bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Queer Practices and African American Culture
Authors: Bliss James
Published: June 2023

The texts in this article offer perspectives on queer practices in African American culture that cut across empirical and speculative forms of scholarship, alongside primary sources. These lists combine works of scholarship with primary documents, particularly since the mid-twentieth century, to the extent that both broad genres participate in the documenting of Black queer lives as Black queer lives. Along these lines, the texts collected across these lists deploy a variety of methodological and disciplinary strategies for representing practices that resist in necessary ways being reduced to scholarly discourses. Black historiography is, itself, a practice of recovery from the archives of an antiblack world. A tradition of Black feminist practitioners in history and cultural studies have demonstrated the manifold ways Black life is distorted by archives of Black subjugation. Recovering Black histories has meant reading across distortions and absences within these archives. Representing contemporary Black life practices has, likewise, meant working through and against ongoing forms of structural violence that pathologize Black life. Scholarship on queer practices in Black cultures, whether historical or contemporary in focus, requires working through distortions and gaps in already-fraught archives, and requires working against multiple, simultaneous forms of pathologization. For the purposes of this article, both “queer practices” and “African American culture” will be defined broadly. On the latter concept, notwithstanding the challenge of delineating something called “culture” within a social field that has, historically, maligned the inventiveness of Black people, “African American culture” here encompasses the array of Black inventive practices from the everyday to the extraordinary. In the context of this article, queerness shall encompass nonnormative sexualities and genders. This preliminary definition is immediately complicated by the sexual politics of structural racism. Namely: What, for Black Americans, might be the parameters of a normative gender or sexuality? From the perspective of an antiblack world, is there such a thing as an intersection between Blackness and the normative? In Aberrations in Black, Roderick Ferguson puts it this way, “as figures of nonheteronormative perversions, straight African Americans were reproductive rather than productive, heterosexual but never heteronormative” (p. 87). To be sure, really existing African American communities have their own standards of normative and nonnormative behaviors around and performances of gender and sexuality. The challenge for scholarship is to attend to the specificities of Black queer lives without ignoring the queerness internal to Blackness itself, which is also to say the queerness and the Blackness of life itself.
Brutalism in Architecture
Authors: Legault Réjean
Published: June 2023

In its most generally accepted sense, Brutalism refers to the architecture of the late 1950s through the 1970s that is primarily identified by an expressive use of exposed concrete. While the precise characterization of the works associated with this label is still in flux, wavering between a focus on their form, their materiality, their visual impact, and even their ethical intent, the common denominator of brutalist architecture remains that of the primary material employed. This accepted characterization of Brutalism as a stylistic category has tended to obscure the complex history of the notion. This brief introduction thus focuses on the brutalist trajectory, with the goal to consider its discursive origins, its competing iterations, and its contemporary interpretation. There is a broad consensus to the effect that the notion first emerged in England in the early 1950s within a circle of architects, artists, and critics who shared a new sensibility toward the material and visual culture of postwar Britain. The discourses and practices emerging from this circle were encapsulated under the label of the “New Brutalism.” Most historians also agree that by the end of the 1950s, the idea and its descriptors—New Brutalism, Brutalism—and the adjective brutalist began to move beyond Britain to appear in print in continental Europe and beyond. Severed from its original context, the idea was applied to different architectural cultures. By the late 1960s it was clear that a significant shift had occurred, with the idea of Brutalism now primarily associated with the architecture of exposed concrete, which was perceived as an international phenomenon. Central to this new conception was Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation at Marseilles (1945–1952) and its expressive use of béton brut, which came to be viewed as the primary source of brutalist architecture. Any serious investigation of Brutalism in architecture must therefore take into account that this umbrella term refers to two distinct yet interrelated phenomena. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Brutalism in architecture was little discussed in the historiography. The architecture of exposed concrete—to which it came to be associated—was generally subjected to negative criticism, even outright rejection. The tide began to turn at the end of the 1990s, and since the new millennium, Brutalism as an idea and an architecture has now become a serious topic for scholarly investigation. In parallel with aesthetic considerations, some scholars have also explored its social and political underpinnings, making connections with the rise of the welfare state in Western countries. This renewed interest coincided with a new appreciation, even affection for brutalist buildings in all their manifestations, triggering passionate campaigns to re-evaluate and protect a wide range of buildings. Yet the scholarly scrutiny of recent years has also shown that the historical assessment of Brutalism, and the precise characterization of the architecture to which it is associated, is still open to debate.
Aristophanes' Birds
Authors: Olson S. Douglas , Stama Felice
Published: June 2023

Aristophanes’ Birds was produced at the City Dionysia of spring 414 bce, about a year after the launching of the ultimately disastrous Sicilian Expedition. It took second place behind Amipsias’s Kōmastai (Revellers), of which nothing survives, while Phrynichus Comicus’s Monotropos (The Man Who Lived Alone; Phryn. Com. frr. 19–31 Kassel–Austin) placed third. The play depicts the adventures of a pair of everyday Athenians, Peisetairos (lit. “Persuader of his companions”) and Euelpides (lit. “Hopeful”), who have chosen to abandon their trouble-filled native city in order to settle in a more congenial spot. In the Land of the Birds, somewhere at the distant edges of the world, they discover a pre-urban and almost pre-political paradise governed by King Tereus, who was transformed into a hoopoe in Sophocles’ Tereus. Peisetairos convinces the birds to form a great new city, “Cloudcuckooland,” which will cut the Olympian gods off from human sacrifices and thus make the birds all-powerful. Euelpides is quietly shoved out of the picture, and Peisetairos emerges triumphant at the end as a new universal tyrant. The extent to which the conclusion is supposed to be unsettling—in one of the penultimate scenes of the play, Peisetairos is seen happily roasting the bodies of birds who have rebelled against the new order and been converted into dinner—and how or if it serves as a comment on the Sicilian Expedition, is unclear.
Program Development and Grant Writing
Authors: Nair Murali , Marquart Matthea , Young Lindsay
Published: June 2023

Program Development and Grant Writing are integral elements in human services and in other diverse fields. Social work practitioners in the twenty-first century work in complex areas of program development and grant writing. Public and nonprofit organizations are attempting to equip themselves with the latest technology to cope with these new challenges. This article includes a combination of multidisciplinary resources on program development and grant writing, and those that have a specific focus on social welfare. These bibliographies identify innovative social welfare program development and grant writing methodologies in social work. The references and resources here were selected based on their unique quality as well as their diverse differences. To illustrate the development of the field, the annotated references and media sites mentioned include various case studies from a multidisciplinary perspective. Students and professionals in the human services field at any level can draw upon this resource to enhance their understanding of the practices of Program Development and Grant Writing. Peer-reviewed books, journal articles, and social media sites that describe the expanse of Program Development and Grant Writing are cited in this article.
Mexican Politics and Government
Authors: Langston Joy K.
Published: June 2023

The literature on Mexican politics is rich and filled with important contributions to the study of politics in Mexico and political science more broadly. Partly the study of Mexico is so deep and broad because the nation has an extensive network of universities that have housed dozens of political scientists who have enriched the study of their country’s political institutions and behavior. Furthermore, many Mexican political scientists received their graduate degrees in France, England, and the United States over the past sixty years, which helped introduce different methodological approaches into their academic literature. Finally, scholars from the United States and Europe have long been attracted to Mexico’s distinctive political regime, as well as its economic development patterns, which adds to our understanding of Mexican politics. The nation’s hegemonic party system under the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI) lasted for more than sixty years, followed by a ‘long decade’ of transition beginning in 1988 and ending in 2000 with the defeat of the hegemonic party. As elections became fairer, scholars employed new methods of studying individual preferences such as public opinion polls that captured changing partisan choices during a period of political transformation. This bibliography will introduce the reader to the most important readings and resources that cover several topics of interest during the hegemonic era (lasting from 1929 through 1988), the transition period (1988–2000), and the first years of democratic consolidation (2000–2022). Naturally, the study of politics in Mexico follows the actual course of the authoritarian regime and its transformation to a working democracy. Just as Mexico was dominated for decades by the party of the institutional Revolution (PRI), so was its political science literature until the late 1970s, when economic topics began to encroach on political studies. Beginning in the 1990s, transition studies were central, and by the late 1990s and into the new millennium, voting studies became crucial to understanding individual-level political preferences. Finally, fewer monographs in English on Mexican politics have been published in the past ten years as compared to years past, most likely because of a strong push to accept only those that are comparative—usually with other nations in Latin America. Because of space constraints, this review does not consider Mexican–US relations, free trade agreements, immigration, or Mexican foreign policy.
Leadership and Communication
Authors: Connaughton Stacey
Published: June 2023

Leadership is a communicative phenomenon. Communication scholars have studied it for decades, and theoretical and empirical pieces on leadership communication transcend our sub-disciplines and subfields. Historically, leadership communication as an area of study has been influenced by leadership studies in psychology, organizational behavior, management, and more. Over time, leadership communication has emerged as its own area of study, and a diverse, multi-faceted one at that. The purpose of this article is to provide an analytical review of this literature, highlight the diverse ways in which we approach the study of leadership communication and the diverse theoretical traditions from which we build, and summarize empirical research findings. This entry is based on data-driven and conceptual articles in communication and related journals that often publish articles on leadership communication. These journals included: Communication Monographs, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Communication Research, Management Communication Quarterly Leadership, Leadership Studies, Journal of Public Relations Research, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Public Relations Review, and Communication Studies. Key search terms included “leadership communication” and “leadership” followed by a broader search on Google Scholar with the same key terms. What follows is not meant to be a comprehensive review but rather a representative one. Furthermore, following Fairhurst and Connaughton 2014 (cited under Reference Works), this entry does not offer a universal definition of leadership and communication but rather celebrates both terms’ diversity in conceptualization and communication scholars’ diverse meta-theoretical commitments as reflected in the books and articles included below.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advertising
Authors: Li Hairong
Published: June 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) advertising, or intelligent advertising in short, is a generic term for various forms of brand communication powered by AI technologies. It represents the latest development of digital advertising, which has evolved from interactive advertising to programmatic advertising to intelligent advertising since the 1990s. Advertising today is viewed broadly as brand communication that embraces both paid and non-paid, as well as brand-initiated and consumer-initiated communication about products, services, and ideas. AI is a science that studies and develops the theory, methodology, technology, and application systems for simulating, extending, and expanding human intelligence. It has been increasingly used in brand communication recently, resulting in the rise of a new discipline of intelligent advertising.
Music in Colonial Latin America
Authors: Ramos-Kittrel Jesús A.
Published: June 2023

While European influences were important in musical culture of the colonial period, the movement of practices from among the different ethnic groups makes music in colonial Latin America a robust landscape of investigation. European music was surely a means to negotiate racial tensions. However, recorded evidence also shows that non-European elements participated in this exchange. Additionally, there are recorded accounts of “folk” or “popular” musical expressions happening in society. And while the wealth of notated European music sources made religious repertories the immediate point of focus in early scholarship, the flux of musical practices in the public sphere suggests that “European assimilation” or “imposition” might be unfitting one-way labels to understand the complex exchanges that shaped the colonial musical experience. For this reason, more recent studies have begun to incorporate approaches from cultural studies and social history to address this frame of activity. The following list pays attention to music from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries (although some sources spill into the nineteenth century). The bibliography begins with sources giving a general overview of music history in Latin America. This section, General Overviews, offers information on firsthand secondary source material for the study of colonial music, followed by general studies focused on specific countries. The next section points to useful Reference Works (the information contained in this segment does not attempt to be exhaustive; rather, it is meant to guide the reader to sources where more detailed information and further bibliographic materials may be found). After that, the bibliography organizes sources in five sections: Ecclesiastical Music Studies, Music Theory and Education, Transatlantic Exchanges, Social and Cultural Studies, and Secular and Vernacular Music.
Synesthesia and Language
Authors: Strik-Lievers Francesca
Published: June 2023

The term synesthesia (Greek syn ‘together’ and aisthēsis ‘sensation’; also spelled synaesthesia) is used to refer to two distinct phenomena, in different fields of research. In linguistics and in literary studies, synesthesia (henceforth, linguistic synesthesia) is a figure of speech in which linguistic expressions referring to different sensory modalities are combined. An example of linguistic synesthesia is the noun phrase soft voice: the hearing-related noun voice is here modified by the touch-related adjective soft. In medicine, where the term was first coined, as well as in neuroscience and psychology, synesthesia (henceforth, sensory synesthesia) is a relatively rare condition in which specific sensory or cognitive stimuli automatically and consistently activate the simultaneous experience of an unrelated additional sensory or cognitive property. For example, some synesthetes (people with synesthesia) see colors when hearing musical notes. According to most scholars, linguistic and sensory synesthesia are not directly connected. However, on the one hand, evidence from neuroscience and psychology is often evoked to account for certain features of linguistic synesthesia, such as the preference observed across languages for combining some sensory modalities over others (e.g., smells are often described by taste-related qualities, as in sweet fragrance, but rarely by visual qualities). On the other hand, sensory synesthesia often involves language in its written or oral form, as in the case of synesthetes who see graphemes in colors even when they are printed in black ink. Although this article mainly deals with linguistic synesthesia, some references are also provided for sensory synesthesia, focusing especially on those aspects that are of linguistic interest.
African Masculinities
Authors: Mbah Ndubueze L.
Published: June 2023

Operating within dynamic and fluid systems of gender as well as gender blindness, in which anatomical sex (body) neither consistently aligned with social notions of gender nor automatically defined hierarchical relations between male and female bodies, African individuals have nonetheless generated norms, values, traits, and stylistic performances expressing socially cognizant models of masculinity. In embodying or performing certain forms of masculinity, individual men and women invested social, political, economic, religious, and cultural practices, roles, and spaces with differential power and meaning. Over the years, scholarship on African masculinities has come to recognize the need to detach masculinity from biological sex and study it as a nexus of indeterminate power politics, intersecting with the relational categories of age/seniority, youth/childhood, femininity, female power and authority, ethnicity and race, sexuality, and queerness. This has meant distinguishing masculinity from manhood, notions about men’s physiological capacities, and, in particular, male adulthood. Yet there remains the recognition that African gender scholarship must no longer treat men in essentialist terms, must no longer assume the timelessness of patriarchy and the universality of patriarchal dividend, and must interrogate men’s ideas of intimacy and domesticity as much as their public lives. Across various African societies and times, there have been many and competing constructions of masculinities, coexisting in relations of hegemony, complementarity, subordination, and subversion and mediated by the subjectivities and spatial-temporal positionalities of diverse African and non-African individuals—men and women, as well as children, who have brought their own agendas to bear on the political utility of particular models of masculinity. Using multidisciplinary methodologies, the field of African masculinity studies seeks to understand gendered sociopolitical differentiation, historicize the constitution and contestation of patriarchy and heteronormativity, and demonstrate how competing gender norms came to define the modern identities of African peoples. There has been an emphasis on processes of African social identity formation, including kinship and lineage constitution, ethnic citizenship politics, state formation, slavery, colonialism, nationalism and mass movements, urbanization, religious conversion, labor and migration, sports and leisure, and education and socialization.
Geographies of Security and Securitization
Authors: Klosterkamp Sarah
Published: June 2023

The broad field of geographies of security and securitization offers an umbrella for many different themes, aspects, and perspectives. While long solely connected to the field of conflicts, terrorism, or dealing with counteraggressive means and objectives enacted by the state, the field has broadened to include a huge variety of new and extremely urgent but multilayered threats to the (welfare) state, incorporating perspectives and events of securitization from the Global North, South, and East, and also highlighting much often marginalized voices and other types of violence which lead to civilian (in)securities from within. This bibliography entry aims to highlight both directions— the long-standing, well established specific sense of securitization theory, departing from IR and security approaches, as well as more recent accounts, trends, and new perspectives in the field of human geography and conflict studies—as a general take on what can be considered as ‘security problems.’ In doing so, it starts with some initial suggestions, which entail a general overview to some of the earlier work done by geographers and their long-standing, but still much fruitful takes within and from the field of geographies of security and securitization. This is followed by a short introduction to the most important (geographical) journals for the subject area, and subsequently specific aspects of studies on security and securitization, especially from feminist, postcolonial, and critical perspectives, will be presented. These sections are subdivided into 1) Geographies of Securitization & Crime Prevention, 2) On the Securitization of Borders & Migration, 3) (En)Gendering Geographies of Conflict & Civilian (In)Security, and 4) Domestic Violence, Trauma & Alter-Geopolitics. What follows then leaves the narrower field of security studies and throws a few selected spotlights on 5) emerging trends and challenges for the field of (planetary) security. Politically, institutionally rendered, economics-driven, and pandemic-shaped fields of geographies of securities are presented, the issues of which are increasingly threatening to and contested by societies in times of current planetary and urban polycrises—including geopolitical issues, state security, and questions of the securitization of basic goods for human life, such as the supply and provision of energy, housing, and food.
Historical Mobilities
Authors: Mackintosh Phillip Gordon
Published: June 2023

Humans move. Movement is the primary indicator of human vitality, from beating heart to subsistence. Scholars of the human experience striving to represent its condition accurately account not only for Thomas Hobbes’ 17th-century observation that “life is but a motion of limbs,” in Hobbes 1968 (cited under General Overview on Historical Mobilities); they also document our general practice of mediating this “motion” with technologies, while analyzing the social and cultural consequences of both. Mobilities and historical mobilities apprehend that heterogeneous movement and its mediation occupy a central place in earthly life, whether cell mitosis or container ships. This means mobilities studies also adopt, if implicitly, a post-humanist worldview: nonhuman life as intrinsic to, and a determinant of, the human. In this, mobilities studies likely insinuate that sentience itself demands movement (sentience also including the botanical ability to perceive stimuli and forms of consciousness in the zoological realms). Subsistence and security, and competitive and mutual survival among all life forms—micro-scale to macro-scale—require persistent mobility: a blizzard of movement from the slow motion of photosynthesizing plants to the GPS-guided motion of combine harvesters. Thus, mobilities theoretically assume that all life—but primarily humans, human societies, social networks, technologies, and even the profusion, interrelatedness, and processual nature of human spaces and places—possesses essential motives for, and forms of, mobilizing. This entails accounting for how mobilities change and stay the same, for there is a curious stability and constancy to mobilities, as Pooley 2017 (cited under General Overview on Historical Mobilities) maintains and Hobbes’ dictum implies. Importantly, mobilities and historical mobilities studies epitomize Foucault’s democratic championing of the insurrection of disqualified and subordinated knowledges—causing a methodological revolution of diverse and radically inclusive theoretical postures. Subsequent historical mobilities research, then, balances on a plurality of methods investigating, explaining—and complicating—a traditionally elementary issue: historical human movement, ultimately the basic definition of the term. However, historical mobilities researchers complicate even this foundational idea, apprehending that, like the variegated historical “publics” mobilities have depicted, served, and been associated with, mobilities exist as multiplicities and demand differentiated methodological and empirical positions—to investigate a miscellany of possible historical mobilities, London omnibuses or Middle Passage slave ships among them. Accordingly, the literature of historical mobilities not only reveals a panoply of historical experiences and explanations; it also exceeds describing and prescribing the fact of mobilities and their technologies, respecting the usually unsubtle presence of gender, “race,” class, ability, power, and political economy in the deployment and use of mobilities and mobilities technologies.
The Provocation by Witchcraft Defence in Anglophone Africa: Origins and Historical Development
Authors: Owusu Emmanuel Sarpong
Published: June 2023

Provocation by witchcraft, a defence to a homicidal act supposedly perpetrated under the influence of belief in witchcraft and juju, has become a plea frequently invoked by witch-killers in many African countries, particularly those formerly colonized by Britain. Over the last century, the courts in Anglophone Africa have repeatedly been invited to address the question as to whether the belief in witchcraft and juju avails to an accused person the defence of grave provocation and, if so, under what conditions. Yet, very little is known about the origins and nature of this controversial legal defence, and the boundaries of its application remain murky. Drawing on a wide range of relevant academic literature, statutes and, more importantly, case law, the present study investigates the origins of the provocation by witchcraft plea and explores the historical development of this contentious defence, highlighting the extent to which the courts’ perspective on the scope of its application has evolved since the 1930s.
Cyclic anthraquinone derivatives, unique G-quadruplex binders, selectively induce cancer cell apoptosis and inhibit tumor growth
Authors: Fukuda Hikaru , Zou Tingting , Fujii Satoshi , Sato Shinobu , Wakahara Daiki , Higashi Sen , Tseng Ting-Yuan , Chang Ta-Chau , Yada Naomi , Matsuo Kou , Habu Manabu , Tominaga Kazuhiro , Takeuchi Hiroshi , Takenaka Shigeori
Published: June 2023

Cyclic anthraquinone derivatives (cAQs), which link two side chains of 1,5-disubstituted anthraquinone as a threading DNA intercalator, have been developed as G-quartet (G4) DNA-specific ligands. Among the cAQs, cAQ-mBen linked through the 1,3-position of benzene had the strongest affinity for G4 recognition and stabilization in vitro and was confirmed to bind to the G4 structure in vivo, selectively inhibiting cancer cell proliferation in correlation with telomerase expression levels and triggering cell apoptosis. RNA-sequencing analysis further indicated that differentially expressed genes regulated by cAQ-mBen were profiled with more potential quadruplex-forming sequences. In the treatment of the tumor-bearing mouse model, cAQ-mBen could effectively reduce tumor tissue and had less adverse effects on healthy tissue. These results suggest that cAQ-mBen can be a potential cancer therapeutic agent as a G4 binder.
Drug repurposing screening and mechanism analysis based on human colorectal cancer organoids
Authors: Mao Yunuo , Wang Wei , Yang Jingwei , Zhou Xin , Lu Yongqu , Gao Junpeng , Wang Xiao , Wen Lu , Fu Wei , Tang Fuchou
Published: June 2023

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly heterogeneous cancer and exploring novel therapeutic options is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Here, we established human CRC tumor-derived organoids that well represent both morphological and molecular heterogeneities of original tumors. To efficiently identify repurposed drugs for CRC, we developed a robust organoid-based drug screening system. By combining the repurposed drug library and computation-based drug prediction, 335 drugs were tested and 34 drugs with anti-CRC effects were identified. More importantly, we conducted a detailed transcriptome analysis of drug responses and divided the drug response signatures into five representative patterns: differentiation induction, growth inhibition, metabolism inhibition, immune response promotion, and cell cycle inhibition. The anticancer activities of drug candidates were further validated in the established patient-derived organoids-based xenograft (PDOX) system in vivo. We found that fedratinib, trametinib, and bortezomib exhibited effective anticancer effects. Furthermore, the concordance and discordance of drug response signatures between organoids in vitro and pairwise PDOX in vivo were evaluated. Our study offers an innovative approach for drug discovery, and the representative transcriptome features of drug responses provide valuable resources for developing novel clinical treatments for CRC.
Prevalence of LTBI in patients with autoimmune diseases and accuracy of IGRA in predicting TB relapse
Authors: Chandrashekara S , Panchagnula Renuka , Chennupati Yogitha
Published: June 2023

Objectives

The current study evaluated latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) positivity in a cohort of Indian subjects and the accuracy of IFN-gamma release assay (IGRA) in predicting tuberculosis (TB) reactivation.

Methods

This cross-sectional, retrospective chart-based study considered patients diagnosed with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs), especially those who received treatment with biologics or targeted synthetic (ts)DMARDs. The patients had undergone LTBI screening and IGRA test. The study excluded patients with inadequate information and those who had undergone test exclusively for diagnostic purpose. Statistical analyses were carried out for descriptive, demographic and clinical variables. Accuracy and error rate in predicting the absence of TB reactivation were calculated for IGRA test.

Results

The study selected 943 patients who had undergone IGRA pre-screening prior to the initiation of biologics or tsDMARDs with a mean age of 42.93 ± 14.01 years and male-to-female ratio of 1:2.08. RA was the most common primary diagnosis (43.16%). The proportion of subjects who received single, double and triple or more DMARDs or immune suppressants were 54.35%, 33.33% and 7.69%, respectively. Among the selected subjects, 125 patients were LTBI positive and 816 were negative. All patients, except one who tested positive at baseline, received antitubercular prophylaxis. Accuracy of IGRA in predicting the absence of TB reactivation was 99.6%, with an error rate of 0.46.

Conclusion

LTBI screening is beneficial in AIRDs patients prior to the prescription of biologics or tsDMARDs. IGRA is ideal for identifying patients with increased likelihood of developing TB upon receiving biologics or tsDMARDs with reasonable accuracy.
Distribution and Incidence of Watermelon Crinkle Leaf-Associated Virus 1, Watermelon Crinkle Leaf-Associated Virus 2, and Other Viruses in Cucurbits in South Florida
Authors: Hendricks Katherine E. M. , Roberts Pamela D.
Published: June 2023

A survey of cucurbits grown in South Florida was conducted from 2020 to 2022 for viruses. A total of 481 plant samples (470 cucurbit and 11 noncucurbit) included watermelon, squash, cantaloupe, cucumber, zucchini, five weeds commonly found in cucurbit fields, and two vegetable volunteer plants growing in a watermelon field. Samples were tested for cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus, squash vein yellowing virus, papaya ringspot virus-W, watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus 1 (WCLaV-1), watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus 2 (WCLaV-2), cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), and cucurbit leaf crumple virus. All seven viruses were detected with WCLaV-1 as the predominant virus found in cucurbits, followed by CYSDV and WCLaV-2. The majority of samples were mixed infections containing two or more viruses. Host tissue testing found the peduncle was a good source for testing for all viruses. Host symptoms were variable on leaves for WCLaV-1 and WCLaV-2 and in mixed infections with the other five viruses. More studies are required to ascertain the role of WCLaV-1 and WCLaV-2 in mixed infections and their effects on plant health, fruit quality, and yield.
Exploring Mistreatment of Medical Students by Patients: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Hu Amanda , MacDonald Graham , Jain Neera R. , Nimmon Laura
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Mistreatment of medical students by patients has not been qualitatively explored in the literature. The authors sought to develop a rich understanding of the impact and consequences of medical students’ experiences of mistreatment by patients.

Method

This exploratory descriptive qualitative study was conducted at a large Canadian medical school from April–November 2020. Fourteen medical students were recruited for semistructured interviews. Students were asked about their experiences of mistreatment by patients and how they responded to these experiences. Transcripts were thematically analyzed using an inductive approach, and the authors interwove critical theory into their conceptual interpretation of the data.

Results

Fourteen medical students (median age = 25.5; 10, 71.4% self-reported male; 12, 85.7% self-identified visible minority) participated in this study. Twelve (85.7%) participants had personally experienced patient mistreatment and 2 (14.3%) had witnessed mistreatment of another learner. Medical students described being mistreated by patients based on their gender and race/ethnicity. Although all participants were aware of the institution’s official mechanism for reporting mistreatment, none filed an official report. Some participants described turning to their formal (faculty members and residents) and informal (family and friends) social supports to cope with mistreatment by patients. Participants described resenting and avoiding patients who mistreated them and struggling to maintain empathy for, openness to, and overall ethical engagement with discriminatory patients. Students often described a need to be stoic toward their experiences of mistreatment by patients, often seeing it as their “professional duty” to overcome and thus suppress the negative emotions associated with mistreatment.

Conclusions

Medical schools must proactively develop multifaceted mechanisms to support medical students who experience mistreatment by patients. Future research can further uncover this neglected dimension of the hidden curriculum to better develop responses to incidents of mistreatment that commit to antiracism, antisexism, patient care, and learner care.
The Assessment Burden in Competency-Based Medical Education: How Programs Are Adapting
Authors: Szulewski Adam , Braund Heather , Dagnone Damon J. , McEwen Laura , Dalgarno Nancy , Schultz Karen W. , Hall Andrew K.
Published: June 2023

Residents and faculty have described a burden of assessment related to the implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME), which may undermine its benefits. Although this concerning signal has been identified, little has been done to identify adaptations to address this problem. Grounded in an analysis of an early Canadian pan-institutional CBME adopter’s experience, this article describes postgraduate programs’ adaptations related to the challenges of assessment in CBME. From June 2019–September 2022, 8 residency programs underwent a standardized Rapid Evaluation guided by the Core Components Framework (CCF). Sixty interviews and 18 focus groups were held with invested partners. Transcripts were analyzed abductively using CCF, and ideal implementation was compared with enacted implementation. These findings were then shared back with program leaders, adaptations were subsequently developed, and technical reports were generated for each program. Researchers reviewed the technical reports to identify themes related to the burden of assessment with a subsequent focus on identifying adaptations across programs. Three themes were identified: (1) disparate mental models of assessment processes in CBME, (2) challenges in workplace-based assessment processes, and (3) challenges in performance review and decision making. Theme 1 included entrustment interpretation and lack of shared mindset for performance standards. Adaptations included revising entrustment scales, faculty development, and formalizing resident membership. Theme 2 involved direct observation, timeliness of assessment completion, and feedback quality. Adaptations included alternative assessment strategies beyond entrustable professional activity forms and proactive assessment planning. Theme 3 related to resident data monitoring and competence committee decision making. Adaptations included adding resident representatives to the competence committee and assessment platform enhancements. These adaptations represent responses to the concerning signal of significant burden of assessment within CBME being experienced broadly. The authors hope other programs may learn from their institution’s experience and navigate the CBME-related assessment burden their invested partners may be facing.
Optical coherence tomography characteristics over time in Behçet's uveitis
Authors: Liang Ruyu , Yang Li , Zeng Shun , Liu Xiaoli
Published: June 2023

Purpose:

To analyse the characteristics of macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with Behçet's uveitis (BU).

Methods:

Retrospectively analyzing OCT images and clinial data of BU patients who visited our hospital from January 2010 to July 2022.

Results:

One hundred and one patients (174 eyes) were included. We analyzed the development of OCT changes in these patients and its relationship with acuity vision, and found that cystic macular oedema, hyperreflexive retinal spots, INL oedema and ONL oedema appeared at any time during the disease course. Epiretinal membranes appeared beginning 1-2 weeks after onset and worsened over time, foveal atrophy occurred beginning at 2-4 weeks. Foveal atrophy, foveal layers disappear, EZ disruption, RPE disruption, RPE hyperreflection, choroidal hyperreflection were correlated with visual acuity. Kaplan‒Meier survival analysis showed at 60 months of follow-up, almost all patients with foveal atrophy, EZ disruption, RPE disruption, RPE hyperreflection, choroidal hyperreflection had visual acuity less than LogMar 1.0.. EZ disruption and RPE disruption was reversible with aggressive treatment from 4-12 months after onset, but was less recoverable after 2 years. In advanced stages, OCT manifested as structural disturbances and atrophy of the macular area, highly reflective material deposition in the RPE layer, and a thick macular epimembrane.

Conclusion:

OCT showed that severe lesions occurred in macular of BU patients in early stage. Aggressive treatment can partially reverse it.
Evaluating the Impact of the 2017 Dutch Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Guideline
Authors: Van Rossem Ellen J. D. , Plötz Frans B. , Felderhof Mariet K.
Published: June 2023

Background:

In 2017, a new Dutch neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) guideline was implemented. It is an adaptation from the United Kingdom National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline and focuses on maternal and neonatal risk factors. We aim to assess if this guideline performs better at reducing the rate of antibiotic treatment for EOS than the old Dutch categorical EOS guideline, which focused primarily on group B streptococcus (GBS) testing and prophylaxis.

Methods:

We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study in the Netherlands. Data were collected from two 12-month epochs (2015 vs. 2019). Neonates were included when treated for suspected EOS or when observed for an elevated EOS risk.

Results:

The empirical antibiotic rate was 4.6% in both years. Prolonged antibiotic treatment (>48 u) increased from 24% in 2015 to 39% in 2019 (P = 0.021). Adherence to the guideline decreased from 98% in 2015 to 84% in 2019 (P < 0.001). Strict adherence in 2019 would have led to more antibiotic treatment (5.1% instead of 4.6%). The EOS incidence rate was comparable, namely 0.6% in 2015 and 0.0% in 2019 (P = 0.480). The change in the definition of risk factors in 2019 led to less antibiotic treatment in case of a maternal fever during birth, from 48% in 2015 to 26% in 2019 (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

The new Dutch categorical EOS guideline does not achieve its intended purpose of reducing empiric antibiotic therapy for suspected EOS. We advocate the need for a new screening strategy.
Experimental study comparing 2 different phacoemulsification systems with intraocular pressure control during steady-state flow and occlusion break surge events
Authors: Fanney Douglas , Layser Gregory S. , K Akhil R. , Kohlhammer Susanne , Kübler Christoph , Seibel Barry S.
Published: June 2023

Purpose:

To compare peak surge and surge duration time after occlusion break, incision leakage compensation, and passive vacuum for 2 phacoemulsification systems.

Setting:

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Oberkochen, Germany.

Design:

Laboratory study.

Methods:

A spring-eye model was used to test Alcon Centurion Vision and Zeiss Quatera 700 systems. Peak surge and duration was measured after an occlusion break. Quatera tested in flow and vacuum priority modes. Vacuum limits ranged from 300 to 700 mm Hg with intraocular pressure (IOP) set at 30 mm Hg, 55 mm Hg, and 80 mm Hg. IOP vs incision leakage rates of 0 to 15 cc/min and passive vacuum were measured.

Results:

At 30 mm Hg IOP set point and vacuum limits ranging 300 to 700 mm Hg, the surge duration time after occlusion break ranged 419 to 1740 milliseconds (ms) for Centurion, 284 to 408 ms for Quatera in the flow mode, and 282 to 354 ms for Quatera in the vacuum mode. At 55 mm Hg, values ranged 268 to 1590 ms for Centurion, 258 to 471 ms for Quatera in the flow mode, and 239 to 284 ms for Quatera in the vacuum mode. At 80 mm Hg, values were 243 to 1520 ms for Centurion, 238 to 314 ms for Quatera in the flow mode, and 221 to 279 ms in the vacuum mode. Centurion exhibited slightly less peak surge than the Quatera. At 55 mm Hg: incision leakage rates 0 to 15 cc/min, Quatera held the IOP within ±2 mm Hg of target; Centurion was unable to hold IOP target allowing a 11.7 mm Hg decrease with 32% higher passive vacuum.

Conclusions:

Quatera demonstrated slightly higher surge peak values and notably shorter surge duration times after occlusion break than Centurion. Quatera demonstrated better incision leakage compensation and lower passive vacuum than Centurion.
Perioperative insomnia trajectories and functional outcomes after total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Hamilton Katrina R. , Hughes Abbey J. , Campbell Claudia M. , Owens Michael A. , Pester Bethany D. , Meints Samantha M. , Taylor Janiece L. , Edwards Robert R. , Haythornthwaite Jennifer A. , Smith Michael T.
Published: June 2023

Longitudinal total knee arthroplasty (TKA) studies indicate that a substantial percentage of patients continue to experience clinically significant pain and functional impairment after surgery. Insomnia has been associated with poorer surgical outcomes; however, previous work has largely focused on long-term postsurgical insomnia. This study builds on previous work by examining sleep and pain outcomes about perioperative insomnia trajectories. Insomnia symptoms (using the Insomnia Severity Index) during the acute perioperative period (2 weeks pre-TKA to 6 weeks post-TKA) were used to classify participants into perioperative insomnia trajectories: (1) No Insomnia (ISI < 8), (2) New Insomnia (baseline < 8; postoperative ≥ 8 or ≥6-point increase), (3) Improved Insomnia (baseline ≥ 8, postoperative < 8 or ≥6-point decrease), and (4) Persistent Insomnia (ISI ≥ 8). Insomnia, pain, and physical functioning were assessed in participants with knee osteoarthritis (n = 173; Mage = 65 ± 8.3, 57.8% female) at 5 time points: 2 weeks pre-TKA, post-TKA: 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Significant main effects were seen for insomnia trajectory and time, and trajectory-by-time interactions for postoperative insomnia, pain severity, and physical functioning (P’s < 0.05). The Persistent Insomnia trajectory had the worst postoperative pain at all follow-ups and marked insomnia and physical functioning impairment post-TKA (P’s < 0.05). The New Insomnia trajectory had notable long-term insomnia (6 weeks to 6 months) and acute (6 weeks) postoperative pain and physical functioning (P’s < 0.05). Findings indicated a significant relationship between perioperative insomnia trajectory and postoperative outcomes. Results of this study suggest that targeting presurgical insomnia and preventing the development of acute postoperative insomnia may improve long-term postoperative outcomes, with an emphasis on persistent perioperative insomnia due to poorer associated outcomes.
Antioxidant Effects of Selenium in Adult Critically Ill Patients
Authors: Hasani Motahareh , Agh Fahimeh , Irandoost Pardis , Farsi Farnaz , Khodabakhshi Adeleh , Heshmati Javad , Pizarro Ana Beatriz , Aghamohamadi Vahideh , Khazdouz Maryam
Published: June 2023

Oxidative stress is the fundamental etiology of inflammation and organ failure, and unfavorable consequences characterize critical illness. We searched systematically up to September 2021 to find related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of selenium in antioxidant markers of the critically ill. A total of 10 RCTs were included. The results indicated that selenium administration has no significant effects on glutathione peroxidase activity (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.01 to 3.35) and C-reactive protein levels (SMD: −0.21 mg/L, 95% CI: −0.45 to 0.03). Further trials are needed to prove the potential effects of selenium administration on antioxidant and inflammation markers.