bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Communicative-Cognitive Mode of Existence and Material Differences
Authors: Mizoguchi Koji
Published: May 2023

This chapter shows that the smallest and the most basic phenomenal unit of society is communication, where sociality is generated through the mutual coordination by those who interact/communicate their thoughts and acts. For communication as a system, human individuals and their mind/psychic systems constitute the environment of its reproduction. The material differences that can be recognized archaeologically are involved in and mediate the reproduction of the communication system. This means that material differences are linked with the operation of human cognitive systems through the mediation of communication systems and through the structural coupling of cognitive and communication systems. To solve the innate inaccessibility of the operation of cognitive systems, the concept of mode of existence is proposed. This is the mode in which the communication system and the mind/psychic system are structurally coupled: The communication system and the mind/psychic system mutually irritate each other and react to it in uniquely self-referential manners, respectively.
The Evolution of Human Causal Cognition
Authors: Gärdenfors Peter , Lombard Marlize
Published: May 2023

This chapter presents an overview of casual cognition from evolutionary and archaeological perspectives. A comparison between humans and non-human primates suggests that human causal cognition is based on reasoning about the underlying forces that are involved in phenomena, while other primates hardly understand external forces. We illustrate this by an analysis of the causal cognition required for early hominin tool use. Causal cognition about forces does not only concern physical forces, but Theory of Mind is also an integral element of such cognition in humans. The desires, intentions, and beliefs of others function as social causal variables, so that the evolution of human causal cognition depends more and more on representations of mental variables. Another distinguishing aspect is that humans often think about causality in terms of events. Unlike other models in philosophy and psychology where causality is seen as a relation between events, the account of events presented here moves causality inside events in the sense that an event is modeled as containing two entities representing a cause as well as a result. The chapter ends with a presentation of two models of causal reasoning that are particularly relevant for cognitive archaeology: Woodward’s three-tier model and our seven-grade model.
Borges, Bewitched by Film
Authors: Aguilar Gonzalo
Published: May 2023

Even after becoming blind, Borges participated in film not only as a viewer and a critic but also as a screenwriter. Apart from literature, film seduced him like no other art form, and it presented him with a number of moral, aesthetic, and narrative dilemmas, which were essential to his initial explorations of prose fiction. In film, he not only found narrative strategies and their relation between art and the masses but also a political dimension that led him to think about the role of the individual in society and the possibility for heroic acts through the revival of the epic genre.
Jain Tantra
Authors: Chapple Christopher Key
Published: May 2023

The Jain faith is known first and foremost for its thoroughgoing commitment to nonviolence (ahiṃsā) and emphasis on psychic and bodily purity (śuddha, śubha). Hence, Jain texts proclaim antipathy toward tantric practices that include “defiling” practices, such as the ingestion of meat, fish, and alcohol and the performance of sexual acts. Nonetheless, the allure of tantra does not go without notice, and, eventually, tantric practices such as the recitation of mantras and meditation on yantras and colors become absorbed within mainstream Jaina ritual. This chapter examines the Jain critique of tantra, particularly as found in Somadeva’s Yaśatilaka and Haribhadra Yakini Putra’s Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya, and the seeming affirmation of tantra within Śubhacandra’s Jñānārṇava and Hemacandra’s Yogaśāstra. It makes observations about the contemporary Jaina worship of Padmāvatī as an example of assimilation and amalgamation of Jaina faith and tantra.
Behavioral and Self-Directed Treatments for Opioid Use Disorder
Authors: Insalaco Wendy , Hobelmann J. Gregory
Published: May 2023

Opioid use disorder (OUD) remains a major public health problem for which comprehensive treatment strategies are warranted. This chapter reviews the empirical literature supporting various behavioral strategies to engage patients with OUD. First, it reviews the impact of engagement in treatment and individualized treatment planning on patient success in treatments. It then reviews several core behavioral therapies, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Peer Recovery Support Services, as well as self-directed treatments such as 12-Step programs, Self-Management and Recovery Training, and Celebrate Recovery. It also discusses holistic wellness, including Mindfulness in Recovery and physical activity such as yoga and aerobic fitness. Finally, we provide a case example of how behavioral strategies may enhance and enrich a patient’s recovery process.
Psychiatric Comorbidities Among Persons Who Are Using Opioids
Authors: McHugh R. Kathryn
Published: May 2023

Psychiatric disorders and symptoms are highly prevalent in people with nonprescribed opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occur with OUD at a rate higher than most other substance use disorders. Psychiatric disorders are associated with opioid use across the spectrum of severity, ranging from prescribed use, to nonprescribed use, and OUD. Furthermore, psychiatric disorders are associated with greater severity and poorer long-term course of OUD. Despite the high prevalence of psychiatric illnesses and their deleterious impact on long-term course, access to mental health treatment remains severely limited in people with OUD. Although evidence-based treatment for OUD (e.g., opioid agonist therapies) may offer some benefit for mental health symptoms, research on the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment in people with OUD is sorely lacking. Research on the mechanisms linking psychiatric illness to OUD and effective prevention and treatment strategies is urgently needed.
Courts
Authors: Clark Tom S. , Vanberg Georg
Published: May 2023

Judicial institutions are ubiquitous and fundamental to social life. This chapter explores the emergence and development of courts from quasi-judicial dispute resolution mechanisms to highly complex formal institutions that structure private law and police constitutional boundaries. The initial conditions for dispute resolution impose significant constraints on the ability to impose judgements, limiting dangers of the partiality. As courts develop into more formal, state-sponsored institutions, their coercive capacity grows, and the construction of institutional limits on judicial power takes on greater significance. Finally, as courts also assume a role in policing the constitutional boundaries of the state itself, protections for judicial independence emerge as an important condition. This chapter traces these developments and describes the conditions that favor the emergence of effective, independent courts.
Parasocial Experiences as a Function of Racial and Ethnic Identity
Authors: Riles Julius Matthew , Adams Kelly
Published: May 2023

The chapter discusses how individuals experience parasocial ties with ingroup and outgroup characters based on race and ethnicity. Engagement in parasocial experiences is associated with a number of identity implications, rendering them critical to how people use media messages to understand themselves. However, much of the research within the social sciences, and communication in particular, has tended to occur within Western, often United States centered, contexts, notably among respondents disproportionately associated with the White racial identity, specifically those of a European ethnic descent. The chapter specifically examines members of marginalized groups and focuses on racial and ethnic identities. Much research remains needed in this area; however, adjacent research and theoretical applications are both incorporated in order to speculate about parasocial experiences that are contextualized by race and ethnicity. The significance of these experiences for media users’ ethnic/racial identities and directions for future research are discussed.
PSRs in Adolescence
Authors: Erickson Sarah E.
Published: May 2023

Adolescence is a critical developmental moment for humans. Biologically and socially, the adolescents’ worlds are shifting drastically, and, as a result, their relationships to media figures must shift as well. This chapter examines the unique developmental role that media personalities play in adolescence. The chapter begins by discussing the characteristics of parasocial relationships in this age group—how relationships with celebrities fit within the adolescents’ social circle more broadly, alongside their peers, parents, and family, in developing the adolescents’ identity. These parasocial experiences offer youth aspirational role models, leading to various effects, ranging from career aspirations to body image perceptions. Moreover, romantic parasocial experiences constitute important sexual/romantic experimentation that can shape their romantic schemas and relational expectations.
General overview of Cushitic
Authors: Tosco Mauro
Published: May 2023

This chapter gives a general overview of Cushitic. According to current classifications and sources, there are at least 30 living Cushitic languages. The Cushitic languages are spoken primarily in the modern nation states of Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. The chapter discusses the relationship with Omotic, and elaborates on the four branches of Cushitic: North, Central, East, and South. However, almost every detail of this classification is open to serious doubt and has been the source of controversy. The Cushitic languages are verb-final, while the phrasal order is either the typologically expected modifier–head, or the less frequent head–modifier. The Cushitic robust systems of nominal derivation, nominative case system, directional adverbials, and verbs and verb phrases are analyzed.
Inor group
Authors: Chamora Berhanu , Prunet Jean-François , Rose Sharon
Published: May 2023

This chapter covers the languages within the Inor group: Inor, Endegagn, Ener, and Gyeta. It also covers the palatalization, nasalization, and labialization of allophones. While Inor, Endegagn, and Gyeta speak their language for conversations, they use Amharic for written and oral activities. Additionally, Inor is known to have extensive position-based consonant mutations, which are also classified between weak and strong. The chapter also looks into how Inor nouns do not have gender or numerical markings on them, so gender and numbers are indicated through verb agreement with subject and object markers. Moreover, humans and animals have a few more suppletive plurals.
Tigrinya
Authors: Bulakh Maria
Published: May 2023

Tigrinya is the working language of the Tigray National Regional State (Ethiopia) and of the government of Eritrea. It is also spoken in Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora in Israel, Europe, and the USA. Most of its speakers are Christians. The language is used in mass media, education, and administration. Tigrinya orthography is based on the expanded Ethiopic syllabary. The phonological system of Tigrinya contains pharyngeals and laryngeals. The striking feature of the nominal morphology is preservation of the broken plural. The main innovation in the domain of the verbal morphology is the emerging of a new verbal category, based on the morphological converb forms, but having the function of simple perfective.
Northern Gumuz
Authors: Ahland Colleen
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes the Nilo-Saharan language, Northern Gumuz (NoG), that forms part of the broader Gumuz dialect cluster spoken across northwestern Ethiopia and southeastern Republic of Sudan. The speakers of NoG live side-by-side among ethnic groups who speak other mother tongue languages such as Amharic, Awngi, Shinasha and Oromo. Debates arise regarding the inclusion of the Gumuz languages (and the broader B’aga language family) in the Nilo-Saharan phylum. While the basic phonology and syntax of the language are described here, some unusual characteristics of the language include complex verb stems comprised of a verb root and (historical) noun root. Some of these historical noun roots (that form complex verb stems) have grammaticalized as verbal classifiers, making Gumuz the only language(s) in Africa documented with such a classifier system.
Hamar
Authors: Petrollino Sara
Published: May 2023

This chapter presents an overview of the main grammatical features of Hamar, a South Omotic language spoken in South West Ethiopia and referred to in the literature as the Hamer-Banna cluster. The Hamar (morpho)phonological features discussed in the chapter include the prosodic system, which shows features of both tone and stress, vowel harmony, which produces mid-low vowels in nouns, sibilant harmony and metathesis. Aspects of nominal and verbal morphology are also outlined, with a special focus on the Hamar classification system in which nouns do not have inherent gender, but can be assigned to masculine and feminine depending on semantic, syntactic and pragmatic contexts. The chapter ends with a description of the syntax of the noun phrase and the basic structure of declarative, interrogative and negative clauses.
Northern Mao (Màwés Aatsʼè)
Authors: Ahland Michael
Published: May 2023

This chapter covers the major features of Northern Mao (NMao, also known as Màwés Aats'è) such as its sound and grammatical systems. It mentions how the NMao language is endangered. The term “Mao” has been used to refer to a variety of different groups and languages, including languages within the Nilo-Saharan phylum. Here, the term Mao is used to refer to the four languages within the subgroup of Omotic: NMao, Hozo, Sezo, and Ganza. This overview of NMao also covers contrastive segments, syllable patterns, phonotactic constraints, tones, major word classes, verbal and nominal morphology, the structure and functions of simple and complex clauses (including subordination, coordination, and clause chaining). The chapter also highlights the high functional load of tone in NMao, demonstrating its role as a stem-type marker (e.g. distinguishing finite verbs from infinitive verbs and nominal stems).
Sezo
Authors: Desta Girma Mengistu
Published: May 2023

This chapter looks into Sezo (endonym: Seez Waani), an endangered Omotic language spoken by the Seezi people living in remote villages of Begi and Qondala districts in the West Wollegga Zone, Oromia Regional State. Since Sezo is mostly used by the elder generation, and largely restricted for communication at home, the level of bilingualism in Oromo is high, especially since Oromo is used as a language for wider communication, schooling, and administration. Literacy in Sezo does not exist. The phonological inventory of Sezo includes twenty-four consonants, five vowels with contrastive length, and two level tones. Morphologically, the language is agglutinating with clear-cut morpheme boundaries in words. It is a nominative-accusative language in which the nominative is always morphologically marked, and formally differs from the accusative. Structurally, Sezo exhibits S(O)V constituent order. At phrasal and clausal level, modifiers precede heads, possessor nouns precede possessed nouns and dependent clauses precede main clauses.
Yemsa
Authors: Zaugg-Coretti Silvia
Published: May 2023

This chapter looks into Yemsa, which is considered to be an independent branch of Omotic. Yemsa displays different politeness registers for person marking and a small part of its vocabulary, and three level tones with lexical roots. The chapter also addresses morphophonological processes of Yemsa–whereas the main part is dedicated to morphosyntax. Yemsa distinguishes two genders in both nominal and verbal forms, with feminine as morphological default. There are a variety of morphologically, semantically, and syntactically specified main and dependent verb forms including converbs, as well as twelve nominal cases. Mood is a prominent category on verbs, next to aspect. Negation and polarity are coded on the verb in ways that are specific to the chosen verb form.
Arabic in Ethiopia
Authors: Mohammed Endris , Wetter Andreas
Published: May 2023

This chapter provides an overview of the remarkably multifaceted role of the Arabic language in Ethiopia. Arabic was important in Christian as well as in Islamic Ethiopia. Thus, many works of Christian religious literature were translated from Arabic into Ge'ez. Among Ethiopian Muslims Arabic has always been the language of religion, and as such was used in inscriptions and manuscripts for centuries. The language was and still is taught in several regions of the country where a rich tradition of manuscript culture emerged. The chapter also briefly describes the various uses of Arabic, its role as lingua franca, and as language of international correspondence in the 19th century. The linguistic influence of Arabic on Ethiopian languages is discussed, as well as the use of the Arabic script for writing literature in Ethiopian languages.
Adaptive Social Learning
Authors: Kendal Rachel , Watson Robin
Published: May 2023

Although social learning is intuitively useful, researchers from several fields have, over the last 30 years, increasingly recognized that it is not inherently adaptive. Individuals certainly can gain fitness benefits by learning from others as they may acquire adaptive information yet avoid costs associated with the acquisition of asocial information, such as time or energy loss, opportunity costs, and predation. However, theoretical and empirical research indicates that social information use does not guarantee success. Theoretical models predict that social learning will not be employed in an indiscriminate manner and, instead, heuristics, or social learning strategies (also termed ‘transmission biases’) should bias individuals to copy particular behaviours (‘what’ strategies), performed by specific others (‘who’ strategies), under suitable circumstances (‘when’ strategies). This chapter provides a brief, non-exhaustive, review of the evidence for these social learning strategies in both humans and nonhumans. It also discusses key current debates such as the extent to which these strategies are conscious, and are products of genetic or cultural evolution, learning, or a combination of the two. Finally, it highlights the implications of social learning strategies for applied contexts and consider examples of how they have been put to practical use.
Manuscript Traditions
Authors: Howe Christopher J. , Windram Heather F.
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes how textual scholars have applied computer programs from evolutionary biology to differences among versions of a manuscript text to infer the copying history of those versions (depicted diagrammatically as a ‘stemma’). The chapter presents the similarities between copying of texts and the copying of DNA sequences, and then describes how computer programs used for inferring the evolutionary history of DNA or protein sequences can also be used to infer the copying history of sets of texts. This approach is often referred to as ‘phylomemetics’. The history of phylomemetic analysis of texts is reviewed briefly, along with the steps involved in an analysis of textual material. The chapter discusses tests of the phylomemetic approach, and some of the criticisms that have been made of the approach, or difficulties encountered with it, although these criticisms and difficulties typically apply to conventional textual scholarship as well.
Cross-Cultural Comparative Methods for Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses
Authors: Mace Ruth , Zhang Hanzhi
Published: May 2023

To understand the evolutionary processes that led to the cultural variations seen today, an examination of cultural differences is required—why was a cultural practice adopted by some societies but not by others? Cross-cultural comparative methods use data from the present variation across cultural groups, combined with a phylogenetic tree of the history of these taxa, to try to infer how and why this cultural diversity arose. Phylogenetic comparative methods can be applied to test hypotheses regarding the coevolution of cultural traits or the adaptiveness of a cultural traits in relation to ecology. This chapter outlines how phylogenetic trees are made from cultural data, usually linguistic data, and it discusses how these cultural phylogenetic trees can be used both to test coevolutionary hypotheses and also to infer ancestral states and likely past changes in cultural evolution over time. The chapter discusses statistical pitfalls and the potential of future studies.
Ancient DNA and Cultural Evolution
Authors: Shennan Stephen
Published: May 2023

The extent to which lineages of cultural descent match those of biological populations has been a subject of discussion in prehistoric archaeology ever since it began as a discipline in Europe in the late nineteenth century, albeit couched in very different terms from today. Within the field of cultural evolution, the relation between patterns of cultural and genetic descent has been a topic of interest from the field’s emergence in its modern form in the 1970s and 1980s. However, while archaeological records of cultural traditions have long been available, it is only very recently that new methods of extracting information from ancient genomes have begun to make corresponding genetic patterns available so that two can be compared. As the number of ancient genomes has grown it has becoming increasingly apparent that cultural traditions in many aspects of human behaviour were transmitted in parallel with genomic patterns and spread as a result of demographic expansion. We can also trace the cultural consequences of interactions documented by genetic intermixing between populations that had been separate from one another for thousands of years or demonstrate the rapid horizontal spread of novel innovations without regard to genetic population boundaries. After a historical and theoretical introduction, the chapter presents a number of European case studies of the relationship between demographic patterns documented by ancient genomes and the rise and demise of cultural traditions. It will finish by drawing some general conclusions and considering future directions.
The Evolutionary Neuroscience of Cultural Evolution
Authors: Stout Dietrich , Hecht Erin
Published: May 2023

Evolutionary neuroscience seeks to understand the origins and diversification of mental processes by evaluating comparative evidence of modern brain and behavioural variation in light of known evolutionary and developmental processes, primary archaeological and paleontological evidence of the past, and the modern experimental and real-world analogies needed to interpret this primary evidence. Dual Inheritance Theory (DIT), also known as gene–culture coevolution, identifies high fidelity social transmission and selective copying of cultural variants as key engines of human biocultural evolution, and thus logical targets for an evolutionary neuroscience of cultural evolution. However, evolutionary neuroscientific investigation of these capacities casts doubt on the fundamental DIT assumptions of a sharp dichotomy between individual and social learning and the content neutrality of cultural evolutionary processes. This undermines the view of human cultural evolution as a species typical capacity with a discrete origin and suggests that more diverse and contingent explanations of then history of human biocultural evolution are needed.
Home Fronts at War
Authors: Litoff Judy Barrett
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines the home front experiences of the major Allied and Axis powers: the United States, Great Britain, China, Japan, Germany, and Italy. World War II was a total war that resulted in more than sixty million civilian and military deaths. In fact, deaths on the home fronts far exceeded deaths on the battlefields. Except for the Americas and southern Africa, nearly every country involved in World War II came under sustained enemy attack that often blurred the lines between home front and battle front. Throughout much of the world, women and children were mobilized to an unprecedented degree as warring nations confronted rationing, the scarcity of agricultural and industrial goods, severe labor shortages, defending the homeland from bombings and air raids, maintaining the morale of civilians and the fighting forces, and the overall conversion to a wartime economy
Neutral Powers in a Global War
Authors: Wylie Neville
Published: May 2023

Historians have long recognized the need to include neutral states in the study of World War II. Particular prominence has been given to the role neutrals played in delivering humanitarian aid and assistance, and in facilitating international financial operations during the war. This focus has tended, however, to foreground the experiences of European neutrals, and to encourage a view of neutrality as an essentially European phenomenon. This chapter offers a corrective to this view. It challenges the view that European neutrals were effectively constrained by the actions of the belligerent powers during the early years of the war and suggests that their room for maneuvering reflected their own internal political calculations and, critically, the absence of support from two extra-European states—the United States and Russia—which had, historically, championed collective neutral rights. It also situates neutrality within a global context by drawing on two cases. First, Thailand, which turned to neutrality to help it navigate a path between the competing interests of the European colonial powers and a revisionist Japan. Second, what we call the “trans-Atlantic zone of neutrality,” a region that stretched from the Pyrenees to the eastern seaboard of Brazil, and whose existence is key to an understanding of Portuguese neutrality and Spanish “non-belligerency.”
Science and Technology
Authors: Doel Ronald E. , Harper Kristine C.
Published: May 2023

The conduct and outcome of World War II was fundamentally shaped by science and technology. Intensive war-time research and development led to breakthrough technologies including radar, guided missiles, proximity fuzes, mass-produced penicillin, and atomic weapons, and scientific discoveries that advanced weather, wave and surf forecasting and anti-submarine warfare. Elevating science and technology as key national priorities in the major belligerent nations strengthened government research laboratories and university science units, and increased their political power as tools of the state It also led to prolonged ethical debates about the role of scientists and engineers in developing weapons of mass destruction and lethality. Certain wartime developments, in particular, atomic bombs and guided missiles, became key components of weapons systems during the Cold War.
The Holocaust
Authors: Mills Jan-Ruth
Published: May 2023

The Nazi perpetration of the Holocaust, culminating in the Final Solution of genocide, evolved from policies of forced emigration, to expulsion, to extermination. Accordingly, the policy of Ghettoization of the Jews developed in fits and starts. Certainly, Hitler’s decisions and the expression of his ideological goals in public and private motivated his subordinates in the decision-making process that led to genocide. However, in practice, the mass murder of Jews resulted from the radicalization of Nazi policies by officials in the expanding bureaucracy who accelerated violence in response to conditions on the Eastern Front. The German invasion of the Soviet Union served as the catalyst for genocide as a solution in a variety of local problems. While the specific methods of extermination would be developed later, the goal of a Jew-free economy in the Reich linked those plans to the treatment of Jews in Germany before the war.
The Sino–Japanese War
Authors: Bei Gao
Published: May 2023

World War II began not in 1939 in Europe but with Japan’s invasion of China in 1931. This chapter situates the 1931 Mukden Incident and the outbreak of full-scale war between China and Japan in 1937 as part of the global history of World War II. It addresses questions regarding the strength of Chinese nationalism and the effectiveness of the Nationalist government in mobilizing popular support to resist the Japanese invasion. It explores the character of the Japanese regime and whether Mukden set Japan on the path to militarism and global war. Furthermore, the chapter examines how the involvement of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Germany complicated the outcome and impact of the Sino–Japanese conflict in the global arena. Finally, this chapter assesses the history and complex legacy of the Rape of Nanjing, which continues to stir public controversy in China and Japan.
German Victories, 1939–1940
Authors: Kiesling Eugenia C.
Published: May 2023

Instead of the studying the opening campaigns of World War II in Europe as a contrast between effective German military preparation and operations and corresponding deficiencies on the part of Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France, this chapter looks at crucial diplomatic and military decisions in all these countries. None of them, including Germany, entered the war with a realistic plan to achieve its objectives. Whether seeking European conquest or national survival, political and military decision makers failed to acknowledge, let alone remediate, unfavorable conditions for success. While French military planners most accurately predicted the likely course of events, including Germany’s inability to win a protracted war, they executed their plans poorly. Germany’s gamble on a rapid victory failed over the course of the long war, but the comprehensiveness of that failure has been generally overlooked by historians captivated by a mythical doctrine of “blitzkrieg.”
The Land War in Asia
Authors: Jeffreys Alan
Published: May 2023

The chapter provides an introduction to the China–Burma–India (CBI) theater during World War II, summarizing some of the recent work in the field. It also demonstrates the important and hitherto neglected contribution of the Indian Army in the Burma Campaign. It charts the issues of the rapidly expanded and under-trained army in 1941–1942, that reorganizes and retrains in India in 1943 to the defeat the Imperial Japanese Army in 1944–1945. In addition, the chapter demonstrates the problems of coalition command amongst the Allies in the CBI that are never truly resolved and briefly covers the role of the Chindit operations during the campaign.
From D-Day to the Elbe
Authors: Mansoor Peter
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines the Allied invasion of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the subsequent campaigns across Northwest Europe. It begins with the arguments over and planning for the Normandy invasion, the most complicated military operation ever undertaken in the history of warfare, and it continues with the campaigns to liberate France and the Low Countries, annihilate the Wehrmacht, and overrun Germany. Issues discussed include German preparations, the impact of terrain and weather, command issues, Allied operations, fire support, logistics, intelligence, deception, airborne operations, and the use of airpower. The chapter examines the fighting in Normandy, the breakout and pursuit of German forces across France, the invasion of Southern France, Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the encirclement of the Ruhr. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of the debate over the combat effectiveness of the Germany and American armies.
The Pacific War
Authors: Bracken Kyle P.
Published: May 2023

The Pacific War that followed Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 differed considerably from the war imagined by the premier naval minds of the twentieth century. While grand and decisive battles took place between massive fleets in places like the Coral Sea and Midway, these engagements featured aircraft carriers rather than the battleships that once ruled the sea. This chapter explores the Pacific War through the lens of anticipation and realization, and how the belligerents failed and succeeded in adapting to the realities of the Pacific battlefield. In particular, it frames the war as a scientific affair that tested how the Japanese and the Allied coalition sought to sustain their military forces in austere and hostile environments across the Pacific. In combating tropical disease, in particular, the Allied powers outpaced their opponents with the introduction of malaria prophylaxis; they decreased malaria cases as Japan’s cases swelled.
Administration of the glutamate-modulating drug, riluzole, after stress prevents its delayed effects on the amygdala in male rats
Authors: Datta Siddhartha , Rashid Zubin , Naskar Saptarnab , Chattarji Sumantra
Published: May 2023

Extracellular glutamate levels are elevated across brain regions immediately after stress. Despite sharing common features in their genesis, the patterns of stress-induced plasticity that eventually take shape are strikingly different between these brain areas. While stress causes structural and functional deficits in the hippocampus, it has the opposite effect on the amygdala. Riluzole, an FDA-approved drug known to modulate glutamate release and facilitate glutamate clearance, prevents stress-induced deficits in the hippocampus. But whether the same drug is also effective in countering the opposite effects of stress in the amygdala remains unexplored. We addressed this question by using a rat model wherein even a single 2-h acute immobilization stress causes a delayed expression of anxiety-like behavior, 10 days later, alongside stronger excitatory synaptic connectivity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). This temporal profile—several days separating the acute stressor and its delayed impact—allowed us to test if these effects can be prevented by administering riluzole in drinking water after acute stress. Poststress riluzole not only prevented the delayed increase in anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze but also blocked the increase in spine density on BLA neurons 10 days later. Further, stress-induced increase in the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents recorded in BLA slices, 10 days later, was also blocked by the same poststress riluzole administration. Together, these findings underscore the importance of therapeutic strategies, aimed at glutamate uptake and modulation, in correcting the delayed behavioral, physiological, and morphological effects of stress on the amygdala.
Evaluating the Efficacy of Amniotic Membrane in Treating Neonatal Extravasation
Authors: Kadivar Maliheh , Bitaraf Masoud , Nasrabadi Seyed Ali Hashemi , Mirnia Kayvan
Published: May 2023

OBJECTIVE

Extravasation is leakage of material from a peripheral venous access into adjacent tissue, which results in tissue damage ranging from local irritation to necrosis and scar formation. Neonates are at extravasation risk with IV treatment because of their small, fragile veins and the long treatment period required. In this report, investigators assessed the efficacy of amniotic membrane (AM) as a biological dressing to heal extravasation wounds in neonates.

METHODS

This case series includes six neonates who presented with extravasation injuries from February 2020 to April 2022. Neonates born at any gestational age diagnosed with a wound secondary to extravasation were recruited. Neonates with skin disorders and those who had stage 1 or 2 wounds were excluded. Providers covered infection- and necrosis-free wounds with AM and assessed the wounds after 48 hours. Five days after placement, providers removed and replaced the AM; they continued to replace the bandages every 5 to 7 days until healed.

RESULTS

The average gestational age of included neonates was 33.6 weeks. Average healing time was 12.5 days (range, 10-20 days), and no adverse reactions were observed. All neonates healed completely without scar formation.

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary report suggests that the application of AM in treating extravasation in neonates is safe and effective. However, controlled trials with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate this outcome and determine implications for practice.
Do Commonly Used Antimicrobial Topicals Facilitate Venous Leg Ulcer Healing?
Authors: Alihosseini Chris , Kopelman Hannah , Lam Jimmy , Phillips Tania
Published: May 2023

OBJECTIVE

To survey which topical antimicrobials are most helpful in treating venous leg ulcers (VLUs).

DATA SOURCES

In this narrative review, the authors searched the databases of Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Wiley Online Library.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies were eligible for inclusion if they studied the effects of antimicrobial agents on chronic VLU healing and were published after 1985. Exceptions to this were in vitro studies of manuka honey and Dakin solution (Century Pharmaceuticals). Search terms included “venous leg ulcer”, “nonhealing ulcer”, “antimicrobial resistance”, and “biofilms”.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data extracted included design, setting, descriptions of intervention and control groups, outcomes, data collection tools, and potential harms.

DATA SYNTHESIS

A total of 19 articles encompassing 26 studies/trials met the inclusion criteria. Of the 26 studies, 17 were randomized controlled trials; the remaining 9 were a mix of lower-quality case series and comparative, nonrandomized, or retrospective studies.

CONCLUSION

Studies suggest that VLUs can be treated with multiple different topical antimicrobials. Depending on the extent of chronicity and bacterial colonization, some antimicrobials may be better suited than others.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Colitis Is Safe and Contributes to Recovery: Two Case Reports
Authors: Groenewegen Bas , Terveer Elisabeth M. , Joosse Arjen , Barnhoorn Marieke C. , Zwittink Romy D.
Published: May 2023

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved the prognosis in multiple cancer types. However, ICIs can induce immune-related adverse events such as immune-mediated enterocolitis (IMC). The gut microbiota may be implicated in IMC development. Therefore, we investigated fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a treatment option for 2 patients with metastatic cancer suffering from refractory IMC. The patients were treated with, respectively, 1 and 3 FMTs after vancomycin pre-treatment. We monitored defecation frequency, fecal calprotectin, and microbiota composition. After FMT, both patients improved in defecation frequency, were discharged from the hospital, and received lower dosage of immunosuppressive therapy. Patient 1 developed an invasive pulmonary aspergillosis deemed to be related to prolonged steroid exposure. Patient 2 suffered from a Campylobacter jejuni infection after the first FMT and was treated with meropenem, resulting in a low-diversity microbiota profile and increased calprotectin levels and defecation frequency. After a second and third FMT, bacterial diversity increased and defecation frequency and calprotectin levels decreased. Pre-FMT, both patients showed low bacterial richness, but varying bacterial diversity. After FMT, diversity and richness were similar to healthy donor levels. In conclusion, FMT resulted in improvement of IMC symptoms and corresponding microbial changes in 2 cancer patients with refractory IMC. While more research is warranted, microbiome-modulation could be a promising new therapeutic option for IMC.
Real-World Evidence That a Novel Diagnostic Combining Molecular Testing With Pooled Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing is Associated With Reduced Infection Severity and Lower Cost Compared With Standard Urine Culture in Patients With Complicated or Persistently Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
Authors: Ko Dicken Shiu-Chung , Lukacz Emily S. , Juster Iver Allen , Niecko Timothy , Ashok Aparna , Vollstedt Annah Jean , Baunoch David , Mathur Mohit
Published: May 2023

Purpose:

Develop real-world evidence that rapid identification of uropathogens and susceptibilities improves urologic outcomes for patients with complicated or history of recurrent urinary tract infections (r/cUTIs). Standard urine culture (SUC) is slow, often missing polymicrobial infections and altered antibiotic resistance from their metabolic interactions.

Materials and Methods:

We compared 1-year UTI-related health care utilization and costs for UTIs diagnosed by outpatient multiplex polymerase chain reaction/pooled antibiotic susceptibility testing (mPCR/P-AST) vs SUC among Medicare beneficiaries with r/cUTIs, using claims from a deidentified random 5% sample of beneficiaries with an index UTI in 2018 followed by 12 months during which all outpatient UTI tests were either mPCR/P-AST or SUC. Outcomes were compared between 69 individuals diagnosed using mPCR/P-AST and 678 propensity-matched individuals using SUC. Regression models modeled cost differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results:

Of 1,654,548 enrollees in 2018, 11.6%, 0.06%, and 9.6% had claims for UTI, mPCR/P-AST, and SUC, respectively. The matched mPCR/P-AST and SUC cohorts were statistically equivalent at baseline. The mPCR/P-AST cohort was nonsignificantly less likely than the SUC cohort to have a postindex UTI (65.2% vs 72.0%, P = .24). Cost per subsequent UTI was significantly lower for mPCR/P-AST ($767 vs $1,303, P = .0013). Average total 1-year UTI-related cost was $501.85 (95% CI: $79.87, $562.08 P = .004) lower per mPCR/P-AST member vs SUC ($629.55 vs $1131.39). Nonoutpatient treatment accounted for 22.5% of mPCR/P-AST vs 53.4% of SUC UTI-related costs.

Conclusions:

In patients with r/cUTI, rapid identification of pathogens and antibiotic susceptibilities using mPCR/P-AST is associated with lower UTI-related clinical care and utilization costs compared with SUC.
Keratin 5 in Lung Cancer Specimens: Comparison of Four Antibody Clones and KRT5 mRNA-ISH
Authors: Thomsen Christian , Blok-Husum Laura , Georgsen Jeanette Bæhr , Steiniche Torben , Vyberg Mogens
Published: May 2023

Recent improvements in the medical treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma have made the histopathological distinction between adenocarcinomas (ACs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) increasingly important. One immunohistochemical marker of squamous differentiation is Keratin 5 (K5). Several K5 antibody clones are commercially available, and data from external quality assessment (NordiQC) have shown large variations in their performance. However, comparing antibody performance characteristics of optimized K5 immunohistochemical assays in lung cancer specimens is needed. Tissue microarrays comprising 31 SCCs, 59 ACs, 17 large cell carcinomas, 8 large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 5 carcinosarcomas, and 10 small cell carcinomas were included. Serial sections from the tissue microarrays were stained using optimized assays based on the K5 mouse monoclonal antibodies D5/16 B4 and XM26, and the K5 rabbit monoclonal antibodies SP27 and EP1601Y, respectively. The staining reactions were assessed using H-score (0–300). In addition, p40 immunohistochemistry and KRT5 mRNA-ISH analyses were conducted. Clone SP27 showed significantly higher analytical sensitivity than the other 3 clones. However, a distinct positive reaction was observed in 25% of the ACs using clone SP27 but not with the other clones. Clone D5/16 B4 displayed granular staining in 14 ACs, probably representing Mouse Ascites Golgi-reaction. A weak, scattered expression of KRT5 mRNA was seen in 71% of the ACs. In conclusion, the K5 antibody clones D5/16 B4, EP1601Y, and XM26 showed equal sensitivity in lung cancer specimens, but D5/16 B4 also showed nonspecific Mouse Ascites Golgi-reaction. Clone SP27 demonstrated superior analytical sensitivity but lower clinical specificity in the differential diagnosis of SCC versus AC.
Improving Outcomes through Implementation of an Infant Spinal Anesthesia Program for Urologic Surgery Patients
Authors: Cronin Jessica A. , Satterthwaite Brenda , Robalino Giannina , Casella Daniel , Hsieh Michael , Sohel Rana Md , Fink Alia , Pestieau Sophie
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

Spinal anesthesia has a long history as an effective and safe technique to avoid general anesthesia in infants undergoing surgery. However, spinal anesthesia was rarely used as the primary anesthetic in this population at our institution. This healthcare improvement initiative aimed to increase the percentage of successful spinal placements as the primary anesthetic in infants undergoing circumcision, open orchidopexy, or hernia repair from 11% to 50% by December 31, 2019, and sustain that rate for 6 months.

Methods:

An interdisciplinary team created a key driver diagram and implemented the following interventions: education of nurses, surgeons, and patient families; focused anesthesiologist training on the infant spinal procedure; premedication; availability of supplies; and surgical schedule optimization. The team collected data retrospectively by reviewing electronic medical records (Cerner, North Kansas City, Mo.). The primary outcome was the percentage of infants undergoing circumcision, open orchidopexy, or hernia repair who received a successful spinal as the primary anesthetic. The team tracked this measure and evaluated using a statistical process control chart.

Results:

Between August 1, 2018, and February 29, 2020, researchers identified 470 infants (235 preintervention and 235 postintervention) who underwent circumcision, open orchidopexy, or inguinal hernia repair. Following the interventions in this project, there was a statistically significant increase in successful spinal placement from 11% to 45% (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion:

This quality improvement project successfully increased the percentage of patients receiving spinal anesthesia for specific surgical procedures by increasing the number of patients who underwent successful spinal anesthesia placement.
Improving Wait Times for Children with Caregivers with Limited English Proficiency in the Emergency Department
Authors: Valderrama Gisella , Badolato Gia M. , Diaz Pedro , Berkowitz Deena
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

In our pediatric emergency department (ED), children triaged as low acuity who presented with Spanish-speaking caregivers with limited English proficiency (SSLEP) experienced disparately longer wait times than similarly triaged children with English-proficient caretakers. Although inequities in ED care based on language preference exist, little is known about effective interventions to eliminate the disparity. This quality improvement study aimed to eliminate the disparity in wait times and share effective interventions.

Methods:

A multidisciplinary team incorporating clinicians, professional interpreters, and data analysts utilized quality improvement methodology to introduce early identification of SSLEP children, standardize physician workflow, and optimize the interpreter process. The primary outcome was the length of stay. The secondary outcome was time to the provider. The balancing measures were revisits and non-LEP length of stay and time to the provider. Secondary analyses distinguished between the effect of our QI intervention and secular trends.

Results:

The mean length of stay for SSLEP children decreased from a mean of 178 to 142 minutes, a 36-minute (20%) decrease. Mean time to provider for SSLEP decreased from 92.8 to 55.5 minutes, a 37-minute improvement (40%). The 72-hour-revisit rates did not increase for SSLEP children throughout the project.

Conclusions:

We identified feasible interventions to improve wait times for children with SSLEP. Future directions include addressing components of the entire ED visit to decrease the length of stay discrepancies between populations. We hope to extend our findings to benefit all LEP communities.