bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antagonism and alienation in the process of precarisation and beyond
Authors: Helander Sofia Anceau
Published: October 2024

The final chapter of the book takes stock, and asks what light it can shed on the present problem of alienation and the possibilities of democratic mobilization against it. What can one see or do with this new radical democratic formulation that was not possible before? And, conversely, what issues have been left out of this framework?
The chapter reiterates key insights from the previous one, discussing the practical implications of the theoretical study. Furthermore, it opens the discussion to other forms of intensified insecurity today, including climate alienation, pandemic isolation, and migrants’ prolonged waiting, which fall beyond the scope of the book. These issues deserve to be treated in their own right, where attention is paid to the specific forms of suffering and challenges that each involves. Such an engagement, the chapter suggests, could draw insights from the analysis and conceptual framework developed in this book.
‘Here Come the Keelies’: The Government Evacuation Scheme in Scotland
Authors: Moffat Michelle
Published: October 2024

Chapter One explores elements of disunity, defiance and disruption in Scottish wartime life. It asks, how did Scottish hosts receive and perceive evacuees? Which factors explain those reactions? The chapter focuses on the official Government Evacuation Scheme, outlining the plans, preparations, and implementation of the scheme in Scotland. It begins by investigating the responses of Scottish hosts to their evacuees, and charts the strength of opposition to the scheme across time. The second half of the chapter explores the factors that underpinned resistance to the scheme and fostered tension between evacuees, hosts, and communities. The chapter includes discussion of socio-economic factors, class divide, and religious tension between Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups.
Leisure and Pleasure: Scottish Responses to War’s Disruption of Everyday Life
Authors: Moffat Michelle
Published: October 2024

Chapter Six explores everyday life in Scotland during the Second World War, focusing on the four themes of leisure, fundraising, alcohol, and food. It seeks to answer the question: did Scots demonstrate resistance to elements of disruption in their everyday lives, or did they instead accept such transformation and cooperate? Beginning with leisure, the chapter explores pre-war hobbies and entertainments, and assesses their rise and fall during war. Sub-sections include sport and the outdoors, cinema, and cultural entertainment. The chapter then investigates the place of wartime fundraising in Scottish everyday life. It argues that, in general, Scots proved supportive of wartime fundraising initiatives, and demonstrated commitment to ideas of a national British community. Following this, the chapter examines the place of alcohol in Scottish cultural life, and the challenges war presented to pub culture and the consumption of alcohol. This section also explores the rise in female drinking; Sunday ‘drink travel’; and the problems caused by drunken members of the Armed Forces, and foreign labourers. Finally, the chapter assesses wartime changes to food and diet. It also examines the black market and public resistance to dietary restrictions.
Holocaust Representations in Animated Documentaries
Authors: Steir-Livny Liat
Published: October 2024

Animated documentaries dealing with the Holocaust, Holocaust survivors, and their descendants constitute a new phenomenon and inaugurate a new field of Holocaust commemoration. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of animated Holocaust documentaries. It explores movies produced in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Israel.
Based on theories developed in the fields of animated documentary, Holocaust studies, cinema studies, trauma studies, and memory studies, this volume discusses the ways in which animated Holocaust documentaries create a new layer of Holocaust microhistory, their advantages, and their disadvantages. It shows how these movies visualize subject matter that previously eluded live-action documentaries such as the unfilmed past and people’s inner worlds.
The book shows that Holocaust animated documentaries also have specific shortcomings and have generated a new set of problems relating to Holocaust memory and representation. For example, the vast majority marginalize the horrors and instead focus on bravery, resilience, and hope.
Ghettos and Camps
Authors: Steir-Livny Liat
Published: October 2024

This chapter explores how the vast majority of directors refrain from representing horror even though they can capitalize on the ability of animation to represent the unfilmed past from the victims’ point of view, rather making sure nothing is presented as too alarming or shocking. Movies that depict ghettos, concentration camps, labor camps, and extermination camps do not necessarily show the atrocities at the dreadful sites where Jews were starved, tortured, violently abused, and murdered.
Theoretical Frameworks and Methodological Approaches to the Mortuary Record
Authors: Salminen Elina M.
Published: October 2024

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the main theoretical and methodological approaches used. It discusses the development of identity theory and intersectionality within archaeology and the social sciences. It then focuses in on mortuary archaeology and processual and post-processual approaches to it. Finally, it highlights the most important methodological approaches used, describes the database the analysis is based on and defines central terms.
Modernity: Dreams and Ideals
Authors: Eldem Edhem
Published: October 2024

Things began to change in the 1880s, partly due to Abdülhamid II’s Panislamist ambitions, as reflected in increased diplomatic presence in the area, or in the scientific mission to Spain entrusted to two Islamic scholars. However, it was during the following decade, and far away from the imperial centre, that this change acquired a more conscious and purposeful dimension, with the appearance of Muslim Arab visitors from Syria, Lebanon, and especially Egypt. They came in late, but with what the ‘Turks’ had lacked, namely the linguistic and cultural skills needed to properly appreciate and contextualize the monument, which they used to engage with the Andalusian past in novel ways. This awakening coincided with the rise of Arab identity and consciousness among intellectuals, both as a reaction against Ottoman domination and as a revolt against European imperialism, especially in British-ruled Egypt. While Arab nationalism and the Nahda motivated Arab visitors, culturally and politically distant ‘Turkish’ tourists would fill their cultural gap by resorting to Western sources, down to the ubiquitous Baedeker guide, thus creating a second-hand Orientalist vision of exoticism mixed with a sense of decay and doom, in contrast with their own revivalist constructs lodged in the Anatolian past.
Introduction: Unruly Natures
Authors: McAuley Louis Kirk
Published: October 2024

Leaping between two momentous occasions of ecological intervention from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries – namely, Daniel Defoe’s treatment of English barley and its seemingly miraculous growth on Robinson Crusoe’s so-called remote desert island (1719) and Etienne Leopold Trouvelot’s accidental introduction of the gypsy moth to North America (1868) – the Introduction elucidates the critical framework for the entire book. It focuses on these two examples of ‘unruly natures’ because they conveniently illustrate several key concerns of this book – not merely the inviolable union of economy and ecology, but the heterarchical nature of empire building, and the registration of such interventions in works of British and American literature that do not merely reflect, but inform and resist this natural-historical unfolding.
Capitalism, Domestic Violence, and the “Botany of Desire” in Leonora Sansay’s Secret History; Or, the Horrors of St. Domingo
Authors: McAuley Louis Kirk
Published: October 2024

Chapter 3 adopts an ecofeminist approach to the sugar revolution vis-à-vis Leonora Sansay’s Gothic novel, Secret History; Or, the Horrors of St. Domingo (1808). That Sansay chooses to not make Haitian independence her primary object of study, but, instead, focuses upon the horrifyingly misogynistic, amorous intrigues of Europeans, invites readers to reconsider the brutal nature of capitalism in the Caribbean. That is, this chapter explores how Sansay’s novel establishes a troubling connection between the brutality of capitalism and evolutionary biology vis-à-vis women’s struggle for survival in a plantation economy designed to satisfy particular masculine, patriarchal desires. Accordingly, this chapter takes into account the botany and zoology of this tragically confused circuitry of sexual desire and global commerce, as it were, exploring the various ways in which particular animals and plants intervene in Sansay’s Gothic narrative to situate cycles of capitalist exploitation (boom and bust) in the web of life (birth and death). Drawing upon Vandana Shiva’s work in biopiracy, it reads Sansay’s novel as foregrounding connections between bioengineering and misogyny in the agribusiness of sugar cane.
Katherine Mansfield, Elizabeth Stanley and ‘The Song of Songs’
Authors: Baldt Erika
Published: October 2024

This essay traces allusions to the Old Testament Song of Songs in a selection of poems Katherine Mansfield wrote under the pseudonym Elizabeth Stanley. It argues that Mansfield draws on and subverts the Song’s imagery of corporeal vigor and themes of intense, reciprocated ardor between lover and beloved in a way that reflects her attempts to come to terms with the realities of both her recent marriage to John Middleton Murry and her worsening health. The poems discussed include ‘Covering Wings’ and ‘Sorrowing Love’, both published in The Athenaeum, and the unpublished ‘The New Husband’ and ‘Winter Bird’.
Hagia Sophia’s Second Conversion: The Building Campaign of Mahmud I and the Transformation from Mosque to Complex (1739–43)
Authors: Rüstem Ünver
Published: October 2024

One of the most transformative periods in the history of Hagia Sophia took place under Mahmud I (r. 1730–54), who commissioned a series of important new facilities for the mosque. These renovations, carried out between 1739 and 1743, resulted in the creation of a library, a primary school, an ablution fountain, and an imaret (public kitchen), thereby turning the converted church into a true mosque complex. This campaign coincided with the rise of a new architectural style, the Ottoman Baroque, an internationally resonant mode that made deliberate and creative use of Western models. The last of Mahmud’s additions, the imaret, is one of the earliest buildings in the style, boldly contrasting with the library, school, and fountain preceding it. The style’s deployment at the Hagia Sophia confirmed its prestige and ideological import, with the imaret’s inscription likening Mahmud’s patronage to that of Mehmed the Conqueror. This dialogue with the past extended to the architecture itself, for the imaret’s stonework incorporates Byzantine references that, through their shared Greco-Roman lineage with the Baroque, gave the new style a meaningful local context. Mahmud’s Hagia Sophia campaign thus established a firm basis for Istanbul’s continued renewal in the years to follow.
From Ceremony to Spectacle: Changing Perceptions of Hagia Sophia through the Night of Power ( Laylat al-Qadr ) Prayer Ceremonies
Authors: Uğurlu Ayşe Hilâl
Published: October 2024

After Hagia Sophia was converted into an imperial mosque by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451–81), it became a key venue for imperial religious ceremonies. From the sixteenth century until the 1830s, Ottoman sultans customarily performed prayers for the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr) at Hagia Sophia. Although sultans eventually departed from this tradition and began attending the Night of Decree prayers at other mosques, such as Nusretiye and later the Hamidiye Mosque at Yıldız, Hagia Sophia remained significant to Istanbulites as a setting for this ceremony. From the 1880s, the court altered the ceremonial decorum at Hagia Sophia, issuing passes for foreign embassy staff and guests to observe from the upper galleries, with officials explaining the rituals. This period saw an increase in non-Muslim spectators, from tens to thousands. This paper examines the transformation of a religious ceremony into a spectacle by conceptualizing the Hagia Sophia as a showpiece monument, distinct in function from other imperial mosques. It argues that the Hagia Sophia, historically used as a political tool, continued to serve this purpose in a different way between the 1880s and 1932.
Temple of the World’s Desire: Hagia Sophia in the American Press, c. 1910–27. 1
Authors: Ousterhout Robert
Published: October 2024

In 1921, a service was held in the cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, with Orthodox and Episcopal clergy offering prayers in six languages—Hungarian, Greek, Arabic, Russian, Serbian, and English—for the restoration of Hagia Sophia as a Christian sanctuary. The church was filled to capacity for the service, with many turned away at the doors. Similar services were held in Washington, St. Louis, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, and Chicago, and analogous sentiments were expressed across Europe. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine such a global response to a single building. It is similarly difficult to fathom the political impact Christianity had across Europe and America in the late Ottoman Empire, as deeply entrenched religious attitudes colored discussions of the “Eastern Question” in the late nineteenth century and the Greek Megale Idea in the early twentieth. In these discussions, Hagia Sophia emerged as the Christian equivalent of the Wailing Wall—a universal symbol of lost heritage to people of faith. This chapter investigates the intersections of politics, religion, and popular sentiment through the long nineteenth century as they converge around Hagia Sophia—and as they ultimately contribute to the decision to convert the building into a museum.
Locating Exoticism
Authors: Berghahn Daniela
Published: October 2024

This chapter develops exoticism as a critical category and identifies some of the most prominent discursive and aesthetic strategies exoticism deploys in constructing the exotic Other and the Self as Other. Berghahn opens up to scrutiny the contestations surrounding exoticism by asking whether the decentring of exoticism in contemporary world cinema represents a recuperative form of transformation of the old, Eurocentric exoticism. Chapter 1 brings exoticism into conversation with Orientalism, (auto)ethnography, cultural translation and postcolonial transformation and compares the structures, ideological agendas and power dynamics that underpin these encounters with cultural difference and their artistic representations. The discussion of some paintings and films that have been identified as incontrovertibly exotic by scholars and critics, reveals several distinctive features: exoticism’s eclecticism and indifference to authenticity; its specular structure; the visual pleasure it affords through its use of vibrant colours and heightened aesthetics; its recycling and repurposing of familiar exotic tropes; and its emphatic visuality, which explains its natural affinity with the cinematic medium.
‘Acts of communal memory’: Landscape, Memory and Place Names in Alec Finlay’s Work
Authors: Szuba Monika
Published: October 2024

In 2010 Alec Finlay together with Ken Cockburn set out on a journey on foot through Scotland, guided by Matsuo Bashō’s Oku no Hosomichi. Their responses to the encountered landscapes were gathered in a volume titled The Road North (2014). Stepping over temporal and geographical limits,Finlay and Cockburn entered in a dialogue with the seventeenth-century text, offering a phenomenological mapping of place focused on corporeal experience and blending in elements of cultural and historical survey of the land. In his work, Finlay frequently maps the terrain with his feet, feeling his way through place in detailed itineraries. Exploring the relationship between language and landscape, Finlay does not strive for fixed meanings, but concerns himself with the dissemination of sense, which is illustrated by his use of tanzaku, or ‘place-name translation’. His place writing and sited projects become moveable maps focused on ‘place-awareness’. The chapter explores ways in which Finlay’s work combines mapping and ecopoetics. It discusses how his work, concerned with chorography, which focuses on small regions and specific locations, entwines language and topography. Finally, following J. Hillis Miller’s statement that ‘Landscape “as such” is never given, only one or another of the ways to map it’, the chapter argues that in his numerous collaborative projects, Finlay proposes open texts onto which are mapped various consciousnesses.
Introduction: psychiatry, cinema and the long 1960s
Authors: Snelson Tim , Macauley William R. , Kirby David A.
Published: October 2024

The chapter introduces the key ideas underlying Demons of the Mind, using Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) to introduce some of the key themes of the book. These include the cinematic use of psychiatric experts and expertise (both on and offscreen), adaptation of real case history sources, shifting censorship contexts and concerns (and the role of scientific consultation therein), worries over the influence of depictions of mental illnesses, and technological and stylistic innovations for evoking altered states of consciousness. It demonstrates the ‘long 1960s’ period of the mid-1950 to mid-1970s as a period of significant coproduction and contestation of scientific knowledge, in which filmmakers, psychiatric professionals and censors struck up creative, professional and political alliances.
Conclusion: aftershocks
Authors: Snelson Tim , Macauley William R. , Kirby David A.
Published: October 2024

This chapter offers key conclusions of Demons of the Mind, highlighting the changed cinematic, critical and psychiatric landscapes at the end of the long 1960s period. As an example of this, it highlights how the new psychiatric realism that evolved in this period helped bring an end to the Production Code Administration, with its religious-basis for decisions-making, and prompted its replacement by the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), under the directorship of a New York psychiatrist. It concludes by highlighting the purposeful omission of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which, rather than being an intervention into the psychiatric landscape of the long 1960s, instead looks back retrospectively, even nostalgically, to the period detailed in the book.
Naming in the history of morphology
Authors: Hacken Pius Ten , Panocová Renáta
Published: October 2024

This chapter presents an overview of how word formation has been studied in the history of the field up to the mid 20th century. The overview starts with the position word formation takes in traditional grammar. Then it turns to historical-comparative linguistics as it emerged in the 19th century. For the first half of the 20th century, separate sections are devoted to the tradition based on Ferdinand de Saussure and continued in particular in the Prague School of linguistics and to the tradition based on Leonard Bloomfield and his successors in Post-Bloomfieldian linguistics, in particular Zellig Harris and Charles Hockett. The overview presented in this chapter serves as a background for the presentation of more modern approaches in chapter 3.
Distributed Morphology
Authors: Hacken Pius Ten , Panocová Renáta
Published: October 2024

Distributed Morphology (DM) is a framework that emerged in the 1990s and has become the mainstream approach to morphology in generative linguistics. It assumes that the information encoded about lexical entries is distributed among three lists, one each for syntax, phonology and semantics. This chapter outlines how the data presented in chapter 4 can be accounted for in DM. As naming is not considered a separate topic, most of the phenomena depend on the Encyclopedia, the list with semantic information. However, this is the least elaborated part of the DM framework.
Relational Morphology
Authors: Hacken Pius Ten , Panocová Renáta
Published: October 2024

Relational Morphology (RM) is a theory of the lexicon developed by Ray Jackendoff in collaboration with Jenny Audring in the context of the Parallel Architecture. It uses coindexation to connect features not only within lexical entries, but also between them. The entries of the mental lexicon encode a speaker’s knowledge of language. Any generalization about lexical entries is encoded as a lexical entry itself. This chapter discusses how RM can account for the data presented in chapter 4. RM assumes that the fully specified lexical entries exist when relations are established. For new entries, only the question how they are formed is addressed, not why they are formed. The latter would require a separate word formation component, which Jackendoff rejects.
Štekauer’s onomasiological theory
Authors: Hacken Pius Ten , Panocová Renáta
Published: October 2024

Building on insights from the Prague School of Linguistics, Pavol Štekauer proposed an onomasiological theory of word formation which has been developed since the late 1990s. This theory proposes a sequence of decision steps taken by a speech community when a new word is formed. A crucial step is the choice of an Onomasiological Type, which determines the elements of the concept for which linguistic expressions are selected. This chapter assesses how the data presented in chapter 4 can be treated in this framework. Taking naming as its starting point, it is not surprising that many of the data can be incorporated in a natural way. However, in the case of relational adjectives, the construction that is used in naming is assigned to the syntactic component, not to the word formation component.
Boundary Negotiations between Islam and Science: The Islamization of Knowledge and the Idea of an Islamic University
Authors: Jung Dietrich
Published: October 2024

How do revealed knowledge and modern science relate to each other? This was one of the key questions for both Muslim and Christian intellectuals since the nineteenth century. In Muslim history, the modern boundary negotiations between religion, science, and education accelerated in the context of European colonialism and Christian missionary efforts. This chapter puts its focus on Muslim social negotiations about the realms of religion, science, and education. It traces the way from the “golden age of Islamic science” to contemporary attempts at the “Islamization of knowledge.” The Islamization of knowledge is an inherent part of the hegemonic rise of Islamic modernities, employing religious traditions to justify the production, dissemination, and regulation of knowledge. The chapter analyzes this historical development with reference to key texts by Islamic intellectuals and institutions.
Women's Activism in the Transatlantic Consumers' Leagues, 1885-1920
Authors: Janssen Flore
Published: October 2024

Ethical consumption and consumer choice are at the heart of public debates today, but consumer activism has a long history. At the end of the nineteenth century, groups of women activists in different countries weaponised their reputation as consumers to mount campaigns against labour exploitation. By the early twentieth century, they had built an international network of Consumers’ Leagues that influenced public opinion and achieved legislative change. Analysing the campaign writing of women activists, including both well-known and recently rediscovered historical figures, this book provides new insights into the campaigns that underpinned important developments in the rights of workers and the social position of women. Highlighting the social, economic and political influence of women as activists, the book discusses campaign strategies, but also draws attention to problematic politics within these campaigns. Through its critically contextualised analysis of this specific consumer movement, the book reveals the origins of many consumer campaign strategies that remain familiar today.
Longitudinal Relationship Between Physical Activity Levels and Respiratory Function in Older Individuals : A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Suzuki Makoto , Ikeda Takaaki
Published: October 2024

Aging causes various physical changes, including decreased respiratory function characterized by decreased lung elasticity, reduced chest wall compliance, and weakened respiratory muscles. This study explored the longitudinal impact of daily physical activity (PA) on respiratory function in elderly individuals aged ≥50 years in England. Using data from Waves 2 (2004–2005), 4 (2008–2009), and 6 (2012–2013), we examined the influence of different levels of PA on forced expiratory volume (FEV), forced vital capacity (FVC), and other respiratory measures. Participants were classified based on self-reported PA into three categories; “hard” (vigorous activity at least 1–3 times monthly), “middle” (moderate activity 1–3 times monthly), and “nothing” (no PA). The inclusion criteria required participants to be ≥50 years and to have valid respiratory measures. The exclusion criterion was the presence of significant respiratory or cardiovascular disease at baseline. We applied the Sequential Doubly Robust Estimator and SuperLearner ensemble methods in the analysis using inverse probability weighting to address follow up bias and found that vigorous PA significantly reduced the risk of FVC by 4.10-fold compared with no exercise. In addition, vigorous exercise was associated with a 0.63-fold reduction in the risk of restrictive ventilation disorders while moderate exercise approached significance for FVC (p = 0.08). No significant effects were found with obstructive ventilation impairment (FEV). Overall, vigorous PA appears to be crucial for maintaining respiratory function in older individuals, highlighting the importance of regular exercise in preventing respiratory decline and potentially extending a healthy lifespan. These results underscore the need to promote regular PA to improve quality of life and reduce the risk of respiratory disease.
Navigating the combinations of platelet-rich fibrin with biomaterials used in maxillofacial surgery
Authors: Ieviņa Lauma , Dubņika Arita
Published: October 2024

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a protein matrix with growth factors and immune cells extracted from venous blood via centrifugation. Previous studies proved it a beneficial biomaterial for bone and soft tissue regeneration in dental surgeries. Researchers have combined PRF with a wide range of biomaterials for composite preparation as it is biocompatible and easily acquirable. The results of the studies are difficult to compare due to varied research methods and the fact that researchers focus more on the PRF preparation protocol and less on the interaction of PRF with the chosen material. Here, the literature from 2013 to 2024 is reviewed to help surgeons and researchers navigate the field of commonly used biomaterials in maxillofacial surgeries (calcium phosphate bone grafts, polymers, metal nanoparticles, and novel composites) and their combinations with PRF. The aim is to help the readers select a composite that suits their planned research or medical case. Overall, PRF combined with bone graft materials shows potential for enhancing bone regeneration both in vivo and in vitro. Still, results vary across studies, necessitating standardized protocols and extensive clinical trials. Overviewed methods showed that the biological and mechanical properties of the PRF and material composites can be altered depending on the PRF preparation and incorporation process.
Mitochondrial non-energetic function and embryonic cardiac development
Authors: Shi Jingxian , Jin Yuxi , Lin Sha , Li Xing , Zhang Donghui , Wu Jinlin , Qi Yan , Li Yifei
Published: October 2024

The initial contraction of the heart during the embryonic stage necessitates a substantial energy supply, predominantly derived from mitochondrial function. However, during embryonic heart development, mitochondria influence beyond energy supplementation. Increasing evidence suggests that mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening and closing, mitochondrial fusion and fission, mitophagy, reactive oxygen species production, apoptosis regulation, Ca2+ homeostasis, and cellular redox state also play critical roles in early cardiac development. Therefore, this review aims to describe the essential roles of mitochondrial non-energetic function embryonic cardiac development.
Bacteriophage-mediated approaches for biofilm control
Authors: Mayorga-Ramos Arianna , Carrera-Pacheco Saskya E. , Barba-Ostria Carlos , Guamán Linda P.
Published: October 2024

Biofilms are complex microbial communities in which planktonic and dormant bacteria are enveloped in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) such as exopolysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and DNA. These multicellular structures present resistance to conventional antimicrobial treatments, including antibiotics. The formation of biofilms raises considerable concern in healthcare settings, biofilms can exacerbate infections in patients and compromise the integrity of medical devices employed during treatment. Similarly, certain bacterial species contribute to bulking, foaming, and biofilm development in water environments such as wastewater treatment plants, water reservoirs, and aquaculture facilities. Additionally, food production facilities provide ideal conditions for establishing bacterial biofilms, which can serve as reservoirs for foodborne pathogens. Efforts to combat antibiotic resistance involve exploring various strategies, including bacteriophage therapy. Research has been conducted on the effects of phages and their individual proteins to assess their potential for biofilm removal. However, challenges persist, prompting the examination of refined approaches such as drug-phage combination therapies, phage cocktails, and genetically modified phages for clinical applications. This review aims to highlight the progress regarding bacteriophage-based approaches for biofilm eradication in different settings.
Hydrochemical characterization and health risk assessment of shallow groundwater in a northern coalfield of Anhui Province, China
Authors: Song Jiageng , Zhou Xiang
Published: October 2024

In a global context, the hydrochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater in coalfields exhibit high degrees of diversity and complexity that are rooted in the intricate interplay of geological variations, diverse climatic conditions, and extensive human activities. The specific types and concentrations of ions, such as Ca2+, Cl−, and NO3−, show stark differences across geographical regions. Given the crucial roles of coalfields as energy suppliers, the potential environmental contamination risks posed by mining activities to groundwater cannot be overlooked as such pollution directly impacts human health and ecological safety. This study focuses on the Huainan coal mining area in northern Anhui Province (China), where shallow groundwater samples were systematically collected and analyzed to determine the hydrochemical characteristics and ascertain the water quality status. By integrating hydrogeochemical analysis techniques with inverse modeling methods, it was revealed that the groundwater in this region is predominantly HCO3-Ca type, exhibiting weak alkaline characteristics. The formation mechanisms are primarily governed by silicate rock weathering and mineral dissolution–precipitation processes, albeit with discernible influences from human activities. PHREEQC simulations were used to further confirm the precipitation tendencies of minerals like calcite, dolomite, and fluorite as well as the significant dissolution characteristics of halite. The inverse modeling pathway analysis reveals specific hydrochemical processes along different paths: paths I and IV are notably dominated by Ca2+ dissolution–precipitation and cation exchange–adsorption processes, whereas paths II and III are closely associated with the precipitation of calcium montmorillonite as well as dissolution of kaolinite, calcite, quartz, and mineral incongruents. Moreover, evaluations based on the entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI) indicated overall positive trends of the groundwater quality indicators within the Huainan mining area, reflecting the effectiveness of regional water quality management efforts and providing a scientific basis for future water quality protection and improvement strategies. In summary, this study not only deepens our understanding of the groundwater chemistry in the Huainan coal mining area but also underscores the importance of scientifically assessing and managing groundwater resources to address the environmental challenges potentially arising from coal mining activities.
Clockwise extrusion of the Sichuan‒Yunnan block toward the Red River Fault in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Zhou Qingyun
Published: October 2024

The Xiaojiang Fault and the Red River Fault, which are located on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, are the eastern and southern boundaries of the Sichuan–Yunnan Block, respectively. The relationship between these two faults is highly important for the study on the tectonic evolution and seismic risk of the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Using the digital elevation model (DEM) data, we extracted and analyzed the maximum elevation, peak steepness index, maximum slope, and relatively flat surface of the Ailaoshan Shear Zone on the southwest side of the Red River Fault. The results revealed that the geomorphic indices result around Yuanjiang were significantly lower than those on the northern and southern sides of Yuanjiang. On the basis of lithology, climate and tectonics, it is inferred that tectonic activity is the main factor controlling landform development. On the basis of existing geophysical and geomorphic survey results in this area, a geodynamic model of this area was constructed: in the mid-Miocene, tectonic inversion of the Red River Fault occurred, and material from the Tibetan Plateau flowed into the Sichuan‒Yunnan Block around the East Himalayan Syntax. The resulting extrusion caused the Red River Fault to bend of ∼50 km; in the early Pliocene, the middle and lower crust broke through the barrier and entered the interior of the Ailaoshan Shear Zone. Because of the extrusion of the middle and lower crust, the role of the Red River Fault as the boundary has weakened.
Predictor of low academic achievement among Dilla university students, southern Ethiopia, 2024
Authors: Kassaw Chalachew , Demareva Valeriia
Published: October 2024

Introduction

In Ethiopia, despite its growing higher education sector, student achievement rates remain concerningly low. Understanding the multifaceted factors influencing academic performance is crucial for improving educational equity and quality. This study delves into potential predictors of academic achievement among Ethiopian higher education students, examining individual characteristics, institutional elements, and broader socioeconomic influences.

Methodology

This survey enrolled 362 respondents and was conducted from December 7, 2023 till January 22, 2024. Simple random sampling, validated assessment tools and online data collection methods were employed to select and collect information from respondents. Data entry and analysis was done using Epi-info 7.0 and SPSS 25, respectively. Logistic regression analysis method was used to determine the association between the outcome and independent variable.

Result

The current results show that 166 (45/9%) of participants have GPAs below 3.18. Gender, social sciences/humanities or business/economics majors, suboptimal class environments, inadequate laboratory facilities, chronic illness, class sizes, low emotional coping skills, poor academic self-perception, and high social media use emerged as significant predictors of low academic achievement.

Conclusion

This study identified factors associated with academic achievement. Female students, optimal learning environments, and smaller class sizes were linked to better performance, while social sciences/humanities or business/economics, inadequate facilities, and high social media use increased the risk of low achievement. Personal characteristics like emotional coping, self-perception, and chronic illness also played a role. These findings suggest interventions targeting individual and environmental factors could improve student outcomes.
Case report: Familial hypoparathyroidism with elevated parathyroid hormone due to an inactivating PTH mutation
Authors: Mukhtar Noha , Alghamdi Balgees , Alswailem Meshael , Alsagheir Afaf , Alzahrani Ali S.
Published: October 2024

Introduction

So far, only 11 PTH mutations have been described as causes of familial isolated hypoparathyroidism (FIH). In this report, we describe a family with FIH but with significant elevation of functionally inactive PTH due to a PTH mutation. We also show a positive therapeutic outcome of recombinant human PTH (teriparatide) therapy in one of the siblings who was not well controlled on large doses of calcitriol and calcium replacement therapy.

Case description

The proband is a 34-year-old woman who has a history of chronic severe hypocalcemia (HypoCa) since birth. She and her three brothers (33-year-old male twins, and a 21-year-old male) were diagnosed with pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1b (PHPT 1b) based on the presence of chronic HypoCa (serum Ca 1.6-1.85 mmol/l) since birth associated with significantly elevated plasma PTH levels in the range of 310-564 pg/dl (normal range 10-65) and absence of signs of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy.

Molecular studies

WES showed no pathogenic, likely pathogenic or variants of unknown significance in any known calcium-associated genetic disorder but a bi-allelic variant in the PTH itself ((NM_000315.4:c.128G>A, p.Gly43Glu). This was confirmed by Sanger sequencing in the patient and her affected brothers.

Management

Because the patient’s HypoCa was not controlled on large doses of calcitriol and calcium carbonate, a trial of teriparatide 20 mcg SC daily was started and resulted in normalization of calcium, decline in PTH levels and significant improvement in her general wellbeing.

Conclusion

High PTH in the presence of congenital hypocalcemia is not always due to receptor or post-receptor defect and can be due to a biologically inactive mutated PTH. In such cases, treatment with teriparatide may result in stabilization of biochemical profile and improvement in quality of life.
Performance evaluation of fuel cell based on a DC-DC boost converter through optimized MPPT controller
Authors: Subramaniam G. , Kumar C. , Alsaif Faisal
Published: October 2024

The current electric vehicle domain is increasingly focused on fuel cell technologies due to its flexibility, steady supply of power, low atmospheric pollution, increased startups, and rapid responses. Fuel cells exhibit nonlinear power versus current characteristics, making it challenging to extract maximum peak power from the fuel stack. To address this, this work introduces an adaptive Coati Optimization algorithm combined with a Tilt-integral-derivative (TID) controller (TID-ACOA) to find the maximum power point (MPP) of the fuel stack systems, ensuring maximum power extraction. The proposed MPPT controller is compared with other MPPT controller, including PI, TID, and TID-COA. Comprehensive evaluations are conducted on tracking current, voltage, maximum power extraction, MPPT controller efficiency, converter voltage settling time, and oscillations. The fuel stack’s low output voltages are enhanced using a boost DC-DC converter, and the entire fuel stack-fed boost converter systems is modeled using MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation result show that the TID-ACOA MPPT controller achieves higher MPP tracking efficiency compared to conventional controllers.
Dynamic changes of neutralizing antibody and memory T cell responses six months post Omicron XBB reinfection
Authors: Zhao Xin-Jing , Li Xin-Lou , Zhang Sheng , Chen Jin-Jin , Zhao Wei-Chao , Wu Na-Na , Wang Rui-Juan , Xu Qiang , Lv Chen-Long , Jiang Bao-Gui , Wang Guo-Lin , Fang Li-Qun
Published: October 2024

Introduction

With the continued prevalence of COVID-19, repeated infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become common. However, studies on immune persistence post Omicron XBB reinfection are limited.

Methods

We prospectively studied the durability and cross-reactivity of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) and T cell responses among 20 subjects who suffered Omicron BA.5 infection with or without Omicron XBB reinfection over 6-month through the pseudovirus neutralization test and the fluorospot assay.

Results

NAbs against EG.5.1, BA.2.86, and JN.1 subvariants were decreased and undetectable at 6-month post Omicron BA.5 infection, while those elicited by Omicron XBB reinfection were significant increased and remained detectable against all detected variants within 6-month. Furthermore, in subjects with Omicron XBB reinfection, memory T cell responses could cross-recognized wild-type and Omicron spike peptides and reached peak at 3-month. Interestingly, comparable robust T cell responses were observed among non-seroconverted subjects post Omicron XBB exposure.

Conclusion

Though the NAbs against various emerging Omicron subvariants elicited by Omicron XBB reinfection can persist for at least 6-month, the HCWs should strengthen personal protection and timely be immunized with updated vaccines upon current circulating variants or conserved T epitope.
Analysis of spatial structure and singularity of microbial biogeochemical anomalies in the Taiwan Strait Basin
Authors: Zhang Yan , Zhang Li , Lei Zhenyu , Xiao Fan , Zhou Yongzhang , Zhao Jing , Qian Xing
Published: October 2024

The abundance of specific hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria (MV value) in surface soil is closely linked to the concentration of thermogenic light hydrocarbons found in the underlying layers. The identification of these bacteria using specific detection techniques offers unique insights into microbiological anomalies associated with oil and gas, underscoring the significance of delineating microbiological geochemical anomalies in the exploration process. Accurate determination of the anomaly range is crucial for forecasting potential oil and gas reservoirs. In this study, a variety of fractal and geological statistical methods were employed to analyze microbiological geochemical data from the Taiwan Strait Basin. The multifractal approach allows for the simultaneous assessment of spatial autocorrelation and singularity in geochemical fields, with the fractal distribution reflecting the localized enrichment and depletion patterns of microbiological geochemical elements in rocks and other substrates. Geological statistical methods, such as the variation function, enable the assessment of spatial autocorrelation in geochemical and geophysical fields. The results indicate that microbiological anomalies in the Jiulongjiang Depression are mainly concentrated in the southwestern part of the study area, with some anomalies also observed in the central region. Conversely, microbiological anomalies in the Jinjiang Depression are predominantly located in the southern portion of the study area. Microbiological anomalies in the study area (Jinjiang Depression and Jiulongjiang Depression) exhibit a northeast-southwest strip distribution, aligning with the trend of the depressions and faults, suggesting that faults could influence the distribution of oil and gas resources in the region. Based on microbiological statistical analyses, the Jiulongjiang Depression shows better potential for oil and gas prospects compared to the Jinjiang Depression, guiding future research efforts in the Jiulongjiang Depression.
Predicting 24-hour intraocular pressure peaks and averages with machine learning
Authors: Chen Ranran , Lei Jinming , Liao Yujie , Jin Yiping , Wang Xue , Li Xiaomei , Wu Danping , Li Hong , Bi Yanlong , Zhu Haohao
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Predicting 24-hour peak and average intraocular pressure (IOP) is essential for the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. This study aimed to develop and assess a machine learning model for predicting 24-hour peak and average IOP, leveraging advanced techniques to enhance prediction accuracy. We also aimed to identify relevant features and provide insights into the prediction results to better inform clinical practice.

Methods

In this retrospective study, electronic medical records from January 2014 to May 2024 were analyzed, incorporating 24-hour IOP monitoring data and patient characteristics. Predictive models based on five machine learning algorithms were trained and evaluated. Five time points (10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 6:00 PM) were tested to optimize prediction accuracy using their combinations. The model with the highest performance was selected, and feature importance was assessed using Shapley Additive Explanations.

Results

This study included data from 517 patients (1,034 eyes). For predicting 24-hour peak IOP, the Random Forest Regression (RFR) model utilizing IOP values at 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 4:00 PM achieved optimal performance: MSE 5.248, RMSE 2.291, MAE 1.694, and R2 0.823. For predicting 24-hour average IOP, the RFR model using IOP values at 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 6:00 PM performed best: MSE 1.374, RMSE 1.172, MAE 0.869, and R2 0.918.

Conclusion

The study developed machine learning models that predict 24-hour peak and average IOP. Specific time point combinations and the RFR algorithm were identified, which improved the accuracy of predicting 24-hour peak and average intraocular pressure. These findings provide the potential for more effective management and treatment strategies for glaucoma patients.
Prediction of tissue exposures of polymyxin-B, amikacin and sulbactam using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling
Authors: Wu Mengyuan , Feng Kun , Wu Xiao , Liu Chang , Zhu Shixing , Martins Frederico S. , Yu Mingming , Lv Zhihua , Yan Meixing , Sy Sherwin K. B.
Published: October 2024

Background

The combination antimicrobial therapy consisting of amikacin, polymyxin-B, and sulbactam demonstrated in vitro synergy against multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Objectives

The objectives were to predict drug disposition and extrapolate their efficacy in the blood, lung, heart, muscle and skin tissues using a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling approach and to evaluate achievement of target pharmacodynamic (PD) indices against A. baumannii.

Methods

A PBPK model was initially developed for amikacin, polymyxin-B, and sulbactam in adult subjects, and then scaled to pediatrics, accounting for both renal and non-renal clearances. The simulated plasma and tissue drug exposures were compared to the observed data from humans and rats. Efficacy was inferred using joint probability of target attainment of target PD indices.

Results

The simulated plasma drug exposures in adults and pediatrics were within the 0.5 to 2 boundary of the mean fold error for the ratio between simulated and observed means. Simulated drug exposures in blood, skin, lung, and heart were consistent with reported penetration ratio between tissue and plasma drug exposure. In a virtual pediatric population from 2 to <18 years of age using pediatric dosing regimens, the interpretive breakpoints were achieved in 85–90% of the population.

Conclusion

The utility of PBPK to predict and simulate the amount of antibacterial drug exposure in tissue is a practical approach to overcome the difficulty of obtaining tissue drug concentrations in pediatric population. As combination therapy, amikacin/polymyxin-B/sulbactam drug concentrations in the tissues exhibited sufficient penetration to combat extremely drug resistant A. baumannii clinical isolates.