bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Professor Jane Stapleton and her Dialogue with the Courts
Authors: Kiefel Hon Susan
Published: September 2024

The importance of the dialogue between the academy and the courts cannot be overstated. Few have made such a contribution to that dialogue as Professor Jane Stapleton. In this chapter, presented at the Festschrift in Professor Stapleton’s honour, that contribution is celebrated by Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia. The chapter explores the ‘reflexive tort scholarship’ of which Professor Stapleton was an advocate. Such scholarship emphasises the role of the judge, is responsive to change signalled by courts, and influences courts with its insights. Through the lens of reflexive tort scholarship, the Chief Justice explores Professor Stapleton’s impact on Australia’s tort law, acknowledging the extent to which it has guided Australian courts, with a particular focus on her scholarship on factual causation and scope of liability, and on pure economic loss.
Fulfilling the Promise of the Golden Thread?: Vulnerability and Australian Negligence Law
Authors: Burns Kylie
Published: September 2024

Professor Jane Stapleton argued in 2003 that the High Court of Australia had identified the ‘protection of the vulnerable as a core moral concern of tort law: its golden thread. This chapter considers how ‘vulnerability’ has been used by Australian courts in developing negligence law since 2003. Section 2 considers the themes of Professor Stapleton’s original paper. Section 3 overviews how the concept of vulnerability has been utilised by the Australian High Court in negligence cases. Section 4 focuses on ‘Stolen Generation’ negligence claims by First Peoples. Section 5 considers public interest litigation on behalf of ‘vulnerable’ plaintiffs against public defendants including claims by injured immigration detainees and climate change litigation. The chapter concludes that protection of the vulnerable is a concern that has the potential to influence the development of Australian negligence law, however the promise of the golden thread has not (yet) been fully fulfilled.
Making a Difference: Liability and Necessity
Authors: Steel Sandy
Published: September 2024

Building on Stapleton’s analysis, this chapter aims to improve understanding of the role of necessity—of making a difference to the occurrence of an outcome—to legal liability, and the relationship of this idea to causal requirements in law. It proceeds in three sections. First, it considers the role of necessity in the current law, broadening attention beyond the traditional focus on compensation, to consider the role of necessity in relation to liability to other legal responses, such as rescission. This analysis shows the importance, in determining the relevance of necessity, of distinguishing different kinds of liability. Making a difference sometimes affects the availability of a particular form of legal liability, rather than the existence of liability. Second, it considers how, conceptually, liability without necessity should be understood, arguing that it is sometimes causal, and sometimes non-causal. Third, it examines possible justifications of liability in the absence of difference-making. In light of this discussion, it identifies various respects in which the current law needs modification.
Structural Harm, Structural Injustice, Structural Repair
Authors: Wolff Jonathan
Published: September 2024

In Chapter 1, ‘Structural Harm, Structural Injustice, Structural Repair’, Jonathan Wolff explores the nature of structural injustice and how it tends to come into being. For Wolff, structural harm is not an injustice but rather a mere unfortunate outcome of structural processes. In order to refine a definition of structural injustice, Wolff suggests four features—first there must be a social structure; second a mechanism or set of processes for keeping that structure in place; third a significant harm (or risk of harm) to a group; and fourth an identifiable reason for thinking such a harm is an injustice. In order to grasp what the injustice might consist in, Wolff draws on Kwame Turé’s work on institutional racism, Michael Marmot and Richard Wilkinson’s analyses of the social determinants of health, and Paul Farmer’s concept of structural violence as well as the work of Iris Marion Young. Wolff explores the types of actions that can be required in response to structural injustice or structural harm, taking inspiration from the metaphor of finding a structural fault in a building, suggesting that different circumstances will call for different types of action. Wolff sets out several different ways in which structural injustice might be ‘repaired’, arguing that some cases will require individual agency and others collective, but what is always needed is an agent of change and a pathway for reform.
Responsibility, Structural Injustice, and Settler Colonialism
Authors: Lu Catherine
Published: September 2024

In Chapter 6, ‘Responsibility, Structural Injustice, and Settler Colonialism’, Catherine Lu focuses on what kind of responsibility is generated by structural injustice and how responsibility for structural injustice relates to the responsibility for other sorts of injustices. By way of answering these questions, Lu offers a range of examples, one of which is the heightened vulnerability of Indigenous women to violence in settler–colonial societies such as in Canada and the United States. Here she discusses the case of an Indigenous woman Mary Johns, who was murdered in 1982; the case later became a focal point in Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2017. Lu argues that, while punishing individual perpetrators for wrongful conduct is of course important, it is always insufficient for addressing the structural background conditions that systematically render Indigenous women vulnerable to violence and other forms of oppression. Rather, there needs to be acknowledgement that the victims of structural injustice constitute larger categories of persons. Such categories of persons, often characterized by race, class, and gender, are subjected to social positions of structural inferiority, marginalization, and disadvantage, and this is particularly perpetrated by systemic features of states. Accordingly, Lu calls on the state and its role within the international order to take up responsibility for its contributions to the social, economic, and political structures that produce settler–colonial structures of power that render so many racialized groups vulnerable.
Greece at the precipice
Authors: Aslanidis Paris
Published: September 2024

Chapter 5 applies the theoretical framework of Chapter 3 to examine the movement of the Salonica indignados (May–October 2011). It begins by providing an overview of the political context of the Greek sovereign debt crisis, emphasizing the indignados’ impact on reshaping the domestic party system. The chapter then proceeds to a thorough analysis of the movement’s emergence, focusing on the diagnostic aspect of collective action framing and the construction of a populist collective identity. It studies frame disputes within the indignados, including conflicts between radical left-wing activists and their so-called White counterparts. The covert activity of radicals and their adoption of a populist vocabulary is given extensive attention. The chapter incorporates cultural, organizational, and ideological dimensions to explain how a populist collective action frame managed to render the movement successful and cohesive until its dissolution, which coincided with the resignation of the Socialist government.
Epilogue
Authors: Aslanidis Paris
Published: September 2024

The epilogue reiterates the need to dispel stale misconceptions in order to understand populist mobilization in a comprehensive manner that highlights its capacity to revitalize the constituent myth of popular sovereignty. It underscores the rich material that grassroots populist movement offers to sociologists and political scientists regarding populist framing, collective identity, culture, and emotions. It analyzes how daunting the task of populist mobilization is for movement entrepreneurs and describes how ordinary citizens may benefit from their participation. It concludes with the argument that populism manifests more authentically in the grassroots compared to institutionalized politics, and that the study of grassroots mobilization can provide an invaluable perspective for a more accurate appreciation of the wider populist phenomenon.
Reflections on Privatization through PHE
Authors: Levy Daniel C.
Published: September 2024

The mammoth expansion and diversification of global PHE constitutes a significant chapter in global privatization and is indeed meaningfully intertwined with it as seen in interests, motivations, beneficiaries, and opponents. Notwithstanding abundant and meaningful patterns of private–public similarities and blurring, quite significant patterns of private–public distinctiveness emerge. As PHE itself increasingly diversifies across subsectors, types, subtypes, forms, and sub-forms, patterns of private–public distinctiveness multiply. Much of the privatization comes in nonprofit form and sub-forms, illuminated by nonprofit theory, while an increasing share comes in for-profit form and sub-forms. In both forms and across PHE types and subsectors, key drivers are identifiable self-interests of mostly private stakeholders, though often in at least tacit partnership with particular public stakeholders. Overwhelmingly consistent with pluralist market dynamics, this higher education privatization is mostly quite contrary to central state steering principles. A striking contrast thus emerges between an empirical world driven mostly by pluralist-market dynamics and the persistent normative dominance of state steering principles.
The Location of the Colossus
Authors: Badoud Nathan
Published: September 2024

Chapter 6 evaluates the location of the Colossus. It reviews all hypotheses formulated to this point, beginning with the medieval myth of the statue straddling the harbour of Rhodes. The epigram cut on the base of the Colossus states that the statue ‘crowned’ the city, which implies that it was on a hill. As the acropolis was topped by the sanctuary of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus, the location of the Colossus should correspond to the site occupied since the fourteenth century by the Palace of the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, where there are incidentally good reasons to place the sanctuary of Helios. From that hill, the Colossus could be seen from the Asian mainland, as requested by the epigram cut on its base.
Responding to Corruption and Misuse of Public and Private Office
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

This introductory chapter provides an overview of basic concepts including the meaning and forms of corruption as well as the structure and role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and its review mechanism. The chapter then explores the different anti-corruption challenges being faced by different countries globally. Reflecting one of the key aims of the book, the chapter reviews the new and ongoing strategies in implementing effective anti-corruption action in both the UK and globally.
The Bribery Act 2010
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

This chapter gives an overview of the Act and describes the movement for reform which led to it. It examines the active and passive bribery offences, the statutory case studies accompanying them, the offences of bribing foreign officials and commercial organizations failing to prevent bribery, and analyses some of the implications for business. It assesses the effect of the Act on facilitation payments, offsets, and corporate hospitality and other business expenditure, referring to guidance issued by the MoJ, the SFO, and the CPS. The chapter examines the Act’s territorial application, defences, consent to prosecution, application to the Crown, penalties and offences by bodies corporate and partnerships, repeals and revocations effected by the Act, and its transitional provisions. It describes and analyses enforcement under the Act to date, including the prosecutions under section 7 and the use of deferred prosecution agreements and considers the post-legislative scrutiny of the Act’s effectiveness.
Civil Actions and Remedies
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

This chapter explains the civil actions and remedies available to states or state-owned organizations arising from misappropriation of public funds, bribery, and other forms of corruption, and the interim orders available from the Court to secure assets pending judgment or to obtain evidence to identify, trace and locate assets. It also considers the circumstances in which the English Courts will have jurisdiction to determine a case with international elements. The Chapter considers the fiduciary duties owed by public officials and the claims arising if they are breached by corrupt activities, explains the claims available in the tort of bribery against bribe payers and recipients, describes the contractual consequences of bribery, and explains the claims available against third parties that have facilitated or become involved in corruption. Finally, the Chapter considers the impact of corruption on commercial and investment treaty arbitrations and the enforceability of arbitration awards.
Council of Europe and European Union Anti-Corruption Initiatives
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

The first part of this chapter provides an in-depth review of the Council of Europe anti-corruption conventions and other initiatives including the: • Criminal Law Convention on Corruption • Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption • Civil Law Convention on Corruption • Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions The monitoring role and impact of the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) as well as the gender issues relating to corruption are given detailed consideration. The second part of the chapter considers the anti-corruption initiatives of the European Union and related activities including the European Partners Against Corruption (EPAC) initiative and the work of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The chapter also explores the new proposals designed to strengthen EU law in addressing corruption and money laundering.
Civil Law and Other Jurisdictions
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the criminal law, and other relevant legal provisions, that relate to the investigation, prosecution, and sanctioning of corruption and related offences in a number of key civil law and other jurisdictions. The individual country assessments focus on the legal framework, an analysis of the main agencies and how they enforce the law, and also addresses key cases from recent years. The chapter covers the following jurisdictions: Brazil; China; France; South Africa; and United Arab Emirates.
Offshore Financial Centres
Authors: Nicholls Colin , Bacarese Alan , Maton James , Scott Rachel , Hatchard John
Published: September 2024

This chapter provides an update to national, international, and international policy standard setting efforts to reform the challenges that come from OFCs in corruption investigations and prosecutions, particularly secrecy jurisdictions. The chapter considers ongoing efforts to define OFCs. The chapter also provides an update to the significant reform that was initiated by the UK and others on beneficial ownership transparency initiatives and on the growing development of beneficial ownership registers. There is also a review of the work undertaken by the FATF on anti-money laundering standards and the OECD’s leading work on tax information exchanges. The chapter also provides an overview of the key super whistle blower and financial ‘leaks’ of recent years and how they have impacted the investigation of complex corruption and money flows through OFCs and other jurisdictions.
Is There Still a Liberal Public Sphere in the US? Was There Ever One?
Authors: Müller Jan-Werner
Published: September 2024

The chapter traces the evolution of the public sphere in the US and asks about its relationship to liberalism. Compared to European countries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the US developed a robust and open public sphere, based on “constitutive choices” such as subsidies for newspaper distribution. The chapter also analyzes the rise of professional journalism and its complicated relation to the liberal script, before arguing that recent pathologies in US journalism and the public sphere are largely due to regulatory choices, not technological innovations such as social media. The chapter also claims that practices of professional journalism have been weaponized against liberalism (and democracy) in recent years.
A Conclusion
Authors: Zürn Michael
Published: September 2024

How can we understand the relative strength of polarization and the authoritarian populist movement in the US? The chapter develops an endogenous explanation to this question: American exceptionalism breeds the exceptional strength and form of authoritarian populism in the US today. American exceptionalism refers here to a specific American version of the liberal script. Each liberal society has to handle a set of tensions built into the liberal script. The chapter identifies four specific features of the American version of the liberal script. It is (1) based on a strong belief in markets and the merit principle; (2) it comes with a political system full of checks and balances; (3) a multicultural or cosmopolitan tendency; and (4) it comes with a strong community orientation on the local level that proves open to truth decay. The chapter argues that these features have produced the economic, cultural, and political conditions under which authoritarian populism blossoms exceptionally well.
Print Culture and the Making of Italian Literature
Authors: Richardson Brian
Published: September 2024

Printing transformed the production and diffusion of literary works in Italy from the 1460s onward, encouraging their composition and making them available more rapidly and less expensively throughout and beyond the peninsula. Authors who wished to appear in print had to work together with publishers and sometimes with editors, and negotiating these collaborations could present problems. Editors were employed by publishers to select and correct texts and to provide paratexts for canonical works. In the sixteenth century, they developed the genre of lyric anthologies, bringing together communities of male and female poets and readers. From the late eighteenth century, the creation of series of texts fostered a sense of an Italian literary corpus, and from the following century, works in Italian and in translation, especially novels, were disseminated more widely in economical formats. In periods of religious or political tension, print publication has been restricted by the threat of censorship.
The Networks of Dante’s Divine Comedy
Authors: Rushworth Jennifer
Published: September 2024

This chapter explores the challenges of reading and responding to Dante’s Divine Comedy in terms of a tension between completeness and fragmentation. It first offers a brief introduction to the poem and presents Roland Barthes’s typology of the Comedy as different kinds of book: Origin, Key, Summa, Guide. It then analyzes contrasting examples in the Comedy’s reception in light of these categories. George Eliot’s citation of lines from Inferno V presents a characteristic nineteenth-century case of a highly selective, mediated Dante. In contrast, Giorgio Pressburger’s twenty-first-century trilogy offers an incredibly close Dantean rewriting, even including imitation of the Dante commentary tradition. The chapter hypothesizes that fragmentation and completion might map onto a parallel contrast between non-Italian and Italian responses to Dante, but the conclusion works to unpick these oppositions by drawing on transnational Italian studies and highlighting the necessary coexistence of whole and fragment within the form of the encyclopedia.
Humanism and Renaissance
Authors: Huss Bernhard
Published: September 2024

This chapter deals with Italian humanism and its reception in the European countries of the Renaissance. Humanism emerges in Italy against the background of the Renaissance pluralization of knowledge, which is promoted by the multiplication of available texts. This multiplication is co-generated by humanism itself. The reception of humanism in countries outside Italy takes place under very different sociocultural conditions. Therefore, the humanist program is implemented very differently in the individual countries. The linguistic basis of the European spread of humanism is Latin as a lingua franca. The fact that humanism as a Latin phenomenon has Italian roots gives rise to a multilayered confrontation with the Italian origins of humanism on an international level. In the process, “nationalist” clichés are mobilized by all participants in the struggle of the self-interests of the diverse cultural communities and linguistic communities. In contrast, key authors such as Francesco Petrarch, Lorenzo Valla, and Desiderius Erasmus, in their historical dependencies, reveal the European dimension of the movement that championed humanism.
Participatory Research, Popular Education, and Action for Social Change
Authors: Zapata Calderon Jose
Published: September 2024

This chapter is based on the involvement of a longtime scholar-activist reflecting on the use of popular education and participatory research in his development. The use of these pedagogies and methods, dating back to social movements in the Global South and North, have been used with a vision of transforming the unjust power relations of colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism while creating new models that involve the participants in research and action to create radical systemic change. The author presents examples from his history of teaching, research, and organizing on how these methods have been applied and how they can be used in the contemporary period.
From Public Sociology to Liberation Sociology and Beyond
Authors: Arribas Lozano Alberto
Published: September 2024

This chapter explores the interface between sociology and social justice by bringing into dialogue three intellectual and political projects that are reshaping the frontiers of sociological praxis at different levels. First, collaborative research methodologies, which bridge theory and action by working and thinking together with our coresearchers around jointly conceived agendas/problems. For research and knowledge to matter, they must be rooted in collective struggles for social justice. Second, global sociology, paying special attention to southern theory and the “epistemologies of the south.” Along with the struggles for the decolonization of the university, this process is redefining the field in non-Eurocentric terms, locating histories of colonialism, enslavement, appropriation, and dispossession at the center of modernity; and interrogating as well epistemic violence/injustice in relation to the constitution of sociology as a discipline. Finally, decolonial struggles taking place outside the university, led by Indigenous and Black peoples and communities. These struggles usually understand the concept and praxis of decolonization in ways that exceed the “social justice framework.” Thus, they allow us to free ourselves from a modern/Eurocentric horizon of liberation, and to transform our sociological and political imagination accordingly.
Wrestling with Incommensurabilities and Possibilities of Social Justice and Decolonization in Community-Engaged Learning
Authors: Rost-Banik Colleen , Mitchell Tania D.
Published: September 2024

This chapter illustrates how community-engaged learning projects that have social justice aims can be in tension with attempts to decolonize. Considering two different efforts that center immigrant worker rights—one with the Domestic Care Workers Alliance and the other with a hotel workers’ union, the chapter outlines three paradoxes within the interwoven relations of labor, migration, citizenship, and de/colonization in the United States. Building the analysis to how racism and colonialism are intertwined with the roots of capitalism, it contends that actualizing decolonization requires wrestling with the goals, incommensurabilities, and possibilities of projects that simultaneously advocate for better labor conditions and reinforce colonization. It challenges the reader to grapple with and be responsive to these complex realities in teaching and scholarship, with reverence for the people and lands that have maintained life and envisioned and fought for better futures.
Mary Magdalene in the Western Christian Medieval Tradition
Authors: Gross-Diaz Theresa
Published: September 2024

This chapter presents an overview of scholarship on the cult of Mary Magdalene in the medieval West, from the foundational work of Victor Saxer (1959) to the present. Beginning with feminist and gendered studies of the Magdalene, both of the “lachrymose” and empowered persuasion, it then surveys Saxer’s Le Culte de Marie Madeleine en Occident and the studies it inspired, tracing the cult of the Magdalene beyond France and across Europe. The focus shifts to studies of the reception and creation of the Magdalene in vernacular languages and visual arts with attention to oral and folkloric elements and ends with suggestions for future directions in Magdalenian studies. Throughout, the value of interdisciplinarity for Magdalenian studies is stressed.
Understanding Sources of Economic Growth and Productivity in Malawi
Authors: Chavula Hopestone Kayiska , Awel Yesuf M.
Published: September 2024

The chapter analyses the sources of growth in Malawi by examining the contributions of factor accumulation and productivity growth using a growth accounting approach over the period 1965–2017. Growth decomposition results reveal that physical capital was the highest contributor to output per worker growth, followed by human capital growth and TFP growth, over the period. Average output per worker growth is found also to hover around 1.6% per year, albeit lower than rates experienced in East Asian economies. Structural transformation, technology adoption, public spending, and regulatory quality are found to be the key drivers of productivity growth, signifying the need to strengthen policies that promote structural transformation and technology adoption and diffusion, coupled with improved macroeconomic policies and quality of economic and governance institutions to boost productivity and economic growth in Malawi.
Malawi in the Socio-Economic Development History of Southern Africa
Authors: Nagoli Joseph
Published: September 2024

Development discourses after the 18th century placed emphasis on providing capital investments as an important ingredient for economic growth in decolonized states. Several development initiatives have been implemented, but with no significant impact on economic growth in developing countries, especially those in southern Africa, such as Malawi. These countries’ growth performance since gaining independence from colonial rule in the 1960s has on average been declining. This chapter uses world-systems theory to analyse this uneven global development. Central to the world-systems perspective is wealth accumulation, mainly the strategies used by different groups to enrich themselves through unequal distribution, with the issue of development not defined adequately. This chapter argues that the same historic development objective persists today, with the West continuing to produce knowledge and exercise power over poor states. For meaningful development, Africa needs to have a ‘place-in-the-world’—in a system of dependencies and responsibilities, rights, and obligations.
The Evolution of India’s Foreign Policy
Authors: Ganguly Šumit
Published: September 2024

This chapter traces the evolution of India’s foreign policy since Independence to the present day. It argues that the country’s foreign policy had a distinctly idealistic bent in its initial phases with a clear-cut commitment to decolonization, global nuclear disarmament, a commitment to multilateral diplomacy and the reduction of global inequalities. During this initial phase the theory and practice of nonalignment was one of its key foreign policy lodestars. Following the death of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the country maintained a rhetorical commitment to most of these goals. However, for all practical purposes its pursuit of these objectives waned. At the Cold War’s end, the country started to move away from its hoary commitment to nonalignment and increasingly came embrace the role of material power in international affairs. Most recently, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has adopted a more unabashed pursuit of what it deems to be its national interests even while using some language calling for the creation of a more equitable global order.
The Supreme Court
Authors: Sen Ronojoy
Published: September 2024

This chapter critically evaluates the place of the Supreme Court in India’s democracy. This I do by examining three aspects of the higher judiciary in independent India. First, I briefly describe the history of the struggle between the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and the legislature on the other over custody of the Constitution. Second, I look at the independence of the judiciary and how the courts, in response to events in the 1970s related to the Emergency, have put in place a system whereby judges appoint themselves. Third, I analyse whether the Supreme Court is guilty of judicial activism or judicial overreach. This tendency of the Court is closely tied to the institution of public interest litigation (PIL), which from the 1980s allowed anyone to approach the Supreme Court by an easing up of the normal legal requirement of litigation by directly affected parties only. In conclusion, I assess the state of the court since 2014 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was first elected to power.
Bacteriophages: sustainable and effective solution for climate-resilient agriculture
Authors: Siyanbola Kehinde Favour , Ejiohuo Ovinuchi , Ade-adekunle Olusegun A , Adekunle Feranmi O , Onyeaka Helen , Furr Carrie-Lynn Langlais , Hodges Francesca E , Carvalho Pedro , Oladipo Elijah Kolawole
Published: September 2024

Climate change entails significant challenges to global food security and agricultural sustainability, prompting the need for innovative solutions to enhance climate resilience in farming practices. Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria, provide promising applications in numerous agricultural practices to address these challenges. With traits such as specificity towards bacterial pathogens along with self-replication, self-dosing, and adaptability properties phages offer potential as effective biocontrol agents while exerting minimal harm on non-target organisms or their surrounding environment. In this review, various applications of phages have been explored, including increasing crop resilience, improving soil health, preserving food, managing water resources, and adapting to emerging pests and diseases. Additionally, the benefits of these applications are also explored, such as improving sustainable practices, enhancing plant growth and yield, and supporting pollinator health. Although they offer great promise, there are still several obstacles such as limited host range, environmental stability, and regulatory challenges, so further research and policies are required for their integration into agricultural systems. Furthermore, education and public awareness are essential for farmers to adopt phage-based biocontrol. By harnessing the potential of phages, agriculture can mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, promote sustainability, and ensure food security in a changing climate.
Pericentriolar material 1 promotes intestinal inflammation in ulcerative colitis by activating NLRP3/gasdermin D‐mediated macrophage pyroptosis
Authors: Niu Junkun , Wen Yunling , Zhang Fengrui , Li Shijie , Miao Jiarong , Liang Hao , Bai Xinyu , Zeng Zhong , Guo Xiaolong , Miao Yinglei
Published: September 2024

Excessive proinflammatory cytokine release induced by pyroptosis plays a vital role in intestinal mucosal inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). Several pyroptosis‐related factors are regulated by the centrosome. Pericentriolar material 1 (PCM1) is a primary component of centriolar satellites that is present as cytoplasmic granules around the centrosome. Our previous study revealed that PCM1 was highly expressed in UC patients, but the role of PCM1 in UC remains unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the role of PCM1 in the development of UC, especially the mechanism in pyroptosis process of UC. Clinical mucosal sample and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis mouse were used to reveal the association between PCM1 and intestinal inflammation. Intestinal epithelial cell‐specific PCM1‐knockout mice were constructed to determine the role of PCM1 in colitis. Finally, PCM1 RNA interference and overexpression assays in THP1 cells were employed to study the molecular mechanisms of PCM1 in inflammatory responses and pyroptosis. We found that PCM1 expression was upregulated in the colonic mucosa of UC patients and positively correlated with inflammatory indicators. PCM1 expression was elevated in DSS‐induced colitis mice and was reduced after methylprednisolone treatment. In the DSS colitis model, intestinal‐specific PCM1‐knockout mice exhibited milder intestinal inflammation and lower pyroptosis levels than wild‐type mice. In cell level, PCM1 exerted a proinflammatory effect by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome and triggering subsequent gasdermin D‐mediated pyroptosis to release IL‐1β and IL‐18. In conclusion, PCM1 mediates activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and gasdermin D‐dependent pyroptosis, ultimately accelerating intestinal inflammation in UC. These findings revealed a previously unknown role of PCM1 in initiating intestinal mucosal inflammation and pyroptosis in UC, and this factor is expected to be a regulator in the complex inflammatory network of UC.
Does Childhood Cochlear Implantation Spill Over to Carers’ Employment Status?
Authors: Sharma Rajan , Tani Massimiliano , Cheng Zhiming , Ching Teresa Y. C. , Marnane Vivienne , Mendolia Silvia , Parkinson Bonny
Published: September 2024

Objectives:

Carers of children with disabilities, especially primary carers, tend to have poorer labor market outcomes than carers of typically developing children. However, the extant literature has been largely silent on whether interventions for children’s disabilities spill over to carers’ employment outcomes, if at all. We aimed to fill this gap.

Design:

We analyzed data from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study, which is a unique panel dataset of Australian children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH). The Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment dataset includes information about 449 DHH children. We used 3 waves covering the same children at ages 0 to 3, 5 to 7, and 8 to 10 years during 2005 and 2018. We used a panel random-effects model, the use of which was supported by the Hausman specification test to control for time-invariant individual heterogeneity.

Results:

We found that primary carers (typically mothers) of DHH children with cochlear implants (CI) were more likely to be employed relative to DHH children without a CI. The positive association was stronger among carers from a lower socioeconomic background.

Conclusions:

The association between childhood CI and carer employment may potentially be due to relaxed primary carers’ time constraints to care for the child, increased self-efficacy, and reduced carer stress, enabling them to engage in other activities, including employment. Further research through large-scale, longitudinal studies is warranted to solidify the findings of this research.
Frequency of and Risk Factors for Increased Healthcare Utilization After Pediatric Sepsis Hospitalization*
Authors: Carlton Erin F. , Rahman Moshiur , Maddux Aline B. , Weiss Scott L. , Prescott Hallie C.
Published: September 2024

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the frequency of and risk factors for increased post-sepsis healthcare utilization compared with pre-sepsis healthcare utilization.

DESIGN:

Retrospective observational cohort study.

SETTING:

Years 2016–2019 MarketScan Commercial and Medicaid Database.

PATIENTS:

Children (0–18 yr) with sepsis treated in a U.S. hospital.

INTERVENTIONS:

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:

We measured the frequency of and risk factors for increased healthcare utilization in the 90 days post- vs. pre-sepsis hospitalization. We defined increased healthcare utilization as an increase of at least 3 days in the 90 days post-hospitalization compared with the 90 days pre-hospitalization based on outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient hospitalization. We identified 2801 patients hospitalized for sepsis, of whom 865 (30.9%) had increased healthcare utilization post-sepsis, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 3 days (1–6 d) total in the 90 days pre-sepsis and 10 days (IQR, 6–21 d) total in the 90 days post-sepsis (p < 0.001). In multivariable models, the odds of increased healthcare use were higher for children with longer lengths of hospitalization (> 30 d adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.35; 95% CI, 2.99-6.32) and children with preexisting complex chronic conditions, specifically renal (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.02–2.12), hematologic/immunologic (aOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.03–1.74), metabolic (aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.08–1.79), and malignancy (aOR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.38–2.59).

CONCLUSIONS:

In this nationally representative cohort of children who survived sepsis hospitalization in the United States, nearly one in three had increased healthcare utilization in the 90 days after discharge. Children with hospitalizations longer than 30 days and complex chronic conditions were more likely to experience increased healthcare utilization.
The Histopathology of Vacuoles, E1 Enzyme, X-Linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic Syndrome: Report of 12 Skin Biopsies From 6 Patients
Authors: Brumbaugh Bethany J. , Laga Alvaro C. , Pouli Dimitra , Fernandez-Figueras Maria Teresa , Hoang Mai P.
Published: September 2024

We present the histopathology of 12 skin biopsies from 6 patients with vacuoles, enzyme E1, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic syndrome and review the literature. The age of these 6 men ranges from 62 to 83 years (median of 70 years). UBA1 mutation was documented in all 6 patients. Multiple organ systems were involved with constitutional symptoms noted in 4 of 6 patients (67%), cutaneous involvement in 6 of 6 patients (100%), hematologic abnormalities in 6 of 6 patients (100%), pulmonary involvement in 4 of 6 patients (67%), musculoskeletal abnormalities in 3 of 6 patients (50%), vascular thrombosis in 2 of 6 patients (33%), ocular involvement in 2 of 6 patients (33%), and gastrointestinal involvement in 5 of 6 patients (83%). Of the 6 presented patients, neutrophilic dermatosis was seen in 3 biopsies, histiocytoid neutrophilic dermatosis in 1 biopsy, neutrophilic dermatosis with vasculitis in 1 biopsy, neutrophilic and granulomatous dermatitis in 2 biopsies, septal panniculitis consistent with erythema nodosum in 2 biopsies, and nonspecific patterns in 3 biopsies. In summary, neutrophilic dermatosis, small-vessel vasculitis, and panniculitis are frequent histopathologic patterns noted in decreasing frequency in skin biopsies of the patients with vacuoles, enzyme E1, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic syndrome. However, the histopathologic findings can be diverse, nonspecific in some instances, and varied among different biopsies obtained from the same patient.
Using Descending Genicular Artery as the Recipient Artery for Free Superficial Circumflex Iliac Artery Perforator Flap
Authors: Shirota Maiko , Karakawa Ryo , Yano Tomoyuki , Yoshimatsu Hidehiko
Published: September 2024

This case report presents the use of the superficial circumflex iliac perforator (SCIP) flap for soft tissue reconstruction of the knee, using the descending genicular artery (DGA) as the recipient vessel. A 14-year-old female table-tennis player presented with a right knee mass diagnosed as angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma. Following resection of the mass, which left a 6.5 × 5.5 cm soft tissue defect over the patella, a free SCIP flap was harvested and used for reconstruction. The SCIP flap was chosen for its thinness and flexibility, making it suitable for the highly mobile knee joint. The superficial circumflex iliac artery (1.2 mm) was anastomosed to the DGA (1.5 mm) in an end-to-end fashion. The flap and deepithelialized skin paddle were routed through a subcutaneous tunnel, and the donor site was closed directly over a drain. The flap survived completely with no postoperative complications. Six months later, despite hyperpigmentation of the scar, the contour was satisfactory with no limitations in knee range of motion. This case underscores the advantages of the SCIP flap, particularly its compatibility with the DGA, reduced donor site morbidity, and excellent aesthetic and functional outcomes. The SCIP flap, combined with the DGA as the recipient vessel, provides an effective solution for complex knee reconstructions, offering a primary option for similar cases.
Class in Session: Analysis of GPT-4-created Plastic Surgery In-service Examination Questions
Authors: Najafali Daniel , Galbraith Logan G. , Camacho Justin M. , Stoffel Victoria , Herzog Isabel , Moss Civanni , Taiberg Stephanie L. , Knoedler Leonard
Published: September 2024

Background:

The Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Examination (PSITE) remains a critical milestone in residency training. Successful preparation requires extensive studying during an individual’s residency. This study focuses on the capacity of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4) to generate PSITE practice questions.

Methods:

GPT-4 was prompted to generate multiple choice questions for each PSITE section and provide answer choices with detailed rationale. Question composition via readability metrics were analyzed, along with quality. Descriptive statistics compared GPT-4 and the 2022 PSITE.

Results:

The overall median Flesch–Kincaid reading ease for GPT-4-generated questions was 43.90 (versus 50.35 PSITE, P = 0.036). GPT-4 provided questions that contained significantly fewer mean sentences (1 versus 4), words (16 versus 56), and percentage of complex words (3 versus 13) than 2022 PSITE questions (P < 0.001). When evaluating GPT-4 generated questions for each examination section, the highest median Flesch–Kincaid reading ease was on the core surgical principles section (median: 63.30, interquartile range [54.45–68.28]) and the lowest was on the craniomaxillofacial section (median: 36.25, interquartile range [12.57–58.40]). Most readability metrics were higher for the 2022 PSITE compared with GPT-4 generated questions. Overall question quality was poor for the chatbot.

Conclusions:

Our study found that GPT-4 can be adapted to generate practice questions for the 2022 PSITE, but its questions are of poor quality. The program can offer general explanations for both the correct and incorrect answer options but was observed to generate false information and poor-quality explanations. Although trainees should navigate with caution as the technology develops, GPT-4 has the potential to serve as an effective educational adjunct under the supervision of trained plastic surgeons.
Tips to Virtually Plan Your Free Scapula Flap
Authors: Reilly Frank O.F. , Dimovska Eleonora O.F. , Lindell Björn , Thor Andreas , Rodriguez-Lorenzo Andrés
Published: September 2024

The use of virtual surgical planning (VSP) and computer-aided design and manufacturing to assist in osseous reconstruction has become the standard of care in head and neck reconstruction. The use of the free fibula flap with VSP remains the most common flap for osseous reconstruction, and as such, it is well described in the published literature. The scapular free flap (SFF) based on the angular branch has not yet garnered the same attention. The popularity of the SFF osseus head and neck reconstruction is increasing due to the flaps’ inherently different properties and indications it can fulfill; the natural curvature of the bone, the reduced incidence of atheroscelerosis in the donor vessels and the earlier postoperative mobilization of the patient. In the preoperative planning process, the SFF presents several unique challenges and considerations that differ from the free fibula flap. It is important for surgeons already using, or considering using the SFF, that VSP is used correctly to achieve optimal outcomes. The authors aim to describe and clarify aspects of VSP use in SFF reconstruction in the head and neck area with a specific focus on: (1) The perforator-like vascular anatomy of the scapula; (2) How to maximize the shape of the scapula to minimize osteotomies; (3) Fine-tuning of scapula osteotomies on side table; (4) How to plan cutting guide placement and fit on the scapula. The authors hope that this article will help reconstructive microsurgeons plan and perform the SFF in conjunction with VSP.
Analysis of Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies for Parapharyngeal Space Tumors With Follicular Dendritic Sarcoma
Authors: Li Fengzhen , Cha Xudong , Wang Shenglei , Xie Yingqi , Xu Zengyi , Liu Huanhai
Published: September 2024

Background:

Parapharyngeal space tumor is a tumor that occurs in the parapharyngeal space. Parapharyngeal space tumors are uncommon, accounting for about 0.5% of head and neck tumors. Eighty percent of them are benign and 20% are malignant. The pathologic types of tumors are varied, mainly neurogenic tumors and salivary gland tumors. Follicular dendritic sarcomas are much rarer, with an inert biological behavior and a low-grade malignant sarcoma. Clinicians face difficulties in the management of this lesion. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the management of this disease is necessary.

Case presentations:

In May 2023, a 22-year-old male presented with pharyngeal discomfort, dysphagia, and sleep apnea. The patient underwent MRI which showed a rounded hypodense shadow with a size of 3.2×2.1×4.5 cm in the left lateral pharyngeal wall and a mass located in the posterior aspect of the left submandibular gland. After preliminary diagnosis of left parapharyngeal space tumor and left neck mass, the clinician performed transoral endoscopy-assisted resection of the left parapharyngeal space tumor and transcervical resection of the left cervical mass. The patient has been followed up without recurrence.

Conclusions:

This case provided a reference for the diagnosis and management of parapharyngeal space tumors. In particular, new insights into the diagnosis and management of a rare pathologic type were presented, which had the potential to improve the overall understanding of this disease.