bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DkWRKY transcription factors enhance persimmon resistance to Colletotrichum horii by promoting lignin accumulation through DkCAD1 promotor interaction
Authors: Fan Hanyue , Shen Xiaoxia , Ding Yu , Li Yongkuan , Liu Shuyuan , Yang Yong , Ding Yuduan , Guan Changfei
Published: February 2024

Persimmon anthracnose, a severe disease caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum horii, poses a substantial threat to China’s persimmon industry. Previous research showed that ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ cultivar exhibits strong resistance to anthracnose. Notably, ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ branches exhibit greater lignification compared with the susceptible ‘Fuping Jianshi’ cultivar. In this study, higher lignin content was observed in ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ compared with ‘Fuping Jianshi’, and this difference was associated with disease resistance. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed that the majority of differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated metabolites were primarily enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and lignin synthesis pathways. Furthermore, significant upregulation of DkCAD1, a pivotal gene involved in lignin metabolism, was observed in the resistant cultivar when inoculated with C. horii. Transient overexpression of DkCAD1 substantially increased lignin content and improved resistance to C. horii in a susceptible cultivar. Furthermore, through yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays, we identified two WRKY transcription factors, DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10, which interacts with the DkCAD1 promoter and induces its activity. Overexpression of DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10 not only increased leaf lignin content but also enhanced persimmon tolerance to C. horii. Moreover, the expression levels of DkCAD1, DkWRKY8, and DkWRKY10 were significantly increased in response to salicylic acid and jasmonic acid in the resistant cultivar. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular functions of DkWRKY8, DkWRKY10, and DkCAD1 in persimmons, as well as their involvement in molecular breeding processes in persimmons.
Factors Associated with Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics Among Animal Health Professionals in Selected Districts of Rwanda, 2021
Authors: Mugwaneza Denyse , Rwagasore Edson , El-Khatib Ziad , Dukuziyaturemye Pierre , Omolo Jared , Nsekuye Olivier , Rwunganira Samuel , Manzi Maximillian
Published: February 2024

Background

Antibiotic resistance is a global health concern. Humans can acquire antibiotic resistance through human-to-human transmission, from the environment, via the food chain, and through the contact with animals. The National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance 2020–2024 highlights the prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary activities as the key element in keeping antibiotics effective. We determined the factors associated with misuse of antibiotics among animal health professionals in Rwanda.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled animal health field professionals from five districts, where stratified random sampling was used to select one district by each province of Rwanda. Structured questions were used during face-to-face interviews. The misuse of antibiotics was defined as the use of antibiotics for reasons other than treatment, the non-completion of required courses, or the use of a high dose (i.e., an overdose) of antibiotics. We collected socio-demographic data of respondents, as well as elementary knowledge and perceptions on veterinary antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. A backward stepwise logistic regression model was used to identify the factors that were predictive of the inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Results

There were 256 respondents to the survey. Of those, 198 were male and 58 were female. Almost three quarters of respondents (n = 174/256; 68%) reported the misuse of antibiotics at least once in the previous 12 months. The final logistic regression analysis identified the following factors to be predictive of antibiotics misuse: aged ≤ 24 years (aOR 0.92; 95% CI [0.88, 0.96]; p < 0.001); low trust in veterinary antibiotics available in the local market (aOR 8.45; 95% CI [4.18, 17.07]; p < 0.01), insufficient knowledge about basic understanding of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (aOR 2.78; 95% CI [1.38, 5.58], p < 0.01) and not acquiring any continuing education (aOR 1.97; 95% CI [1.02, 4.19]; p = 0.04).

Conclusions

This study identified inadequate perceptions of proper antibiotic use among animal health professionals. There is a need for continuous education on appropriate antibiotic use among animal health professionals to lessen the negative impact of antibiotic resistance on public health security.
Gender-human security interface: critical perspectives with special reference to India
Authors: Lahiry Sujit
Published: February 2024

The theme of ‘Human Security’ was first articulated by Mahbub-ul-Haq in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report in 1994. Freedom from fear and freedom from want are the two cardinal principles of human security. Human Security puts individual as the prime referral point in its exposition and analysis. Since, there is a lot of emphasis upon gender-specific discourses in the last three decades this article seeks to bring into limelight the critical perspectives of the interfaces between gender and human security, with special reference to India. This article raises some fundamental and pertinent questions. What impact does gender have on human security? What are the different dimensions of Human Security? To what extent we have been able to establish a gender-specific human security discourse in India? This article tries to answer all these substantive questions and establish a gendered-human security discourse in contemporary India.
Lateral Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (LACNES): A previously unrecognized cause of intractable flank pain
Authors: Maatman Robbert C. , Papen-Botterhuis Nicole E. , Scheltinga Marc R.M. , Roumen Rudi M.H.
Published: February 2024

Background and aims

Chronic abdominal pain may occasionally be due to terminal endings of intercostal nerves (ACNES, abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome) that are entrapped in the abdominal wall. Spontaneous neuropathic flank pain may also be caused by involvement of branches of these intercostal nerves. Aim is to describe a series of patients with flank pain due to nerve entrapment and to increase awareness for an unknown condition coined Lateral Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (LACNES).

Methods

Patients possibly having LACNES (constant area of flank tenderness, small point of maximal pain with neuropathic characteristics, locoregional altered skin sensation) presenting between January 2007 and May 2016 received a diagnostic 5–10 mL 1% lidocaine injection. Pain levels were recorded using a numerical rating scale (0, no pain to 10, worst possible). A >50% pain reduction was defined as success. Long term effect of injections and alternative therapies were determined using a satisfaction scale (1, very satisfied, no pain - 5, pain worse).

Results

30 patients (21 women, median age 52, range 13-78) were diagnosed with LACNES. Pain following one injection dropped from 6.9 ± 1.4 to 2.4 ±1.9 (mean, p < 0.001) leading to an 83% immediate success rate. Repeated injection therapy was successful in 16 (pain free n = 7, pain acceptable, n = 9; median 42 months follow-up). The remaining 14 patients received (minimally invasive) surgery (n = 5) or other treatments (medication, manual therapy or pulsed radiofrequency, n = 9). Overall treatment satisfaction (scale 1 or 2) was attained in 79%.

Conclusions and implications

LACNES should be considered in patients with chronic flank pain. Injection therapy is long term effective in more than half of the population.
Density Matrix and Tensor Network Renormalization
Authors: Xiang Tao
Published: February 2024

Renormalization group theory of tensor network states provides a powerful tool for studying quantum many-body problems and a new paradigm for understanding entangled structures of complex systems. In recent decades the theory has rapidly evolved into a universal framework and language employed by researchers in fields ranging from condensed matter theory to machine learning. This book presents a pedagogical and comprehensive introduction to this field for the first time. After an introductory survey on the major advances in tensor network algorithms and their applications, it introduces step-by-step the tensor network representations of quantum states and the tensor-network renormalization group methods developed over the past three decades. Basic statistical and condensed matter physics models are used to demonstrate how the tensor network renormalization works. An accessible primer for scientists and engineers, this book would also be ideal as a reference text for a graduate course in this area.
Cost-Effectiveness of Late Endovascular Thrombectomy vs. Best Medical Management in a Clinical Trial Setting and Real-World Setting
Authors: Ospel Johanna Maria , Zerna Charlotte , Harrison Emma , Kleinig Timothy J. , Puetz Volker , Kaiser Daniel P. O. , Graham Brett , Yu Amy Y.X. , van Adel Brian , Shankar Jai J. , McTaggart Ryan A. , Pereira Vitor , Frei Donald F. , Kunz Wolfgang G. , Goyal Mayank , Hill Michael D.
Published: February 2024

Background and purpose:

To assess cost-effectiveness of late time-window endovascular treatment (EVT) in a clinical trial setting and a “real-world” setting.

Methods:

Data are from the randomized ESCAPE trial and a prospective cohort study (ESCAPE-LATE). Anterior circulation large vessel occlusion patients presenting > 6 hours from last-known-well were included, whereby collateral status was an inclusion criterion for ESCAPE but not ESCAPE-LATE. A Markov state transition model was built to estimate lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for EVT in addition to best medical care vs. best medical care only in a clinical trial setting (comparing ESCAPE-EVT to ESCAPE control arm patients) and a “real-world” setting (comparing ESCAPE-LATE to ESCAPE control arm patients). We performed an unadjusted analysis, using 90-day modified Rankin Scale(mRS) scores as model input and analysis adjusted for baseline factors. Acceptability of EVT was calculated using upper/lower willingness-to-pay thresholds of 100,000 USD/50,000 USD/QALY.

Results:

Two-hundred and forty-nine patients were included (ESCAPE-LATE:n = 200, ESCAPE EVT-arm:n = 29, ESCAPE control-arm:n = 20). Late EVT in addition to best medical care was cost effective in the unadjusted analysis both in the clinical trial and real-world setting, with acceptability 96.6%–99.0%. After adjusting for differences in baseline variables between the groups, late EVT was marginally cost effective in the clinical trial setting (acceptability:49.9%–61.6%), but not the “real-world” setting (acceptability:32.9%–42.6%).

Conclusion:

EVT for LVO-patients presenting beyond 6 hours was cost effective in the clinical trial setting and “real-world” setting, although this was largely related to baseline patient differences favoring the “real-world” EVT group. After adjusting for these, EVT benefit was reduced in the trial setting, and absent in the real-world setting.
Expatriate Merchants and Partnership Formation 1840–1920: Danish Merchants in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Authors: Riddell Daniel
Published: February 2024

Trust is often the premier concern highlighted in relation to the formation of mercantile business partnerships, the role of culture, family, and religion at the forefront. This is especially the case for expatriate communities. However, the Danish merchants of nineteenth century Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as especially demonstrated in the diaries of one of their number, Richard Steenberg, did not conform to this trend. This article investigates Steenberg and two other leading merchants, the Borries cousins, as well as some of their former employees, who typify trends within a wider body of 126 businessmen. It will show that they strategically chose partners who had complimentary supplies of financial, human, and social capital to improve the position of a shared firm, and these supplies formed the key criteria in forming or entering these businesses. The role of trust is not denied. Rather, this article seeks to direct debate toward the importance of financial, human, and social capital in commercial partnership formation in relation to trust.
Modeling relaxed policies for discontinuation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contact precautions
Authors: Cui Jiaming , Heavey Jack , Lin Leo , Klein Eili Y. , Madden Gregory R. , Sifri Costi D. , Lewis Bryan , Vullikanti Anil K. , Prakash B. Aditya
Published: February 2024

Objective:

To evaluate the economic costs of reducing the University of Virginia Hospital’s present “3-negative” policy, which continues methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contact precautions until patients receive 3 consecutive negative test results, to either 2 or 1 negative.

Design:

Cost-effective analysis.

Settings:

The University of Virginia Hospital.

Patients:

The study included data from 41,216 patients from 2015 to 2019.

Methods:

We developed a model for MRSA transmission in the University of Virginia Hospital, accounting for both environmental contamination and interactions between patients and providers, which were derived from electronic health record (EHR) data. The model was fit to MRSA incidence over the study period under the current 3-negative clearance policy. A counterfactual simulation was used to estimate outcomes and costs for 2- and 1-negative policies compared with the current 3-negative policy.

Results:

Our findings suggest that 2-negative and 1-negative policies would have led to 6 (95% CI, −30 to 44; P < .001) and 17 (95% CI, −23 to 59; −10.1% to 25.8%; P < .001) more MRSA cases, respectively, at the hospital over the study period. Overall, the 1-negative policy has statistically significantly lower costs ($628,452; 95% CI, $513,592–$752,148) annually (P < .001) in US dollars, inflation-adjusted for 2023) than the 2-negative policy ($687,946; 95% CI, $562,522–$812,662) and 3-negative ($702,823; 95% CI, $577,277–$846,605).

Conclusions:

A single negative MRSA nares PCR test may provide sufficient evidence to discontinue MRSA contact precautions, and it may be the most cost-effective option.
Bi-global stability of supersonic backward-facing step flow
Authors: Yu Kaikai , Hao Jiaao , Wen Chih-Yung , Xu Jinglei
Published: February 2024

Supersonic backward-facing step (BFS) flow is numerically studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS) and global stability analysis (GSA) with a free stream Mach number of 2.16 and a Reynolds number of 7.938 × 105 based on the flat-plate length L and free stream conditions. Two-dimensional BFS flow becomes unstable to three-dimensional perturbations as the step height h exceeds a certain value, while no two-dimensionally unstable mode is found. Global instability occurs with the fragmentation of the primary separation vortex downstream of the step. Two stationary modes and one oscillatory unstable mode are obtained at a supercritical ratio of L/h = 32.14, among which the two stationary modes originate from the coalescence of a pair of conjugate modes. The most unstable mode manifests itself as streamwise streaks in the reattached boundary layer, which is similar to that in shock-induced separated flow, although the flow separation mechanisms are different. Without introducing any external disturbances, the DNS captures the preferred perturbations and produces a growth rate in agreement with the GSA prediction in the linear growth stage. In the quasi-steady stage, the secondary separation vortex breaks up into several small bubbles, and the number of streamwise streaks is doubled. A low-frequency unsteadiness that may be associated with the oscillatory mode is also present.
¿Cuántos son los desaparecidos y cuantas las víctimas de la desaparición forzada en la Argentina? Debates político-memoriales e investigación académica
Authors: Crenzel Emilio
Published: February 2024

La cifra de desaparecidos en Argentina motiva debates recurrentes. Durante la última dictadura militar (1976–1983) sus denunciantes elaboraron diversas cifras y estimaciones pero el número de 30 mil desaparecidos adquirió un carácter canónico. Tras retornar la democracia, la Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas registró 8.960 casos. En los años noventa, en un contexto de impunidad, grupos de la sociedad civil elaboraron sus propias cifras y en los dos mil el Estado ofreció nuevos registros. El resurgimiento del negacionismo y la relativización del crimen revitalizaron este debate. Este trabajo historiza las cifras de desaparecidos y víctimas de desaparición forzada elaboradas por diversos actores y propone una aproximación académica sobre el tema. Comprende a estas cifras en su doble dimensión: como fruto de la elaboración de conocimiento sobre las desapariciones y como expresión de los combates por la memoria sobre las violaciones a los derechos humanos sucedidas en el país.
The Enmynveem mammoth and vegetation changes in arctic Chukotka during the Late Quaternary
Authors: Lozhkin Anatoly V. , Anderson P.M.
Published: February 2024

Mining operations in the Enmynveem valley, northeastern Siberia, exposed a well-preserved right hind leg of Mammuthus primigenius (woolly mammoth), dated to ca. 37,500 cal yr BP. The leg had a fracture that crosscut the midsections of the tibia and fibula. Additional skeletal and soft tissue remains, including two mummified adults (Berezovka, ca. 47,200 cal yr BP; Bolshoi Lyakhovsky, ca. 37,000 cal yr BP), document the presence of mammoths in interior mountain valleys and across both northern and southern coasts of far northeastern Siberia during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. A mosaic of herb-dominated tundra communities characterized the vegetation of the Enmynveem site during late to middle MIS 3 and MIS 2 (ca. 37,000–17,000 cal yr BP). Shrubs were limited to Salix during the late Pleistocene, whereas Betula also may have been present in sheltered sites during MIS 3. Herb communities remained dominant during the late Pleistocene–Early Holocene transition, although shrub Betula increased during this interval. By ca. 10,200 cal yr BP, the vegetation was Betula–Alnus shrub tundra. Larix and Pinus pumila were established in the valley by ca. 8700 cal yr BP and ca. 5700 cal yr BP, respectively.
Territorial Autonomy and the Trade-Off between Civil and Communal Violence
Authors: JUON ANDREAS
Published: February 2024

To safeguard peace in multi-ethnic countries, scholars and practitioners recommend territorial autonomy. However, there is limited cross-national research on how autonomy affects subnational ethnic conflict, and increasing concern that it redirects ethnic violence from the national to the subnational level. Addressing this gap, I argue that autonomy generates tensions over subnational government control and the distribution of local economic goods. However, whether these turn violent depends on ethnic representation in the central government. If groups are unequally represented, violent escalation is more likely due to information and commitment problems and subnational majoritarianism. To test these arguments, I provide new time-variant data on subnational boundaries, territorial autonomy, and ethnically attributed violence. I conduct a systematic analysis of all multi-ethnic countries between 1989 and 2019, instrumental variable analyses, and tests of my argument’s intermediate implications. My findings underline the importance of complementing autonomy with inclusive central governments to attenuate the risks of subnational violence.
The Effect of Judicial Decisions on Issue Salience and Legal Consciousness in Media Serving the LGBTQ+ Community
Authors: BAILEY CHRISTINE M. , COLLINS PAUL M. , RHODES JESSE H. , RICE DOUGLAS
Published: February 2024

Scholars have long questioned whether and how courts influence society. We contribute to this debate by investigating the ability of judicial decisions to shape issue attention and affect toward courts in media serving the LGBTQ+ community. To do so, we compiled an original database of LGBTQ+ magazine coverage of court cases over an extended period covering major decisions, including Lawrence v. Texas (2003), Goodridge v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health (2003), and Lofton v. Secretary of Department of Children & Family Services (2004). We argue these cases influence the volume and tone of LGBTQ+ media coverage. Combining computational social science techniques with qualitative analysis, we find increased attention to same-sex marriage after the decisions in Lawrence, Goodridge, and Lofton, and the coalescence of discussions of courts around same-sex marriage after Lawrence. We also show how LGBTQ+ media informed readers about the political and legal implications of struggles over marriage equality.
ERICHTHO THE DOCTOR? MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS ON LUCAN'S NECROMANTIC EPISODE
Authors: Silva Gabriel A.F.
Published: February 2024

This article aims to offer a fresh analysis of two passages in the extensive necromancy episode in Lucan's Bellum Ciuile: the ritual to reanimate the dead soldier's corpse (6.667–73), and the surgical procedure Erichtho then proceeds to undertake (6.750–7), resembling the practice of a vivisection. The study will focus mostly on the strong connection of magic to medical traditions in antiquity, with a commentary on, and analysis of, these verses through the lenses of medical vocabulary, themes and motifs. It ultimately concludes that Lucan was familiar with the language and characteristics of the medical tradition, enriched his report with them, and was playing with his audience's knowledge of the same.
EMENDATIONES TIBVLLIANAE I
Authors: Hardy Maxwell
Published: February 2024

Conjectures are made on the text of three passages in Tibullus, Books 1–2: 1.4.26 hastam … suam for crines … suos, 2.1.56 membra for bache, 2.4.60 aliis rebus for alias herbas.
Entophysalis in the Rhynie chert (Lower Devonian, Scotland): implications for cyanobacterial evolution
Authors: McMahon Sean , Loron Corentin C. , Cooper Laura M. , Hetherington Alexander J. , Krings Michael
Published: February 2024

The ∼407-myr-old Rhynie chert of Scotland contains exquisite body fossils of land plants, animals and microorganisms, which provide our earliest reasonably complete snapshot of a Phanerozoic terrestrial ecosystem. These fossils have been instrumental to our understanding of the ‘greening of the land’, a major transition in the history of the Earth–life system. Among the primary producers preserved in the chert are cyanobacteria, of which only a fraction have been formally described. Here, we report the occurrence of the colony-forming cyanobacterium Eoentophysalis in the Rhynie chert. To our knowledge, this represents the first bona fide record of Entophysalidaceae from any post-Cambrian fossil assemblage or any non-marine fossil assemblage of any age. The Rhynie Eoentophysalis appears remarkably similar in appearance both to modern marine and freshwater Entophysalis ssp. and to Eoentophysalis belcherensis, a shallow-marine fossil from the ∼2 Ga Belcher Group of Canada that is perhaps the oldest convincing cyanobacterium on record. Darkened cell envelopes in the Rhynie Eoentophysalis correspond well with both E. belcherensis and modern Entophysalis, whose cell envelopes often contain the photoprotective brown pigment scytonemin. The occurrence of Eoentophysalis in the Rhynie chert supports previous claims that the fossilisable traits of entophysalid cyanobacteria are evolutionarily static through geological time. These organisms may be such effective generalists that major changes in their environment – in this case, the transition to a fully non-marine habitat – have not imposed significant selection pressure on these traits.
A Helfrich functional for compact surfaces in
Authors: Yao Zhongwei
Published: February 2024

Let
$f\;:\; M\rightarrow \mathbb{C}P^{2}$
be an isometric immersion of a compact surface in the complex projective plane
$\mathbb{C}P^{2}$
. In this paper, we consider the Helfrich-type functional
$\mathcal{H}_{\lambda _{1},\lambda _{2}}(f)=\int _{M}(|H|^{2}+\lambda _{1}+\lambda _{2} C^{2})\textrm{d} M$
, where
$\lambda _{1}, \lambda _{2}\in \mathbb{R}$
with
$\lambda _{1}\geqslant 0$
,
$H$
and
$C$
are respectively the mean curvature vector and the Kähler function of
$M$
in
$\mathbb{C}P^{2}$
. The critical surfaces of
$\mathcal{H}_{\lambda _{1},\lambda _{2}}(f)$
are called Helfrich surfaces. We compute the first variation of
$\mathcal{H}_{\lambda _{1},\lambda _{2}}(f)$
and classify the homogeneous Helfrich tori in
$\mathbb{C}P^{2}$
. Moreover, we study the Helfrich energy of the homogeneous tori and show the lower bound of the Helfrich energy for such tori.
Tarantino in the Ottoman Empire: Glorious Viziers, Pulp Fiction, and Scrambled Narratives
Authors: Bouquet Olivier
Published: February 2024

I wanted to break up the narration, not to be a wise guy, a show guy, but to make the film dramatically better that way. . . . A novelist would think nothing about starting in the middle. And if characters in a novel go back and tell past things, it's not a flashback, it's just telling a story. I think movies should benefit from the novel's freedoms.— Quentin Tarantino1

I wrote a prosopography twenty years ago. I published a biography two years ago. In the first case, I offered the collective biography of 282 servants of the late Ottoman period (1839–1909).2 In the second case, I presented the monograph of a grand vizier from the second half of the 18th century, Halil Hamid Pasha (1736–85).3 In the former, I delivered an academic work (stemming from a PhD dissertation) focused on the study of the careers of central and territorial administrators. In the latter, I recounted the rise and fall of the head of the Sublime Porte. A priori, these two books had nothing in common, except that they dealt with pashas. If I mention them together here, it is not to describe the personal evolution of my research. It is to shed some light on an observation that is regularly made, that is, of the inadequacies of the biographical genre in Ottoman history.4 It is to reflect on how to remedy this situation.
Africans and the Soviet Rights Archipelago
Authors: Loyd Thom
Published: February 2024

The history of Soviet “rights defenders” is seemingly well known. Emerging in the 1960s in response to fears of a creeping re-Stalinization, the rights movement was part of the broader dissident milieu that coalesced in the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras. Drawing on new documents from the Ukrainian KGB, this article broadens the canon of what we consider “Soviet rights talk” by focusing on a group completely ignored in the existing history of Soviet rights defenders: African students. As the article demonstrates, Soviet citizens were not the only people to draw on a discursive repertoire of civil and universal rights to articulate their demands against the Soviet state. By closely examining the letters and petitions activists produced, it becomes clear that African students’ language of rights grew alongside and, in many respects, pre-empted the Soviet rights movement. The article concludes by considering why, despite sharing the same discursive and physical spaces, neither African nor Soviet rights defenders succeeded in building bridges between their respective islands of protest. Examining this failure to build meaningful solidarities demonstrates the value of pursuing the social history of internationalism; it is only in the banality of the everyday that the capacity for Soviet internationalism to create unanticipated frictions and conflicts reveals itself.
Internationalizing the Revolution: Veterans and Transnational Cultures of Memory and Solidarity between Yugoslavia and Algeria
Authors: Đureinović Jelena
Published: February 2024

The article examines the role of memory in Yugoslav exchanges with the postcolonial world, focusing on the agency of Yugoslav war veterans and their involvement with Algeria. During decolonization, Yugoslav institutions and associations stood in solidarity with anti-colonial liberation movements. Former Partisans were critical agents of Yugoslav internationalism, and the memory of the People's Liberation War (Narodnooslobodilački rat, NOR), which dominated the Yugoslav memory culture, played a connecting role in this context. The article focuses on the transnational aspect of the Yugoslav war memory, an intrinsically everyday phenomenon, exploring its exportation and internationalization. Applying the transnational memory framework to relations between Yugoslav Partisans and Algerian mujahideen, the article illuminates the twofold role of memory: as narratives of the shared past, and as the transfer of knowledge in war commemoration. Firstly, Yugoslav veterans identified with the anti-colonial struggle as comparable to their own. This was not only an official political discourse, but was also shared by Yugoslav society at large. Secondly, they engaged in transfers of knowledge in memory work, providing expertise and training to Algerian veterans. The People's Liberation War memory constituted a key aspect of everyday life in Yugoslav state socialism and veterans internationalized it, adding the dimension of personal war memory. The exchanges of knowledge illuminate the transfer from the discursive level of the shared past to the sphere of commemorative policies and practices that reshaped cultures of war remembrance. The article represents a starting point of a global history of the Yugoslav revolution and a transnational history of memory from the perspective of anti-colonial solidarities.
“You Are Not Alone”: Angela Davis and the Soviet Dreams of Freedom
Authors: Matusevich Maxim
Published: February 2024

In the early 1970s, the plight of a charismatic Black American communist and philosophy professor Angela Davis, put on trial in the United States for her alleged involvement in a courtroom shootout in California, galvanized international public opinion. A massive publicity campaign in support of Angela Davis resonated across the globe and drew in millions of volunteers and sympathizers. The nations of the communist bloc, led by the Soviet Union, were particularly active in rallying their citizens in defense of a jailed American radical. In 1970–1972, Davis became a household name throughout the Soviet Union (but also in East Germany, Cuba, Poland, and other socialist nations). The “Free Angela Davis” campaign was unprecedented in scope and left a lasting mark on the collective memory of the citizens of the Soviet Union and its socialist satellites. Such was the impact of this propaganda juggernaut that decades later the image of Angela Davis remained current as a pop-cultural phenomenon across the former Soviet spaces and a symbol of unrealized and often conflicting aspirations towards freedom.
“Like we would help brothers or sisters”? Practising Solidarity with Greek Civil War Refugees in Socialist Czechoslovakia and the GDR in the Shadow of World War II
Authors: Tohma Nikola , Reinke Julia
Published: February 2024

This article investigates the solidarity campaigns supporting refugees from the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) in post-war Czechoslovakia and the emerging German Democratic Republic. Framed as an important bridge between the interwar and later Cold War forms of socialist internationalism, this case sheds light on its transitory character, revealing the narrative shift from anti-fascist to anti-imperialist contexts and the increasingly institutionalized and ritualized solidarity. Thus, not only was practising solidarity already an integral part of post-war socialist regimes, but it also served a variety of functions, contributing to the legitimization and identity of the Eastern bloc. Based on archival documents and press, the article uncovers the deployment of analogical institutional structures employed by both states, thus opening up the sphere of interaction with their citizens, mobilized to become involved in various ways. The two countries, however, departed from different positions, dealing with opposing legacies of the wartime experience, which influenced the motivations employed in their campaigns. Entangled in discourses of guilt, heroism, and victimhood, yet aligned under the proclaimed values of socialist brotherhood and anti-fascism, building internationalist solidarity in both countries worked alongside and even boosted attempts to overcome the obstacle of the Nazi past, both internally and in their mutual relationship. This article thus contributes to a better understanding of how internationalist solidarity functioned as a platform to build bridges – not only towards the “South”, but also within the Eastern bloc.
Queer Street Scenes: Interruption, Exception, Orientation
Authors: CALDER DAVID
Published: February 2024

How might we think queerly about the politics of performance in public space? Inspired by ‘queer’ as a straying from the straight-and-narrow and by the street as a site of chance meetings and awkward run-ins, I stage in this essay an encounter between two different approaches to thinking the politics of performance in public space. The first approach follows a familiar path: Bertolt Brecht's ‘street scene’ and Walter Benjamin's account of epic theatre. The second approach follows the walking performances of two queer migrant artists – South Korean-born Jisoo Yoo, now based in France, and Mozambican-born Jupiter Child, now based in Denmark – who interrogate the disorientation of the queer migrant body in Western European public space. Exploring the surprisingly busy intersection between the Brechtian street scene and the work of these two artists reveals a politics of performance in public space that favours orientation over rupture.
‘Why Were Our Yemenite Brothers Insulted?’: Love as Strong as Death as a Prequel to Mizrahi Presence in Israeli Theatre
Authors: LIPSHITZ YAIR , SHEM-TOV NAPHTALY
Published: February 2024

The article traces the production and reception of Love as Strong as Death, a dramatization of the Song of Songs that was performed in Mandatory Palestine in the years 1940–42 by a group of Yemenite Jewish actors. We argue that the tensions between the actors’ amateur status and their image as embodying a long-lost Biblical heritage were emblematic of the inherent contradictions within the hegemonic Ashkenazi Zionist discourse and the Orientalist perception of the role of Yemenite Jews in it. By exploring both Yemenite and Ashkenazi voices in and around the production, we analyse how the stage, the theatre hall and the written press all served as contested sites regarding the participation of non-European Jews in Hebrew theatre and culture. In the paper's conclusion, we demonstrate how Love as Strong as Death anticipated later debates in Israeli theatre about the place of Mizrahi Jews on stage and in the auditorium.
Dossier—Negotiating Urban Spaces: Access, Care and Confinement in Contemporary Gendered Performance
Authors: JAIN INDU , BANERJEE TRINA NILEENA
Published: February 2024

This dossier explores the ways in which theatre and performance practitioners across the globe have addressed the deeply gendered modes of differential access to public spaces, institutional support, and resources through their creative as well as activist work, during the pandemic and its aftermath. In the last three years, the pandemic has transformed experiences of urban space globally. Access to public space has always been gendered as well as shaped by geographical location, race, caste, class and sexual identity. These traditional modes of differential access have been radically reorganized by the isolation and uncertainty engendered by the global pandemic. While ‘working from home’ was certainly not an option for everyone (most notably, care-workers in an overwhelmingly feminized profession), confinement to domestic space also meant escalating incidents of gendered violence for others. Additionally, the lack of sustainable income opportunities meant, as contributions to this dossier will demonstrate, the stripping away of roofs from over the heads of vulnerable citizens, whether impoverished artistes in want of state support or migrant workers on an uncertain daily wage. Staying at home was no longer an option, because ‘home’ often ceased to exist as a viable shelter, whether literally or by implication. For performers and theatre-workers all over the world, it was a time of intensified precarity: not only a loss of employment and income, but also a growing sense of artistic and professional purposelessness. While some were able to reorient this bewilderment through virtual and digital performances, for many grassroots performers, especially in the global South, access to these modes of public engagement were limited. In countries like India, street theatre activists felt unable and unwilling to switch to the digital space, while the prohibition on public assembly struck an irrevocable blow to women's protest movements.
Environmental predictors of Escherichia coli concentration at marine beaches in Vancouver, Canada: a Bayesian mixed-effects modelling analysis
Authors: Desta Binyam N. , Tustin Jordan , Sanchez J. Johanna , Heasley Cole , Schwandt Michael , Bishay Farida , Chan Bobby , Knezevic-Stevanovic Andjela , Ash Randall , Jantzen David , Young Ian
Published: February 2024

Understanding historical environmental determinants associated with the risk of elevated marine water contamination could enhance monitoring marine beaches in a Canadian setting, which can also inform predictive marine water quality models and ongoing climate change preparedness efforts. This study aimed to assess the combination of environmental factors that best predicts Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration at public beaches in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, by combining the region’s microbial water quality data and publicly available environmental data from 2013 to 2021. We developed a Bayesian log-normal mixed-effects regression model to evaluate predictors of geometric E. coli concentrations at 15 beaches in the Metro Vancouver Region. We identified that higher levels of geometric mean E. coli levels were predicted by higher previous sample day E. coli concentrations, higher rainfall in the preceding 48 h, and higher 24-h average air temperature at the median or higher levels of the 24-h mean ultraviolet (UV) index. In contrast, higher levels of mean salinity were predicted to result in lower levels of E. coli. Finally, we determined that the average effects of the predictors varied highly by beach. Our findings could form the basis for building real-time predictive marine water quality models to enable more timely beach management decision-making.
Mapping of morainic complexes and reconstruction of glacier dynamics north-east of Cook Ice Cap, Kerguelen Archipelago (49°S)
Authors: Deline Philip , Linge Henriette , Ravanel Ludovic , Tuestad Talin , Lafite Romain , Arnaud Fabien , Bakke Jostein
Published: February 2024

Due to the limited landmasses in the Southern Hemisphere, we must rely on data from sub-Antarctic islands within the Southern Ocean to record historical climate patterns. Over the past few decades, glaciers throughout the Southern Ocean region have experienced a noticeable retreat, especially in the Kerguelen Archipelago, whose glacial landforms offer valuable insights into long-term climate fluctuations. Our comprehensive glacial geomorphological study conducted in its remote north-western region meticulously examines morainic complexes from smaller cirque glaciers and larger outlet glaciers stemming from the Cook Ice Cap. We mapped these landforms to reconstruct historical glacier extents during the Holocene. The surface area of the three main glaciers had decreased in 1962–1964 by only 35% compared to their maximum extents, whereas surface area changes across 12 time intervals spanning from 1962 to 2019 from aerial and satellite imagery reveal a cumulative reduction of 43.5%. Additionally, we modelled changes in glacier thickness and equilibrium-line altitude for the key glaciers at three distinct stages: 1) their maximum extent before 1962, 2) the early 1960s and 3) 2019. This multifaceted analysis contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of Kerguelen's glaciers and the broader implications for understanding past and ongoing climate dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere.
Comparing Doppler Ultrasonography and Computerized Tomography Angiography in Emergency Department Evaluation of Earthquake-Related Crush Injuries: A Case Series Analysis
Authors: Cetinkaya Remzi , Ozel Mehmet , Tatliparmak Ali Cankut , Yılmaz Sarper , Ak Rohat
Published: February 2024

Objective:

This case series aims to provide a comprehensive description of the utilization of doppler ultrasonography (USG) and computerized tomography angiography (CTA) in evaluating patients with earthquake-induced crush injuries in the emergency department (ED).

Methods:

This retrospective case series was conducted on 11 patients who presented with crush injuries following a seismic event. These patients underwent initial assessment using doppler USG, with CTA performed when deemed necessary. Clinical outcomes and diagnostic findings were systematically reviewed.

Results:

A cohort of 11 earthquake-related crush injury patients (six females, five males; age 3-59 years), predominantly with lower extremity injuries, with entrapped durations that ranged from 12 to 128 hours. Transport centers received patients from both affected regions and nearby provinces. Initial X-rays identified fractures in two cases. Doppler USG and subsequent CTA were employed for vascular evaluation, with CTA confirming doppler USG findings. Of the 11 patients, five exhibited abnormal doppler USG findings. Four patients required dialysis and four underwent amputation surgery. Fasciotomy and debridement procedures were performed in five and seven patients, respectively. Three patients received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

Conclusion:

Doppler USG emerged as a dependable tool for assessing vascular injuries in earthquake-related crush injuries, offering an effective alternative to CTA without the associated contrast agent risks. These findings underscore the need for further research to establish definitive imaging guidelines in these challenging clinical scenarios.
Comparative Analysis of META and SALT Disaster Triage in an Adult Trauma Population: A Retrospective Observational Study
Authors: Tiyawat Gawin , Liu J. Marc , Huabbangyang Thongpitak , Roza-Alonso Cesar Luis , Castro-Delgado Rafael
Published: February 2024

Background:

Medical professionals can use mass-casualty triage systems to assist them in prioritizing patients from mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). Correct triaging of victims will increase their chances of survival. Determining the triage system that has the best performance has proven to be a difficult question to answer. The Advanced Prehospital Triage Model (Modelo Extrahospitalario de Triaje Avanzado; META) and Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment/Transport (SALT) algorithms are the most recent triage techniques to be published. The present study aimed to evaluate the META and SALT algorithms’ performance and statistical agreement with various standards. The secondary objective was to determine whether these two MCI triage systems predicted patient outcomes, such as mortality, length-of-stay, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission.

Methods:

This retrospective study used patient data from the trauma registry of an American College of Surgeons Level 1 trauma center, from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. The sensitivity, specificity, and statistical agreement of the META and SALT triage systems to various standards (Revised Trauma Score [RTS]/Sort Triage, Injury Severity Score [ISS], and Lerner criteria) when applied using trauma patients. Statistical analysis was used to assess the relationship between each triage category and the secondary outcomes.

Results:

A total of 3,097 cases were included in the study. Using Sort triage as the standard, SALT and META showed much higher sensitivity and specificity in the Immediate category than for Delayed (Immediate sensitivity META 91.5%, SALT 94.9%; specificity 60.8%, 72.7% versus Delayed sensitivity 28.9%, 1.3%; specificity 42.4%, 28.9%). With the Lerner criteria, in the Immediate category, META had higher sensitivity (77.1%, SALT 68.6%) but lower specificity (61.1%) than SALT (71.8%). For the Delayed category, SALT showed higher sensitivity (META 61.4%, SALT 72.2%), but lower specificity (META 75.1%, SALT 67.2%). Both systems showed a positive, though modest, correlation with ISS. For SALT and META, triaged Immediate patients tended to have higher mortality and longer ICU and hospital lengths-of-stay.

Conclusion:

Both META and SALT triage appear to be more accurate with Immediate category patients, as opposed to Delayed category patients. With both systems, patients triaged as Immediate have higher mortality and longer lengths-of-stay when compared to Delayed patients. Further research can help refine MCI triage systems and improve accuracy.
Food insecurity and disability among working-age and older adults
Authors: Hadfield-Spoor Mia , Avendano Mauricio , Loopstra Rachel
Published: February 2024

Objective:

To explore relationships between disability, food insecurity (FI) and age and examine how socio-economic factors impact risk of FI among disabled people in working and older age.

Design:

Logistic regression models used to analyse the contribution of socio-economic factors to gaps in risk of FI for disabled people. In models stratified into working and older age groups, differences in risk of FI for disabled and non-disabled people were examined by employment, education and assets.

Setting:

England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2016 and 2018

Participants:

A representative sample of 6187 adults aged 16+, of whom 28 % were disabled, from the Food & You survey.

Results:

The gap in FI risk by disability status decreased as age increased. For ages 25–34 for disabled v. non-disabled people, risk of FI was 31 % (95 % CI 21–41 %) v. 10 % (8–12 %); at ages 45 to 54, it was 18 % (11–23 %) v. 7 % (5–8 %), and at ages 75+, there was no gap in risk. Accounting for socio-economic variables halved the gap in risk among working ages. However, among working-age adults, FI among disabled people in full-time work was 15 % (11–20 %) compared with only 7 % (6–9 %) among non-disabled people in full-time work. Among older people, disabled people without savings were at higher risk of FI (5 % (3–7 %)) than non-disabled people without savings (2 % (1–3 %)) but having savings closed risk gap.

Conclusions:

Socio-economic resources partially explain disparities in FI risk when disabled. Disparities remained for people in full-time work and among people without savings in older age.