bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Religious Identity of Banatian Bulgarians – The Palćans in Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria
Authors: Vasić Slobodan
Published: April 2023

The paper presents a comparative study of religious identity in countries that share similar sociopolitical circumstances, namely socialism/communism and postsocialism. The analysis is based on field research, and the chosen subject of study is the ethnic group of Banatian Bulgarians, whose members live on the territory of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. The paper suggests that different regulatory practices by governments have had different effects on religious identity, and that other social factors, such as the size of the communities and language use, are also significant. Religion in the socialist/communist period was most strictly regulated in Bulgaria, where religious tradition was disrupted, while in Serbia the traditional component of religious identity was preserved in the private sphere, and in Romania secularization was present in some social strata. In postsocialism religion has been revitalized, and data suggest that a high level of religiousness is related to the ability to use one’s first language in church, which, in our study, is the case in Romania.
Ethnic and regional stereotypes in the TV series “Konak kod Hilmije”
Authors: Dražeta Bogdan
Published: April 2023

Ethnic and regional stereotypes as simplified views of a people within a certain community based on their ethnic and regional affiliation are observed in this paper through the TV series “Konak kod Hilmije” (konak, local small private hotel with a restaurant), broadcast in 2018 and 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, as well as in the diaspora countries of the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic and regional stereotypes were found during the analysis of the series’ rhetoric and discourse. The series is set in Sarajevo during World War II, more precisely in a restaurant with an overnight stay run by a local Sarajevo host. A handful of different characters moving through the tavern and konak has produced ethnic and regional stereotypes, in addition to their personal interests and allegedly reduced national tensions. These stereotypes run through the series as an important part of ethnic humor, whose content is primarily on an ethnic/national basis, but also contain geographical/regional or social foundations. Humor at the expense of various social groups, religious and other greetings, cultural background of the inhabitants of the old part of Sarajevo, retraditionalization in the domain of religion and language, indicates that the TV series “Konak kod Hilmije” is critical of these phenomena and processes in public discourse, mostly towards the simplified view of ethnic/regional communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Corona in the Schoolyard: Children's Game “Corona” as a Sociocultural Construct during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Krel Aleksandar , Trubarac Matić Đorđina
Published: April 2023

At the beginning of 2020 a children's game called “Corona” spontaneously appeared among the lower grade pupils of the primary school "Saint Sava" in Belgrade’s municipality of Vračar. Typologically it belongs to the games of chasing and the rules of the first detected variant resemble very much the playground game known as tag with the exception that the player who chases is called “Corona”.

During April and May of 2021 a field research was conducted in order to collect information about the ways the game was played in the schoolyard during the months of February and March 2020 (on the 17th of March the schools in Serbia were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and were not opened until the beginning of the following school year on the 1st of September 2020) and during the school year 2020/2021. An analysis of the collected data showed that there are two basic groups of variants: the first one practiced during the school year 2019/2020 and the second one during the school year 2020/2021 (in which the role of Doctor appears). Both groups are described through the ideal types of their respective variants. The ideal type models of all variants have been observed in relation to the series of elements from the sociocultural context within which the game “Corona” originated, pointing towards a direct correlation between the game elements and its structure on the one hand, and, on the other, the changes that occurred in the micro and macro sociocultural environment of the interviewed children immediately before and after the proclamation of the pandemic of Covid-19. Some of the factors which were triggers in the inner dynamics of the process of shaping the variants of the game “Corona” as a sociocultural construct have been discussed: the internal ones (coming from the children's community itself ‒ those concerning their specific needs and their pre-existing idioculture) and the external ones, concerning a dense network of regulatory and informational factors imposing onto the children a new emerging pandemic reality. This new reality resulted in changes of daily routines, reactions to highly restrictive school regulations and exposure to fear- and confusion-inducing information which reached children through various information channels. The new schoolyard game called “Corona” gave the participants possibility to project their inner psychological tension and express it through a recreational activity (running) and through a frame of a complex communication achieved on a symbolic level.
At Her Age: An Anthropological Analysis of the Construct of Age in the TV Series "Muddy Tires "
Authors: Milosavljević Ljubica
Published: April 2023

This anthropological analysis of the Serbian TV series Muddy Tires (Kaljave Gume), which aired in the spring of 2021 on the Radio Television of Serbia, aims to point out the principal meanings which can be subsumed under the three dominant problems faced by the protagonist Vesna when she finds herself in situations that demand a reexamination of previously accepted norms regarding older members of contemporary Serbian society. The analytical procedure, also applied to film, involved the construction and study of an ethnography which consists of production, content and reception, with primary emphasis on the first two elements. In this way, it was possible to distinguish several of the more important themes that underpin the basic plot structure, which, very briefly, follows the everyday life of a sixty-year-old former pianist who, following the death of her husband with whom she had an unhappy marriage, leaves for California to visit her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Her relocation from the environment in which she has spent her entire life has thus created the conditions for her to embark on a new relationship with an elderly American whom she met online, but also for the process of conflict with and resistance to norms which have typically dictated to her, as a widow, certain emotions, and actions in accordance with them, while challenging others. This process in which her age is foregrounded in contrast to actions which are labelled "out of time" and therefore inappropriate, even unacceptable for those closest to her, also involves actions by opponents dressed up in the specific form of ageism such as the so-called well-meaning ageism, when an older person is forced to accept unwanted expressions of "concern" and "assistance". Finally, a subsidiary but haunting motif is the motif of suicide of older members of society (in the series committed by Vesna’s brother-in-law Jovan), which functions as a reflection of easier acceptance and understanding by one’s community, unlike the decision to continue life in a new, late-life relationship following the death of a spouse. Finally, it should be observed that the attitudes, actions and censure of the adult members of one’s family are dominant.
"The Fall of Leaves": A Look at Turkish Television Series and Families
Authors: Ivanović Zorica , Kovač Senka
Published: April 2023

At the turn of the millennium, Turkish television series became a global phenomenon, requiring comprehension of the broader social and historical context of their production, distribution and reception. The paper considers questions regarding their genre and points to the socioeconomic and political circumstances of their development and transformation into a cultural product with worldwide popularity and an industry with great market value. Particular attention has been given to the question of how these processes have affected the depiction of the family and family values in these series. The second part of the paper presents a case study of the series The Fall of Leaves, in which the concept of the family and family life that is offered through the plot of "the family in crisis" in the present age of changes is examined. The reception of family relationships in the series has been studied through the analysis of an internet forum in which forum members, viewers of this series in Croatia and the region, commented in 2287 posts from 2011 to 2012 on the first TV broadcast of this Turkish series.
Reception of the Zagreb Traditional Wooden House in the Brick Residential Architecture of Zagreb’s Opatovina and Upper Town in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries
Authors: Pavković Marko Filip
Published: April 2023

During the foundation period of Zagreb’s Gradec and Opatovina, a specific architectural type of wooden single-storey residential house emerged, the so-called purgerska hiža, based on the traditional wooden architecture of the wider Zagreb area, which has been defined, for the first time in this paper, as the Zagreb traditional wooden house. Features of this house type can be recognised in brick residential houses from the 18th century onwards, both in Opatovina and Gradec, and they became a staple piece of architecture commissioned by the economically less powerful and less educated. This paper describes the prominent features of this architectural type, as well as the specificities of a more elaborate type of two-storey house that developed therefrom. Here it is shown that this type continued in the brick form long into the 19th century, and that certain features occasionally cropped up even in the 20th century. All Upper Town and Opatovina houses that can be subsumed under this type have been identified in this paper, as well as houses derived from that type, which can be considered its modifications, and they have been analysed in order to determine where the influences on this type of architecture had come from, adopting a new thesis on Zagreb as a border zone that was influenced by two ethnographic regions: Turopolje and Hrvatsko Zagorje.
A Contribution to the Study of Social Inequality in the Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans
Authors: Porčić Marko
Published: April 2023

The social inequality represents one of the major problems of the contemporary world and an important anthropological subject. The transition to agriculture is often viewed as an important turning point for the development of social inequality in (pre)history. For this reason, the study of the social inequality in the Neolithic communities is of particular importance for the understanding of the origins and the development of this phenomenon. This paper represents an empirical contribution to the study of social inequality in the Late Neolithic in the Central Balkans (5300-4500 BCE). The aim is to quanitfy and estimate the levels of inequality between households in three Late Neolithic settlements: Belovode, Pločnik, and Drenovac. In line with the current methods for the estimation of social inequality from archaeological remains, this study relies on the house floor area as a proxy for household wealth. The house floor area measurements are based on the geophysical surveys data published in the literature with around 1000 house floor area measurements available for the analysis. The Gini index is calculated for each site based in the distribution of house floor area. The results suggest that the social inequality on all three sites was relatively low, as the Gini values range from 0.18 to 0.22. These values fit well with the Gini estimates based on the previous research of the social inequality in the Neolithic and Eneolithic period in the Central Balkans. When compared to the cross-cultural variation based on the ethnographic, historical and archaeological sources from the literature, these values are low compared to other horticultural and agricultural communities. One potential explanation for such low values is that the agricultural production in the Late Neolithic of the Central Balkans was labor-limited rather than land-limited, which usually results in the low potential for social inequality, as hypothesized and shown by Bogaard et al. (2019). On the other hand, we must keep in mind that the wealth is measured by proxy which is suitable for the detection of statistical trends in cross-cultural comparisons, but may be less reliable for individual cases. Moreover, it is not certain that the individual house is the basic social unit, as it is possible that the basic social unit for a corporate group which includes extended families living in several houses. Therefore, the result which suggests low levels of social inequality should be taken as a hypothesis which needs to be tested further with other classes of evidence.
Identity Crises and Confusions: Metamorphosis Constantiniana
Authors: Cvjetićanin Tatjana B.
Published: April 2023

Public monuments are the materialization of historical events or persons chosen to be remembered by a society, official factors of collective and cultural memory, elements of the chosen identity and the ways in which the community aims to be perceived by the outsiders. In the series of identity searches of the current representative monument culture in Serbia, rare are the examples that include the archaeological imagery. The paper examines the ideas and motifs of one such sculpture – Metamorphosis Constantiniana, not from the artistic perspective, but from the viewpoint of archaeology and cultural heritage, as well as the meanings ascribed to it by the participants of its ceremonial unveiling, and finally the reception of this public marker by the current citizens of Niš. Although the sculpture is erected on the occasion of the jubilee of 1700 years from the Edict of Milan, and although tolerance, acceptance, and cooperation are deeply rooted in the Christian ethics, these principles are rejected and not represented by this monument. The possibility is also rejected that the monument is aimed to promote the linear connection between the Roman state and today’s Serbia – our “Roman-ness” equated to the European roots and “civilisation”, the narrative that pervades the public discourse, at the same time being a flagrant abuse of the Roman past, both in the political and disciplinary domains. The main value promoted by the monument is identified in the “Primal Parent” – in the “beginning” from which stems a specific spiritual vertical, continuity and the celebration of the people with history. Valorisation and sacralization of the past are also discussed, and the influx of pseudo-scientific interpretations, images of ignorance contributing to the current identity crisis
The Image of the Jews in the Travel Book Orient by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Authors: Sekulić Mirjana M.
Published: April 2023

In this article we study the image of the Jewish people in Vicente Blasco Ibáñez's travel book Orient. The book describes the author’s journey from France to the Orient, more specifically Istanbul, in 1907. The first descriptions of the Jews already appear in the first text of the book, in which the author depicts the small spa town of Vichy in France. The author describes different nationalities gathered in Vichy, remarking on its cosmopolitan atmosphere. In Vichy, he identifies a few Jewish nationals as paradigmatic characters - stereotyped visions of beautiful cocotte or good Rebecca/Miriam in the company of her husband, who is marked by greed and stinginess as racial characteristics, thus expressing his prejudiced views towards the Jews.  Later on, on his journey to the East, Blasco Ibáñez spends two days in Serbia, leaving a testimony about the Serbian people, but also about an encounter with some Sephardic Jews in Belgrade. A similar meeting will take place in Istanbul, prompting the author to express his wish to continue writing about this nation in the future. In the travel book Orient, Blasko Ibáñez presents the Sephardim and discusses their language and nostalgic need to reconnect with Spain. Through the author’s presentation and selection of Sephardic attributes we can draw some conclusions about his personal attitude that preserves some Judeophobic elements

We will start from Ibáñez's contradictory judgments about the Jews, expressed in several articles and literary works, and then, following the principles of imagology, we will examine how the image of the Jews, the Sephardim, is constructed within the cultural spaces of Belgrade and Istanbul. We will try to connect these images with the general panorama of the Jewish question and the frequently cited anti-Semitism in the work of Blas Ibáñez. We will pay special attention to Judeophobia, as well as the economic aspect of this problem.
Who is (Not) Afraid of the Climate Apocalypse? On the Planetary Perspectives of Anthropocene Political Theology through New Images of the Earth
Authors: Janković Stefan
Published: April 2023

The paper comparatively explores the projects of Gaia and the planet as the new images of the Earth, proposed by Bruno Latour and Dipesh Chakrabarty respectively. With critical emphasis placed on the political theology of the apocalypse present in both projects, the paper draws broader implications of such a geospiritual turn in the Anthropocene debates. Whereas the introduction gives a glimpse into the problem of the Anthropocene, the second section explores Latour's reinterpretation of the “Gaia Hypothesis” in the anti-holistic key through the critique of modernity, theory of agency and novel methodology of geotracing, designed to unravel the organic transactions and links of the so-called critical zone. The third section discusses Latour's geophilosophical experiment of building the mythical prototype of the Earthlings, as a special kind of ecological sensitivity, and points out the problem of setting up science as a new earthly religion. Section four focuses on Chakrabarty's concept of the planet, which revolves around the “discovery” of the deep history of the planet, a confrontation with anthropocentrism and the “shallow” history of human formations, but also the insertion of radical climate uncertainty into everyday life and restoration of planetary habitability. In the fifth section we explain in more detail the problem of scale that arises in Chakrabarty's work, that is, the question of how to open sensibility for such a cumbersome set of entities as the planet is. Expressing a relative distrust of science, Chakrabarty prefers to opt for theological awe, which, we claim, is difficult to achieve precisely in a planetary context. In the conclusion we look briefly at the concept of resilience as a potential complement to these views.
The Classics between Disciplines and Theories: The Anthropology of Ancient Worlds
Authors: Stevanović Lada
Published: April 2023

The paper presents the work of the French School of Anthropology of Ancient Worlds, which was developing intensively among the researchers gathered around the Centre Louis Gernet in Paris, named after the pioneer of this approach. This epistemological turn in researching classics is the consequence of the intersection of the classics, history, anthropology, sociology, archaeology, and different critical theories. The shift does not only refer to the change of methodologies, but also to the change of researched themes and phenomena, which are regarded in the concrete socio-political and cultural context. The most important representatives of the first generation in the Centre were Jean-Pierre Vernant, Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Marcel Detienne, and Nicole Loraux. Their work has been translated into other languages, while the Centre was a lively place of intellectual dialogue and innovative approaches to antiquity, especially during the 1970s and the 1980s. Extremely interesting dialogue and influences also appeared beyond the borders of France, so the paper will turn briefly to the reception of the school in the Anglophone world, but also in the former Yugoslavia, with the intention to shed light on certain intellectual trajectories in the exchange of ideas.
Non-covid Patients during the Period of Pandemic in Serbia
Authors: Jarić Isidora , Milenković Marko , Milenković Miloš
Published: April 2023

The paper considers a problem at the intersection of sociology, anthropology, law and multidisciplinary public health research - health care accessibility during a sudden social crisis. The authors test the theoretical assumptions on the example of the covid-19 pandemic in Serbia, trying to understand the specific position of non-covid patients suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases and their perceptions regarding health care accessibility during the period of the pandemic. The empirical data on which the analysis was performed was collected with the help of focus group interviews. The sample consisted of interviewees - representatives of the association of patients suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases that burden the population of Serbia the most, who live on the territory of the Republic of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija. The analysis shows that access to health care during the pandemic was limited and that the protocols that the state and the health care system were setting up in the process did not take into account the specific needs of this socially vulnerable group of patients. This, due to the impossibility for them to go through certain diagnostic procedures in time, receive adequate therapy and/or rehabilitation, in a large number of cases resulted in the deterioration of the clinical picture of the chronic disease from which they suffer. The paper presents theoretical and practical conclusions, which aim to show how important it is to incorporate theoretical and empirical insights from the social sciences and humanities in the conceptualization and future implementation of public health protocols for future social crises in order to reduce their potential syndemic effect.
Learning from Ritual: Covid-19 Public Health Measures and Messaging in Timor-Leste
Authors: Barnes Susanna
Published: April 2023

In this paper, I reflect on the significance of ritual activity directed towards COVID-19 in Timor-Leste. What, if anything, it tells us about East Timorese beliefs and attitudes regarding infectious disease and why understanding the cultural dimensions of infectious disease is critical to public health responses. Timor-Leste recorded its first COVID-19 case on March 21st, 2020. Over the course of the following weeks elders held ritual ceremonies across the country to mobilise the ancestors and ask for their assistance to keep COVID-19 at bay. These ceremonies circulated widely on social media within Timor-Leste and among the East Timorese diaspora. In parallel to this initial flourishing of ritual activity the government swiftly enacted legislation to declare a state of emergency, closing international borders and establishing quarantine centres across the country. In many ways the health authorities’ response to COVID-19 has been exemplary, with low case numbers and 0 deaths throughout 2020. However, since February 2021 COVID-19 cases have increased exponentially, exposing social cleavages based on education, language and socio-economic position. With limited resources, the health authorities, and in particular the Centre for Integrated Crisis Management, have focused on prevention, contact tracing and testing, adhering to WHO guidelines and emphasising ‘best practices. Yet, the response has been criticized for being top-down and heavy handed. For example, certain public health measures, such as mandatory testing and burial protocols, have been poorly communicated to the broader community. The use of bio-medical language and introduction of new terms and concepts has been excessively didactic and lacks local contextualization. For the majority of the population of Timor-Leste, especially those living in rural areas, lived experiences of illness and disease are interpreted primarily through and by customary beliefs and practices. The rituals directed towards COVID-19 demonstrate a clear understanding of the nature of infection, contamination, disease, models of causality and fears around infection. They also reveal local capacities to contain epidemics and the ability to learn with the bio-medical response. The levels of participation observed in COVID-19 rituals online and local support for these initiatives expressed on social media suggests at the very least that health authorities should engage with local communities in a two-way dialogue to discuss beliefs and existing prevention strategies that can assist and support public health objectives and measures.
Managing the Disaster of Covid-19: An Analysis of Public Policy in Odisha on India’s East Coast
Authors: Patnaik Soumendra M.
Published: April 2023

This paper is a critical reflection on Covid-19 management strategies adopted in Odisha, a state on India’s east coast. The unprecedented scale and magnitude with which the pandemic affected the entire world was the cause of great uncertainty and collective anxiety. Managing it at the level of the entire nation state with great diversity of race, language, ethnicity, class, caste and culture has posed a great challenge for policy makers and administrators.  Policy ethnographies have often relied on the Foucauldian idea of biopower and biopolitics to elucidate the governance practices in nation states with different rationalities. The present paper is an attempt to examine various policy measures adopted by the government of Odisha and how they have been affecting various institutions and everyday life. Using an ethnographical approach, the paper attempts to examine various policy initiatives and the way they get operationalized on the ground giving rise to a kind of governance practice indicative of affirmative biopolitics in the way power is exercised to direct human life and engage citizens for a secure future.
Synthesising (Beyond) Ethnographies— Meta-ethnography Revisited
Authors: Višić Maroje
Published: April 2023

Meta-ethnography is an interpretive knowledge synthesis used for synthesizing data from ethnographic studies. It compares and analyses metaphors/data, creating a new interpretation or developing a new theory. Meta-ethnography was originally introduced by Noblit and Hare in 1988, and in the past thirty-five years, acquired popularity in different disciplines. But by today’s standards, the seminal text left stages of conducting meta-ethnography insufficiently described in terms of transparency and systematicity and being open to different interpretations. This paper aims to discuss and analyse seven phases of conducting meta-ethnography and to suggest how transparency and systematicity in each phase might be enhanced. The author acknowledges that meta-ethnography is still an evolving method and concludes that suggestions made in this paper may serve meta-ethnographers not as an anchor but as a compass in planning and executing each stage.
Beneficial Role of Vitexin in Parkinson’s Disease
Authors:   Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Mustapha Musa ,   Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, Mat Taib Che Norma ,   Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Published: April 2023

Today, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the foremost neurological disorder all across the globe. In the quest for a novel therapeutic agent for PD with a multimodal mechanism of action and relatively better safety profile, natural flavonoids are now receiving greater attention as a potential source of neuroprotection. Vitexin have been shown to exhibit diverse biological benefits in various disease conditions, including PD. It exerts its anti-oxidative property in PD patients by either directly scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) or by upregulating the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Also, vitexin activates the ERK1/1 and phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pro-survival signalling pathway, which upregulates the release of anti-apoptotic proteins and downregulates the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins. It could be antagonistic to protein misfolding and aggregation. Studies have shown that it can also act as an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) enzyme, thereby increasing striataldopamine levels, and hence, restoring the behavioural deficit in experimental PD models. Such promising pharmacological potential of vitexin could be a game-changer in devising novel therapeutic strategies against PD. This review discusses the chemistry, properties, sources, bioavailability and safety profile of vitexin. The possible molecular mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective action of vitexin in the pathogenesis of PD alongside its therapeutic potential is also discussed.
Dissemination Pattern of Hospital-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Community-Acquired MRSA Isolates from Malaysian Hospitals: A Review from a Molecular Perspective
Authors:   Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Amat Junaidi Nor Syaza Syahirah , Mohamed Shakrin Nik Noorul Shakira ,   Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,   Centre for Tropicalization, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mohd Desa Mohd Nasir ,   Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia,   Laboratory of Halal Science Research, Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Wan Yunus Wan Md Zin ,   Centre for Tropicalization, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Published: April 2023

The global emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that unsusceptible to a wide selection of antimicrobial agents and any newly introduced antimicrobial over the past decades has triggered more extensive holistic measures to put an end to this situation. Molecular surveillance of MRSA clones is important to understand their evolutionary dynamics for investigating outbreaks, propagating precautionary measures, as well as planning for appropriate treatment. This review includes peer-reviewed reports on the molecular characterisation of clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates within Malaysian hospitals from year 2008 to 2020. This work highlights the molecular clones of hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) isolates from Malaysian hospitals, with description on their ever-changing pattern. Among HA-MRSA, the ST22-t032-SCCmec IV MRSA clone was reported to supplant the previous dominating clone, ST239-t037-SCCmec III. Meanwhile, ST30, ST772, ST6 and ST22 were repeatedly detected in CA-MRSA, however, none of the strains became predominant. Future in-depth study on molecular epidemiology of MRSA clone is essential for the investigation of the extent of the clonal shift, especially in Malaysia.
Ictal Electroencephalogram Visual Pattern Recognition of Seizure Adequacy During Electroconvulsive Therapy Treatment: A Step-by-Step Approach
Authors:   NEURON (Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Unit), Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kenny Ong Kheng Yee , Kok Yoon Chee ,   NEURON (Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Unit), Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Seman Zamtira ,   Sector for Biostatistics and Data Repository, National Institutes of Health, Selangor, Malaysia, Keng Hong Chhoa ,   NEURON (Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Unit), Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Misron Siti Nor Fadhlina ,   General Psychiatry Unit, Hospital Permai, Johor, Malaysia, Han Lim Chin ,   NEURON (Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Unit), Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Published: April 2023

Background: The NEURON (Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Unit) electroconvulsive therapy electroencephalogram (ECT-EEG) Algorithmic Rating Scale (NEARS) is a step-by-step approach to ictal electroencephalogram visual pattern recognition of seizure adequacy based on recruitment, amplitude, symmetry, duration and degree of post-ictal suppression. The objectives of this clinical audit were to determine the degree of agreement on the NEARS operational criteria between two neuropsychiatrists, the reliability of electroconvulsive therapy practitioners’ administration of NEARS during ECT procedures and the correlation of NEARS scores with Clinical Global Impression scale scores after each ECT treatment session. Methods: Systematic random sampling was conducted. Even numbers of ictal tracings were selected for analysis from the total samples collected over 8 consecutive days of ECT overseen by a total of eight different ECT practitioners. Cohen’s kappa coefficient was used to measure the inter-rater reliability of the two neuropsychiatrists and determine the level of agreement between NEARS scores and those of the ECT practitioners. The correlation using NEARS scores and post-ECT Clinical Global Impression scores was measured with Spearman’s test. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results: Cohen’s kappa showed perfect agreement between the two neuropsychiatrists, at κ = 1.00 (SE = 0.001; P < 0.001), and strong agreement between NEARS scores of overall seizure adequacy and the scores interpreted by the ECT practitioners, at κ = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.99; P < 0.001). Spearman’s test showed a weak negative association between NEARS scores and post-ECT Clinical Global Impression scores (r = −0.018; P = 0.900). Conclusion: NEARS may facilitate a brief, objectively reliable and practical assessment of ictal electroencephalogram quality. The scale is readily applicable by any trained ECT practitioner during an ongoing ECT procedure, especially when a prompt treatment decision is required.
Extensive Reading as a Gateway to Create Research Gap: Valuable Lessons from Indonesian Expert Authors
Authors: Fadhly Fahrus Zaman
Published: April 2023

Identifying research gaps from the extensive reading process is an inevitable choice for researchers in any field. This study aims to explore various approaches in identifying research gaps that have the potential to become elements of novelty. By using a grounded theory approach, the research reconstructs the cognitive experiences of a number of Indonesian expert authors in identifying research gaps. The results show that scientific journals as the primary source are accessed from the subscription data center; discuss and conduct knowledge sharing with expert groups; bibliography mapping by establishing a basic reference to avoid getting out of the focus of the research topic; state of the art and novelty elements will be seen from the extensive reading; using software to synthesize the literature review. It concludes that the research gap as the forerunner of the novelty element can only be done through an extensive reading process. Through extensive reading allows researchers or scientific writers to find many research gaps that can be explored.
A modular implementation of an effective interaction approach for harmonically trapped fermions in 1D
Authors: Rammelmüller Lukas , Huber David , Volosniev Artem G.
Published: April 2023

We introduce a generic and accessible implementation of an exact diagonalization method for studying few-fermion models. Our aim is to provide a testbed for the newcomers to the field as well as a stepping stone for trying out novel optimizations and approximations. This userguide consists of a description of the algorithm, and several examples in varying orders of sophistication. In particular, we exemplify our routine using an effective-interaction approach that fixes the low-energy physics. We benchmark this approach against the existing data, and show that it is able to deliver state-of-the-art numerical results at a significantly reduced computational cost.
Codebase release 1.0 for FermiFCI
Authors: Rammelmüller Lukas , Huber David , Volosniev Artem G.
Published: April 2023

We introduce a generic and accessible implementation of an exact diagonalization method for studying few-fermion models. Our aim is to provide a testbed for the newcomers to the field as well as a stepping stone for trying out novel optimizations and approximations. This userguide consists of a description of the algorithm, and several examples in varying orders of sophistication. In particular, we exemplify our routine using an effective-interaction approach that fixes the low-energy physics. We benchmark this approach against the existing data, and show that it is able to deliver state-of-the-art numerical results at a significantly reduced computational cost.
Russian clinical guidelines “Acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) in adults” (2021): what’s new for a practitioner?
Authors: Lazareva N. B.
Published: April 2023

Acute Respiratory Viral Infections (ARI) are the most common respiratory diseases. The main purposes of ARI and influenza therapy are to improve the quality of life of the patient and prevent complications, which can be achieved by combining antiviral and symptomatic therapy. It is important for general practitioners to know the principles of respiratory tract infectious disease treatment. The principles of the therapy include reduction of viral load, broncho- and mucolitic effects and improvement of the patient’s quality of life (reductions in symptoms), prevention of complications. It is recommended to start treatment with antiviral drugs for the first 48 hours after the clinical manifestation of the disease. To improve the quality of life, the prescription of combination medicines is a priority. The use of combined drugs is more convenient than mono-component drugs and safe for patients. It is important to bear in mind that, that immunomodulating agents after a manifestation of the disease are not effective. Local and international clinical recommendations prescribe the use of symptomatic agents for ARI and influenza, but their preventive use is not permitted. Symptomatic treatment is a priority and makes it possible to relieve the general condition, accelerate recovery and improve the quality of life of patients, and gives the doctor time to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe ethiotropic therapy. The combined drugs, including the analgesic/antipyretic component paracetamol, antihistamine phenylamine and decongestant phenylephrine, relive the main clinical symptoms of ARI. The purpose of this combination is optimal from the point of view of efficiency and safety.
Early distinctive clinical and hematological signs of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and a new coronavirus infection occurring with lung damage
Authors: Galieva G. A. , Mirsaeva G. Kh. , Mavzyutova G. A. , Mironchuk N. N. , Amineva L. Kh. , Kamaeva E. R. , Lisovskaya T. N. , Mukhetdinov A. R.
Published: April 2023

Introduction. The study of the manifestations of symptoms of COVID-19 and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an important aspect of the diagnosis, especially for regions endemic for HFRS.

Aim. To conduct сomparative study of the clinical symptoms and parametres of a complete blood test at the onset of the disease with lung involvement in patients with HFRS and COVID-19 with moderate severity.

Materials and methods. A retrospective comparative analysis and identification of laboratory data of patients with moderate form of HFRS with respiratory syndrome (n = 52) and patients with moderate severity form of COVID-19 (n = 52) upon admission to the hospital was carried out.

Results. Fever is one of the main symptoms for both diseases, characterizing the degree of severity. At the same time, the temperature in patients with HFRS on admission was higher than in patients with COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Shortness of breath is much more often recorded in the group of patients with viral pneumonia COVID-19 (p = 0.0001). The oxygen saturation index (SpO2) in patients with HFRS was below 95%, but the average value of 96.4% was normal, while in patients with COVID-19 the average value was 92.8% (p < 0.05). When comparing the indicators of the general blood test, there was a statistically significant excess of the level of red blood cells and hematocrit in the group of patients with COVID-19, with a comparable level of hemoglobin in both groups. The average value of the absolute content of platelets was significantly lower, and the number of patients with thrombocytopenia is much higher in the group of patients with HFRS.

Conclusion. Kidney damage in HFRS is the main clinical and laboratory syndrome, but it is important to remember that lung damage by the type of viral pneumonia in HFRS is also possible. In all suspicious cases, an examination for SARS-CoV-2 and serological diagnosis of hantavirus infection are indicated.
Efficacy of two-year anti-IgE therapy in patients with severe allergic bronchial asthma in Sverdlovsk region
Authors: Naumova V. V. , Beltyukov Е. К. , Abdullaev V. Ch. , Petukhova A. U. , Shtanova A. A. , Stepina D. A.
Published: April 2023

Introduction. The study of omalizumab efficacy in patients with severe bronchial asthma (SA) in randomized clinical trials is limited to 52 weeks. In real clinical practice, patients can receive the drug for much longer.

Aim. Evaluate the one-year and two-year efficacy of omalizumab in patients with SA in Sverdlovsk region.

Material and methods. The study included patients (n = 54) with allergic and mixed SA from the registry of Sverdlovsk region. Omalizumab efficacy was assessed over 12 and 24 months of therapy by dynamics of asthma exacerbations frequency, the use of health care resources, the need for short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) and systemic glucocorticosteroids (SGCS), the level of asthma control according to ACT, and the quality of life according to AQLQ, FEV1 levels and peripheral blood eosinophils.

Results. During 12 months of omalizumab therapy, the reduction in asthma exacerbation rate was 63.7% (from 2.01 ± 1.51 per patient per year to 0.73 ± 1.03) (p < 0.001), which was accompanied by a decrease in emergency calls and hospitalizations rates by 92.4 and 84.1%, respectively (p < 0.001). Improved asthma control (by ACT) from 9 (Q1-Q3: 7–13) to 20 points (Q1-Q3: 16–23); the proportion of patients with uncontrolled SA decreased from 97.4 to 48.7% (p < 0.001). The need for SABA decreased to 92.9% (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients on SGCS decreased from 60.5% to 15.8% (p < 0.001). The quality of life (AQLQ) significantly improved, FEV1 increased (p < 0.001), the number of eosinophils in peripheral blood decreased (p = 0.015). By the end of the second year of therapy, the trend of improvement in indicators of efficacy continued.

Conclusions. During 1 year of therapy with omalizumab, patients with allergic SA experienced a significant decrease in the number of exacerbations and use of health care resources, improved quality of life and asthma control, reduced need for SABA and SGCS, and improved respiratory function. In patients treated with omalizumab for 2 years, there was a further improvement or stabilization of efficacy indicators.
Role of antitussive agents in the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza
Authors: Fesenko O. V.
Published: April 2023

Viral upper respiratory infection  (VURI)-associated acute cough is the most common symptom worldwide among children and adults. It causes  serious  economic  and  social  problems  both  for individual  patients, patients’  families, and  the  health  care system as a whole. There is still no effective pharmacological agent  capable  of interfering  with all the main pathophysiological mechanisms involved in VURI-associated acute  cough. This circumstance partly explains  the increased prevalence of the prolonged course of acute  respiratory  infections, when the cough takes on the features  of subacute or post-infectious course. The pathophysiology of this symptom is being actively investigated to optimize  the treatment of cough. A viral infection  provokes an acute  cough  induced  by various irritative  stimuli, the  main one  being  secretions from the  respiratory  tract, which directly acts on reflexogenic areas  of the mucosa. Inflammatory mediators also play an important role, acting  on the peripheral sensory terminations of airways. Inflammatory mediators also induce post-infectious bronchial hyperreactivity, which is an important component of the pathogenesis of post-infectious cough. Recently, researchers are becoming increasingly interested in the  role of the  voluntary  or conscious  cough  component, which is implemented due  to the  cortical  response to afferent information  from the receptors of the upper respiratory tract.This hypothesis  explains the ineffectiveness of central antitussive agents  in patients with viral infection-associated dry cough  and  expands  the  possibilities  of peripheral antitussive agents represented by levodropropizine. In addition  to the  action  on nerve endings, the  agent  also affects  inflammatory  mediators, which enhances its ability to break the “vicious circle” of this symptom, prevents the development of post-infectious cough and promotes rehabilitation of the  bronchial  tree. The efficacy and safety of levodropropizine has been  demonstrated in clinical trials in both children and adults.
Trabalho Decente e Informalidade no Século 21: Uma Breve Discussão
Authors: Cruz Aline Cristina , Vieira Filipe Carvalho
Published: April 2023

O presente estudo discute os avanços e entraves na delimitação conceitual de trabalho decente, com ênfase à sua interface direta com a informalidade, de forma interdisciplinar, na perspectiva do Direito, da Sociologia, da Psicologia e da Economia. No entanto, é consenso na literatura, de forma majoritária, que a informalidade é o atributo mais próximo da precariedade e da vulnerabilidade trabalhista, e obstáculo ao fomento e à manutenção de empregos de qualidade, ou seja, trabalhos decentes. Na busca de eleger critérios objetivos e mensuráveis e alvos de regulamentação trabalhista, três aspectos são cruciais e objetivamente mensuráveis: registro formal da ocupação, remuneração justa e adequada e previdência social.