bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Poetic Prosumption and Disruptive Creativity: Social Media Uploaders and Influencers as the New Bandits, Pirates, and Guerrilla Winners
Authors: Chen Zhen Troy
Published: May 2024

This chapter looks at fandom practices on Bilibili, a video-sharing social media site mediating anime, comics, games, and novels (ACGN). It uses an ethnographic approach to problematise the Western conceptualisations of creativity by looking at the ‘Shanzhai’ and cultural adaptation phenomenon of Chinese online vernacular cultures. It also shows how Chinese urban youth poach and transcode media texts through parody, piracy, and their own agentic ‘prosumption’. The chapter describes poetic and tactical prosumption that shapes Chinese youth’s negotiated identities and nurtures new socialites in the making. It aims to initiate a constructive conversation between Western and Eastern literature in a Chinese context and to understand the knowledge, attitude, and behavioural changes within networked communities on social media platforms.
Introduction
Authors: Kawakami Akane
Published: May 2024

The introduction situates Ferrier in a number of contexts in order to map out the wider relevance of his work. His oeuvre is considered in the contexts of French Global, postcolonial and transnational writing; the lineage of Japonisme; and the frameworks of Memory Studies, Genre Studies, and Environmental Humanities. Each of these contexts is described and analysed, then applied to Ferrier’s work.
Scatter and Resist
Authors: Kawakami Akane
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses Ferrier’s reactions as a writer and campaigner to the triple disaster that struck Fukushima on 11/3/2011; the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster which ensued. Immediately after the earthquake, Ferrier travelled up to Fukushima and wrote a witness account of what he saw and learned, both in Fukushima and later in Tokyo. Since then, he has also written numerous articles and film scripts, and edited two volumes of essays and creative works on the subject. All of these works are discussed and examined in the chapter. My analyses describe Ferrier’s collaborative approach to the task of awareness-raising about Fukushima, as well as his adoption of an aesthetic learned from both his actual and readerly experiences of disaster, which I have called ‘an aesthetic of scatteredness’.
Medical Equipment to Repair Broken Bodies: The plinthion for the Reduction of Dislocations
Authors: Calà Irene
Published: May 2024

Chapter 2 by Irene Calà concerns Oribasius of Pergamon, the famous doctor of the emperor Julian the Apostate, who devoted a section of his treatise Collectiones medicae to the machines used to cure broken bodies. According to Oribasius, there are three ways for the reduction of dislocations: the first are therapies only with hands, which are for women and children exclusively; the second is the usage of utensils of common use – a praxis for everyone; the third and the most efficient are medical interventions with machines. In contrast to therapies with hands and common instruments, whose employment responds to gender and age normative criteria (as applied to women and children), the use of machines implies the medical conceptualisation of the human body as gender neutral.
Bodies with Organs, Bodies without Organs
Authors: Thumiger Chiara
Published: May 2024

Chapter 3 by Chiara Thumiger explores two key perspectives on the human body: localization (parts, organs, ‘systems’) and that of holism, with the first more often than the second expected to be coupled with mechanicistic views. This paper wants to probe this simplification by exploring how, in certain contexts, holistic images of the body have been seen as challenges to the oppressive, dehumanising potential of a fractured view of human physiology as reliant on mechanic, organ-based processes. As such, this ‘holistic body’ is cast as more private, less exposed to subjugation, even subversive by comparison with a body composed of purposeful ‘organs’ and ‘systems’ whose functions and workings are explicable and accessible through anatomical investigation; exposed to specific dynamics and rhythms (flows, beats, pulsations, contractions), and condemned to a predictable existence.
Natural-born Cyborgs, Or, when Talos met Medea
Authors: Liveley Genevieve
Published: May 2024

Chapter 4 by Genevieve Liveley finds evidence for technosomatic ‘boundary breakdowns’ as already blurring ontologies between natural and artificial, organic and inorganic, masculine and feminine, in the ancient world. It takes as a case study the story of Medea, ‘mistress of pharmaka’, and her encounter with the bronze giant Talos, ‘the last survivor of the bronze race of humans born from ash trees’, to explore the extent to which we are – and have always been – what cognitive scientist Andy Clark describes as ‘natural-born cyborgs’. The story of Talos and Medea, it suggests, turns out to be concerned with very ancient – and very modern – (post)human anxieties: about how innovations in science and technology change the world and in turn change us – including/especially our relations and configurations of gender.
O Tempora, O Morays: Eels and Luxury in Imperial Rome
Authors: Devecka Martin
Published: May 2024

Chapter 10 by Martin Devecka looks at how Romans employed a number of strategies, both cosmetic and dietetic, to humanize eels (muraenae). Moreover, they consistently treated murenae as female. This chapter argues that the gendered eel is a cybernetic construct, assembled by Romans out of eel bodies and other spare parts. Putting jewellery on an eel gives it a gender identity in much the same way as this kind of ornatus genders Roman women (and sometimes men) as feminine. Roman experiments with eels are a way of denaturalizing, or reflecting on the already-synthetic character of, Roman gender relations. Eels come from the ocean and are, themselves, a luxury good. Luxuria leads to the crossing of ecologies, to the subsumption of ecologies in an economy. As woman, the murena comes to express this relationship microcosmically and in a domesticated form.
Countervocalities: Shifting Language Hierarchies on Corsica
Authors: Mendes Alexander
Published: May 2024

Countervocalities is a linguistic-ethnographic study of language on the Mediterranean island of Corsica exploring different dimensions of institutional multilingualism, namely those related to policies, practices, attitudes, and ideologies within and extending from education settings. The chapters address reclamation, imposition, and erasure of different languages on Corsica, alternating between diverse interactional and artefactual data types: transcripts from participant observation, picturebooks, interviews, and photographs of the linguistic landscape. This productive alternation offers a cross-section of attitudes toward and representations of multilingual dynamics while foregrounding the role of mobility and language in understandings of place and what counts as local. Ultimately, Countervocalities attempts to better understand competing conceptualizations of linguistic multiplicity beyond the widely upheld binary of French versus Corsican on the island.
For(z)a
Authors: Mendes Alexander
Published: May 2024

“For(z)a” turns to public spaces adjacent to one of the focal school settings and offers a reading of the linguistic landscape (LL) of one street in Bastia. The particular neighborhood is known for being a hub of immigrants and has a poor reputation among locals. I read divergent ideological orientations to language and place in the street’s signage to illustrate tensions between competing discourses of belonging. I frame this argument in a discussion of transgression, peripheral multilingualism, and the postlocal as well as minoritized language literacy. I argue that while the island has not thus far been characterized as “superdiverse,” the street’s LL could help us nuance our understanding of how minoritized codes are taken up to communicate sociopolitical resistance.
Planning, Politics and Contested Space
Authors: DeYoung Elizabeth
Published: May 2024

This chapter introduces the case study of the Girdwood Hub and provides initial context on the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It explores how negotiations over space, place and territory shape the urban landscape, and how one can experience these dynamics through the act of walking, or flaneurism. Grounded in a theoretical framework of place-making, the introduction examines how political power and socio-economic trends are reflected in space; and how division and segregation are reproduced in cities globally.
A Moment’s Monument
Authors: Riach Graham K.
Published: May 2024

This chapter analyses three of Ivan Vladislavić’s stories from Missing Persons (1989), The Loss Library (2012), and the story ‘Save the Pedestals’ (2019), showing how they offer new ways of conceiving the role that artworks play in the ‘future of the past’. It tracks how the relationship to the past different monuments imply is informed by the experience of reading short fiction. Monuments are charged symbols of how historical narratives are shaped by their public representation and are an important means through which the relationship between the individual and the state is mediated. The monuments Vladislavić describes are artworks that both encode and project understandings of history, statehood, and citizenship. The brevity of the reading experience of these stories, and the apophatic aesthetics they adopt, position the short story as a form of counter-monument to those of the national imaginary.
Zoë Wicomb and the ‘Problem of Class’
Authors: Riach Graham K.
Published: May 2024

This chapter argues that Zoë Wicomb makes use of the short story’s elliptical tendency to mediate one of South Africa’s most volatile political issues, namely, the ‘problem of class’. This ‘problem’ is in one sense societal – her stories in The One That Got Away (2008) depict how class intersects with race and other markers of identity to shape experience – but it is also literary, concerning how the elliptic, aporetic, and isolated short story articulates class experience, and what happens when these are arranged in a loosely linked cycle. By looking at class through dual sociological and aesthetic lenses, I draw attention to a crucial societal concern, while showing that the stylistic and formal tendencies of the modern short story both facilitate and impede engaged writing.
The Dark Twin: Cacao from Mesoamerican Cosmology to the Contemporary Neotropics
Authors: Willis Bruce Dean
Published: May 2024

This chapter focuses on the cultural manifestations of the cacao plant from the precolonial period to the present, particularly in the Hispanophone and Lusophone areas of the Neotropics. The chapter brings to light scholarship, literature, and song lyrics on cacao that have been produced in Spanish and Portuguese—rendering them in English and synthesizing them with English-language scholarship on the plant. It also explores some of the ways in which the shifting understandings of cacao have been and continue to be essential to understanding Indigenous and colonial worldviews, relationships to the land, and power dynamics in the American Tropics.
Tricolore
Authors: Fuggle Sophie
Published: May 2024

The location of the French national flag next to the commemorative cattle truck at Les Milles situates the memorial of the deportations within the context of collective memory as a State-endorsed initiative. This chapter uses the multiple, complex symbolism of the tricolore as marker of French national identity and a set of constitutional ideals dating back to the French Revolution to explore how such ideals remain ever-present within the memorial space. The chapter focuses on the visual continuity between the tricolore displayed at the camp during its operation and the present-day memorial, setting out the heightened ceremonial use of the flag by Pétain during the Vichy regime over against the presence of the flag at state institutions today. The use of flags at other memorial sites such as the Musée de la Paix in Caen and the Mémoriel de l’internement et de la déportation in Compiègne will be considered comparatively alongside the Camp des Milles memorial. The chapter will go on to consider the links emphasized in the memorial between French national identity and a discourse of resistance and hospitality.
Scripted Summits
Authors: Mossman Fiona
Published: May 2024

This chapter seeks to put the mountaineering memoir and other forms of writing in a book historical perspective to understand the use of books in mountaineering, and the extent to which these activities conditioned each other. To do so, it focuses on one mountaineer, Janet Adam Smith, a British woman-of-letters whose mountaineering began in earnest in 1929 and whose passion for both mountains and books was undimmed by the time of her death in 1999. Her explicit engagement with mountaineering and its literature as a reader, writer, collector, reviewer and translator of many mountaineering memoirs makes her a useful figure in this investigation.
The Sash on the Mersey
Authors: Busteed Mervyn
Published: May 2024

The book explains how an organisation formed in late eighteenth century Ireland became and controversial element in the civic history of Liverpool. Using a wide range of sources it places the Order against the background of a local economy dominated by casual dock work, heavy Catholic Irish immigration, intense residential segregation and sectarian conflict. It analyses the growth of an apocalyptic Protestantism which resonated deeply with the Order and served to mobilise opposition to measures seen as compromising the Protestant British state. The book shows how the Order, dissolved in 1836, survived at the local level to reemerge as a national organisation in 1876. Rarely accessed lodge records illustrate how the overwhelmingly working-class members were attracted by regalia, secret ritual, the intense bonding of meetings, social events, mutual aid clubs and public parading. The vital role of women and their struggle for official recognition are discussed. The intense loyalties to locality, country and empire are explored, along with measures to ensure members avoided contact with Catholics and opposed the Anglo-Catholic movement in the Anglican church. The close though troubled relationship with the Conservative party enabling them to dominate city politics well into the twentieth century is examined along with the support for a breakaway church and political party and enduring interest in Irish affairs. The decline of the Order is set against the impact of broader socio-economic and cultural trends on the traditional beliefs and core areas of Orange support
The Lodge: Structure, Ritual, Regalia and Performance
Authors: Busteed Mervyn
Published: May 2024

The chapter outlines the structure of the Order, degrees of membership and officer ranks, noting the attractions of secret oaths, handshakes, passwords, regalia and public parading. The multiple roles of women’s lodges, especially with juvenile members, are discussed, alongside their chronically ambiguous status. The changing significance of 12th July parading for public demonstrations of strength, respectability, solidarity, territorial dominance and potential for sectarian conflict are analysed, together with the evolution of carnivalesque enjoyment and tactics to avoid territorial clashes.
Damned Universal Cock
Authors: Trousdale Rachel
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses images of bawdy birds in Stevens’s first collection, Harmonium, with an especial focus on the neglected figures of roosters and cocks. The chapter argues that these birds represent an analogy of the figure of the ‘buffo’, a comic actor from Italian opera, who undercuts claims to philosophical seriousness with ribald materiality and presence. The chapter draws extensively from humour theory to argue for the ways in which Stevens constitutes a comic poet. The chapter argues that the philosophical and theoretical sides of Stevens ought not to be separated from his cocky buffoonery.
YOUTHS’ WORD-OF-MOUTH IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: ROLES OF GREEN PROMOTION AND GREEN BRAND LOYALTY
Authors: Phan Thanh Hai , Nguyen Ngoc Diep , Ha Hai Giang , Le Mai Trang , Vu Phuong Anh , Doan Hai Anh
Published: May 2024

Purpose – This paper investigates the mediating role of green brand loyalty between green brand image and word-of-mouth (WoM) and the moderating role of green promotion and brand social responsibility among Vietnamese youth.
Research methodology – Using an online questionnaire from 1st October 2022 to 31st December 2022, 740 valid responses were collected.
Findings – The study reveals that green brand loyalty mediates the relationship between brand trust and WoM. Additionally, green promotion significantly moderates the relationship between brand trust and green brand loyalty. The study concludes that green promotion is vital in influencing consumers’ trust in the brand, subsequently increasing their loyalty.
Research limitations – This study has not categorized the groups of environmentally friendly products used by young Vietnamese to see if there is a difference.
Practical implications – These results provide significant implications for brand managers to enhance the effectiveness of WoM.
Originality/Value – Green promotion is an effective strategy for brands to regain consumers’ loyalty and maintain a close relationship between consumers and green brands. Additionally, green brand loyalty emphasizes the significance of green promotion for developing green companies and can serve as a conduit between customers and brands.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AS AN ANTECEDENT TO THE RAPID INTERNATIONALIZATION OF MOROCCAN SMES IN THE WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP FIELD
Authors: Rouijel Mohamed Reda
Published: May 2024

Purpose – This article aims to explore the importance of the international entrepreneurial orientation (IOE) of Moroccan women entrepreneurs (based on innovation, risk-taking and proactivity) in the speed of internationalization of Moroccan SMEs through the niche strategy as an intermediate variable.
Research methodology – We adopted a quantitative study on a sample of 45 Moroccan SMEs to test the research hypotheses using the structural equation method, under Smart-PLS software.
Findings – A significant relationship between the international entrepreneurial orientation of Moroccan women entrepreneurs and the speed of internationalization with the intermediation of the niche strategy. Despite well-calculated steps, innovative products and the courage to take risks on foreign markets, women entrepreneurs tend to adopt niche strategies to be more protected in the internationalization process: both to avoid direct competition from large companies and to speed up the internationalization process Research.
Limitations – Theoretically, it was difficult to operationalize the phenomenon studied, for several reasons: the large number of movements in this approach, the number of variables mobilized. Methodologically, the criteria used to select the sample made it difficult to find more than 45 eligible companies (Exploratory quantitative study).
Originality/Value – This article is one of the very few to combine international and women’s entrepreneurship. Furthermore, this is the first article in the field of women’s international entrepreneurship, as far as I know, that addresses the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the speed of internationalization of exporting SMEs.
nuance: Efficient Detection of Planets Transiting Active Stars
Authors: Garcia Lionel J. , Foreman-Mackey Daniel , Murray Catriona A. , Aigrain Suzanne , Feliz Dax L. , Pozuelos Francisco J.
Published: May 2024

The detection of planetary transits in the light curves of active stars, featuring correlated noise in the form of stellar variability, remains a challenge. Depending on the noise characteristics, we show that the traditional technique that consists of detrending a light curve before searching for transits alters their signal-to-noise ratio and hinders our capability to discover exoplanets transiting rapidly rotating active stars. We present nuance, an algorithm to search for transits in light curves while simultaneously accounting for the presence of correlated noise, such as stellar variability and instrumental signals. We assess the performance of nuance on simulated light curves as well as on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite light curves of 438 rapidly rotating M dwarfs. For each data set, we compare our method to five commonly used detrending techniques followed by a search with the Box-Least-Squares algorithm. Overall, we demonstrate that nuance is the most performant method in 93% of cases, leading to both the highest number of true positives and the lowest number of false-positive detections. Although simultaneously searching for transits while modeling correlated noise is expected to be computationally expensive, we make our algorithm tractable and available as the JAX-powered Python package nuance, allowing its use on distributed environments and GPU devices. Finally, we explore the prospects offered by the nuance formalism and its use to advance our knowledge of planetary systems around active stars, both using space-based surveys and sparse ground-based observations.
The Helmholtz decomposition of vector fields for two-dimensional exterior Lipschitz domains
Authors: Watanabe Keiichi
Published: May 2024

Let $ \Omega $ be an exterior Lipschitz domain in $ \mathbb{R}^2 $. It is proved that the Helmholtz decomposition of the vector fields in $ L_p (\Omega; \mathbb{R}^2) $ exists if $ p $ satisfies $ \lvert1/ p - 1/ 2 \rvert < 1/ 4+ \varepsilon $ with some constant $ \varepsilon = \varepsilon (\Omega) \in (0, 1/ 4] $, where it is allowed to take $ \varepsilon = 1/ 4 $ if $ \partial \Omega \in C^1 $.
Why We Should Negatively Discount the Well-Being of Future Generations
Authors: Price Matthew
Published: May 2024

Traditionally, the discounting debate has been dominated by those who advocate equality between generational interests and those who think future generations’ interests should be discounted at some positive rate. This paper argues for a novel view: future generations’ interests should be negatively discounted. First I defend the claim that we have greater reason to promote the well-being of those who are more morally deserving. Then I explain why we should expect future people to be more morally deserving than us. Throughout this argument, scepticism about moral desert looms large. Nevertheless, given the context of moral uncertainty under which the discounting decision must be made, a negative discount rate remains a live option even in the face of a moderate degree of scepticism about moral desert.
Obedience as “Engaged Followership”: A Review and Research Agenda
Authors: Birney Megan E. , Reicher Stephen D. , Haslam S. Alexander
Published: May 2024

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority (OtA) studies have long been understood as demonstrating that people are prone to blindly follow the orders of authority. More recently, we have proposed an engaged followership model of obedience, which suggests that a person’s willingness to go along with the requests of an authority figure is predicated on their identification with that person and/or the cause they represent. In this paper, we present a review of our rationale for this perspective and take stock of the current evidence we have to support it. We also highlight gaps in this evidence, and set out an agenda for future research.
Diminished γδ T Cells during Murine Allergic Skin Inflammation Is Mediated by IL-4 Signaling in Keratinocytes
Authors: Zhang Wenwu , Pajulas Abigail , Niese Michelle , Zhou Hongming , Zhao Jennifer , Akhtar Nahid , Turner Matthew J , Kaplan Mark H
Published: May 2024

Atopic dermatitis results in diminished barrier function and altered production of antimicrobial peptides. Dendritic epidermal T cells (DETCs) play an important role in the wound repair and inflammation process. Our previous work identified an IL-4–dependent loss of DETCs in Stat6VT mice and in the MC903-induced skin inflammation mouse model. However, the mechanisms through which IL-4 mediates the loss of DETCs are unclear. In this study, we show that IL-4Rα germline knockout mice (Il4ra–/–) have increased DETCs, faster wound healing, and increased epidermal differentiation complex gene and fibronectin expression. The absence of IL-4Rα minimized the MC903-induced loss of DETCs, and reciprocal bone marrow chimera experiments in Il4ra–/– and wild-type mice demonstrated structural nonhematopoietic IL-4–responsive cell-mediated DETC homeostasis. Skin keratinocyte-derived IL-15 decreased dramatically in the MC903 model, while injection of IL-15 rescued DETC loss by promoting DETC proliferation and limiting apoptosis. Conditional deletion of IL-4Rα from keratinocytes using Il4rafl/fl K14-Cre mice showed an increase of DETCs, increased IL-15 production, and diminished skin inflammation following wounding. These results suggest that IL-4–dependent effects on DETCs in allergic skin inflammation are mediated by the IL-4Rα receptor of keratinocytes.
Proteomic reference map for sarcopenia research: mass spectrometric identification of key muscle proteins of organelles, cellular signaling, bioenergetic metabolism and molecular chaperoning
Authors: Dowling Paul , Gargan Stephen , Zweyer Margit , Henry Michael , Meleady Paula , Swandulla Dieter , Ohlendieck Kay
Published: May 2024

During the natural aging process, frailty is often associated with abnormal muscular performance. Although inter-individual differences exit, in most elderly the tissue mass and physiological functionality of voluntary muscles drastically decreases. In order to study age-related contractile decline, animal model research is of central importance in the field of biogerontology. Here we have analyzed wild type mouse muscle to establish a proteomic map of crude tissue extracts. Proteomics is an advanced and large-scale biochemical method that attempts to identify all accessible proteins in a given biological sample. It is a technology-driven approach that uses mass spectrometry for the characterization of individual protein species. Total protein extracts were used in this study in order to minimize the potential introduction of artefacts due to excess subcellular fractionation procedures. In this report, the proteomic survey of aged muscles has focused on organellar marker proteins, as well as proteins that are involved in cellular signaling, the regulation of ion homeostasis, bioenergetic metabolism and molecular chaperoning. Hence, this study has establish a proteomic reference map of a highly suitable model system for future aging research.
Micronutrition and diabetes: a new view at prevention and treatment
Authors: Ouali Karim , Ibrahmi Btihaj AL , Bouchefra Said , Bour Abdellatif
Published: May 2024

Worldwide, millions of people suffer from diabetes. Our study aimed to describe the sample’s weight status and the effects of providing individualized micronutrient prescriptions and nutritional counseling to individuals with diabetes. Of the 46 patients (26 women and 20 men) enrolled in this study between 2014 and 2021, 41% had insulin-resistant diabetes and were over the age of 18. In compliance with the World Health Organization guidelines, anthropometric measurements were taken. The impedencemeter was used to measure the visceral fat. Diabetes affected 41% of the patients, with women making up the majority (74%). An impedencemeter’s average measurement of 6 for visceral fat loss was encouraging, and a glycated hemoglobin analysis of diabetics revealed an average loss of 1.6%. A good sign for lowering the therapeutic load is that 16% of diabetic patients were able to stop taking any medication at all, and 79% of patients were able to reduce their dosage. This study served as a strong foundation for the creation of customized nutritional management programs in Morocco to enhance the metabolic health of patients who are obese and insulin-resistant.
Elevated serum ELABELA and SERPINA3 as novel biomarkers to predict poor prognosis in Egyptian chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients
Authors: Othman Amira M , Abdel-Rahman Noha , Denewer May , Eissa Laila A
Published: May 2024

Background

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common kind of adult leukemia worldwide. Increased expressions of serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade A member 3 (SERPINA3) and apelin receptor early endogenous ligand (ELABELA) have been observed in various malignancies. However, there is little information on their clinical importance in CLL.

Patients and methods

The study included 67 newly diagnosed CLL patients and 66 healthy individuals as a control group. This study was conducted at the Oncology Center, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt from April 2020 to March 2022. Serum levels of SERPINA3 and ELABELA were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

This study found that serum levels of SERPINA3 and ELABELA were significantly higher in CLL patients than in the control group with P less than 0.001 and P=0.001, respectively. SERPINA3 and ELABELA were found to be independent risk factors for CLL. In CLL patients, increased serum levels of SERPINA3 and ELABELA were associated with advanced staging, reduced progression-free survival, and overall survival.

Conclusion

Serum SERPINA3 and ELABELA could be used as prognostic biomarkers to predict poor prognosis in CLL patients. So, inhibition of SERPINA3 and ELABELA may be a promising therapeutic target for CLL treatment.
Screening of asymptomatic bacteriuria in children with sickle cell disease
Authors: Abdelhamid Dalia H , Abdel Kader Nouran O , Makkeyah Sara M , El-Ashry Marwa A
Published: May 2024

Background

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) refers to two consecutive urine cultures growing more than 100 000 CFU/ml in a patient with no symptoms of urinary tract infection. In patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), the anatomical and physiological defects make ASB more prone to worsen the sickle nephropathy. Early detection and management of ASB in children with SCD may retard this progression.

Aim

To investigate the prevalence of ASB, its major determinants, and its effect on kidney functions in patients with SCD for early detection and treatment.

Patients and methods

The study was conducted at a children’s hospital during the period between June 2019 and February 2020. The study included 30 children previously diagnosed as having SCD. Midstream urine samples were collected twice from all patients and subjected to urinalysis and culture on chromogenic media. Only significant isolates were identified and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Patients were divided into either ASB or sterile urine group. All patients with SCD were subjected to complete blood picture, reticulocytic count, markers of hemolysis, and serum creatinine.

Results

The prevalence of confirmed ASB was 16.7%. All children in ASB group had pyuria (100%). Staphylococcus saprophyticus (60%) was the commonest organism isolated, followed by Escherichia coli (20%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (20%). Sulfamethoxazole+trimethoprim was the most sensitive antibiotic among all isolated microorganisms. The differences in kidney function results between the two groups were statistically insignificant.

Conclusion

ASB was of high prevalence in pediatric patients with SCD in Egypt at our hospital. Pyuria was the only major determinant. S. saprophyticus was the predominant organism. Serum creatinine was a nonsensitive marker to monitor kidney functions.
Outcomes of Unprotected Left Main Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Yousif Nooraldaem , Thevan Babu , Subbramaniyam Suddharsan , Alkhayat Mohamed , Alshaikh Shereen , Shivappa Sadananda , Amin Haitham , Tareif Mary , Abdulqader Fuad , Noor Husam A.
Published: May 2024

Introduction:

When the baseline anatomical syntax score-I (SxSI) is more than or equal to 33, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of unprotected left main (UPLM) is discouraged and considered as high-risk of adverse cardiac events. We designed this study to compare the outcomes of UPLM-PCI between the low to intermediate-syntax score (SxSIlow/int.) group (defined as SxSI <33) and the high-syntax score (SxSIhigh) group (defined as SxSI more than or equal 33) with a subanalysis to explore the predictive role of intravascular images (IVI).

Methods:

The study is a retrospective observational analysis in a prospective cohort. The prospectively gathered data of consecutive patients, who were enrolled from January 2018 to December 2018, were analyzed at 1-year regarding the primary outcome of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). An independent committee calculated the SxSI and reviewed all the events.

Results:

Baseline data of 2144 patients were considered for analysis. 1245 underwent PCI and 32 (2.57%) had PCI of UPLM; of these, 24 (75%) were in SxSIlow/int. group and 8 (25%) in SxSIhigh group. The mean SxSI was 20.3 ± 6.5 and 37.1 ± 4.9 for SxSIlow/int. and SxSIhigh groups, respectively. Compared with patients in the SxSIlow/int., patients in SxSIhigh group had a greater syntax score-II (<0.0001), which reflects the expected 4-year mortality after PCI by combining the SxSI and clinical variables.

Interestingly, despite the fact that the proportion of subjects who sustained MACCE was almost three times more among the SxSIhigh compared to their SxSIlow/int. counterparts [1 (12.5%) vs. 1 (4.2%), P = 0.444], this difference was not statistically significant.

It was noted that a higher proportion of patients in whom intravascular imaging (IVI) was not used to guide PCI sustained MACCE compared with that in whom IVI was utilized (2 [50%] vs. [0%], P = 0.012). There is a strong, negative, statistically significant association between the use of IVI and the occurrence of MAACE (Phi=-0.681), which reflects that the use of imaging is associated with significantly lower probability of developing MACCE.

Conclusion:

As demonstrated in this real-world cohort, PCI of UPLM provides excellent outcome at one year regardless of the initial anatomical syntax score. Furthermore, it appears that IVI utilization during the index PCI procedure of UPLM is a potent and independent predictor of MACCE.
Scutellarin Protects against Myocardial Ischemia–reperfusion Injury by Enhancing Aerobic Glycolysis through miR-34c-5p/ALDOA Axis
Authors: Xiang Yijia , Xu Zhongjiao , Qian Renyi , Wu Daying , Lin Li , Shen Jiayi , Zhu Pengchong , Chen Fenghui , Liu Chong
Published: May 2024

Background:

Aerobic glycolysis has recently demonstrated promising potential in mitigating the effects of ischemia–reperfusion (IR) injury. Scutellarin (Scu) possesses various cardioprotective properties that warrant investigation. To mimic IR injury in
vitro, this study employed hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury.

Methods and Results:

First, we conducted an assessment of the protective properties of Scu against HR in H9c2 cells, encompassing inflammation damage, apoptosis injury, and oxidative stress. Then, we verified the effects of Scu on the Warburg effect in H9c2 cells during HR injury. The findings indicated that Scu augmented aerobic glycolysis by upregulating p-PKM2/PKM2 levels. Following, we built a panel of six long noncoding RNAs and seventeen microRNAs that were reported to mediate the Warburg effect. Based on the results, miR-34c-5p was selected for further experiments. Then, we observed Scu could mitigate the HR-induced elevation of miR-34c-5p. Upregulation of miR-34c-5p could weaken the beneficial impacts of Scu in cellular viability, inflammatory damage, oxidative stress, and the facilitation of the Warburg effect. Subsequently, our investigation revealed a decrease in both ALDOA mRNA and protein levels following HR injury, which could be restored by Scu administration. Downregulation of ALDOA or Mimic of miR-34c-5p could reduce these effects induced by Scu.

Conclusions:

Scu provides cardioprotective effects against IR injury by upregulating the Warburg effect via miR-34c-5p/ALDOA.
D-dimer as a Marker of Severity and Prognosis in Acute Pancreatitis
Authors: Newton Mario Victor
Published: May 2024

Background and Objectives:

Acute pancreatitis (AP) scores need a battery of tests that are not helpful at an early stage. Can a single test predict Complicated Acute Pancreatitis (CAP) which includes moderate and severe AP, local complications, and need for intensive care unit (ICU).

Methodology:

30 patients of AP. D-dimer, C-reactive protein levels done within 3 days of AP onset. APACHE II, Ranson’s score, CT severity index were done. Inhospital disease course for development of organ failure and need for ICU care was followed daily.

Results:

D-dimer in CAP was 2732 ng/L (MAP 567 ng/L), in abnormal computed tomography (CT) was 1916 ng/L (normal CT 363 ng/L), and in organ failure was 4776 ng/L (776.5 ng/L absent organ failure). D-dimer increases as the severity of organ failure increases (P = 0.04). D-dimer in ICU patients was significantly elevated (P = 0.021). D-dimer correlates with APACHE II score well, with an increase in predictive mortality rate (P = 0.01). On receiver operator characteristics, D-dimer >933.5 ng/L predicts CAP, >827.5 ng/L predicts positive CT findings (local complications), and >1060.5 ng/L predicts the development of organ failure.

Conclusion:

Coagulopathy and microthrombi play a significant role in early pathogenesis. D-dimer test acts at the level of this core pathogenesis, even before the complications set in. D-dimer within 72 h of AP correlates well with the CT findings after 72 h. This is the first study that correlates D-dimer levels with CT scores, ICU requirement. D-dimer can guide primary care physicians in selecting AP patients for referral to a higher center in a resource-limited setting.
A Pilot Study to Show Longitudinal Trends in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in a Cohort of Breast Cancer Patients Under Treatment at a Tertiary Healthcare Facility in Bhubaneswar, India
Authors: Kar Sonali , Shrivastava Varsha , Meena Jitendra Kumar , Mohapatra Ipsa , Sahoo Saroj Ranjan , Kar Madhabananda
Published: May 2024

Introduction:

Breast cancer incidence has overtaken that of cervical cancer among women in India according to the Globacon 2020 reports. Cancer management is also being streamlined at the Center and district levels, such that comprehensive integrated management is offered to cases to optimize the best results. In breast cancer, there are two modes of surgery namely Breast Conservation Surgery(BCS) and Modified Radical Mastectomy (MRM) now over 2 decades, with recommended Chemo radiation depending on the extent of the disease. HRQOL (Health-related Quality of Life) studies have been done in these groups of patients, due to their added relevance in terms of the loss of a vital organ like the breast. EORTC 30 and BR23 are standardized and detailed tools that have been seen to estimate QOL, keeping in mind a whole array of domains that are affected by the disease.

Objective:

To evaluate the “Body Image” and “Quality of life” (QOL) in operated breast cancer patients using BR -23 and EORTC – QLQ- questionnaire at 1month (after surgery) and then 3 to 4 months after surgery.

Methods:

This article attempts to draw a comparison among of EORTC30 and BR 23 scores calculated for 46 breast cancer patients operated during the pandemic time in one center and consenting to repeat the measures at pre-decided three time periods during the course of management.

Results:

No significant differences are noted in the mean scores for EORTC 30 and BR23 for the two types of surgeries. Visit 1 scores for both modes of surgery are over 75 and by Visit 3 become less than 55 for EORTC. BR 23 (which measures the symptoms core to Breast cancer) at all 3 visits are between 45 to 55. Friedman’s test shows that the scores are not significant for age groups, the number of living children, or lifestyle factors like alcohol or tobacco chewing, though quadratic graphs depict the distinct variations in the scores at the 3 times reinforcing the need for follow-up of mental health in these subjects at intervals. The study largely brings out a strong need for repeated follow-up and counseling at regular and short intervals, post-surgery in breast cancer patients. EORTC 30 and BR 23 tools are excellent to use to essay information on the mental health of patients with breast cancer.
Influence of Packed Food Labeling on Shopping Practices: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Verma Prerna , Rathod Hetal , Johnson S. , Palal Deepu , Sohkhlet Gracia , Jadav Vallari , Borah Nirankush , Nallapu Sandeep , Gangurde Shweta , Vishwakarma Kavita , Mahajan Anil , Jadhav Sudhir L. , Joon Shubham
Published: May 2024

Background:

The basic product information, health, safety, and nutritional details, as well as food marketing, advertising, and promotion, are all provided on a packed food label. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the shoppers regarding food labels as there are few studies done in India and none in Pune.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 226 participants using a validated semi-structured questionnaire, which consisted of sociodemographic details and questions on their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding food labels while purchasing a packed food item. Quantitative data are presented in the form of mean, standard deviation, 95% confidence interval (CI) of mean, median, and interquartile range (IQR). Qualitative data are in terms of number (N), percentages (%), and 95% CI of percentage.

Results:

Of the 226 participants, 163 (72.12) were aware of the label on packaged foods. One hundred seventy-seven (78.32%) participants in all read the label on the packaged food. The maximum retail price (MRP) and expiration date were the most frequent labels sought. Although 17.7% of consumers did not consider nutrient composition when making a purchase, energy and protein were the most often considered nutrients. The majority (70.35%) falsely believed that juice was healthy. The packed food label’s tiny font made it difficult to read for 30.38% of the customers.

Conclusion:

Despite the increased awareness about packed food labeling, a fraction of shoppers were not concerned about nutritional information. In contrast to the prevailing knowledge, the majority believes packed food has a positive effect on health.
Utility of demographic and clinical signs as diagnostic predictors for leptospiral uveitis: A retrospective study
Authors: Rathinam SR , Kohila Jeya G. , Sundar Balagiri K , Gowri Chidambaranathan P , Vedhanayagi Rajesh , Radhika Manoj , Nadella Venu
Published: May 2024

Purpose:

Leptospirosis is a waterborne zoonotic disease prevalent in tropical regions, causing significant morbidity and mortality. It can involve any organ in its primary stage, and uveitis is its late complication. While advanced laboratory diagnosis is available only in tertiary care centers globally, a cost-effective bedside assessment of clinical signs and their scoring could offer a provisional diagnosis.

Aim:

To analyze the diagnostic potential of demographic and clinical signs in a large cohort of serologically confirmed leptospiral uveitis patients.

Methods:

In this retrospective study, demographic and clinical parameters of 876 seropositive leptospiral uveitis patients and 1042 nonleptospiral uveitis controls were studied. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with bootstrap confidence interval (CI) characterized the diagnostic predictors. The performance of the model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC).

Results:

Presence of nongranulomatous uveitis (odds ratio [OR] = 6.9), hypopyon (OR = 4.6), vitreous infiltration with membranous opacities (OR = 4.3), bilateral involvement (OR = 4), panuveitis (OR = 3.3), vasculitis (OR = 1.9), disc hyperemia (OR = 1.6), absence of retinochoroiditis (OR = 15), and absence of cystoid macular edema (OR = 8.9) emerged as predictive parameters. The AUROC value was 0.86 with 95% CI of 0.846–0.874. At a cut-off score of 40, the sensitivity and specificity were 79.5 and 78.4, respectively.

Conclusion:

The study demonstrates that ocular signs can serve as diagnostic predictors for leptospiral uveitis, enabling primary care ophthalmologists to make bedside diagnosis. This can be further confirmed by laboratory methods available at tertiary care centers.
Hemoptysis and Deep Vein Thrombosis in a middle aged male due to Anti Phospholipid Antibody (APLA) Syndrome’’ - A Case Report
Authors: Paul P. Jerin , Kumar Suresh
Published: May 2024

36 Years old male, farmer by profession from rural Tamil Nadu presented with complaints of unilateral painful leg swelling for 1 month and cough with hemoptysis for 3 weeks. Chest skiagram revealed Hampton’s hump and ultrasound venous Doppler revealed deep vein thrombosis of the left leg. His computed tomography pulmonary angiogram revealed pulmonary embolism. Due to unusual presentation work up was done and we found positive anti cardiolipin antibody, lupus anticoagulant and anti β 2 glycoprotein antibody. Patient was diagnosed as APLA and was started on oral anticoagulant.
Knowledge and Practices of Airborne Infection Control at the Household Level among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Central Karnataka, India
Authors: Amuje Rohit , Davalagi Shubha B , Krishna Nukala V. S. R. R. Phani
Published: May 2024

Background:

Airborne transmission of tuberculosis (TB) is a major route of spread. Household contacts of TB patients are at high risk of infection. However, there is limited evidence on airborne infection control knowledge and practices among TB patients in India. This study was done to assess the knowledge and practices related to airborne infection control among pulmonary TB (PTB) patients at the household level and determine associated factors.

Subjects and Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 157 smear-positive PTB patients at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka, India, using a pretested questionnaire. Knowledge and self-reported practices regarding airborne precautions were assessed. Bivariate analysis was done to determine associated factors. P <0.005 was considered significant.

Results:

Major gaps were found in knowledge about ventilation (50.3%), avoiding visitors (39.5%), and sputum disposal (33.8%). Suboptimal practices were reported for using tissues (19%), handwashing (25%), ventilation (66%), sputum handling (54%), and waste disposal (30%). Good knowledge was associated with younger age, higher education, Hindu religion, family history of TB, intensive phase treatment, and presence of symptoms (P < 0.05). Participants with good knowledge had significantly better preventive practices (P < 0.00001).

Conclusion:

Tailored education on airborne precautions focusing on identified knowledge gaps and risky practices can help improve the adoption of infection control measures among TB patients at the household level. A multifaceted approach is required to translate improved awareness into optimal preventive behaviors.