bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prophetic Fire and Creative Flourishing
Authors: Dorrien Gary
Published: September 2023

Black social Christianity remains a creative tradition of theological, political, activist, and public intellectual discourse. Chapter 6 tracks how an ongoing tradition of Black social Christianity refashioned and renewed its thinking about democratic socialism, cultural criticism, Black feminism, gay and queer sexuality, modern theology, the womanist tradition, and national politics. It features Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, Obery Hendricks Jr., bell hooks, Traci West, Victor Anderson, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, and Monica A. Coleman, and builds toward a discussion of the Barack Obama era and its legacy. The coming of Obama changed the social and political landscape in which all Black intellectuals, activists, and church leaders operated. It fuelled a narrative about America reaching or approaching the post-racial cosmopolitanism that he symbolized. It triggered a torrential right-wing backlash that refuted the happy-cosmopolitan story. Obama said as little as possible about race until seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was gunned down in February 2012 and his murderer was acquitted the following year. Meanwhile police officers cut down many others as though their lives did not matter. Obama, in the White House, heightened the danger to Black Americans in the street. Black Lives Matter, a movement hard to see coming when Obama was elected in November 2008, symbolized what came of the Obama era.
Introduction
Authors: Dubcovsky Alejandra
Published: September 2023

This chapter introduces the Native women in the Early South. It references Timucua Eve to highlight Native women playing important and recognized roles in the early South. Even though the Spanish and Timucua versions describe how Eve took the forbidden fruit, they are strikingly different since the Spanish account mostly accounts for morality, the Timucua version shows that Adam and Eve were pitted against each other. Attempts to narrate women's historical voices and life stories have taken many forms, from biographies to critical explorations of the lives of women and men. However, colonialism, disease, and slavery transformed the region and Native women were at the eye of the storm.
An Yndia Chacata Guide
Authors: Dubcovsky Alejandra
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into the murder trial of Yndia Chacata. The Chacato woman's case was heavily distorted and ventriloquized by testimonies of men who did not even speak the same language she did. The 1695 murder trial was not exactly about the murder itself, but about the man who might have killed her and the men that could have saved her. Yndia Chacata's violent death, the trial that followed, and the many uncertainties that surrounded both events center the experiences and struggles of Native women and show how far their adaptability could stretch and snap. Even though the Yndia Chacata was a nameless murder victim in the colonial Spanish documents, she becomes much more and recognized the valued roles she played in her homeland.
Standing in Place, Not Standing Still
Authors: Dubcovsky Alejandra
Published: September 2023

This chapter details the struggles for survival under the risk of slavery caused by colonialism. Native women left little evidence of how they felt about having to adapt to new, circumscribed realities. regardless of enslavement, abuse, and fear, Native women responded to and negotiated the growing violence around them and, in doing so, forged possibilities and even different futures for themselves and their communities. The chapter explains that Native women were central to the stability and endurance of their communities. It cites that focusing on women's bodies and voices needs a different way of thinking about the violence and impact of colonialism.
The War That Never Ends
Authors: Dubcovsky Alejandra
Published: September 2023

This concluding chapter notes the legacy of Doña Juana Caterina de Florencia. Even though Native people were not completely excised from Spanish narratives of war, most of their accounts involve the disappearance of Native people. Thus, Native people were included in Doña Juana's petition as a way to bolster the bravery of colonial officials, downplay Native military prowess, and vindicate the collapse of the Spanish Apalachee. Moreover, Native women were most visible in moments of violence and trauma, creating an almost unbendable historical arc that tied female Native bodies to loss, erasure, and death. The chapter elaborates on how Queen Anne's War tested the flexibility and power of existing gender norms.
The Dream of Synthesis and the Laboratory Vision
Authors: Kingsland Sharon E.
Published: September 2023

This chapter provides a background on the historical study of plant adaptation and the scientists who work on those problems. It considers the origins of physiological plant ecology to explains how botanical sciences and the subject that came to be called ecology were developed in the middle to late nineteenth century. It also defines ecology as an inherently interdisciplinary field that concerns how organisms are adapted to their environments, both living and non-living. The chapter focuses on the evolution of laboratory designs for botanical research, noting that laboratory innovations were and still are a central feature of the development of ecology. It introduces innovations in laboratory design that occurred in the postwar period, mainly in the 1950s to 1970s, and made it possible to study more species of plants at all developmental stages under controlled conditions.
Leveraging Love for the Land: From Philosophy to Practice to Policy
Authors: Lamb Brooks
Published: September 2023

Chapter 7 describes various federal, state, and local strategies to stem farmland loss, promote farmland protection, reverse agricultural consolidation, encourage right-sized farming, and advance racial justice and equity for Black farmers. All the policies and programs described here depend on the virtues of imagination, affection, and fidelity to flourish. Without love for and devotion to place, proposed strategies—like farmland protection efforts, planning and zoning initiatives, redesigned government programs, heirs’ property protections, and equitable representation—will fail to reach their full potential. In the book’s final pages, the following charges are given: “For the well-being of farmers, the general population, and the earth itself, we should adopt new agricultural and environmental policies on federal, state, and local levels. We should leverage love for the land into structural change, fostering a farming system in which grounded virtues can thrive. We should make good and virtuous stewardship no longer a sacrifice.” By acting with empathy, courage, and hope, we can engender a better present and future for American agriculture, a future that truly serves people, places, and the planet.
Effects of different doses of long-acting growth hormone in treating children with growth hormone deficiency
Authors: Xia Wei , Wang Ting , Pan Jia-Yan
Published: September 2023

β cells are the main cells responsible for the hypoglycemic function of pancreatic islets, and the insulin secreted by these cells is the only hormone that lowers blood glucose levels in the human body. β cells are regulated by various factors, among which neurotransmitters make an important contribution. This paper discusses the effects of neurotransmitters secreted by various sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves on β cells and summarizes the mechanisms by which various neurotransmitters regulate insulin secretion. Many neurotransmitters do not have a single source and are not only released from nerve terminals but also synthesized by β cells themselves, allowing them to synergistically regulate insulin secretion. Almost all of these neurotransmitters depend on the presence of glucose to function, and their actions are mostly related to the Ca2+ and cAMP concentrations. Although neurotransmitters have been extensively studied, many of their mechanisms remain unclear and require further exploration by researchers.
Randomized controlled trial on the efficacy and safety of autologous serum eye drops in dry eye syndrome
Authors: Zheng Na , Zhu Si-Quan
Published: September 2023

β cells are the main cells responsible for the hypoglycemic function of pancreatic islets, and the insulin secreted by these cells is the only hormone that lowers blood glucose levels in the human body. β cells are regulated by various factors, among which neurotransmitters make an important contribution. This paper discusses the effects of neurotransmitters secreted by various sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves on β cells and summarizes the mechanisms by which various neurotransmitters regulate insulin secretion. Many neurotransmitters do not have a single source and are not only released from nerve terminals but also synthesized by β cells themselves, allowing them to synergistically regulate insulin secretion. Almost all of these neurotransmitters depend on the presence of glucose to function, and their actions are mostly related to the Ca2+ and cAMP concentrations. Although neurotransmitters have been extensively studied, many of their mechanisms remain unclear and require further exploration by researchers.
In vivo volumetric depth-resolved imaging of cilia metachronal waves using dynamic optical coherence tomography
Authors: Xia Tian , Umezu Kohei , Scully Deirdre M. , Wang Shang , Larina Irina V.
Published: September 2023

Motile cilia are dynamic hair-like structures covering epithelial surfaces in multiple organs. The periodic coordinated beating of cilia creates waves propagating along the surface, known as the metachronal waves, which transport fluids and mucus along the epithelium. Motile ciliopathies result from disrupted coordinated cilia beating and are associated with serious clinical complications, including reproductive disorders. Despite the recognized clinical significance, research of cilia dynamics is extremely limited. Here, we present quantitative imaging of cilia metachronal waves volumetrically through tissue layers using dynamic optical coherence tomography (OCT). Our method relies on spatiotemporal mapping of the phase of intensity fluctuations in OCT images caused by the ciliary beating. We validated our new method ex vivo and implemented it in vivo to visualize cilia metachronal wave propagation within the mouse fallopian tube. This method can be extended to the assessment of physiological cilia function and ciliary dyskinesias in various organ systems, contributing to better management of pathologies associated with motile ciliopathies.
Design of uni-traveling-carrier photodiode With Nanoscale Optical Microstructures
Authors: Liu Kai , Wang Junjie , Dong Xiaowen , Duan Xiaofeng , Huang Yongqing , Ren Xiaomin
Published: September 2023

In this article, we report a uni-traveling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) incorporating nanoscale optical microstructures. We design a waveguide-based UTC-PD containing an internal optical scattering structure to convert incident light from vertical incidence to lateral propagation and to constrain the light within the absorption layer of the UTC-PD as much as possible. In this way, the proposed UTC-PD can have an operating performance like that of a waveguide-type PD under vertical light incidence, and its responsivity will increase. The ideal responsivity of the designed UTC-PD with an absorption layer thickness of 200nm after optimization can reach 0.43A/W, which is 48% higher than that of the traditional structure.
The increasing complexity of arbovirus serology: An in-depth systematic review on cross-reactivity
Authors: Kasbergen Louella M. R. , Nieuwenhuijse David F. , de Bruin Erwin , Sikkema Reina S. , Koopmans Marion P. G.
Published: September 2023

Diagnosis of arbovirus infection or exposure by antibody testing is becoming increasingly difficult due to global expansion of arboviruses, which induce antibodies that may (cross-)react in serological assays. We provide a systematic review of the current knowledge and knowledge gaps in differential arbovirus serology. The search included Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases and identified 911 publications which were reduced to 102 after exclusion of studies not providing data on possible cross-reactivity or studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria regarding confirmation of virus exposure of reference population sets. Using a scoring system to further assess quality of studies, we show that the majority of the selected papers (N = 102) provides insufficient detail to support conclusions on specificity of serological outcomes with regards to elucidating antibody cross-reactivity. Along with the lack of standardization of assays, metadata such as time of illness onset, vaccination, infection and travel history, age and specificity of serological methods were most frequently missing. Given the critical role of serology for diagnosis and surveillance of arbovirus infections, better standards for reporting, as well as the development of more (standardized) specific serological assays that allow discrimination between exposures to multiple different arboviruses, are a large global unmet need.
Comparative physicochemical, hormonal, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses provide new insights into the formation mechanism of two chemotypes of Pogostemon cablin
Authors: Zhang Hongyi , Ou Xiaohua , Chen Wenyi , Zeng Qing , Yan Yaling , He Mengling , Yan Hanjing
Published: September 2023

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is an aromatic plant, and its oil has diverse applications in medicine, food, and cosmetics. Patchouli alcohol is the principal bioactive constituent of its volatile oil. In China, patchouli is typically categorized into two types: patchoulol-type (PA-type) and pogostone-type (PO-type). The study evaluated physiological and biochemical indicators, phytohormone metabolites and conducted transcriptome and proteome analyses on both two chemotypes. The PA-type exhibited higher levels of chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids than the PO-type. In total, 35 phytohormone metabolites representing cytokinin, abscisic acid, gibberellin, jasmonic acid, and their derivatives were identified using UPLC-MS/MS, 10 of which displayed significant differences, mainly belong to cytokinins and jasmonates. Transcriptome analysis identified 4,799 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), while proteome analysis identified 150 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Regarding the transcriptome results, the DEGs of the PO-type showed significant downregulation in the pathways of photosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna protein, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, carotenoid biosynthesis, sesquiterpene and triterpenoid biosynthesis, and starch and sucrose metabolism, but upregulation in the pathway of zeatin synthesis. A combination of transcriptome and proteome analyses revealed that the DEGs and DEPs of lipoxygenase (LOX2), β-glucosidase, and patchouli synthase (PTS) were collectively downregulated, while the DEGs and DEPs of Zeatin O-xylosyltransferase (ZOX1) and α-amylase (AMY) were jointly upregulated in the PO-type compared to the PA-type. Differential levels of phytohormones, variations in photosynthetic efficiency, and differential expression of genes in the sesquiterpene synthesis pathway may account for the morphological and major active component differences between the two chemotypes of patchouli. The findings of this study offer novel perspectives on the underlying mechanisms contributing to the formation of the two patchouli chemotypes.
Machine learning forecasts for seasonal epidemic peaks: Lessons learnt from an atypical respiratory syncytial virus season
Authors: Morbey Roger A. , Todkill Daniel , Watson Conall , Elliot Alex J.
Published: September 2023

Seasonal peaks in infectious disease incidence put pressures on health services. Therefore, early warning of the timing and magnitude of peak activity during seasonal epidemics can provide information for public health practitioners to take appropriate action. Whilst many infectious diseases have predictable seasonality, newly emerging diseases and the impact of public health interventions can result in unprecedented seasonal activity. We propose a Machine Learning process for generating short-term forecasts, where models are selected based on their ability to correctly forecast peaks in activity, and can be useful during atypical seasons. We have validated our forecasts using typical and atypical seasonal activity, using respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity during 2019–2021 as an example. During the winter of 2020/21 the usual winter peak in RSV activity in England did not occur but was ‘deferred’ until the Spring of 2021. We compare a range of Machine Learning regression models, with alternate models including different independent variables, e.g. with or without seasonality or trend variables. We show that the best-fitting model which minimises daily forecast errors is not the best model for forecasting peaks when the selection criterion is based on peak timing and magnitude. Furthermore, we show that best-fitting models for typical seasons contain different variables to those for atypical seasons. Specifically, including seasonality in models improves performance during typical seasons but worsens it for the atypical seasons.
Influence of body mass index on recurrence of atrial fibrillation after electrical cardioversion
Authors: Ligero Carmen , Bazan Victor , Guerra José M. , Rodríguez-Mañero Moisés , Viñolas Xavier , Alegret Josep M.
Published: September 2023

Background

Several studies have shown an independent relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, little is known about the influence of BMI on AF recurrence after electrical cardioversion (ECV).

Methods

We selected 1121 patients who reverted to sinus rhythm after scheduled ECV and were included in three prospective Spanish registries of ECV in persistent AF. The patients were classified according to baseline BMI into three categories (normal weight, overweight, obesity). We assessed the influence of BMI on the rate of AF recurrence at 3 months.

Results

We identified 538 patients (48%) who had AF recurrence in the first 3 months after successful ECV. The patients who suffered AF recurrence had a higher BMI than those who remained in sinus rhythm (29.66±4.57 vs. 28.87±4.64 Kg/m2, respectively; p = 0.004). We observed a higher incidence of AF recurrence in the overweight and obese patients (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) than in those classified as normal weight (50.5% vs. 35.6%, respectively; p<0,001). BMI≥25 Kg/m2 was shown to be independently related to of AF recurrence in the multivariate analysis (OR = 1.75, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–2.58; p = 0.004).

Conclusions

Increased BMI is independently related to AF recurrence after ECV. BMI should also be taken into account when making decisions about the indication for ECV in persistent AF.
Factors that influence safe water drinking practices among older persons in slums of Kampala: Analyzing disparities in boiling water
Authors: Maniragaba Fred , Nzabona Abel , Lwanga Charles , Ariho Paulino , Kwagala Betty
Published: September 2023

Introduction

Safe drinking water practice is a key public health promotion strategy for reducing the spread of waterborne diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence boiling water practice among older persons in informal settlements of Kampala.

Methods

We collected primary data on “Access to safe water and health services among older persons in informal settlements of Kampala in October 2022. The study interviewed 593 men and women aged 60 years and older. The Complementary log-log multivariable technique was used to establish the association between boiling water practice and selected independent variables.

Results

The results show that nearly 8% of the respondents did not boil their water for drinking. The findings show that the female older persons had increased odds of boiling water to make it safe for drinking compared to their male counterparts (OR = 1.859, 95% CI = 1.384–2.495). Other factors associated with boiling water practice among older persons in the informal settlements of Kampala were; living alone, quality of house, and type of water source.

Conclusion

Basing on our findings, we find that older women are more likely to use safe drinking water practice (boiling) compared to the male older persons. Health education majorly targeting older men about the importance and health benefits associated with safe water drinking practices should be prioritized by policy makers. There is need to improve housing conditions of older persons to minimize typhoid, diarrhea and other health risks associated with drinking unsafely managed water.
Bacterial contact induces polar plug disintegration to mediate whipworm egg hatching
Authors: Robertson Amicha , Sall Joseph , Venzon Mericien , Olivas Janet J. , Zheng Xuhui , Cammer Michael , Antao Noelle , Zhou Chunyi , Devlin Joseph C. , Saes Thur Rafaela , Bethony Jeffrey , Nejsum Peter , Shopsin Bo , Torres Victor J. , Liang Feng-Xia , Cadwell Ken
Published: September 2023

The bacterial microbiota promotes the life cycle of the intestine-dwelling whipworm Trichuris by mediating hatching of parasite eggs ingested by the mammalian host. Despite the enormous disease burden associated with Trichuris colonization, the mechanisms underlying this transkingdom interaction have been obscure. Here, we used a multiscale microscopy approach to define the structural events associated with bacteria-mediated hatching of eggs for the murine model parasite Trichuris muris. Through the combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and serial block face SEM (SBFSEM), we visualized the outer surface morphology of the shell and generated 3D structures of the egg and larva during the hatching process. These images revealed that exposure to hatching-inducing bacteria catalyzed asymmetric degradation of the polar plugs prior to exit by the larva. Unrelated bacteria induced similar loss of electron density and dissolution of the structural integrity of the plugs. Egg hatching was most efficient when high densities of bacteria were bound to the poles. Consistent with the ability of taxonomically distant bacteria to induce hatching, additional results suggest chitinase released from larva within the eggs degrade the plugs from the inside instead of enzymes produced by bacteria in the external environment. These findings define at ultrastructure resolution the evolutionary adaptation of a parasite for the microbe-rich environment of the mammalian gut.
Binding of herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) and HSV-1 gD affect reactivation but not latency levels
Authors: Jaggi Ujjaldeep , Wang Shaohui , Mott Kevin R. , Ghiasi Homayon
Published: September 2023

Previously we reported that the HSV-1 latency associated transcript (LAT) specifically upregulates the cellular herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) but no other known HSV-1 receptors. HSV-1 glycoprotein D (gD) binds to HVEM but the effect of this interaction on latency-reactivation is not known. We found that the levels of latent viral genomes were not affected by the absence of gD binding to HVEM. However, reactivation of latent virus in trigeminal ganglia explant cultures was blocked in the absence of gD binding to HVEM. Neither differential HSV-1 replication and spread in the eye nor levels of latency influenced reactivation. Despite similar levels of latency, reactivation in the absence of gD binding to HVEM correlated with reduced T cell exhaustion. Our results indicate that HVEM-gD signaling plays a significant role in HSV-1 reactivation but not in ocular virus replication or levels of latency. The results presented here identify gD binding to HVEM as an important target that influences reactivation and survival of ganglion resident T cells but not levels of latency. This concept may also apply to other herpesviruses that engages HVEM.
Do clinical practice guidelines follow sustainable healthcare principles? A review of respiratory guidance
Authors: Khan Naba , Walpole Sarah C. , Rostkowska Olga M. , Smith James N. , Miller Fiona A.
Published: September 2023

Background

Respiratory care is an important site for climate action, given that common treatments for conditions such as asthma and COPD produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, even as respiratory health is negatively impacted by climate change. Clinical guidelines provide key information for healthcare professionals and can promote approaches to healthcare that can mitigate negative environmental impacts, and optimise patient treatment, care delivery, and equitable outcomes, and bring awareness and legitimacy to sustainable healthcare practices.

Methods

Twenty national and international clinical respiratory guidelines were purposively selected and screened for inclusion of four principles of sustainable clinical practice: prevention, patient empowerment and self-care, lean service delivery, and low carbon alternatives. A screening framework specific to respiratory care implications was developed and used to review each guideline for mention of relevant topics, recommendations, and explicit links to sustainability in relation to each principle.

Findings

Sustainable clinical care principles were evident in most guidelines reviewed, environmental sustainability was mentioned infrequently. Many guidelines emphasised prevention (more secondary than primary) and support for patient preference and streamlining care, yet there was rarely mention of how these recommendations could contribute to lowering the environmental impacts of health systems. Low carbon alternatives were mentioned in only three guidelines.

Conclusions

While many clinical respiratory guidelines make recommendations in accordance with the principles of prevention, patient empowerment and self-care, and lean service delivery, reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare was rarely mentioned in the guidelines. Including explicit attention to the environmental impact of clinical care in guidance could support efforts to reduce the wider harms of healthcare, meanwhile, noting the clinical benefits of sustainable approaches could promote the uptake of recommendations.
A kiterjesztett megismerés cselekményszervező funkciója Andreï Makine A francia hagyaték című regényében
Authors: Simon Gábor
Published: September 2023

A tanulmány legfőbb kérdésfelvetése, hogy lehet-e egy narratológiai
elemzést a megismerés kibontakozó, az elbeszélésben reprezentálódó
aktusaira építeni. Andreï Makine regénye lehetőséget biztosít nem csupán
egy olyan értelmezésre, mely a narratíva mozzanatait a megismeréssel hozza
összefüggésbe, hanem amelyben ezen túlmenően maga a megismerés válik a
narratíva mozgatórugójává, a regény pedig egy metakognitív reprezentációs
aktusként is olvasható. Az elemzés az emberi megismerés externalista,
kiterjesztett (másként posztkognitivista) elméleteit hívja segítségül a
cselekmény szerveződésének modellálásához. E megismerési paradigma szakít a
hagyományos kognitivizmus individualista és internalista koncepcióival, és
az elme, a test és a környezet szoros interakciójából bontakoztatja ki a
megismerést. Az elemzés legfőbb tanulsága, hogy a narrátor sajátos kognitív
alakulástörténetét mutatja be, amelyben a kiterjesztett, enaktív és
beágyazott kognitív aktusoknak alapvető jelentőségük van. Így a regény
végső soron az elbeszélő elme és az őt körülvevő környezet társulásainak
fázisait mutatja be, nem elutasítva, de új keretek közé helyezve az oksági
cselekményszervezés mechanizmusait.
The Impact of Adjuvant Radiotherapy on Clinical Performance Status in Patients With Grade II Spinal Cord Astrocytoma – A Nationwide Analysis by the Neurospinal Society of Japan
Authors: Kanematsu Ryo , Mizuno Masaki , Inoue Tomoo , Takahashi Toshiyuki , Endo Toshiki , Shigekawa Seiji , Muto Jun , Umebayashi Daisuke , Mitsuhara Takafumi , Hida Kazutoshi , Hanakita Junya ,   for the Investigators of Intramedullary Spinal Cord Tumors in the Neurospinal Society of Japan
Published: September 2023

Objective: The impact of adjuvant radiotherapy on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with grade II spinal cord astrocytomas remains controversial. Additionally, the relationship between progression and clinical deterioration after radiotherapy has not been well investigated.Methods: This study included 53 patients with grade II intramedullary spinal cord astrocytomas treated by either subtotal, partial resection or open biopsy. Their clinical performance status was assessed immediately before operation and 1, 6, 12, 24, and 60 months after surgery by Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS). Patients with and without adjuvant radiotherapy were compared.Results: The groups with and without radiation comprised 23 and 30 patients with a mean age of 50.3 ± 22.6 years (range, 2–88 years). The mean overall disease progression rate was 47.1% during a mean follow-up period of 48.4 ± 39.8 months (range, 2.5–144.5 months). In the radiation group, 11 patients (47.8%) presented with progressive disease, whereas 14 patients (46.7%) presented with progressive disease in the group without radiation. There were no significant differences in OS or PFS among patients with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. KPS in both groups, especially radiation group, gradually decreased after operation and deteriorated before the confirmation of disease progression.Conclusion: Adjuvant radiotherapy did not show effectiveness regarding PFS or OS in patients with grade II spinal cord astrocytoma according to classical classification based on pathohistological findings.
Anterior Transarticular Crossing Screw Fixation for Atlantoaxial Joint Instability: A Biomechanical Study
Authors: Xiao Hang , Huang Zhiping , Xu Panjie , Lin Junyu , Zhu Qingan , Ji Wei
Published: September 2023

Objective: To evaluate the biomechanical stability of anterior transarticular crossing screw (ATCS) and compare it with anterior transarticular screw (ATS) which may provide basic evidence for clinical application.Methods: Eight human fresh cadaveric specimens (occiput-C4) were tested with 5 conditions including the intact status, the injury status (type II odontoid fracture), the injury+ATS fixation status (traditional bilateral ATS fixation); the injury+unilateral ATCS fixation status; and the injury+bilateral ATCS fixation status. Specimens were applied to a pure moment of 1.5 Nm in flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation, respectively. The range of motions (ROMs) and the neutral zones (NZs) of C1 to C2 segment were calculated and compared between 5 status.Results: ATS and ATCS fixations significantly reduced the motions in all directions when compared with the intact and injury statues (p < 0.05). In flexion-extension, the ROMs of ATS, unilateral ATCS, and bilateral ATCS were 4.7° ± 2.5°, 4.1° ± 1.9°, and 3.2° ± 1.2°, respectively. Bilateral ATCS resulted in a significant decrease in ROM in flexion-extension when compared with ATS and unilateral ATCS (p = 0.035 and p = 0.023). In lateral bending and axial rotation, there was no significant difference in ROM between the 3 fixations (p > 0.05). Three fixations resulted in similar NZs in all directions (p > 0.05).Conclusion: ATCS is a biomechanically effective alternative or supplemental method for atlantoaxial instability.
Saving Stabilizing Structure Treatment With Bilateral-Contralateral Decompression for Spinal Stenosis in Degenerative Spondylolisthesis Using Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy
Authors: Lee Dong Hyun , Lee Dong-Geun , Park Choon Keun , Jang Jae-Won , Hwang Jin Sub , Kim Jun Yong , Cho Yong-Eun , Lee Sang Won , Lee Dong Chan , Han Bang Sang , Han Sang Yeop
Published: September 2023

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the treatment of spinal stenosis with spondylolisthesis using bilateral-contralateral unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) decompression to minimize facet joint damage.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 42 patients with grade 1 spondylolisthesis who underwent bilateral-contralateral UBE decompression between July 2018 and September 2019. To identify segmental instability, static and dynamic images from preoperative and postoperative procedures and final follow-up radiographs were reviewed. Lateral radiograph slippage ratio, sagittal motion, and facet joint preservation were evaluated. Clinical assessments were conducted using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and modified MacNab criteria.Results: The average final follow-up period was 26.5 ± 1.3 months. The average preoperative slip percentage was 15.70% ± 5.25%, which worsened to 18.80% ± 5.41% at the final follow-up (p < 0.005). The facet joint preservation rate was 95.6% ± 4.1% on the contralateral side. Improvements in the VAS scores (leg pain: from 7.9 ± 2.2 to 3.1 ± 0.7; p < 0.005; back pain: from 7.2 ± 3.0 to 2.8 ± 1.0; p < 0.005) were observed at the final follow-up. The mean preoperative ODI was 26.19 ± 3.42, which improved to 9.6 ± 1.0 (p < 0.005). Thirteen patients exhibited delayed focal segmental instability following decompression. Despite the absence of symptoms or improvement with conservative treatment in the majority of patients with delayed instability, two patients required fusion surgery to address the instability. Additionally, 2 patients developed facet synovial cysts, while 2 experienced spinous process fractures.Conclusion: Bilateral decompression with a contralateral UBE approach could be an effective and alternative treatment method to reduce instability in spinal stenosis with grade 1 spondylolisthesis.
The Influencing Factors on Turnover Intention of Mental Health Welfare Center Workers
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Lee Mi Hwa , Bae Jeong Yee
Published: September 2023

Since 2003, South Korea has been ranked first in suicide rates among OECD countries, leading to various mental health problems and causing social and national crises. Mental health welfare centers are required to respond to the crisis, but the turnover rate of workers is high. The purpose of this study is to identify the influencing factors on turnover intentions among professionals working in mental health welfare centers in order to prevent turnover and provide foundational data for performing specialized tasks. The subjects were 161 employees from mental health welfare centers in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. In this study, emotional labor, burnout, and job insecurity were had to significant positive (+) correlation to turnover intention. The explanatory power was turnover intention associated with these factors accounted for 35.3%. Therefore, interventions such as improvement of working environment, providing psychological counseling and intervention programs for efficient coping with emotional labor, and developing and implementing policies for employment stability are necessary to reduce turnover rates among workers.
A Study on the Feasibility of Changing ROK Military Service System
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Kang Wonseok , Kim Hyunho
Published: September 2023

Due to the absolute shortage of future military personnel and the recent calls for defense reform, the transition of the military service system is recognized as an essential change that must be implemented at some point. Therefore, this study analyzed the cases of military service conversion in other countries, focusing on the social environment, security environment, and the size of military resources, to evaluate the possibility of conversion to a new military service system that has been raised in South Korean society recently. To do so, we first analyzed the current situation of the South Korean military and presented the advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid system and the volunteer system as possible future military service systems. Next, we covered issues related to the transition of the military service system from the demographic, economic, and socio-political dimensions and suggested ways to improve the Korean military service system.
A Study on the Changes in Policy after the Focus Event: Corona 19
Authors:   Crisis and Emergency Management: Theory and Praxis, Ji Dae Geun
Published: September 2023

This study analyzes policy changes in response to COVID-19. Following the discovery of the first domestic case on January 20, 2020, the infectious disease crisis alert was raised from “watch” to “caution” to “warning”. This study classifies COVID-19 as a focal event and uses Birkland's ERPL model to analyze the process of policy agendization and policy change after the event. The results of the analysis show that, first, the focal event significantly increased the number of media reports at each stage of the epidemic crisis warning. Second, collective mobilization took place through the formation of the National Assembly Special Committee on COVID-19, the Health and Welfare Committee, and government expert group meetings. Third, the Special Committee as well as the standing committee discussed some proposals. Finally, some amendments were passed by the National Assembly. In conclusion, this study found that media coverage of the focal event of COVID-19 had a significant impact on policy changes.
A Ragpicker’s Art
Authors: Freedman Ariela
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on how the sheer range of modernist forms that Art Spiegelman has built on becomes apparent. It particularly looks at jazz as soundtrack and signature key for Spiegelman's improvisational renditions of cross-racial, lowbrow Americana. Like jazz, comics mixes high and low registers. Jazz is audience-based and improvisational, creating forms that are only complete in performance. In much the same way that the audience brings jazz to life, the chapter argues that the reader helps complete a comic, closing the circle of artistic creation by filling in the gap between panels in the mind's eye. The chapter then shifts to explore how jazz accentuates one of Spiegelman's most prominent themes over the last thirty years: the rejection of the dichotomy between the high and low in the arts. His work since Maus has repeatedly returned to the arts of the twenties and thirties, to the Jazz Age and its aftermath. In bringing together his post-Maus engagements with jazz and comics, the chapter argues that Spiegelman's emphasis on Jazz Age fast living is nostalgic as well as elegiac. It delves into the intersecting American traditions of jazz, cosmopolitanism, and comics to help unravel unacknowledged continuities in Spiegelman's career, and his experimental cross-art collaborations.
The Modern Void
Authors: Banita Georgiana
Published: September 2023

This chapter looks into how silence has supported Art Spiegelman's modernist project, from his early wordless cartoons and cover art to the multiple levels of speechlessness coursing through Maus and his late homage to woodcut artists of the interwar period. It focuses on the argument that Spiegelman enlists the artistry of wordless comics as a force against legibility, with the aim to counter an all-too-easy—and therefore potentially insincere or unearned—access to the past, be it personal or collective, and to the meaning of modernist art. To prove this point, the chapter addresses several broad developments in Spiegelman's career as well as engages individual works in detail, especially lesser-known art, as a way of furthering their reception. Moving across a chronological axis, the chapter first claims that Spiegelman's underground work is, “noisy with appeals for silence”; that it displays “a coquettish, even cheerful, nihilism,” which flouts formal expectations with no higher purpose than to simply disorient the reader and deride commercial comics. It also contends that with Maus, Spiegelman abandoned the contrived hilarity of his pantomimic cartoons to explore more varied wordless effects.
Exploding Stereotypes
Authors: Smith Philip
Published: September 2023

This chapter focuses on Spiegelman's aesthetics of transgression. By charting instances of provocation and subversion across Spiegelman's career, the chapter suggests that critical accolades and popular appreciation never dulled the edge of Spiegelman's formal experimentalism, nor did they take the sting out of his cultural critique and non-PC outbursts of outrage. The chapter seeks to show that the commercially successful and critically acclaimed Spiegelman of the post-Maus era and the transgressive Spiegelman from the world of underground comix are not as distant as the dichotomy might suggest. It argues that Spiegelman has maintained, throughout his career, a commitment to boundary-crossing in its various forms, and that his capacity for profanity as cultural critique has continued—not in spite of, but through changing models of distribution and greater interactions with the critical and commercial establishment. In order to maintain his commitment to the profane, this chapter proposes that Spiegelman has constantly renegotiated his relationship to the cultures he has been in dialogue with throughout his career.
Art Spiegelman and 9/11
Authors: Worcester Kent
Published: September 2023

This chapter considers the extent to which Art Spiegelman's post-9/11 interventions were “inflamed” by explicitly political concern. While there are well-researched accounts that acknowledge the engagé overtones of Spiegelman's output in this period, the chapter highlights that scholars like Hillary Chute and Ted Gournelos seem oddly reluctant to differentiate Spiegelman's approach and outlook from contending perspectives. The chapter aims to locate Spiegelman's early twenty-first-century cultural and artistic practice in the context of longstanding debates on the left, broadly defined, over liberal values, foreign policy, and religious extremism. It argues that Spiegelman's interventions in this period were organized around three main principles: first, a robust defense of classical liberal and Enlightenment values; second, a refusal to downplay the magnitude and significance of 9/11 by subsuming it within larger narratives about imperialism and anti-imperialism; third, consistent opposition to both state militarism and violent extremism. The chapter assesses how these positions placed him at odds not only vis-à-vis conservatives and Republicans, but also liberal humanitarian interventionists.
Posttraumatic Literacies and the Material Body in Sapphire’s Push
Authors: Griffiths Jennifer
Published: September 2023

In the third chapter, the analysis amplifies the moment in Sapphire’s Push when Precious sits in the classroom, and Ms. Rain asks the students to introduce themselves. Precious shares that this experience—of self-reflecting and listening within the classroom is new to her. Ms. Rain asks how she feels, to which Precious responds, “here.” In this direct declaration of presence, Precious occupies her body in the small student desk and claims an integrated self in the “here.” The moment gestures toward a commitment to experiencing her presence in her own body and to anchoring her connection to past bodies through intertextuality related to a Black literary canon.
Writing the Hearing Line
Authors: Kirkness Jessica
Published: September 2023

Literary writing about deafness has been historically, socially and culturally fraught. There are so few texts about deaf lives that scholars discuss the ‘invisibility’ of deafness in the cultural imaginary (McDonald 2011). This chapter considers the potential of creative nonfiction writing to investigate and thematise the notion of ‘the hearing line’ – ‘the invisible boundary between the deaf and the hearing’ (Krentz 2007, p. 2). The chapter reflects on the author’s practice in writing pieces of creative nonfiction/ hybrid memoir about her relationship with her Deaf grandparents as she was growing up. Her project thus focuses both on intersubjectivity and on her grandparents' lived, embodied experiences of deafness within a hearing world. Through engagement with the counterhegemonic framework of Deaf Studies philosophy, the chapter troubles the medical model of deafness and argues for the value of literary work that disrupts existing understandings of deafness, hearing, and childhood.
Mandy
Authors: Bailes Cynthia Neese
Published: September 2023

The first study from the perspective of Deaf culture of a deaf child in a picture book, this chapter points to an absence from the critical literature about multicultural children’s books of attention to deaf people who consider themselves members of a cultural minority. Deaf children are rarely characters in picture books and when they do appear they tend to be positioned as members of a disability group rather than of a culturally affiliated group. It is argued that Mandy (1991) reinforces stereotypes about Deaf people and confirms a mainstream view that deafness is undesirable. While Mandy is represented as a visual person, she is portrayed as obsessed with sound, which is contradictory to how members of a Deaf culture might depict themselves. Instead, readers are positioned to accept the rightness of Mandy’s attempts to assimilate into the mold imposed by a hearing society.
“The Deaf Man Turned a Deaf Ear” 1
Authors: Charderon Hélène
Published: September 2023

This chapter deals with metaphorical deafness in four children’s stories written by la Comtesse de Ségur between 1858 and 1865. In these texts, various characters are shown as deaf, or as victims of deafness – that is, being denied a voice. This chapter examines the extent to which such representations of characters “turning a deaf ear” deconstruct the power relations between adults and children, in the context of the process of civilization at work, which leads to a potentially subversive reading of these works. The process of learning is at the heart of children’s literature as the child protagonists embark on journeys along with the reader. As the stories unfold, both are taught social codes. In Ségur’s tales, the narrative use of metaphorical deafness, that is, characters “turning a deaf ear” to norms and morals, seems to question social and behavioral patterns.
(Mis-)Communication Scripts and Cognition in Japanese Deaf Fictional Film A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi)
Authors: Kilpatrick Helen
Published: September 2023

Fictional dramas about Deaf characters can go beyond both increasing the profile of Deaf culture – whose language and customs are different from hearing culture – and beyond narrative comprehension. This chapter demonstrates how narrative processes can influence social and self-reflection, particularly through schemas and scripts of disability and romance, in the developing relationship between a young Deaf and hearing protagonist in the Japanese anime, Koe no katachi (A Silent Voice). The romance-disability schema calls up a typical medical model of deafness as a disability and accesses stores of knowledge and experience about romance situations (with stoic Deaf women). The focus is on how filmic techniques around mis-communication scenes help counteract dominant hearing and disability stereotypes. Engaging viewers in (failed) romance scripts through a combination of language, signing and mental activity enhances the capacity to see, listen and emotionally experience Deaf culture and reveals the metaphor of 'hearing’ as embodied understanding.
Didacticism or Seeking Harmony with Nature
Authors: Bi Lijun , Fang Xiangshu
Published: September 2023

This chapter examines the emerging theme in contemporary Chinese children’s literature dealing with deafness. It first explores the historical background and social context in which people with disabilities have been treated. Textual analysis then focuses on two works. The first is a novel, The Journey to Find the Way Home, in which the first-person narrator is a deaf boy who gets lost on his way home. The second work is an autobiographical novel, If I Were Helen, which illustrates the author’s own experience, as a deaf girl, in attaining high academic achievement and social recognition. This chapter argues that the dominant trend in stories like these follows closely the traditional Confucian notion that literature is primarily informative and didactic, a tool serving social and moral purposes, and such literature has a transformative power to cure social ills: to improve society, children, including those with disabilities, must improve themselves first.