass a model for transcending binary definitions of colonized and colonizer. McCann's Douglass navigates sympathy with Irish Catholics at the start of the Great Famine alongside his need to court English landowners willing to support the antislavery cause he had come to Ireland to promote. The article considers how Douglass's choices at this time speak to contemporary anticolonial movements and readers.
The Torrents of Spring and the Beginning of the Hemingway Myth
Authors: Holliday Shawn
Published: July 2024

Abstract: Although most scholars consider Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novella The Torrents of Spring as an aberration in the Hemingway canon, contemporary readers should rethink its marginalized standing as it is the first work in which the author intentionally broke with his literary influences that changed critical conversations about his future output. While Hemingway claimed to have written the book in order to cancel his contract with Boni & Liveright, he also used it to criticize such writers as Henry James, Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, Gertrude Stein, and Willa Cather, demystifying them in order to mystify himself as an artist working in a new minimalist, confrontational prose style that opposed theirs. Through such actions, he established a pattern of behavior that revitalized his fiction by establishing a personal mythos that critics continued to perpetuate throughout his career.
The Novel's Changing Climate: Richard Powers's The Overstory as an Anthropocene Novel
Authors: Simmons Matthew
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This essay reads The Overstory as an important attempt at representing other-than-humans in literature and contextualizes this as a way of grappling with the ongoing climate crisis and the loss of a horizon for collective futures under neoliberal capitalism in the Anthropocene. By reading two passages from The Overstory the essay attempts to explore the novel as a story of realism's success in representing other-than-humans as distinct characters and the fluctuating, massive timescales of other beings. It argues that by constructing other-than-human characters, both in their individuality and in their multi-species plurality, the realist novel might do justice to some of the temporal and spatial problems posed by the Anthropocene. This shift from the traditional realist mode to a multispecies narrative offers a way for novels to represent life in the Anthropocene in a manner that works against the dominate extractive logics that contribute to the climate crisis.
"A Novel … invested with a Desperate and Aching Significance": Poetics and Ethics of Fragmentariness in Blue Pastoral by Gilbert Sorrentino
Authors: Karoui-Elounelli Saloua
Published: July 2024

Abstract: The potential of radical narrative discontinuity in parodic Postmodern metafiction urges a rethinking of the value of literary meaningfulness and totality in this vein of experimental literature. The poetics of radical narrative discontinuity in Blue Pastoral (1983), induced by a multi-faceted fragmentariness, is discussed as indicative of Postmodern metafiction's experimental drive and its avant-gardist ethos. The focus will be on the play of narrative fissures, as well as on the technique of verbal montage/collage. The articulation of narrative laterality enhances the parodic perversion of the quest plot, in addition to the traditional forms of the pastoral. The ethical implications of the fragmentary in Blue Pastoral and their rootedness in the narrative's anti-representational quality are examined through readerly interpretation and judgment, with the value of literary meaning re-appraised in terms of surface, and the communicative impetus of the metafictional text articulated in terms of both complicity and a demystifying critical distance.
Sister's Son: Aspects of Mordred and the Avunculate in La Mort le Roi Artu and the Stanzaic Morte Arthur
Authors: Brandon Jessika
Published: July 2024

Abstract: Mordred in La Mort le Roi Artu and the Stanzaic Morte Arthur displays positive and chivalric attributes in a surprising manner. This article proposes that these qualities stem from his genealogical status in the form of 'double kinship' as nephew and son to Arthur. (JB)
Representing: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Authors: Eden Michael
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This article explores what we can learn from creative responses to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , which comprises a growing visual language, inclusive of the original images of the codex, the illustrations of popular translations, contemporary artworks that respond to the poem, and the recent film adaptation. (ME)
Nonperceptual Kataleptic Impressions in Stoicism
Authors: Schwab Whitney
Published: July 2024

abstract: The kataleptic impression—an impression that is, in some special way, “true and such as could not be false”—is at the core of Stoic epistemology. Since Gisela Striker’s groundbreaking work on the criterion of truth, the dominant view among scholars is that the Stoics restricted kataleptic impressions to certain perceptual impressions. I argue that the Stoics in fact countenanced nonperceptual kataleptic impressions and explain how they thought nonperceptual impressions can meet the definition of the kataleptic impression.
“The Season of Exaggerated Hopes”: Richard T. Greener in the Reconstruction University
Authors: Harrelson Kevin J.
Published: July 2024

abstract: Richard T. Greener was the first Black graduate of Harvard College in 1870, and he served briefly as a professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina from 1873 to 1877. Historians and biographers have uncovered many of the facts of his unusual life, but to date his philosophy has remained unappreciated. This essay reconstructs his philosophy from published and archival sources, evaluating it in relationship to the work of his better-known mentor, Frederick Douglass. I argue that Greener’s account of Reconstruction politics, especially his arguments on land redistribution, race, and Black intellectual history, possess notable advantages over Douglass’s views. Of particular importance is that he defended a more robust republican state than did his hero, while rejecting the originalism and constitutionalism that characterize Douglass’s liberalism.
Constance Naden’s Metaphysics: Hylo-Idealism’s Ideal Known World and Unknown Matter
Authors: Thomas Emily
Published: July 2024

abstract: In 1880s Britain, Constance Naden defended “hylo-idealism,” a theory aiming to unify materialism with idealism. This paper offers the first sustained study of Naden’s metaphysical system. On this new reading of Naden’s hylo-idealism, her materialism is carefully qualified; and her idealism is distinctively Kantian, her construal of the external cosmos as Unknown placing her within the Victorian school of metaphysical agnostics. I distinguish Naden’s system from that of fellow hylo-idealist Robert Lewins and argue it lies closer to that of evolutionist Thomas Henry Huxley. Against various critics, I show that Naden has the resources to rebuff objections facing hylo-idealism. This paper seeks to open further avenues for Naden scholarship and help us better understand Victorian metaphysics more generally.
Historical Phonological Explanation of the Mutual Connection Between the * Et and * It Rhyme Groups: A Study on the Phonetic Changes / 月
2部、质部相通的历史音变解释
Authors: Bian Tiangang
Published: July 2024

月
2部 *et、质部 *it原本是泾渭分明的不同韵部，后来能够跨部相通，
是历史音变的结果和反映。两部相通萌芽于西汉，显著于东汉，主要
集中在三、四等韵。两部入声四等韵相通，是 质 屑 、 月 2屑 合流为中古
《切韵》四等屑韵的先声；两部去声四等韵相通，是质 霁 、 月 2霁 合流
为 中古《切韵》四等霁韵的先声。两部三等韵相通主要集中在舌齿音
声母，但不见于河洛雅音，可能是方音现象，中古《切韵》音系中薛
韵字的质韵异读，以及祭韵字的至韵异读，可能源自该方言创新音变
的影响。
From Ustazah to Reformers: Unsung Heroes in Malaysian History
Authors: Musa Mahani
Published: July 2024

Abstract: Studies of the role of women in society generally focus on elite personalities such as political figures, NGO workers, and academic activists. This article examines the work of Malay women educated in religious schools who influenced reforms in female education and became agents of change in the public and political sphere, with a particular focus on teachers ( ustazah ) in religious schools. The article adds to the established narrative of reform and improvement in women's lives in 20th century Malaysia.
The Japanese Occupation in Pahang, January 1942–September 1945
Authors: Ahmad Abu Talib
Published: July 2024

Abstract: The Japanese Occupation in Pahang followed many of the policies adopted elsewhere in the Malay Peninsula. This article illustrates details about everyday life during the Occupation period, revealing less studied aspects of the wartime years, including Japanese plans for the state, local administration, food supplies, health, ceremonial occasions, and the wartime experience of local residents.
The Tribulations of a Man Who Would Be King: Anthoni Brooke of Sarawak (1912–2011)
Authors: Gin Ooi Keat
Published: July 2024

Abstract: Born with prospects succession to the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak, Anthony Brooke was of rulership and thrice demoted from the royal estate, a rise and fall that took place over three years of direct involvement in the affairs of Sarawak. A falling out with his uncle, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke (r. 1917–41, 1946) before the war and a clash over the post-war cession of Sarawak to the British Crown sealed Anthony's fate. The present reviews the end of Brooke rule in Sarawak and the tumultuous Sarawak career of Anthony Brooke, whose hubris and failure to adapt to changing circumstances brought about his fall from grace.
Some First-Hand Accounts of the Japanese Occupation
Authors: Kratoska Paul H.
Published: July 2024

Abstract: First-hand accounts of life during wartime reveal how social and economic stress distorts everyday interactions. This article presents unpublished accounts of incidents during and after the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. It is divided into three parts: Escaping the Japanese, Co-existing with the Japanese, and Resisting the Japanese.
Embodying Extraness: Leslie Jones’s Black Feminist Comedic Strategy
Authors: Starnes Amani
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This article takes up Leslie Jones’s 2014 debut performance on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” in which she introduced her “#1 Slave Draft Pick” joke. Within the framework of Black Feminist Comedic Performance (BFCP), I analyze Jones’s performance to introduce the concept of “Extraness,” a strategic mode of Black feminist comedic embodiment. I schematize Extraness as performing excessive acts of self-expression, subverting stereotypes, and articulating an affective and phenomenological outsideness. The concept extends beyond mere excess, evolving into a strategic technique for self-actualization and embodied critique as it confounds linear conceptions of time and progress. The article posits Extraness as the reclaiming of the unruliness assigned to Black women’s bodies across time and space. I explore the dynamic relationship between the joke and audience perception, shedding light on the role of Extraness in shaping spectatorship, and highlight the complexity of Extraness, which may agitate some viewers’ sensibilities while fostering a sense of community among others. I contend that Extraness, though challenging for some audiences, remains an essential tool for Black women comedians to confront and reshape narratives about their experiences.
Disorganizing Representation in Theatresports: A Case Study in Improv Comedy
Authors: Mayo Keira
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This article offers a model of analyzing improv comedy by minoritarian improvisers that refuses to reduce the performance to being about race and gender. This work draws on critiques of identity and representation advanced by queer of color performance studies scholars to show how race and gender can matter in improv without their being the only aspects of significance. Examining a scene from Toronto’s fortieth anniversary of Theatresports, I highlight how the form of the “Dubbing Game”—where improvisers speak for one another—combines with the improvisers’ creative choices to produce a lively and laughable piece of improvised theatre. Exploring how the Dubbing Game separates voice from body shows how race and gender can be sensed as an event rather than strictly adhering to bodies. Through this exploration, I argue that part of what makes this dubbing scene funny is the disorganization of the representational logic. Importantly, disorganizing representational logic is only part of the scene’s comedy. This article shows the many ways that the scene’s comedy emerges through particular creative choices rather than from information about the “what is” of race and gender.
What It Is to Perform , Not Tell , Jokes: Toward a Manifesto of Stand-Up Research
Authors: Nwankwọ Izuu
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This essay makes a case for studying stand-up comedy with theatre analytical tools by highlighting its performative nature and discussing how body interactivities within its enactment produce meaning and humor beyond what comedians say. It provides an alternate reading of stand-up comedy to the prevalence of linguistic evaluations, which often conflate stand-up art with other comedic traditions that are not performed. I argue that such perspectives often downplay the co-participation of the audience and what comedians do with their bodies. Citing joke samples from three African diasporic comedians—Gina Yashere, Urzila Carlson, and Hoodo Hersi performing in the US, New Zealand, and Canada, respectively—I explore the use of the body, audience involvement, and other performed aspects from which hilarity is derived.
Liz Kingsman’s One Woman Show as Embodied Meta Comedy
Authors: Schmidt Jennifer
Published: July 2024

Abstract: This article presents a performance analysis of One Woman Show by Liz Kingsman, based on a viewing of the show’s 2023 run in New York at the Greenwich House Theater. Written and performed by Kingsman, One Woman Show parodies the titular genre, satirizing the hypocrisies and paradoxes that women performing solo comedic material must navigate. In doing so, it offers a rich case study to examine in concert with scholarship on women and comedy, which often focuses on the binaries that circumscribe women’s ability to function as joke-tellers in a patriarchal society. Whereas theorists such as Kathleen Rowe Karlyn uphold approaches to humor based in the materiality of the comic body, Kingsman’s show critiques the overexposure of the explicit, “unruly” body in women’s comedy. The show questions a performer’s ability to tell an authentic story in such a highly constructed genre and highlights the readiness with which women’s expressions of sexual desire turn back around into exploitation and objectification. Kingsman’s performance, however, constantly finds ways to distance and displace any true scrutiny of her person onto another surface, layering multiple narrative frameworks, timelines, and personas across her single body. I argue that the many-layered frameworks of One Woman Show function as a form of comic embodiment that displaces materiality in favor of theatricality. With this “embodied meta comedy,” Kingsman offers a strategy of representation that is self-aware without resorting to self-deprecation, using the body as a tool without it reading as an object.
On Bombing: Causes and Strategies of Resilience for Stand-Up Comedians
Authors: Gogerty Megan
Published: July 2024

Abstract: For stand-up comedians, bombing—that is, failing to make an audience laugh, resulting in a sour, unsatisfying, and perhaps humiliating performance—feels terrible. It is also an inevitability. Eventually, even the most skilled and seasoned comedian will suffer a misfire. Comedians bomb if the audience doesn’t understand or agree with their material or if they fail to create sufficient rapport with their audience. Sometimes bombing occurs for reasons well outside the comedian’s control. However, there are some practices that can blunt the effects of bombing, if not avoid it altogether. Drawing from my own practice-as-research as a stand-up comedian, coupled with close readings of comedy studies scholarship, I delineate several approaches comedians can take to mitigate bombing on stage. Comedians can shift their mindset away from chasing laughs. They can focus on telling the truth and amusing themselves. Finally, they can adopt a playful curiosity about the present moment that can steer them through disaster. While bombing is not pleasant, it can be instructive.
Mehrub Moiz Awan on Queer Joyful Worldmaking, in Pakistan and Beyond
Authors: Pamment Claire , Awan Mehrub Moiz
Published: July 2024

Abstract: Mehrub Moiz Awan is a Pakistani khwaja sira-trans activist, public health specialist, global policy practitioner, independent academic, and performer. Their comic performances include the viral “gender ambiguous” and “shamelessly cute” Shumaila Bhatti (2016–20), the bold comic drag persona of Phudina Chatni (2018–22), and a present movement toward building khwaja sira-trans comic collectives (2023-present). In this excerpted conversation between Claire Pamment and Awan from October 2023, Awan reflects on her embodied experiences of comedy in transition across personae, forums, and a rapidly shifting landscape of transgender rights in Pakistan and beyond. She directs us to the mutually imbricated local and global forces prefixed on killing trans and queer joy while pushing us toward queer, resilient, and collective joyful worldmaking.
Integrated subwavelength bimodal interferometer using a multilayer hyperbolic metamaterial
Authors: Martinez Alejandro , Mañez-Espina Luis
Published: July 2024

Bimodal interferometry can be implemented in a photonic integrated waveguide by inserting structures supporting at least two modes to connect an input and an output waveguide. The length of the bimodal section is inversely proportional to the index difference between the
involved modes, which can be quite small in multimode dielectric waveguides. We propose and numerically demonstrate an ultrashort bimodal interferometer by embedding a multilayer hyperbolic metamaterial in a subwavelength gap separating two dielectric waveguides. We make use of the large difference between the bulk and the plasmonic modes of the metamaterial to reduce the total length of the interferometer to less than 1 𝜇m. Our system, which is potentially fabricable with standard nanofabrication tools, could be used to build ultra-compact integrated bimodal interferometers for signal processing and biosensing.
Language Acquisition among Early Childhood Diaspora: The Role of Indonesian in Malaysia's Kepong Guidance Studio
Authors: Putri Vera , Yeni Rahmawati Ida , Cahyono Hadi , Fauzi Nasution Ikhwan
Published: July 2024

This study investigates the acquisition and development of Indonesian as a second language among early childhood learners within the Indonesian diaspora at the Kepong Guidance Studio in Malaysia. Utilizing a qualitative case study methodology, data were collected through interviews, observations, and documentation involving 21 children aged 4-6 years, their educators, and the principal. Despite the structured Indonesian curriculum, findings revealed that the dominant use of Malay significantly influences language development. Teaching strategies incorporating traditional Indonesian games and songs were found to be effective in enhancing language acquisition. Observational data indicated that 60% of children aged 4-5 years showed significant development in understanding and using Indonesian, while 87.5% of children aged 5-6 years exhibited strong repetition and communication skills in Indonesian. However, challenges included inconsistent language usage and the influence of the children's first language, Malay. The study underscores the necessity of tailored educational strategies that address individual learning needs and emphasize active parental involvement to reinforce language skills acquired in educational settings. Triangulation ensured data reliability and validity, though the small sample size and context-specific nature limit the generalizability of the findings. These results highlight the importance of inclusive and adaptive learning environments that cater to the linguistic and cultural needs of diaspora children. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these educational strategies on language proficiency and cultural identity, with a broader scope and larger sample sizes to enhance understanding and support effective educational policies and practices for diaspora communities globally.