bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Histone Modifier Differentially Regulates Gene Expression and Unravels Survival Role of MicroRNA-494 in Jurkat Leukemia
Authors: Jayaraman Arathi , Zhou Tong , Jayaraman Sundararajan
Published: April 2021

Background:

Although the protein-coding genes are subject to histone hyperacetylation-
mediated regulation, it is unclear whether microRNAs are similarly regulated in the T cell
leukemia Jurkat.

Objective:

To determine whether treatment with the histone modifier Trichostatin A could concurrently
alter the expression profiles of microRNAs and protein-coding genes.

Methods:

Changes in histone hyperacetylation and viability in response to drug treatment were analyzed,
respectively, using western blotting and flow cytometry. Paired global expression profiling
of microRNAs and coding genes was performed and highly regulated genes have been validated by
qRT-PCR. The interrelationships between the drug-induced miR-494 upregulation, the expression
of putative target genes, and T cell receptor-mediated apoptosis were evaluated using qRT-PCR,
flow cytometry, and western blotting following lipid-mediated transfection with specific anti-microRNA
inhibitors.

Results:

Treatment of Jurkat cells with Trichostatin A resulted in histone hyperacetylation and
apoptosis. Global expression profiling indicated prominent upregulation of miR-494 in contrast to
differential regulation of many protein-coding and non-coding genes validated by qRT-PCR. Although
transfection with synthetic anti-miR-494 inhibitors failed to block drug-induced apoptosis
or miR-494 upregulation, it induced the transcriptional repression of the PVRIG gene. Surprisingly,
miR-494 inhibition in conjunction with low doses of Trichostatin A enhanced the weak T cell receptor-
mediated apoptosis, indicating a subtle pro-survival role of miR-494. Interestingly, this prosurvival
effect was overwhelmed by mitogen-mediated T cell activation and higher drug doses,
which mediated caspase-dependent apoptosis.

Conclusion:

Our results unravel a pro-survival function of miR-494 and its putative interaction
with the PVRIG gene and the apoptotic machinery in Jurkat cells.
Design and Analysis of Hybrid Fused Filament Fabrication Apparatus for Fabrication of Composites
Authors: Yadav Aniket , Chohan Piyush , Kumar Ranvijay , Chohan Jasgurpreet Singh , Kumar Raman
Published: April 2021

Background:

Additive manufacturing is the most recognized technology which uses
metals, polymer, ceramics, and composites for fabrication with a layer-by-layer deposition
strategy. Due to its lower cost, higher accuracy, and less material wastage, this technology is
used for engineering and domestic applications. But in many applications, there is a need to alter
the properties of the product in a specific direction with the help of some reinforcements. With
reinforcements, composite layers can be fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques,
which will enhance the directional properties. A novel apparatus is designed to spray the
reinforcement material into the printed structures quickly and precisely. This spray nozzle is
fully automated, which works according to toolpaths generated by slicing software. The
alternate deposition of layers of reinforcement and build materials helped to fabricate
customized composite products.

Objective:

This study aims to design and analyze the working principle of a novel composite
manufacturing technique that has been developed to fabricate composite materials using
additive manufacturing. The apparatus is numerically controlled by computer according to CAD
data, which facilitates the deposition of alternate reinforcement and matrix material layers. The
major challenges during the design process and the functioning of each component have been
explored.

Methods:

The design process is initiated after a comprehensive literature review is performed to
study previous composite manufacturing processes. The recent patents published by different
patent offices of the world are studied in detail, and analysis has been used to design a low-cost
composite fabrication apparatus. A liquid dispensing device comprises a storage tank attached
with a pump and microprocessor. The microprocessor receives the signal from the computer as
per tool paths generated by slicing software which decides the spray of reinforcements on
polymer layers. The spraying apparatus moves in coordination with the primary nozzle of the
Fused Filament Fabrication process.

Results:

The hybridization of the Fused Filament Fabrication process with the metal spray
process has been successfully performed. The apparatus facilitates the fabrication of low-cost
composite materials and the flexibility of complete customization of the composite
manufacturing process.

Conclusion:

The anisotropic behavior of products can be easily controlled and managed during
fabrication which can be used for different applications.
The implementation of total quality management in Arab universities: A proposed model
Authors:   Community College, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, Almekhlafi Abdul-Wasea Abdul-Ghani Saif ,   College of Administrative Science, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen
Published: April 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop a model for the implementation of total quality management in higher educational institutions, Arab universities. This model exceeds the limitations in the implemented current models in various business organizations through implementing the systems approach and process entry in the design that includes inputs, processes, outputs, and goals. This study is a survey-based methodology in which the survey is designed based on the 7 famous models of implementing the total quality with an adaption within the framework of the total quality management concept. The final sample consists of 51 academic leaders at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University who hold various experiences in working with different Arab universities. The results of this study indicate that the proposed model obtained high relative importance that reached at the axis level a high degree ranged between 76.39%-80.78%, and at the overall level reached a percentage of 80.39%. This confirms the importance of the model in expressing the intellectual content of management of total quality as an integrated system of universities as open organizations to their external context. This study recommends that high leaders should believe in the importance of total quality management and encourage its application through the proposed model with its essential criteria and its sub-dimensions and spreading the culture of total quality management and customer service among workers.
Utilizing Lean Software Methods To Improve Acceptance of Global eHealth Initiatives: Results From the Implementation of the Basic Emergency Care App
Authors: Rose Christian , Nichols Taylor , Hackner Daniel , Chang Julia , Straube Steven , Jooste Willem , Sawe Hendry , Tenner Andrea
Published: April 2021

Background

Health systems in low- and middle-income countries face considerable challenges in providing high-quality accessible care. eHealth has had mounting interest as a possible solution given the unprecedented growth in mobile phone and internet technologies in these locations; however, few apps or software programs have, as of yet, gone beyond the testing phase, most downloads are never opened, and consistent use is extremely rare. This is believed to be due to a failure to engage and meet local stakeholder needs and the high costs of software development.

Objective

World Health Organization Basic Emergency Care course participants requested a mobile point-of-care adjunct to the primary course material. Our team undertook the task of developing this solution through a community-based participatory model in an effort to meet trainees’ reported needs and avoid some of the abovementioned failings. We aimed to use the well-described Lean software development strategy—given our familiarity with its elements and its ubiquitous use in medicine, global health, and software development—to complete this task efficiently and with maximal stakeholder involvement.

Methods

From September 2016 through January 2017, the Basic Emergency Care app was designed and developed at the University of California San Francisco. When a prototype was complete, it was piloted in Cape Town, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—World Health Organization Basic Emergency Care partner sites. Feedback from this pilot shaped continuous amendments to the app before subsequent user testing and study of the effect of use of the app on trainee retention of Basic Emergency Care course material.

Results

Our user-centered mobile app was developed with an iterative participatory approach with its first version available within 6 months and with high acceptance—95% of Basic Emergency Care Course participants felt that it was useful. Our solution had minimal direct costs and resulted in a robust infrastructure for subsequent assessment and maintenance and allows for efficient feedback and expansion.

Conclusions

We believe that utilizing Lean software development strategies may help global health advocates and researchers build eHealth solutions with a process that is familiar and with buy-in across stakeholders that is responsive, rapid to deploy, and sustainable.
Bispectral Index Alterations and Associations With Autonomic Changes During Hypnosis in Trauma Center Researchers: Formative Evaluation Study
Authors: Dunham C Michael , Burger Amanda J , Hileman Barbara M , Chance Elisha A , Hutchinson Amy E
Published: April 2021

Background

Previous work performed by our group demonstrated that intermittent reductions in bispectral index (BIS) values were found during neurofeedback following mindfulness instructions. Hypnosis was induced to enhance reductions in BIS values.

Objective

This study aims to assess physiologic relaxation and explore its associations with BIS values using autonomic monitoring.

Methods

Each session consisted of reading a 4-minute baseline neutral script and playing an 18-minute hypnosis tape to 3 researchers involved in the BIS neurofeedback study. In addition to BIS monitoring, autonomic monitoring was performed, and this included measures of electromyography (EMG), skin temperature, skin conductance, respiratory rate, expired carbon dioxide, and heart rate variability. The resulting data were analyzed using two-tailed t tests, correlation analyses, and multivariate linear regression analyses.

Results

We found that hypnosis was associated with reductions in BIS (P<.001), EMG (P<.001), respiratory rate (P<.001), skin conductance (P=.006), and very low frequency power (P=.04); it was also associated with increases in expired carbon dioxide (P<.001), skin temperature (P=.04), high frequency power (P<.001), and successive heart interbeat interval difference (P=.04) values. Decreased BIS values were associated with reduced EMG measures (R=0.76; P<.001), respiratory rate (R=0.35; P=.004), skin conductance (R=0.57; P<.001), and low frequency power (R=0.32; P=.01) and with increased high frequency power (R=−0.53; P<.001), successive heart interbeat interval difference (R=−0.32; P=.009), and heart interbeat interval SD (R=−0.26; P=.04) values.

Conclusions

Hypnosis appeared to induce mental and physical relaxation, enhance parasympathetic neural activation, and attenuate sympathetic nervous system activity, changes that were associated with BIS values. Findings from this preliminary formative evaluation suggest that the current hypnosis model may be useful for assessing autonomic physiological associations with changes in BIS values, thus motivating us to proceed with a larger investigation in trauma center nurses and physicians.
Presence of Urinary Exosomes for Liquid Biopsy of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Protocol for a Pilot Feasibility Study
Authors: Li Guorong , Mallouk Nora , Flandrin Pascale , Garcin Arnauld , Lambert Claude , Berremila Sid Ali , Habchi Hocine , Mottet Nicolas
Published: April 2021

Background

Approximately 70%-80% of kidney cancers are clear cell renal cell carcinomas (CCRCCs). Patient management is based on imaging (abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography), surgical excision of the tumor, and pathological analysis. A tissue biopsy is therefore necessary to confirm the diagnosis and avoid unnecessary nephrectomy. For metastatic cancers, a tissue biopsy is essential for establishing the targeted therapy. This biopsy of tumor material is invasive and painful. Other techniques such as liquid biopsy would help reduce the need for tissue biopsy. The development of a simple biological test for diagnosis is essential. CA9 is a powerful marker for the diagnosis of CCRCC. Exosomes have become a major source of liquid biopsy because they carry tumor proteins, RNA, and lipids. Urine is the most convenient biological liquid for exosome sampling.

Objective

The aim of this study (PEP-C study) is mainly to determine whether it is possible to detect urinary exosomal CA9 for the molecular diagnosis of CCRCC.

Methods

This study will include 60 patients with CCRCC and 40 noncancer patients. Exosomes will be isolated from urine samples and exosomal CA9 will be detected by transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Results

This study is currently underway with funding support from the CHU Saint-Etienne of France.

Conclusions

We expect to demonstrate that urinary tumor exosomes could be a novel liquid biopsy to diagnose CCRCC and to guide clinicians in treatment decision-making.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04053855; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04053855

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/24423
The United States Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Registry: Protocol for a Prospective, Longitudinal Study
Authors: Kerr Kim M , Elliott C Greg , Benza Raymond L , Channick Richard N , Chin Kelly M , Davis R Duane , Jain Sonia , LaCroix Andrea Z , Madani Michael M , McLaughlin Vallerie V , Park Myung H , Tapson Victor F , Auger William R
Published: April 2021

Background

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare sequela of acute pulmonary embolism that is treatable when recognized. Awareness of this disease has increased with recent advancements in therapeutic options, but delays in diagnosis remain common, and diagnostic and treatment guidelines are often not followed. Data gathered from international registries have improved our understanding of CTEPH, but these data may not be applicable to the US population owing to differences in demographics and medical practice patterns.

Objective

The US CTEPH Registry (US-CTEPH-R) was developed to provide essential information to better understand the demographics, risk factors, evaluation, and treatment of CTEPH in the United States, as well as the short- and long-term outcomes of surgical and nonsurgical therapies in the modern treatment era.

Methods

Thirty sites throughout the United States enrolled 750 subjects in this prospective, longitudinal, observational registry of patients newly diagnosed with CTEPH. Enrollment criteria included a mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥25 mmHg by right heart catheterization and radiologic confirmation of CTEPH by a multidisciplinary adjudication committee. Following enrollment, subjects were followed biannually until the conclusion of the study. Quality of life surveys were administered at enrollment and biannually, and all other testing was at the discretion of the treating clinician. Details regarding surgical therapy, balloon pulmonary angioplasty, and medical therapy were collected at enrollment and at follow-up, as well as information related to health care utilization and survival.

Results

Data from this registry will improve understanding of the demographics, risk factors, and treatment patterns of patients with CTEPH, and the longitudinal impact of therapies on quality of life, health care utilization, and survival.

Conclusions

This manuscript details the methodology and design of the first large, prospective, longitudinal registry of patients with CTEPH in the United States.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02429284; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02429284

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/25397
The Presence of Fungal and Parasitic Infections in Substances of Human Origin and Their Transmission via Transfusions and Transplantations: Protocol for Two Systematic Reviews
Authors: Dinas Petros C , Domanovic Dragoslav , Koutedakis Yiannis , Hadjichristodoulou Christos , Stefanidis Ioannis , Papadopoulou Kalliope , Dimas Konstantinos , Perivoliotis Konstantinos , Tepetes Konstantinos , Flouris Andreas D
Published: April 2021

Background

The European Union Directives stipulate mandatory tests for the presence of any infections in donors and donations of substances of human origin (SoHO). In some circumstances, other pathogens, including fungi and parasites, may also pose a threat to the microbial safety of SoHO.

Objective

The aim of the two systematic reviews is to identify, collect, and evaluate scientific evidence for the presence of fungal and parasitic infections in donors and donations of SoHO, and their transmission via transfusion and transplantation.

Methods

An algorithmic search, one each for fungal and parasitic disease, was applied to 6 scientific databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library [trials], and CINAHL). Additionally, manual and algorithmic searches were employed in 15 gray literature databases and 22 scientific organization websites. The criteria for eligibility included peer-reviewed publications and peer-reviewed abstract publications from conference proceedings examining the prevalence, incidence, odds ratios, risk ratios, and risk differences for the presence of fungi and parasites in donors and SoHO donations, and their transmission to recipients. Only studies that scrutinized the donors and donations of human blood, blood components, tissues, cells, and organs were considered eligible. Data extraction from eligible publications will be performed independently by two reviewers. Data synthesis will include a qualitative description of the studies lacking evidence suitable for a meta-analysis and a random or fixed-effect meta-analysis model for quantitative data synthesis.

Results

This is an ongoing study. The systematic reviews are funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the results are expected to be presented by the end of 2021.

Conclusions

The systematic reviews will provide the basis for developing a risk assessment for fungal and parasitic disease transmission via SoHO.

Trial Registration

PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020160090; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020160090 ; PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020160110; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020160110

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/25674
Implementation of Wearable Sensors and Digital Alerting Systems in Secondary Care: Protocol for a Real-World Prospective Study Evaluating Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Iqbal Fahad Mujtaba , Joshi Meera , Khan Sadia , Ashrafian Hutan , Darzi Ara
Published: April 2021

Background

Advancements in wearable sensors have caused a resurgence in their use, particularly because their miniaturization offers ambulatory advantages while performing continuous vital sign monitoring. Digital alerts can be generated following early recognition of clinical deterioration through breaches of set parameter thresholds, permitting earlier intervention. However, a systematic real-world evaluation of these alerting systems has yet to be conducted, and their efficacy remains unknown.

Objective

The aim of this study is to implement wearable sensors and digital alerting systems in acute general wards to evaluate the resultant clinical outcomes.

Methods

Participants on acute general wards will be screened and recruited into a trial with a pre-post implementation design. In the preimplementation phase, the SensiumVitals monitoring system, which continuously measures temperature, heart, and respiratory rates, will be used for monitoring alongside usual care. In the postimplementation phase, alerts will be generated from the SensiumVitals system when pre-established thresholds for vital parameters have been crossed, requiring acknowledgement from health care staff; subsequent clinical outcomes will be analyzed.

Results

Enrolment is currently underway, having started in September 2017, and is anticipated to end shortly. Data analysis is expected to be completed in 2021.

Conclusions

This study will offer insight into the implementation of digital health technologies within a health care trust and aims to describe the effectiveness of wearable sensors for ambulatory continuous monitoring and digital alerts on clinical outcomes in acute general ward settings.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04638738; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04638738.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/26240
Presenteeism Among Nurses in Switzerland and Portugal and Its Impact on Patient Safety and Quality of Care: Protocol for a Qualitative Study
Authors: Pereira Filipa , Querido Ana Isabel , Bieri Marion , Verloo Henk , Laranjeira Carlos António
Published: April 2021

Background

Nurses dispense direct care in a wide variety of settings and are considered the backbone of the health care system. They often work long hours, face emotional stress, and are at a high risk of psychosocial and somatic illnesses. Nurses sometimes fall sick but work regardless, leading to presenteeism and subsequent risks to quality of care and patient safety due to the increased likelihood of patients falling, medication errors, and staff-to-patient disease transmission.

Objective

This study aims to understand presenteeism among frontline nurses and nurse managers in acute, primary, and long-term health care settings and to contribute to the development of future interventional studies and recommendations.

Methods

A qualitative study based on online focus group discussions will explore the perceptions of, attitudes to, and experiences with presenteeism among frontline nurses and nurse managers. Using a pilot-tested interview guide, 8 focus group discussions will involve nurses working in acute care hospitals, primary care settings, and long-term residential care facilities in Switzerland’s French-speaking region and Portugal’s Center region. The data collected will be examined using a content analysis approach via NVivo 12 QSR International software.

Results

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland’s School of Health Sciences and the Polytechnic of Leiria’s School of Health Sciences in Portugal have both approved funding for the study. The research protocol has been approved by ethics committees in both countries. Study recruitment commenced in February 2021. The results of the data analysis are expected by September 2021.

Conclusions

This present study aims to gain more insight into the dilemmas facing nurses as a result of all causes of presenteeism among frontline nurses and nurse managers in different health care settings. The researchers will prepare manuscripts on the study’s findings, publish them in relevant peer-reviewed journals, exhibit them in poster presentations, and give oral presentations at appropriate academic and nonscientific conferences. Regarding further knowledge transfer, researchers will engage with stakeholders to craft messages focused on the needs of nurses and nurse managers and on disseminating our research findings to deal with the issue of nursing presenteeism.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/27963
Using General-purpose Sentiment Lexicons for Suicide Risk Assessment in Electronic Health Records: Corpus-Based Analysis (Preprint)
Authors: Bittar André , Velupillai Sumithra , Roberts Angus , Dutta Rina
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

Suicide is a serious public health issue, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide. Current risk assessment tools are reported as performing little better than chance in predicting suicide. New methods for studying dynamic features in electronic health records (EHRs) are being increasingly explored. One avenue of research involves using sentiment analysis to examine clinicians’ subjective judgments when reporting on patients. Several recent studies have used general-purpose sentiment analysis tools to automatically identify negative and positive words within EHRs to test correlations between sentiment extracted from the texts and specific medical outcomes (eg, risk of suicide or in-hospital mortality). However, little attention has been paid to analyzing the specific words identified by general-purpose sentiment lexicons when applied to EHR corpora.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the coverage of six general-purpose sentiment lexicons against a corpus of EHR texts to ascertain the extent to which such lexical resources are fit for use in suicide risk assessment.

METHODS

The data for this study were a corpus of 198,451 EHR texts made up of two subcorpora drawn from a 1:4 case-control study comparing clinical notes written over the period leading up to a suicide attempt (cases, n=2913) with those not preceding such an attempt (controls, n=14,727). We calculated word frequency distributions within each subcorpus to identify representative keywords for both the case and control subcorpora. We quantified the relative coverage of the 6 lexicons with respect to this list of representative keywords in terms of weighted precision, recall, and F score.

RESULTS

The six lexicons achieved reasonable precision (0.53-0.68) but very low recall (0.04-0.36). Many of the most representative keywords in the suicide-related (case) subcorpus were not identified by any of the lexicons. The sentiment-bearing status of these keywords for this use case is thus doubtful.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that these 6 sentiment lexicons are not optimal for use in suicide risk assessment. We propose a set of guidelines for the creation of more suitable lexical resources for distinguishing suicide-related from non–suicide-related EHR texts.
Machine Learning Approach to Predicting COVID-19 Disease Severity Based on Clinical Blood Test Data: Statistical Analysis and Model Development (Preprint)
Authors: Aktar Sakifa , Ahamad Md Martuza , Rashed-Al-Mahfuz Md , Azad AKM , Uddin Shahadat , Kamal AHM , Alyami Salem A , Lin Ping-I , Islam Sheikh Mohammed Shariful , Quinn Julian MW , Eapen Valsamma , Moni Mohammad Ali
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

Accurate prediction of the disease severity of patients with COVID-19 would greatly improve care delivery and resource allocation and thereby reduce mortality risks, especially in less developed countries. Many patient-related factors, such as pre-existing comorbidities, affect disease severity and can be used to aid this prediction.

OBJECTIVE

Because rapid automated profiling of peripheral blood samples is widely available, we aimed to investigate how data from the peripheral blood of patients with COVID-19 can be used to predict clinical outcomes.

METHODS

We investigated clinical data sets of patients with COVID-19 with known outcomes by combining statistical comparison and correlation methods with machine learning algorithms; the latter included decision tree, random forest, variants of gradient boosting machine, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbor, and deep learning methods.

RESULTS

Our work revealed that several clinical parameters that are measurable in blood samples are factors that can discriminate between healthy people and COVID-19–positive patients, and we showed the value of these parameters in predicting later severity of COVID-19 symptoms. We developed a number of analytical methods that showed accuracy and precision scores >90% for disease severity prediction.

CONCLUSIONS

We developed methodologies to analyze routine patient clinical data that enable more accurate prediction of COVID-19 patient outcomes. With this approach, data from standard hospital laboratory analyses of patient blood could be used to identify patients with COVID-19 who are at high risk of mortality, thus enabling optimization of hospital facilities for COVID-19 treatment.
Peer Review of “A Physical Activity Mobile Game for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients: App Design, Development, and Evaluation” (Preprint)
Authors: Fisher Abigail
Published: April 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

This is a peer review report to accompany MS#20461
Peer Review of “A Physical Activity Mobile Game for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients: App Design, Development, and Evaluation” (Preprint)
Authors: Robertson Michael C
Published: April 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

This is a peer review report.
Correction: Assessment of the Effectiveness of Identity-Based Public Health Announcements in Increasing the Likelihood of Complying With COVID-19 Guidelines: Randomized Controlled Cross-sectional Web-Based Study (Preprint)
Authors: Dennis Alexander S , Moravec Patricia L , Kim Antino , Dennis Alan R
Published: April 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

REMOVE
THE PROBLEM OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN THE 1ST - 4TH CENTURIES CE
Authors:   ANNA A. LUNEVA  St. Petersburg State University, LUNEVA ANNA A.
Published: April 2021

The article considers early Christian identity development during the 1st - 4th centuries CE. Adversus Iudaeos treatises are the main sources of knowledge about many early Christian positions. Christian writers described both themselves and the nations surrounding them in terms ἔθνος γένος, natio , populus . The term “ethnos” was important for Christian authors for dealing with inner community problems and for external relations purposes. Universal Christian doctrine did not fit any criteria of that time. Describing Christians as a “new nation” allowed them to define their place in the sociocultural system of the Greco-Roman world and to put themselves next to Greeks, Jews, and Barbarians. In the absence of a clear definition of “ethnos”, Christian authors proclaimed open borders of their “nation” and through this approach engaged new followers. Comparing themselves to Jews and abandoning all Jewish “earthly” traditions, the writers showed what was truly Christian and formed the foundations of the orthodoxy, opposed heresies and asserted that faith is the main tenet of their identity.
ALBAZIN SPASSKY MONASTERY: MAJOR MILESTONES IN HISTORY AND RESEARCH RESULTS
Authors:   Andrey P. Zabiyako  Amur State University, ZABIYAKO ANDREY P. , TRUKHIN VLADIMIR I. ,   VLADIMIR I. TRUKHIN Amur State University
Published: April 2021

2021 marks 350 years since the founding of the Albazin Spassky Monastery, the first Orthodox monastery in the Far East. The emergence of the monastery was the result of the movement of Russians to the Amur River, as well as acute social and moral conflicts among the Russian population of Eastern Siberia. The activity of this monastery was an important stage in the spread of Orthodoxy on the eastern borders of Russia. Many aspects of the history of the monastery remain a subject of discussion. The purpose of the article is to systematize the most reliable information about the circumstances of the emergence and activities of the Albazin Spassky Monastery, as well as its use. Documents of the 17th century include a few information about the monastery. The most fully reflected activity in the documents is the economic one. The monastery conducted a successful economic activity, actively carried out the construction of religious and other structures (mills, smithy, etc.). Other aspects of the monastery's activities are hardly reflected in the documents. The location of the Spassky Monastery remains controversial. According to the written and cartographic sources, the most probable location of the monastery is 2 km from the fortress up the Amur River in the area of the ravine - the former stream course - and the adjoining upland.
SFRP1, Posible biomarcador en la progresión o regresión de lesiones de cérvix asociado al Virus del Papiloma Humano
Authors: Baena-Acevedo Juvenal Darío , Adriana Dabeiba , García-Robayo, Ángel Cid-Arregui , Aristizábal-Gutiérrez Fabio , Castañeda-Peláez Diego Andrés
Published: April 2021

Objetivo: Comparar la expresión de mRNA y proteínas de SFRP1, PTPRN, CDO1, EDNRB, CDX2, EPB41L3 y HAND1 en pacientes con lesión intra-epitelial cervical de bajo y alto grado, con posterior progresión o regresión. Material y Método: Se realizó análisis de expresión de genes mediante RT-PCR y análisis de expresión de proteínas por inmunohistoquímica. El análisis estadístico fue realizado con las pruebas: Wilcoxon, coeficiente de correlación de Spearman e índice de concordancia. Las muestras fueron pareadas en momento 1 y momento 2. Resultados: SFRP1 mostró tendencia de mayor expresión de mRNA en lesión intra-epitelial de bajo grado (momento 2) Vs. alto grado (momento 1). La expresión de proteínas por inmunohistoquímica de SFRP1 en casos de progresión (83,3 %) mostró disminución en su graduación (p = 0,0313*); los demás genes en estudio no tuvieron cambios estadísticamente significativos. Discusión: SFRP1 mostró comportamiento ajustado a resultados de estudios previos donde se encontró hipermetilado en lesiones intra-epiteliales de alto grado; su subexpresión por hipermetilación se reportó en otros canceres, proceso que colabora con su silenciamiento y transición epitelial-mesenquimatosa del cáncer de cuello uterino. Conclusiones. SFRP1 es potencial biomarcador en lesiones preneoplásicas del cuello uterino asociadas al virus de papiloma humano.
Tradisjoner på spill - Refleksjon
Authors: Ingfrid Breie Nyhus
Published: April 2021

«Tradisjoner på spill, fortolkning og utøving mellom slåtter og pianisme», er et kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid gjort av pianist Ingfrid Breie Nyhus. Hun er en utøver som står mellom to utøvertradisjoner; klassisk fortolkning og norsk folkemusikktradering. I dette stipendiatprosjektet har hun undersøkt musikalske muligheter i spenningsfeltet mellom kunstmusikk og folkemusikk, sett på likheter og ulikheter ved tradisjonene, og latt dem flettes sammen i sitt spill. Tilsvarende har hun undersøkt musikalske muligheter i dette spenningsfeltet, i samarbeid med et utvalg samtidskomponister om nye klaververker inspirert av norsk folkemusikk.
Intimate Relations
Authors: Eivind Buene
Published: April 2021

Blue Mountain is a 35-minute work for two actors and orchestra. It was commissioned by the Ultima Festival, and premiered in 2014 by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. The Ultima festival challenged me – being both a composer and writer – to make something where I wrote both text and music. Interestingly, I hadn’t really thought of that before, writing text to my own music – or music to my own text. This is a very common thing in popular music, the songwriter. But in the lied, the orchestral piece or indeed in opera, there is a strict division of labour between composer and writer. There are exceptions, most famously Wagner, who did libretto, music and staging for his operas. And 20th century composers like Olivier Messiaen, who wrote his own poems for his music – or Luciano Berio, who made a collage of such detail that it the text arguably became his own in Sinfonia. But this relationship is often a convoluted one, not often discussed in the tradition of musical analysis where text tend to be taken as a given, not subjected to the same rigorous scrutiny that is often the case with music. This exposition is an attempt to unfold this process of composing with both words and music.

A key challenge has been to make the text an intrinsic part of the performance situation, and the music something more than mere accompaniment to narration. To render the words meaningless without the music and vice versa. So the question that emerged was how music and words can be not only equal partners, but also yield a new species of music/text? A second questions follows en suite, and that is what challenges the conflation of different roles – the writer and the composer – presents? I will try to address these questions through a discussion of the methods applied in Blue Mountain, the results they have yielded, and the challenges this work has posed.
Wood or blood?
Authors: Astrid Kvalbein  , Gjertrud Pedersen
Published: April 2021

Wood or Blood?
New scores and new sounds for voice and clarinet

Astrid Kvalbein and Gjertrud Pedersen, Norwegian Academy of Music

What is this thing called a score, and how do we relate to it as performers, in order to realize a musical work? This is the fundamental question of this exposition. As a duo we have related to scores in a variety of ways over the years: from the traditional reading and interpreting of sheet music of works by distant (some dead) composers, to learning new works in dialogue with living composers and to taking part in the creative processes from the commissioning of a work to its premiere and beyond.

This reflective practice has triggered many questions: could the score for instance be conceptualized as a contract, in which some elements are negotiable and others are not? Where two equal parts, the performer(s) and the composer might have qualitatively different assignments on how to realize the music? Finally: might reflecting on such questions influence our interpretative practices?

To shed light on these issues, we take as examples three works from our recent repertoire: Ragnhild Berstad’s Vevtråd (Weaving thread, 2010), Jan Martin Smørdal’s The Lesser Nighthawk (2012) and Lene Grenager’s Tre eller blod (Wood or blood, 2005). We will share – attempt to unfold – some of the experiences gained from working with this music, in close collaboration and dialogue with the composers. Observing the processes from a certain temporal distance, we see how our attitudes as a duo has developed over a longer span of time, into a more confident 'we'.
Symphonies Reframed
Authors: Gjertrud Pedersen  , Sigstein Folgerø
Published: April 2021

Symphonies Reframed recreates symphonies as chamber music. The project aims to capture the features that are unique for chamber music, at the juncture between the “soloistic small” and the “orchestral large”. A new ensemble model, the “triharmonic ensemble” with 7-9 musicians, has been created to serve this purpose. By choosing this size range, we are looking to facilitate group interplay without the need of a conductor. We also want to facilitate a richness of sound colours by involving piano, strings and winds. The exact combination of instruments is chosen in accordance with the features of the original score. The ensemble setup may take two forms: nonet with piano, wind quartet and string quartet (with double bass) or septet with piano, wind trio and string trio. As a group, these instruments have a rich tonal range with continuous and partly overlapping registers.

This paper will illuminate three core questions: What artistic features emerge when changing from large orchestral structures to mid-sized chamber groups? How do the performers reflect on their musical roles in the chamber ensemble? What educational value might the reframing unfold?

Since its inception in 2014, the project has evolved to include works with vocal, choral and soloistic parts, as well as sonata literature. Ensembles of students and professors have rehearsed, interpreted and performed our transcriptions of works by Brahms, Schumann and Mozart. We have also carried out interviews and critical discussions with the students, on their experiences of the concrete projects and on their reflections on own learning processes in general.

Chamber ensembles and orchestras are exponents of different original repertoire. The difference in artistic output thus hinges upon both ensemble structure and the composition at hand. Symphonies Reframed seeks to enable an assessment of the qualities that are specific to the performing corpus and not beholden to any particular piece of music. Our transcriptions have enabled comparisons and reflections, using original compositions as a reference point. Some of our ensemble musicians have had first-hand experience with performing the original works as well. Others have encountered the works for the first time through our productions. This has enabled a multi-angled approach to the three central themes of our research.

This text is produced in 2018.
Modulations through time
Authors: Stephen Emmerson  , Bernard Lanskey
Published: April 2021

This article explores the rationale behind a performance given by the authors at the Unfolding the Process symposium held in Oslo in November 2015. For this occasion, the authors devised a new version of Bach’s Goldberg Variations that builds upon Emmerson’s arrangement of the work for two pianos in 2012. A shortened version of the work (c.30 minutes) was designed that aimed nonetheless to maintain the original work’s sense of structural balance and coherence. This version involved the transposition of a number of variations into different keys to explore the possibility of adding a satisfying tonal structure to our experience of the work, in a context where both performers see potential communicative value in 'playing with' dimensions of original masterworks with a view to giving fresh perspective to the listener experience. The article is written from the alternating perspectives of the authors; one of which is primarily concerned with the rationale and process of devising the arrangement while the other reflects upon the performative aspects and implications arising from it.
Professional identities in progress – developing personal artistic trajectories
Authors: Tanja Orning
Published: April 2021

We have seen drastic changes in the music profession during the last 20 years, and consequently an increase of new professional opportunities, roles and identities. We can see elements of a collective identity in classically trained musicians who from childhood have been introduced to centuries old, institutionalized traditions around the performers’ role and the work-concept. Respect for the composer and his work can lead to a fear of failure and a perfectionist value system that permeates the classical music. We have to question whether music education has become a ready-made prototype of certain trajectories, with a predictable outcome represented by more or less generic types of musicians who interchangeably are able play the same, limited canonized repertoire, in more or less the same way. Where is the resistance and obstacles, the detours and the unique and fearless individual choices? It is a paradox that within the traditional master-student model, the student is told how to think, play and relate to established truths, while a sustainable musical career is based upon questioning the very same things. A fundamental principle of an independent musical career is to develop a capacity for critical reflection and a healthy opposition towards uncontested truths. However, the unison demands for modernization of institutions and their role cannot be solved with a quick fix, we must look at who we are and who we have been to look at who we can become. Central here is the question of how the music students perceive their own identity and role. To make the leap from a traditional instrumentalist role to an artist /curator role requires commitment in an entirely different way. In this article, I will examine question of identity - how identity may be constituted through musical and educational experiences. The article will discuss why identity work is a key area in the development of a sustainable music career and it will investigate how we can approach this and suggest some possible ways in this work. We shall see how identity work can be about unfolding possible future selves (Marcus & Nurius, 1986), develop and evolve one’s own personal journey and narrative. Central is how identity develops linguistically by seeing other possibilities: "identity is formed out of the discourses - in the broadest sense - that are available to us ..." (Ruud, 2013). The question is: How can higher music education (HME) facilitate students in their identity work in the process of constructing their professional identities? I draw on my own experience as a classically educated musician in the discussion.
Organized time
Authors: Christian Blom
Published: April 2021

For many years I was a part of a performance group called Verdensteatret. We made large scale performances and installations. They were often dense with information. Speech, movements, video, lights, sounds and music, all utilizing their full scales at once, fast to slow, loud to soft, bright to dark and so forth. This meant that we had many situations where the amount of information was overwhelming. Anyone attending would have to make choices of where to focus and what to follow. I recall sitting in rehearsal for the work Louder (Verdensteatret 2007) thinking: Isn’t that sound finishing off Marius’ movement? They are both coming to a halt after finishing a similar arch through the room. And the sound continues ten seconds after Marius has stopped. They start together but finish separately. A connection appears as they separate. The connection is clear for the ten seconds between when Marius is finished, and the sound finishes in a similar manner as Marius did. Nothing else enters and connects more strongly to either and their initial connection is strong since they start out as if in unison. I didn’t think all this then, it’s only now that I can put words to it. After all things are indications before they become phenomena (Bachelard 1958, 176).

This glimpse and my imaginative memory is the basis for organized time. Through this research project I have tried to recreate this glimpse, to isolate it and force it to show itself. It has been a hunt. I started fiddling about, juxtaposing things and hoping for a dialectic miracle and as things became more clear I increased precision and gradually formulated a strategy for transmedial composition.
SINGING WITH THE LUTE
Authors: Solmund Nystabakk
Published: April 2021

This project is an attempt at bringing new perspectives and work methods to the performance of lute songs. My point of departure is Historically Informed Performance, also known as HIP. My claim is that the performance of lute songs is lagging behind the general development in HIP. Moreover, I feel that there are aspects of the performance of music that HIP in general has been reluctant to consider.

I want to update the approach to the lute song repertoire, hoping to produce a result that is more varied, nuanced and communicative than what I see as the current state of lute song performance.