bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optical Coherence to mography-Guided Deferred Stenting in Acute Coronary Syndromes
Authors: Sathyamurthy Immaneni , Kanthallu Srinivasan Narayanamoorthy , Paulpandi Vinodh Kumar
Published: February 2023

Acute coronary syndromes were thought to be due to plaque rupture with superimposed thrombus. With optical coherence tomography plaque erosion (PE) can be detected in one third of cases. In young patients without major risk factors one can suspect PE. We are reporting one such case in whom stenting was deferred.
Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in the Young
Authors: Lakshmi Vanaparty Satya Bharathi , Nemani Lalita , Sheik Jahangir Basha
Published: February 2023

Background:

The incidence of coronary artery disease in the young is constantly rising. Understanding the outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in young adults is necessary. This study aims to assess the procedural outcomes, inhospital and 1 year clinical outcomes of PCI in the young (<40-year-old).

Methods:

This is a prospective, observational study carried out in the Department of Cardiology at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences. The study included all subjects ≤40 years of age and has undergone PCI from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 in our institute.

Results:

The study included 207 patients with a mean age of 36.01 ± 3.72 years and 72.46% males. Acute coronary syndrome was seen in 79.2% patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) being the most common. The median time interval of presentation in STEMI was 12–48 h (73%). Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) over 1-year were seen in 3.8% patients. Severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction at presentation was an independent factor for acute (P = 0.04) and 1-year mortality (P = 0.0058). It was also associated with angina and chronic heart failure (CHF). Slow flow was significantly associated with mortality (P = 0.0254) and adverse 1 year outcomes. It was significantly associated with persistent LV dysfunction and recurrent CHF.

Conclusion:

Success rate after PCI is high in the young. 1 year outcome is very good with low mortality and MACE events. Severe LV dysfunction and slow flow are independent predictors of poor prognosis at 1 year.
Gerbode Defect – Percutaneous Closure of Three Cases and a Brief Review of Literature
Authors: Roy Mahua , Gangopadhyay Debasree , Saha Siddhartha , Sukla Sushil , Sinha Pooja
Published: February 2023

Gerbode defect is very rare cardiac abnormality accounting for <1% of cardiac defects. Historically treated by open heart surgery, many authors have now popularized the concept of percutaneous closure of such defects by various devices. We report three such cases and provide a brief review of the literature.
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of injury prevention exercise programmes and the FIFA 11+ among Malaysian elite soccer league coaches
Authors: Hamdan Muhammad , Sharir Raihana , Kian Yeo Wee , Dzulfakar Radin Rafeeuddin Radin , Richard Helber , Raja Azidin Raja Mohammed Firhad
Published: February 2023

Background:

A number of injury prevention programmes have been introduced in soccer. However, the familiarity and utility of these programmes by coaches in Malaysia is yet to be determined. Aim and Objectives: This study aimed to record the knowledge, attitude and practice of injury prevention exercise programmes (IPEPs), specifically the FIFA 11+, amongst coaches of elite league teams in Malaysia.

Materials and Methods:

Active coaches from four elite soccer leagues (Super League, Premier League, President's Cup and Youth Cup) in Malaysia were invited to participate. Thirty-three (n = 33) responses were returned.

Results:

Most respondents (87.9%) agree that soccer players are at high risk of lower-limb injury, and that it could have adverse effects on teams' and players' performances, careers and quality of life. More than two-thirds (71.9%) of respondents were optimistic about lower-limb soccer injury prophylaxis, however, familiarity toward the FIFA 11+ was considerably low, thus its practice is relatively low. Most respondents familiar to the programme believe that improvements could be introduced to suit their teams better or develop an own version of the FIFA 11+ specifically tailored for their teams. Having the need for equipment and lack of supervision may hinder IPEP maintenance in a team.

Conclusion:

Injury prevention programmes need early implementation and progressive variation for ongoing practice. Clearly, no IPEP may serve as the perfect 'one-programme-fits-all' injury prevention measure. This study may provide some insight for practitioners and soccer club organizers to develop future IPEPs and exercise better programme delivery amongst professional soccer teams.
Prevalence of shoulder pain amongst Malaysia men's wheelchair basketball players
Authors: Hamid Mohd Fakhrulsani Abdul , Hamid Mohamad Shariff A.
Published: February 2023

Introduction:

The shoulder is at high risk of injury, particularly in throwing activities such as basketball.

Aims:

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian men's wheelchair basketball (WCBB) players. Furthermore, factors that are associated with shoulder pain were investigated.

Materials and Methods:

Eleven national WCBB players participated in this study. All players completed the clinical research forms which collected socio-demographic information, WCBB participation and history of shoulder pain. Assessments of shoulders range of motion, isometric muscle strengths and clinical shoulder tests were performed on all players.

Results:

The prevalence of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian WCBB players was 36.4%. Players with current shoulder pain had significantly higher Performance Corrected Wheelchair User's Shoulder Pain Index (PC-WUSPI) scores (13.8 vs. 3.3, P = 0.02) and a greater number of positive shoulder clinical tests (3.5 vs. 1.0, P = 0.04) than players without pain. Players with shoulder pain are frequently diagnosed with rotator cuff injuries, particularly involving the supraspinatus and subscapularis muscles. A significant moderately strong positive correlation between PC-WUSPI score and number of positive clinical shoulder tests was found (r = 0.71; P = 0.01).

Conclusions:

Prevalence and patterns of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian men's WCBB players are comparable to previous studies. A strong association between PC-WUSPI score and number of positive clinical shoulder tests suggests a potential role of regular PC-WUSPI assessment for early detection of shoulder problems amongst players.
Ergogenic benefits of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on endurance exercise performance
Authors: Kamaruddin Harris Kamal , Bakar Al Hafiz Abu , Muhamed Ahmad Munir Che
Published: February 2023

Carbohydrate ingestion during exercise has been extensively investigated to enhance exercise performance, particularly during prolonged exercise (>2 h) when endogenous carbohydrate is limited. The pertinent benefit of carbohydrate ingestion is that it delays the depletion of vital energy source for exercise, hence delaying fatigue. Athletes have often been advised to drink or rehydrate (replace body fluid loss) to ensure sufficient energy source and to avoid dehydration during exercise Nevertheless, the ability for athletes to rehydrate in a real race setting, maybe challenging due to fluid availability and the nature of the event, such as during a running event. As an alternative to drinking, carbohydrate mouth rinsing has resulted in enhanced prolonged exercise performance. The underlying mechanism responsible for this improvement has been associated with the activation of the oral receptor that is related to reward and behavioural centre of the brain that contributed to enhancing exercise performance. Numerous studies have examined factors that influence the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing. While these studies have presented convincing evidence to support their hypothesis, future studies are required to provide new insight into the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on exercise performance. These questions include how the environmental condition and dehydration level may influence the effectiveness of carbohydrate mouth rinsing on endurance exercise performance.
In vitro Analysis and Molecular Docking of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy Fingerprints of Polyherbal Mixture Reveals Significant Antidiabetic Miture
Authors: Babalola Musa Oladayo , Ashiru Mojeed Ayoola , Boyenle Ibrahim Damilare , Atanda Emmanuel Opeyemi , Oyedele Abdul-Quddus Kehinde , Dimeji Igbayilola Yusuf , Awodele Olufunsho , Imaga Ngozi Awa
Published: February 2023

Background:

One of the treatment goals for type II diabetes is to keep blood sugar to normal and inhibition of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes represents a therapeutic strategy to achieve this aim. While medicinal plants possess a useful resource for therapeutics, combining plants of different species is believed to have a better pharmacological effect.

Aim and Objectives:

This study reported the antidiabetic potential, in-vitro and in-silico, of a polyherbal mixture which is a combined ethanol extract of Vernonia amygdalina, Allium sativum, and Ocimum gratissimum (which are plants native to tropical Africa). Materials and Methods: The study identified and quantified the phytochemicals present in the extract, its antioxidant and antidiabetic potentials were investigated. Also, the bioactive compounds present in the mixture were profiled with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The resulting compounds were screened for their binding potential into the active site of alpha-glucosidase using consensus scoring molecular docking strategy. Results: The polyherbal mixture was abundant in phenols flavonoids and sterols. Apart from scavenging DPPH radicals, the extract also inhibited alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase with better IC50 values of 106.22μg/ml and 128.60μg/ml respectively than the reference drug, acarbose. Out of the bioactive compounds present in the mixture, stigmasterol, gamma-sitosterol, and tocopherol ranked top and are good binders of alpha-glucosidase. It was observed that these compounds possessed better ADMET and drug-like properties than standard acarbose.

Conclusion:

These features are indicative that the polyherbal mixture of Vernonia amygdalina, Allium sativum, and Ocimum gratissimum contain in part bioactive compounds that can be used for the management/treatment of type II diabetes.
Epidermal Inclusion Cysts of the Clitoris Following Female Genital Mutilation
Authors: Ugwu Aloy Okechukwu , Owie Emmanuel , Olamijulo Joseph Ayodeji , Okorafor Ugochi Chinenye , Odo Chinenye Cynthia , Okoro A C
Published: February 2023

We present two cases of inclusion cysts of the clitoris following female genital mutilation (FGM) in a 5 and 35 years old, respectively. According to the World Health Organization, FGM is a violation of the rights of women and girl child. It is even more worrisome as evidence exists suggesting more involvement of health-care personnels in this act. The recent belief in some cultures that there may be decreased risk of complications following medicalization of the procedure may be untrue. The patients had an uneventful postoperative period and were discharged home afterward.
Green Coconut Water Supplementation Attenuates Flutamide-induced Testicular Damage in Male Prepubertal Wistar Rats
Authors: Olayinka Abdulkareem Temitayo , Bakare Airat Adeola , Oremosu Ademola Ayodele
Published: February 2023

Background:

The enhancement of male reproductive health function remains a paramount desire of every infertile men. Green coconut water (GCW) is the liquid in the inner cavity of an immature coconut fruit. Studies have demonstrated that GCW has endocrine property that regulates the reproductive system.

Aim and Objectives:

This study was designed to investigates the effects of GCW on the cardinal sperm function parameters such as; sperm count, sperm motility and sperm morphology, and the histo-architecture of the testis in flutamide-treated pre-pubertal wistar rats.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty-six male prepubertal wistar rats, weighing between 40-70g were divided into six study groups A-F. Group A, B and C received distilled water, flutamide at 25mg/kg and GCW at 20ml/kg respectively for 6 weeks. Group D and E received 25mg/kg flutamide for 2 weeks then GCW at 10ml/kg and 20ml/kg respectively 4 weeks, while Group F received 25mg/kg flutamide and GCW at 20ml/kg concomitantly for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiment, the animals were euthanized; caudal epididymis and the testis were collected for semen analysis and histological evaluation.

Results:

GCW supplementation was showed to significantly increased sperm count, sperm motility and also brings about percentage decrease in sperm morphology, as well as ameliorates histo-pathological degenerations caused by flutamide on the testis of the experimental rats.

Conclusion:

The findings from this study suggest that GCW supplementation may effectively enhance male fertility.
Predicting factors associated with prolonged intensive care unit stay of patients with COVID-19
Authors: Han Won Ho , Lee Jae Hoon , Chun June Young , Choi Young Ju , Kim Youseok , Han Mira , Kim Jee Hee
Published: February 2023

Background: Predicting the length of stay (LOS) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is essential for efficient use of ICU resources. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients with severe COVID-19 based on their clinical care and determined the predictive factors associated with prolonged LOS. Methods: We included 96 COVID-19 patients who received oxygen therapy at a high-flow nasal cannula level or above after ICU admission during March 2021 to February 2022. The demographic characteristics at the time of ICU admission and results of severity analysis (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE] II), blood tests, and ICU treatments were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Additionally, blood tests (C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and the PaO2 to FiO2 ratio [P/F ratio]) were performed on days 3 and 5 of ICU admission to identify factors associated with prolonged LOS. Results: Univariable analyses showed statistically significant results for SOFA score at the time of ICU admission, C-reactive protein level, high-dose steroids, mechanical ventilation (MV) care, continuous renal replacement therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and prone position. Multivariable analysis showed that MV care and P/F ratio on hospital day 5 were independent factors for prolonged ICU LOS. For D-dimer, no significant variation was observed at admission; however, after days 3 and 5 days of admission, significant between-group variation was detected.Conclusions: MV care and P/F ratio on hospital day 5 are independent factors that can predict prolonged LOS for COVID-19 patients.
Development of Magnesium Alloyed Front Cover for a Light Duty Diesel Engine
Authors: Bhargava Aashish , Soni Gaurav Soni , WANI Pankaj Wani
Published: February 2023

With Continuous increase in demand to reduce weight is forcing Automotive Designers towards finding ways to explore new materials for the Engine components. Currently, Aluminum, Thermoplastics and Composites are widely used in Engine application. This paper examines the potential of a Magnesium alloy Front Cover designed to replace the Cast iron Front Cover in a Light duty Diesel engine. In presented study, a Cast iron Engine front cover is re-designed for Magnesium alloy and components developed. Further Magnesium alloy component tested at vehicle level and it has been demonstrated that a magnesium alloy Front cover can achieve key functional requirements such as Structural durability, Sealing, NVH, while providing substantial Weight saving.
Thermal Properties of Hybrid Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites with SiC as Filler
Authors: Malkapuram devaiah
Published: February 2023

Scientists and technologists attracted towards natural fibers like banana, cotton, coir, sisal, hemp and jute for the application civil structures and consumer goods. It was identified the electrical resistance, thermal and acoustic insulating properties for possessing of these natural fibers in composites. Natural fibers have many benefits compared to artificial fibers, as an example less density, less weight; low cost, specific properties and they are recyclable and biodegradable. There aren’t any skin effects because of high strength and stiffness, renewable. In alternative manner, there also are some limitations, as an example less thermal stability and wetness uptake. several of them studied a major improvement in properties of hybrid composites with reinforced with glass fiber in resin content however it’s naturally hazard with usage of this glass fiber content. There are many publications on review of fiber reinforced composites, a notable research has been done on natural fiber polymer composites but research on jute, hemp, hybrid of jute fiber and hemp fiber, hybrid (jute/hemp) fiber with SiC particulates as filler at specific extent fractions primarily.

In this paper, hybrid (hemp and jute) fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composites were fabricated by using hand lay-up technique of different weight percentage of hybrid fiber and SiC particulates as filler have been studied and their thermal properties such as density, Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) by which we can know thermal stability of the composites.
Design of Plastic Cylinder Head Cover in Place of Aluminum Cylinder Head Cover for Light Duty Diesel Engines for Weight Reduction Purpose
Authors: Deshpande Shirish Madan , Bhargava Aashish , Dhalait Sahil , Musani Ameel
Published: February 2023

Currently automotive design is facing multi facet challenges such as reduction in greenhouse gases, better thermal management, and low cost solution to market, vehicle weight management etc. Considering these challenges, efforts had been taken to improve weight management of engine while optimizing the cost of it.

Good ‘engine breathing’ is usually associated with efficient intake system e.g. high flow air filter, a well-designed manifold, cylinder block, cylinder head and cylinder head cover etc. However, efficient ‘crankcase breathing’ is an equally important function of any engine. Even in a new engine, the combustion pressure will inevitably pass the piston rings into the crankcase. If an engine’s breathing system should become blocked or restricted, the crankcase will pressurize causing lots of problems to the engine.

Prior to 1963 most vehicle engines vented their vapors and oil deposits to atmosphere and the road surface. With increasing environmental pressures positive crankshaft ventilation was introduced whereby the crankcase vapors were drawn up into the inlet manifold and, along with the air/fuel mixture, burned up in the combustion chambers. To enable this system to work safely and efficiently the ventilation from the crankcase is controlled via a PCV valve which can be integrated with the engine cylinder head cover.

A cylinder head cover, particularly for covering a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, having a plurality of functional elements such as an oil filling connection and at least one oil separation device mounted thereon. There are different materials can be used for cylinder head cover, but we have selected plastic material for engine weight reduction.

This design change was successfully introduced on light duty diesel engine with newly featured three leap cylinder head cover gasket to ensure positive sealing of engine gases and engine lubricant.
Analytical Evaluation of Impact Loads on Oscillating Rear Axle of Wheel Loaders
Authors: Saravanan Mukunthan , Sarma Neelam , Parthasarathy SatishKumar , Ananthpur Chandrashekar
Published: February 2023

Wheel Loaders are heavy equipment machines which are used in construction fields. The main structure of a wheel Loader has a front and a rear bogie, connected through articulating pin joints. The wheel loaders have two axles viz. front and rear axles carrying its Front and Rear bogies. The front axle carrying front frame is fixed and articulates clockwise and anticlockwise about rear frame. However, to reduce the spillage of material carried in bucket while travelling in uneven terrains, the rear axle is designed to oscillate along the roll direction of vehicle movement. The rear axle is connected to rear frame with bearing hub called axle oscillation hub having separate shaft arrangement with tapered roller bearings (TRB). When machine operates in uneven terrain, the oscillating rear axle hits the rear frame structure which induces an impact load on vehicle structure. Mass and speed of the vehicle play a critical role in loader stability and safety. Apart from these, the impact force caused due to the rear axle hitting the vehicle frame influences the durability of the structural components. This paper explains the study on predicting the relationship between machine operating mass, vehicle speed and axle hitting loads. The study also focuses on determining the steps for selecting both structural and stopper components based on prediction of impact loads induced on wheel loaders during rear axle oscillation.
Design and Simulation of Components of an All-Terrain Vehicle
Authors: Peshin Chaitanya , Walia Manraj Singh , Madhan Pratik , Gaikwad Shantanu
Published: February 2023

This paper conceptualizes the design of a single-seater All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV). The aim was to design and fabricate a lightweight, high strength vehicle (under 175kgs) which can withstand harsh terrains, while being affordable and easily manufacturable. This paper covers the extent of design and simulations ranging from static structural, fatigue analysis, explicit dynamics etc. have been carried out. Tools such as SolidWorks, Ansys and MATLAB have been used throughout the process.

The report is divided into individual subsystems, such as Chassis, Braking, Powertrain, Suspension and Steering. All the design considerations and objectives of each of the subsystems have been included. Simulation results of various components such as the Chassis, A-arms, Knuckles, Hubs and integral mounts have been attached with focus on modelling based on real-time forces and behaviors.
Three-Dimensional Tolerance Stack Utilizing CETOL
Authors: Sarma Anindita Upasana , K Yogesh
Published: February 2023

When we see a tangible creation and our inquisitive nature crave to have touch and feel of the same, many questions hover our mind like what it is, what does it do and how it was made. All man-made creations which first get conceived in human mind pass through several processes and evaluation in order to be eventually ready for usage and application. The evaluation and reviews are required so that the final product which is a part of the creation, functions the same as it was intended to do. The analysis which could be limited to part level or system level gives us a foresight into any possibility of pre-production or pre-release failures which might be barriers in the success of the product. Tolerance stack up is one of such analysis approaches used today in product design to understand how imperfections in parts as they are manufactured, and later assembled as products, affect its capability to meet customer requirements. Tolerance stack helps engineers to study any accumulated variation in parts in a product assembly. It is a way of understanding how sources of variation in part dimensions and assembly constraints propagate across parts and assemblies, and how this variation affects meeting the design requirements within process capability of manufacturing organizations. We get these dimensions and tolerances from the engineering drawings. If we consider the most common techniques used for tolerance stack analysis like Worst Case method (WC) and RSS method (Root-Sum-Squared), they have limitations in attending complex architectures, allowing flexibility to designers and cost. CETOL 6 Sigma utilizes a method called Method of System Moments which disregards these limitations. An example of this approach utilizing CETOL 6σ software application will be presented in this paper.
Numerical Investigation on Various Layouts of Phase Change Materials Based Battery Module Used in Electric Vehicles
Authors: Subramaniam Mohankumar , S Satish , Alexis John , Muthiya S Jenoris , A Joshuva
Published: February 2023

The future of automobile industry is moving towards the electrification of vehicles due to the increase in pollution and Global-Warming. In this contest a suitable Battery Thermal Management system (BTMS) needs to be incorporated for efficient operation of batteries. The battery performance is greatly affected by operating temperature, and the successful control of its temperature improves performance which ensures the safe operation and extends lifespan. In the recent years many researches are going on to adopt phase change materials for BTMS. Since the Phase Change material is of the passive cooling system, it does not require any additional power source for its operation. The Current study is an attempt towards the optimization of the battery using PCM by varying the shape and cell spacing for paraffin based PCM Material. In the present work Computational analysis is carried out to analyse the thermal performance of various shapes of battery module. Computational analysis is performed for various layout of batteries like rectangular, Polar and hexagonal layouts. Final test results show that battery module with 8* 3 rectangular layout shows better performance after running 6 hours had maximum temperature rise of 55.9 °C. Regarding other layouts maximum temperature rise of around 67.1°C,63.3°C and 57.6°C is obtained for polar, hexagonal and 6*4 rectangular layout respectively.
Pomare, Eleo (1937–2008)
Authors: Perpener John O.
Published: February 2023

Eleo Pomare was a dancer, choreographer, educator, and social activist who spent more than five decades contributing to the development of modern dance. As a teenager, he enrolled in the High School of Performing Arts in New York and formed a fledgling dance company while he was a student. After graduating, he expanded his group and presented his first major concert at the 92nd Street Y in 1959, a significant venue for emerging talent. In 1967, under the auspices of the Harlem Cultural Council, he co-founded the Dancemobile along with one of his dancers, Carole Y. Johnson. Together they began to produce outdoor summer dance concerts in New York City and surrounding areas.
Jeyasingh, Shobana (1957–)
Authors: O’Shea Janet
Published: February 2023

Shobana Jeyasingh is a British choreographer whose work deploys both modern and postmodern aesthetics. Drawing on the bharata natyam form in which she trained, Jeyasingh deconstructs the classical vocabulary through a process she describes as ‘asking questions of the adavus [units of movement]’. Jeyasingh’s choreography also incorporates pedestrian movement, postmodern dance, ballet, and martial arts such as kalaripayattu. She works within a high modernist tradition that privileges choreographic form over dramatic expression, highlighting non-representational movement, fragmentation, and the arrangement of dancers in complex groupings; she also, especially in more recent work, engages with postmodern, thematic concerns such as taking the surface seriously, exploring personal narratives, and reflecting on the complexity of belonging. An articulate critic as well as a choreographer, Jeyasingh has created a series of commentaries in which she reflects on postcoloniality, globalization, and urbanization as they play out in her work. She was also one of the first authors to discuss the contingent and constructed nature of the bharata natyam tradition. As one of the leaders in the field of contemporary South Asian dance, Jeyasingh created a space in the contemporary British dance milieu for choreographers working with classical non-Western vocabularies. She led the way for a generation of choreographers to challenge the racialized underpinnings of British contemporary dance as well as to query the imperative that South Asian classical forms demonstrate historical continuity, thereby contributing to the vibrant field of South Asian dance in Britain and extending understandings of experimentation in British contemporary dance.
Levinson, André (Andrei Iakovlevich Levinson) (1887–1933)
Authors: Kant Marion
Published: February 2023

A critic and theorist, André Levinson continued the nineteenth-century continental tradition of dance and ballet criticism as part of philosophical and aesthetic inquiry: dance as the embodiment of ideas. He supported classical dance as it had evolved out of the French and Russian schools, which he considered technically and therefore aesthetically superior to most other movement forms and genres. His scathing reflections on modern dance, particularly that of the German persuasion, revealed a distaste for emotive expression on the part of the individual performer as well as what he considered clichéd and superficial movement. Levinson hailed the aesthetics of classical ballet as the ultimate pinnacle of dance. Modern dance should aspire to the principles of classical training, its structural and technical clarity and the narrative power of Romantic and late nineteenth-century ballet. Modernist approaches, such as those of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, were futile attempts to transform ballet from within. Though he admired Isadora Duncan, he viewed the purpose of modern dance as inspiring and ultimately re-enforcing ballet.
McBurnie, Beryl (1914–2000)
Authors: Sörgel Sabine
Published: February 2023

Known as the Caribbean’s mother of dance, Beryl McBurnie counts amongst the leading figures of Caribbean modern dance, a movement that furthered decolonization and postcolonial nation-building in the region. Along with pioneers of Caribbean dance such as Katherine Dunham, Lavinia Williams, Ivy Baxter, Rex Nettleford, and Eduardo Rivero, McBurnie researched, collected, taught, and distilled an indigenous folk dance heritage in order to build an authentic Caribbean modern dance vocabulary, technique, and training. In the early 1940s she was one of the first Trinidadian dancers to receive modern dance training in New York, and throughout her travels in the Caribbean region and beyond she taught her dances to several key figures of the Caribbean modern dance movement, including Ivy Baxter and Geoffrey Holder. McBurnie founded her Little Carib Theatre and Dance Company in 1948, which was amongst the first independent performance venues in the region and soon became a flagship for Trinidadian independence. She not only laid the groundwork for Caribbean modern dance but she also—to quote Alvin Ailey—was ‘one of the three extraordinary Black women who have had profound influence on American dance’ next to Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus (Sörgel 2007).
Whitman Sisters
Authors: George-Graves Nadine
Published: February 2023

Mabel (1880–1942), Essie (1882–1963), Alberta (1888–1964) and Alice (1900–1969) were the daughters of Albery Allson Whitman, a reverend in the African Methodist Episcopal church (and a notable poet), and his wife Caddie Whitman. They began performing by singing and dancing in their father’s church and on evangelical tours. Later, they formed a touring company and took on other acts, most notably child performers. In the later years of the company, The Whitman Sisters were the highest paid act on the black vaudeville circuit, called the Theater Owners Booking Association (or Toby), and one of the longest surviving touring companies (1899–1942). The performance group was considered the greatest incubator of dancing talent for black shows on or off Toby, and significantly contributed to American theatre and dance modernism particularly as they challenged race and gender discrimination and stereotypes. While keeping their audiences entertained, they managed to push new ideas about aesthetics, race, class, gender and show business practices. The sisters succeeded in breaking many of the barriers for black women in show business and helped pave the way in the entertainment industry for subsequent black performers by launching the careers of many stars including Count Basie, Bunny Briggs, Jeni Legon, Willie Robinson, Butterbeans and Susie, Billy Kersands, Jackie “Moms” Mabley, Ma Rainey, and Ethel Waters.
Graebner, Fritz (1877–1934)
Authors: Kotte Claudia
Published: February 2023

Robert Fritz Graebner was a German ethnologist whose theory of Kulturkreis (culture circle) launched a cultural historical approach to ethnology. After finishing his dissertation on medieval history, Graebner worked as an assistant at the Royal Museum of Ethnology in Berlin (1899–1906), where he studied the cultures of Oceania. He compared artefacts and plotted them geographically in order to discover patterns of cultural traits.
Onchi, Kōshirō (1890–1955)
Authors: Ajioka Chiaki
Published: February 2023

Onchi was a seminal leader of the modernist print movement in Japan known as Sōsaku Hanga and its most passionate advocate for recognition of the print as artistic expression and the artist’s control in its production. Born in a privileged Tokyo family, Onchi studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, but rather than its academism he was drawn to the images and poetry of Takehisa Yumeji (1884–1934). In 1914 Onchi, together with Fujimori Shizuo (1891–1943) and Tanaka Kyōkichi (1891–1915), published Tsukuhae, Japan’s first magazine dedicated to prints. In it he published Lyric: Bright Hours (1915) accompanied by his own poem, which is considered the first purely abstract work produced in Japan.
Parsons, Talcott (1902–1979)
Authors: Edgar Andrew
Published: February 2023

Talcott Edgar Frederick Parsons was an American sociologist who, as the principal exponent of what is known as structural functionalism, exerted a major influence over social theory in the middle part of the twentieth century. His work continues to be an important influence for German sociology. Primarily concerned with explaining the stability and order of social life, Parsons draws on ideas developed in cybernetics, in particular on what is known as systems theory. A system may be understood as a stable and organized structure that exists within an environment. Parsons argues that society, understood as a social system, must satisfy four functions if it is to remain stable.
Pedrosa, Mário Xavier de Andrade (1900–1981)
Authors: Canejo Cynthia
Published: February 2023

While the Brazilian scholar Mário Pedrosa is known internationally as an art critic, his influence extends far beyond his writing on art. As an outspoken militant, Pedrosa was actively involved in politics throughout his life to the degree that he was not only arrested but also exiled from Brazil several times. In the artistic field, he has emphasised the importance of abstract art and persistently promoted constructivist art, particularly the Concrete and Neoconcrete movements. He broke new ground in showing how Gestalt psychological theories enhance the phenomenological perception of artworks. Moreover, his interest in art which extended beyond traditional ideas led to his support of artists creating works that involved an active spectator.
Cambridge Ritualists, The
Authors: Pokhrel Arun Kumar
Published: February 2023

The Cambridge Ritualists, also known as the Cambridge Group of Classical Anthropologists, were a closely knit group of four classicists—Jane Ellen Harrison (1850–1928), Francis M. Cornford (1874–1943), Gilbert Murray (1866–1957) and Arthur Bernard Cook (1868–1952) (Arlen 1990, 1). Harrison, a woman of considerable intellectual influence, was a central figure; except for Murray, a professor of Greek at Oxford, all other members were affiliated with Cambridge University. The group shared a scholarly interest in establishing the common root of myth and ritual and asserted the primacy of ritual practices over written myth in the study of religion, culture and art. Their works captured a new anti-Victorian dynamism, as seen in Harrison’s book Themis (1912). Reacting against Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory and the positivist milieu, the ritualists evolved as an intellectual movement between 1900 and 1915. They used anthropological, sociological and psychological theories to study ancient Greek culture and drama, while drawing on diverse scholars and philosophers such as Edward Taylor, Herbert Spencer, Émile Durkheim, Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson and Robertson Smith. Influenced by James G. Frazer’s seminal work The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890), the group in turn influenced Frazer, as they also laid the foundation for myth-ritual criticism that anticipated the rise of structuralism in the social sciences. While D. H. Lawrence was familiar with the ritualists’ publications on Greek drama, such as Harrison’s Ancient Art and Ritual (1913) and Murray’s Euripides and his Age (1913), the ritualists’ wide-spread influence can be found in the works of many other modernist poets and writers, including T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats and James Joyce.
Foulds, John (1880–1939)
Authors: Hawkes Joel
Published: February 2023

John Herbert Foulds (1880–1939) was an English composer of classical music who found popularity with his light music and theatrical scores, but also created more experimental compositions that drew inspiration from Indian music, and explored the relationship between music, literature and painting. Furthermore, he was one of the first British composers to use quarter-tones (a pitch half way between the regular notes on the chromatic scale) in his compositions.
Gwala, Mafika Pascal (1946–)
Authors: Masemola Kgomotso
Published: February 2023

Born in the Verulam area of the then Natal province (now KwaZulu-Natal), the population of which was largely Indian and Zulu, Mafika Gwala’s response to the apartheid edicts of separation and segregation of races found expression in the short stories and passionate free verse exulting the cultural revival inspired by Black Consciousness which he initially wrote for Nat Nakasa’s The Classic literary magazine.
Obstfelder, Sigbjørn (1866–1900)
Authors: Cardone Elettra
Published: February 2023

Sigbjørn Obstfelder is considered the first Norwegian modernist writer. He wrote poetry, dramas and novels but is primarily known for his collection of poems, Digte (1893, Poems). He was inspired by Charles Baudelaire and French Symbolism, and experimented with prose poetry and with the musical quality of language. His works are characterized by a tension between contrasting themes, such as togetherness and solitude, inebriation and anxiety. He had a tormented life with an unstable mental health and died of tuberculosis in Copenhagen at the age of 34.
Pedro Páramo (1955)
Authors: Lisi Laura
Published: February 2023

Pedro Páramo is Juan Rulfo’s only novel and by many considered his most important work, as well as one of the main creations in contemporary literature in Mexico and worldwide. It has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Pedro Páramo appeared two years after Rulfo’s first publication, the collection of short stories El llano en llamas. Rulfo had already broken significantly with Mexico’s literary past in the latter work by exploring a style based on the meticulous study of new narrative techniques and a fictional oral language that could believably represent the speech of the Mexican peasant.
Péguy, Charles (1873–1914)
Authors: Coustille-Cossou Charles
Published: February 2023

French writer of the beginning of the twentieth century Charles Péguy was a socialist, a dreyfusard, a republican, a nationalist, a catholic, a mystic, successively or at the same time. Throughout his various identities, he remained first and foremost attached to literature.

Born in 1873, son of a carpenter and an upholsterer, rising from the Ecole Normale of Orléans for primary school teachers to the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris-Ulm, in his youth Péguy incarnated the meritocratic success idealised in the Third Republic, benefiting from a state policy that he would later call: ‘school follies’ (‘les folies scolaires’).
Reznikoff, Charles (1894–1976)
Authors: Jaussen Paul
Published: February 2023

Charles Reznikoff was a poet, prose writer, and playwright whose work significantly contributed to American modernism. Drawing on his heritage as a New York City Jewish-American, Reznikoff, like his fellow ‘Objectivists’ Louis Zukofsky and George Oppen, used the resources of modernist poetry—spare lines, suppression of rhetoric, and attention to daily life—to explore Jewish history as well as the American urban experience. Particularly in works like Testimony (1965) and Holocaust (1975), Reznikoff relied upon his legal training to establish the poet as a witness, one who offers an account without judgement or praise.
Rifbjerg, Klaus (1931–2015)
Authors: Magnusson Gisli
Published: February 2023

Since the late 1950s, Klaus Rifbjerg has been a dominant figure of literary modernism in Denmark. His productivity is legendary (his bibliography includes more than 200 titles) and encompasses many genres: novels, short stories, poetry, drama (including film and TV), revue, travelogue, memoirs, children’s books, essays, and journalism. His style varies from complex and difficult modernist poetry to immediately intelligible realism. Not merely an author, Ribjerg was also editor of the literary magazine Vindrosen (1959–63, with Villy Sørensen), and chief editor at the publishing house Gyldendal (1984–91). Rifbjerg has been awarded the grand prize of the Danish Academy (1966), The Nordic Council’s Literature Prize (1970), and the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize (1999).
Robbe-Grillet, Alain (1922–2008)
Authors: Baetens Jan
Published: February 2023

Born in Brest in a family of scientists and a trained agricultural engineer himself, Alain Robbe-Grillet was a French novelist, film director, and one of the leading figures of the Nouveau Roman (New Novel), a literary movement that aimed at revolutionising the psychological tradition of the French novel.
Roth, Joseph (1894–1939)
Authors: Rock Lene
Published: February 2023

Joseph Roth was an Austrian-Jewish journalist and novelist. He was born in the shtetl of Brody, near Lemberg (Lviv, Lvov) in Galicia, in the easternmost part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Quitting his studies in philosophy and German literature in Lemberg and Vienna, he volunteered for the army in 1916. During military service he started reporting for various periodicals. After moving to Berlin in 1920, he achieved success as a socially engaged journalist, occasionally writing as ‘Der rote Roth’. He wrote for Die neue Berliner Zeitung, the Berliner Börsen-Courier, the social democratic newspaper Vorwärts, and the renowned liberal Frankfurter Zeitung, for which he reported from all over Europe.
Sestigers, The
Authors: du Plooy Heilna
Published: February 2023

During the 1960s a group of Afrikaans writers who called themselves ‘Die Sestigers’ (Those of the sixties) became prominent on the South African literary scene. Jan Rabie’s collection of short stories, Een-en-Twintig (Twenty-one,1956) and Etienne Leroux’s novel Die Eerste Lewe van Colet (The First Life of Colet, 1955) are regarded as the first clear signs of the movement that literary historians describe as the most influential movement in Afrikaans literature in the twentieth century. Despite huge differences in style and content these writers, including poets, novelists, and dramatists, presented themselves as a group through their joint publications (the journals Sestiger and later Kol, as well as the collection of short stories Windroos), and by publicly debating their ideas about literature.
Shawqi, Ahmad (احمد شوقي) (1868–1932)
Authors: Luce Mark D.
Published: February 2023

Ahmad Shawqi was the leading poet and pioneer playwright of the neo-classical period of Arabic literature. Shawqi benefited from a secular education, which allowed him to study law, but, more importantly for him, French. Shawqi’s mastery of Arabic and his talents as a poet led him to the Egyptian Khedive’s court as a poet. He found favour with the Khedive and consequently received a fellowship to study abroad in France.

Shawqi returned to the Khedive’s court heavily influenced by his studies abroad. He distinguished himself as an innovator and a rejuvenator of Arabic poetry; however, his efforts to incorporate Western influences into his poetry were not favoured by the Khedive. As a result, Shawqi excelled in creating poetry on modern themes in the classical tradition, with its complicated metres and rhymes.

Shawqi’s poetry championed two causes: Egyptian anti-colonialist sentiments and praise for the Ottoman caliphate. After Egypt’s independence in 1927, Shawqi became a patron of the arts and was honoured with the title Amir al-shu’ara’ (امير الشعراء) or Prince of Poets, a great honour which recognized his contribution to Arabic literature. In the last eight years of his life, he produced seven plays that were performed in Egypt. Ahmad Shawqi’s works represent the best of the neo-classical period that made the leap from pure classical tradition to new poetic forms and genres.
Tolson, Melvin B. (1898–1966)
Authors: Capogna Frank
Published: February 2023

Melvin Beaunorus Tolson was a poet, journalist, and teacher whose literary work examines the conditions for black life and art from the African diaspora through the throes of the Civil Rights Movement in his contemporary America. Although most of his major poetry volumes were published following the Second World War, Tolson thought of his work as a continuation of the modernist project in an African American idiom: he would pronounce his intentions just so, to ‘visit a land unvisited by Mr. Eliot’ (qtd in Dove 1999, xi). His poetry looks thematically, aesthetically, and critically at the institutional heritage of high modernism and other dominant Anglo-European cultural forms in order to locate a place for African American artistic production within—rather than in a space apart from—otherwise hierarchical high art cultures in the first half of the twentieth century.
Equal Temperament
Authors: Young Gayle
Published: February 2023

Equal temperament is a musical tuning strategy which deals mathematically with musical intervals in order to allow perfect transposition; it replaced the Pythagorean approach. The octave can be divided into equal steps of many different sizes, ranging from step sizes larger than the standard 12-tone equal temperament (such as five, seven, eight, or ten equal steps per octave) to much smaller step sizes. Calculations of the sizes of intervals use ‘cents’, with each of the 12 semi-tones described as a 100-cent interval. There are 1,200 cents in every octave. Pitches organised in 24 equal steps are referred to as quarter-tones, each 50 cents. Some composers prefer to work with multiples of 12, such as 36-tone (33.3 cents), 48-tone (25 cents), and the division of the octave into 96 equal steps of 12.5 cents, as proposed by Mexican composer Juliàn Carillo. Many composers work with seemingly arbitrary divisions of the octave, such as 19-tone (63.2 cents) and 31-tone (38.7 cents). These tunings include pitches that come close to key intervals in just intonation (see below). The advantage of using an equal-tempered tuning to access these tunings is that any equal-tempered pitch structure can easily be transposed.
Peláez, Amelia (1886–1968)
Authors: Sepúlveda Asiel
Published: February 2023

Amelia Peláez is one of Latin America’s leading artists of the twentieth century. After her return to Cuba from Europe in 1934, Peláez began to apply the modern artistic practices learned in the Old World to local forms and looked to formulate a modern expression of lo cubano (that which is Cuban). Her work reached maturity in the early 1940s with the artist’s formulation of barroquismo in a Cuban context. During this period, Peláez painted still lifes, architectural arrangements, and female figures often presented amidst intellectual pursuits. Peláez’s notion of Cuba was that of a white, urban, Catholic, middle class whose nineteenth-century homes were adorned with stained glass windows, intrinsic iron work, tropical flowers, and fruits.