bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Desafíos de la educación médica en cirugía
Authors: Cataño Juan Guillermo
Published: April 2022

Los procesos educativos orientados a la formación de los médicos que trabajarán en las especialidades quirúrgicas se ven afectados por diferentes desafíos que deben ser reconocidos claramente para poder plantear respuestas a ellos. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura buscando artículos con temas relacionados y se identificó que los retos se concentran en cuatro áreas: rápida evolución de la tecnología y mayor complejidad, escaso recurso humano docente capacitado, falta de instituciones de salud con vocación docente y currículos cuya estructura no responde a los factores diferenciadores de los programas de residencia cuyo componente primordial es el quirúrgico. Las soluciones a estos retos requieren de una acción coordinada de todos los actores involucrados si se desea realmente resolver los problemas de salud del mundo actual.
Ovarian Cancers with Low CIP2A Tumor Expression Constitute an APR-246–Sensitive Disease Subtype
Authors: Cvrljevic Anna N. , Butt Umar , Huhtinen Kaisa , Grönroos Tove J. , Böckelman Camilla , Lassus Heini , Butzow Ralf , Haglund Caj , Kaipio Katja , Arsiola Tiina , Laajala Teemu D. , Connolly Denise C. , Ristimäki Ari , Carpen Olli , Pouwels Jeroen , Westermarck Jukka
Published: April 2022

Identification of ovarian cancer patient subpopulations with increased sensitivity to targeted therapies could offer significant clinical benefit. We report that 22% of the high-grade ovarian cancer tumors at diagnosis express CIP2A oncoprotein at low levels. Furthermore, regardless of their significantly lower likelihood of disease relapse after standard chemotherapy, a portion of relapsed tumors retain their CIP2A-deficient phenotype. Through a screen for therapeutics that would preferentially kill CIP2A-deficient ovarian cancer cells, we identified reactive oxygen species inducer APR-246, tested previously in ovarian cancer clinical trials. Consistent with CIP2A-deficient ovarian cancer subtype in humans, CIP2A is dispensable for development of MISIIR-Tag–driven mouse ovarian cancer tumors. Nevertheless, CIP2A-null ovarian cancer tumor cells from MISIIR-Tag mice displayed APR-246 hypersensitivity both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the lack of CIP2A expression hypersensitizes the ovarian cancer cells to APR-246 by inhibition of NF-κB activity. Accordingly, combination of APR-246 and NF-κB inhibitor compounds strongly synergized in killing of CIP2A-positive ovarian cancer cells. Collectively, the results warrant consideration of clinical testing of APR-246 for CIP2A-deficient ovarian cancer tumor subtype patients. Results also reveal CIP2A as a candidate APR-246 combination therapy target for ovarian cancer.
Maximal Activation of Apoptosis Signaling by Cotargeting Antiapoptotic Proteins in BH3 Mimetic–Resistant AML and AML Stem Cells
Authors: Carter Bing Z. , Mak Po Yee , Tao Wenjing , Zhang Qi , Ruvolo Vivian , Kuruvilla Vinitha M. , Wang Xiangmeng , Mak Duncan H. , Battula Venkata L. , Konopleva Marina , Jabbour Elias J. , Hughes Paul E. , Chen Xiaoyue , Morrow Phuong K. , Andreeff Michael
Published: April 2022

MCL-1 is known to play a major role in resistance to BCL-2 inhibition, but the contribution of other BCL-2 family proteins has not been fully explored. We, here, demonstrate the ineffectiveness of MCL-1 inhibitor AMG176 in venetoclax-resistant, and conversely, of venetoclax in AMG176-resistant acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Like cells with acquired resistance to venetoclax, cells with acquired resistance to AMG176 express increased MCL-1. Both cells with acquired resistance to venetoclax and to AMG176 express increased levels of BCL-2 and BCL-2A1, decreased BAX, and/or altered levels of other BCL-2 proteins. Cotargeting BCL-2 and MCL-1 was highly synergistic in AML cell lines with intrinsic or acquired resistance to BH3 mimetics or engineered to genetically overexpress BCL-2 or BCL-2A1 or downregulate BAX. The combination effectively eliminated primary AML blasts and stem/progenitor cells resistant to or relapsed after venetoclax-based therapy irrespective of mutations and cytogenetic abnormalities. Venetoclax and AMG176 combination markedly suppressed antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins and AML stem/progenitor cells and dramatically extended mouse survival (median 336 vs. control 126 days; P < 0.0001) in a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model developed from a venetoclax/hypomethylating agent therapy-resistant patient with AML. However, decreased BAX levels in the bone marrow residual leukemia cells after 4-week combination treatment may represent a resistance mechanism that contributed to their survival. Enhanced antileukemia activity was also observed in a PDX model of monocytic AML, known to be resistant to venetoclax therapy. Our results support codependence on multiple antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins and suppression of BAX as mechanisms of AML resistance to individual BH3 mimetics. Cotargeting of MCL-1 and BCL-2 eliminates otherwise apoptosis-resistant cells.
Noxious Combination of Tobacco Smoke Nitrosamines with Bile, Deoxycholic Acid, Promotes Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, via NFκB, In Vivo
Authors: Vageli Dimitra P. , Doukas Panagiotis G. , Doukas Sotirios G. , Tsatsakis Aristidis , Judson Benjamin L.
Published: April 2022

Tobacco smoking is the most known risk factor for hypopharyngeal cancer. Bile reflux has recently been documented as an independent risk factor for NFκB-mediated hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. However, the carcinogenic effect of tobacco smoke on the hypopharynx and its combination with bile has not yet been proven by direct evidence. We investigated whether in vivo chronic exposure (12–14 weeks) of murine (C57Bl/6J) hypopharyngeal epithelium to tobacco smoke components (TSC) [N-nitrosamines; 4-(N-Methyl-N-Nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (0.2 mmol/L), N-nitrosodiethylamine (0.004 mmol/L)], as the sole drinking fluid 5 days per week, along with topically applied (two times/day) bile [deoxycholic acid (0.28 mmol/L)], can accelerate a possible TSC-induced neoplastic process, by enhancing NFκB activation and the associated oncogenic profile, using histologic, IHC, and qPCR analyses. We provide direct evidence of TSC-induced premalignant lesions, which can be exacerbated by the presence of bile, causing invasive carcinoma. The combined chronic exposure of the hypopharynx to TSC with bile causes advanced NFκB activation and profound overexpression of Il6, Tnf, Stat3, Egfr, Wnt5a, composing an aggressive phenotype. We document for the first time the noxious combination of bile with a known risk factor, such as tobacco smoke nitrosamines, in the development and progression of hypopharyngeal cancer, via NFκB, in vivo. The data presented here encourage further investigation into the incidence of upper aerodigestive tract cancers in smokers with bile reflux and the early identification of high-risk individuals in clinical practice. This in vivo model is also suitable for large-scale studies to reveal the nature of inflammatory-associated aerodigestive tract carcinogenesis and its targeted therapy.

Prevention Relevance:

Early assessment of bile components in refluxate of tobacco users can prevent the chronic silent progression of upper aerodigestive tract carcinogenesis. This in vivo model indicates that bile reflux might have an additive effect on the tobacco-smoke N-nitrosamines effect and could be suitable for large-scale studies of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
IFNγ Helps CBLB-Deficient CD8+ T Cells to Put Up Resistance to Tregs
Authors: Wolf Dominik , Baier Gottfried
Published: April 2022

In this issue, Han and colleagues demonstrate in preclinical cancer models that genetic deletion of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl proto-oncogene B (CBLB) in adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells induces resistance to regulatory T cells. CBLB deletion induces IFNγ and downmodulates TGFβ/SMAD signaling. This ultimately enforces these cells to be way more effective against various cancers.

See related article by Han et al., p. 437 (4).
Comparative effects of enarapril versus losartan on the prevention of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes patients with microalbuminuria
Authors: Oguri Masato , Ohyama Yoshio , Nakamura Tetsuya , Tomono Shoichi , Kurabayashi Masahiko
Published: April 2022

A prospective randomized open-labeled study was performed to compare the renoprotective effects of enarapril and losartan on the development of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients with hypertension. Diabetic patients who have hypertension and microalbuminuria at base line (n=19) were recruited. Enarapril (n=11) or losartan (n=8) was randomly chosen by envelope methods and was prescribed for one year. At the end of this study, the blood pressure of patients in these two groups decreased significantly. Urine albumin-creatinine ratio (U-ACR) also decreased in these two groups, however, U-ACR of enarapril group was not significantly different from that of losartan group at any time of this study. Body mass index, HbA1c, blood pressure, and serum lipid profiles were not significantly different between the two groups. From these results, we conclude that the effects of enarapril and losartan on the development of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients along with hypertension seem to be equivalent in terms of clinical renoprotection.
Associations of Dietary Cholesterol, Serum Cholesterol, and Egg Consumption With Overall and Cause-Specific Mortality: Systematic Review and Updated Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhao Bin , Gan Lu , Graubard Barry I. , Männistö Satu , Albanes Demetrius , Huang Jiaqi
Published: April 2022

Background:

Despite substantial research highlighting the importance of exogenous dietary cholesterol intake and endogenous serum cholesterol level in human health, a thorough evaluation of the associations is lacking. Our study objective was to examine overall and cause-specific mortality in relation to dietary and serum cholesterol, as well as egg consumption, and conduct an updated meta-regression analysis of cohort studies.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective analysis of 27 078 men in the ATBC Study (Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention). Multivariable-controlled cause-specific Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 31-year absolute mortality risk differences. A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies was also performed (PROSPERO [URL:
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/
; Unique identifier: CRD42021272756]).

Results:

Based on 482 316 person-years of follow-up, we identified 22 035 deaths, including 9110 deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Greater dietary cholesterol and egg consumption were associated with increased risk of overall and CVD-related mortality. Hazard ratios for each additional 300 mg cholesterol intake per day were 1.10 and 1.13 for overall and CVD-related mortality, respectively; for each additional 50-g egg consumed daily, hazard ratios were 1.06 and 1.09, respectively, for overall and CVD-related mortality (all
P
values<0.0001). After multivariable adjustment, higher serum total cholesterol concentrations were associated with increased risk of CVD-related mortality (hazard ratios per 1 SD increment, 1.14;
P
<0.0001). The observed associations were generally similar across cohort subgroups. The updated meta-analysis of cohort studies on the basis of 49 risk estimates, 3 601 401 participants, and 255 479 events showed consumption of 1 additional 50-g egg daily was associated with significantly increased CVD risk (pooled relative risk, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.00–1.08]; I
2
=80.1%). In the subgroup analysis of geographic regions (
P
interaction
=0.02), an increase of 50-g egg consumed daily was associated with a higher risk of CVD in US cohorts (pooled relative risk, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.02–1.14]) and appeared related to a higher CVD risk in European cohorts with borderline significance (pooled relative risk, 1.05), but was not associated with CVD risk in Asian cohorts.

Conclusions:

In this prospective cohort study and updated meta-analysis, greater dietary cholesterol and egg consumption were associated with increased risk of overall and CVD-related mortality. Our findings support restricted consumption of dietary cholesterol as a means to improve long-term health and longevity.
Longitudinal Progression of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Markers and Cognition in Dutch-Type Hereditary Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
Authors: van Dijk Suzanne E. , van der Grond Jeroen , Lak Jessie , van den Berg-Huysmans Annette , Labadie Gerda , Terwindt Gisela M. , Wermer Marieke J.H. , Gurol M. Edip , van Buchem Mark A. , Greenberg Steven M. , van Rooden Sanneke
Published: April 2022

Background:

Hemorrhagic and ischemic magnetic resonance imaging lesions as well as the more recently described decrease in vasomotor reactivity have been suggested as possible biomarkers for cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Analyses of these markers have been primarily cross-sectional during the symptomatic phase of the disease, with little data on their longitudinal progression, particularly in the presymptomatic phase of the disease when it may be most responsive to treatment. We used the unique opportunity provided by studying Dutch-type hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy (D-CAA) to determine longitudinal progression of CAA biomarkers during the presymptomatic as well as the symptomatic phase of the disease.

Methods:

In this longitudinal case-control study, magnetic resonance imaging markers and cognitive performance were assessed at baseline and after ≈4 years in 10 presymptomatic and 6 symptomatic D-CAA mutation carriers and 20 control subjects. These magnetic resonance imaging markers included hemorrhagic and ischemic manifestations, measurements of cerebral blood flow, and vasomotor reactivity to visual stimulation.

Results:

In presymptomatic D-CAA mutations carriers, vasomotor reactivity showed a decline over time for blood-oxygen-level–dependent amplitude (
P
=0.011) and prolongation of time to peak (
P
<0.001). In contrast, no significant changes in hemorrhagic markers, ischemic markers, cerebral blood flow, and cognition were found. In symptomatic D-CAA mutation carriers, the number of intracerebral hemorrhages increased over the 4-year period (
P
=0.007).

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that in the presymptomatic phase of D-CAA, cerebrovascular reactivity measured by the blood-oxygen-level–dependent amplitude and time to peak to visual stimulation progressively worsens and can thus be regarded as a disease progression marker. In the symptomatic phase, the most salient marker of progression appears to be recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage.
Early Deterioration, Hematoma Expansion, and Outcomes in Deep Versus Lobar Intracerebral Hemorrhage: The FAST Trial
Authors: Kuohn Lindsey R. , Witsch Jens , Steiner Thorsten , Sheth Kevin N. , Kamel Hooman , Navi Babak B. , Merkler Alexander E. , Murthy Santosh B. , Mayer Stephan A.
Published: April 2022

Background:

In patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), it is unclear whether early neurological deterioration, hematoma expansion (HE), and outcome vary by supratentorial ICH location (deep versus lobar). Herein, we assessed these relationships in a clinical trial cohort that underwent brain imaging early after symptom onset. We hypothesized that HE would occur more frequently, and outcome would be worse in patients with deep ICH.

Methods:

We performed a post hoc analysis of the FAST (Factor-VII-for-Acute-Hemorrhagic-Stroke-Treatment) trial including all patients with supratentorial hemorrhage. Enrolled patients underwent brain imaging within 3 hours of symptom onset and 24 hours after randomization. Multivariable regression was used to test the association between ICH location and 3 outcomes: HE (increase of ≥33% or 6mL), early neurological deterioration (decrease in Glasgow Coma Scale score ≥2 points or increase in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale ≥4 points within 24 hours of admission), and 90-day outcome (modified Rankin Scale).

Results:

Of 841 FAST trial patients, we included 728 (mean age 64 years, 38% women) with supratentorial hemorrhages (deep n=623, lobar n=105). HE (44 versus 27%,
P
=0.001) and early neurological deterioration (31 versus 17%,
P
=0.001) were more common in lobar hemorrhages. Deep hemorrhages were smaller than lobar hemorrhages at baseline (12 versus 35mL,
P
<0.001) and 24 hours (14 versus 38mL,
P
<0.001). Unadjusted 90-day outcome was worse in lobar compared with deep ICH (median modified Rankin Scale score 5 versus 4,
P
=0.03). However, when adjusting for variables included in the ICH score including ICH volume, deep location was associated with worse and lobar location with better outcome (odds ratio lobar location, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.38–0.89];
P
=0.01).

Conclusions:

In this secondary analysis of randomized trial patients, lobar ICH location was associated with larger ICH volume, more HE and early neurological deterioration, and worse outcome than deep ICH. After adjustment for prognostic variables, however, deep ICH was associated with worse outcome, likely due to their proximity to eloquent brain structures.
Nineteenth Century Color Printing for Visual Instruction
Authors: Thomson Ellen Mazur
Published: April 2022

Books with color illustrations were once rare and costly, but during the nineteenth century advances in color printing technology allowed publishers to include color more frequently. At the same time teachers and government officials attempted to employ graphic displays to facilitate understanding of often abstract or invisible concepts or to show data in a form that could more easily be grasped and retained. The use of color enhanced these endeavors. Dating from 1847 to 1876, the four books discussed here were selected because their authors deliberately chose to replace the written word with color graphics to provide instruction in the sciences and social sciences.
“Overcoming Metaphysics”: A Fundamental Feature of Twentieth Century Philosophy
Authors: Schweidler Walter
Published: April 2022

The concept of metaphysics has undergone a significant change in the last 200 years. Beginning with Kant, there is a development in which “metaphysics” is no longer understood as a philosophical discipline but as a personal disposition which rather is an object of philosophical reflexion. For Wittgenstein and Heidegger, this has been the starting point of their understanding of the task and the end of the activity called philosophizing. For both thinkers, philosophy depends on an initial presupposition which, in order to reach the result to which it is devoted, must be substantially revised within the process of philosophical thinking. And the term by which they designate that prejudice is “metaphysics”. I want to point out the genuine temporal aspect of both thinkers’ explication of this essential constellation of the philosophical activity.
Becoming Bovine and Being Haunted: Herder-Bovine Relationships in South India
Authors: Vignesh S.
Published: April 2022

This paper concerns itself with the study of changing dynamics of herder-bovine relationships in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. By exploring the affective lives of Tamil-speaking herders of South India in their interaction with native Pulikulam breed bovines and foreign bred milch cows, this paper maps the sensuous ways in which these three beings make and unmake each other. At a more abstract level, this paper intends to improvise dialogue between new materialist and deconstructive techniques by exploring Karen Barad’s conception of intra-action, and Derrida’s hauntology in the context of human-animal relationships. The central argument this paper exposes is that our nuanced moments of interactions with animals are already mediated by visceral absences which we fail to take into consideration.
A sociolinguistic-typological approach to the linguistic prehistory of South Asia
Authors: Peterson John
Published: April 2022

The present study compares two Indo-Aryan languages, Sadri and Konkani, with respect to their morphological complexity. Based on assumptions made in sociolinguistic typology (e.g., Trudgill, 2011), which forms part of a larger research program investigating the effects of social factors on language structures, this study attempts to reconstruct various aspects of prehistoric society based on the structures of these two modern languages as typical representatives of eastern and western Indo-Aryan, respectively. The results suggest that 2,000–2,500 years ago eastern and western Indo-Aryan languages were spoken in very different sociolinguistic environments, with a high degree of ethnic and linguistic diversity in eastern India and a comparatively low level of diversity in the west. The study also confirms the results of other studies which suggest that different areas of grammar, such as nominal and verbal systems, may be affected to different degrees in language contact and that their respective rates of (re)complexification may also differ.
Public–Private Partnership: A Legislative Model from the State of Qatar
Authors: Mattar Mohamed Y. , Al-Thani Thani , Belknani Fouzi , Abdullah Abdullah , Hawa Faten
Published: April 2022

The State of Qatar has recently witnessed a massive legislative movement designed to encourage foreign investment and enhance private sector participation in the economy, especially in trade and investment. This article addresses one of the most important enactments in this regard; Law No. 12 of 2020 on economic Partnership between the Government Sector and the Private Sector (hereinafter referred to as the ppp Law or Law N. 12 of 2020). The law encourages the expansive role of the private sector and provides for several incentives and guarantees. The law also designs rules of partnership that follow principles of transparency and good governance. This article focuses on international standards embodied in the uncitral model legislative provisions on public-private partnership and its legislative guide, especially public interest, stability and sustainability, restricted contractual freedom, contractual balance and risk transfer, legitimate and fair competition, transparency and integrity, equality and equal opportunities, the right to compensation, methods of dispute settlement and legislative integration.
Proportional Representation in Lebanese Cabinets: An Unconstitutional Confessional Hierarchy?
Authors: Badran Simon
Published: April 2022

The confessional power-sharing mentality that governs the functioning of the Lebanese State apparatus has succeeded in imposing, over the years, many unwavering practices relating to the appointment of senior public officers. At the level of executive power, these confessional ‘constitutional conventions’ exacerbate the inequality between the different religious sects, where a de facto monopolisation within the so-called ‘Sovereign Ministries’ continues to be seen, ever since the Taif Agreement and reinforced by the Doha Accord. Furthermore, Lebanese parliamentary blocs fight to obtain ‘service ministries’, which are often an integral part of the machinery of clientelism, for the purpose of providing more ‘favours’ to their political clients. In fact, the political representation of the different religious confessions within the state institutions of deeply divided societies such as Lebanon, is ensured and guaranteed by the adoption of the principle of political proportionality. Following this logic, preserving the religious balance within the Lebanese Cabinet is one of the key prerequisites of the political system’s stability, which is essential to the functioning of the Council of Ministers. Prerogatives of the executive power are no longer concentrated in the hands of a single person belonging to a given religious confession, but are exercised through a collegial cabinet, which includes the main various Lebanese communities. Nevertheless, this proportionality, which sought a better representation of the religious segments, is mitigated by a hierarchy within the cabinet due to several unconstitutional practices.
Migration and Institutional Inertia: Restructuring the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, 1958–1961
Authors: Redondo Carrero Emilio
Published: April 2022

When the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (icem), today the International Organization for Migration (iom), was born in 1951, its main objective was to alleviate demographic pressure in post-war Europe by relocating workers and their families to overseas countries lacking in workforce. But after the European continent’s rapid recovery in the decade that followed, icem did not disappear. Instead, it tried to adapt to the changes and focussed on new objectives in order to maintain its role as a necessary organsation. This article focuses on the crisis icem experienced circa 1960. Based on the analysis of sources from the organisation, government documents and press from that period, I attempt to explain to what extent the restructuring undertaken from 1958 to 1961 signified a real attempt to adapt to the new social reality, and to what extent it was due to the force of inertia and the aim to carry on.
Why Was the Chinese Historian Shen Yue 沈約 (441–513) So Fond of Auspicious Signs and Prophecies?
Authors: Lippiello Tiziana
Published: April 2022

Shen Yue 沈約 (441–513), who compiled the Songshu 宋書 (History of the Song), one of the dynastic histories of China, dedicated three chapters (juan) of this work to auspicious signs and prophecies, which were evidently an issue of discussion and interest among the scholars of his time. In this article, I will first give an overview of the discussion of inauspicious and auspicious omens during the Han dynasty, which provided an influential model for later works on the topic. I will then address the question why Shen Yue devoted so much attention to the subject and how he related it to the succession of the short-lived regimes of the southern dynasties. By analyzing Shen Yue’s “Furui zhi” 符瑞志 (Treatise on auspicious signs), his biography, and his historical background, I aim to demonstrate why Shen Yue treated auspicious omens and prophecies as positive messages from nature, which were addressed to both his contemporaries and future generations.
Venus, Issa, and the Moon Dog
Authors: Dianteill Erwan
Published: April 2022

Like Arabic and Latin geomancy in the Middle Ages, Fa divination on the Benin Coast uses sixteen fundamental signs. Beyond their common formal structure, do these divinatory systems share content? The analysis focuses on a seventeenth fundamental sign (Oche Tula), conceived of as the messenger sign in Fa. This paper firstly aims to show that this sign, whose link with the messenger god Lɛgba is well known in Yoruba and Fon mythology, also maintained a relationship with the planet Venus (nicknamed Moon Dog), which is now largely forgotten. Moreover, medieval geomancy systematically mentioned the link between the planet Venus and the two figures named Amissio (Loss) and Mundus facie (Immaculate face), which, when combined, are identical to Oche Tula. The second goal of the analysis is to reconstruct the analogical process at work in labeling the planet Venus with this sign, which in medieval geomancy was composed of two figures. On the one hand, the author tries to show that the figure “Immaculate face” – in the form of a Christian cross – represents Isa/Jesus and has been identified with the morning star (Venus) in a medieval Christian and Muslim environment. On the other hand, the geomantic double sign could represent either the negative aspect (impurity, loss) or positive aspect (purity, fertility) of the planet Venus, depending on whether it is direct or retrograde, according to medieval astrology categories.
The Sông Cái (Red River) Delta, the Chinese Diaspora, and the Trần/Chen Clan of Ðại Việt
Authors: Whitmore John K.
Published: April 2022

The expansion of the Sông Cái (Red River) delta combined with the first Chinese diaspora and settlement in the region led to the Chen/Trần clan emerging and rising to power in the polity of Ðại Việt 大越. Emerging among the Ngô (吳 Sino-Vietnamese) community in the lower delta, the Trần 陳 emphasized the agricultural development of this area as they built their power. I approach Trần rule in three phases: 1220s–1260s, 1260s–1330s, and 1330s–1420. In the first phase, under the tight clan control of Trần Thủ Ðộ, the Trần developed Ðại Việt in their own form within the existing Viet pattern, politically, administratively, and economically. After Thủ Ðộ’s death, the clan reformed, as a new generation of princes first fought off the Mongols, then retired to their country estates, leading to a decentralization of power. To counter this decentralization, the kings and the court developed their Thiền Buddhism of the Trúc Lâm school. But in the end this was not successful, and in the third phase the court turned to a brand of Chinese Classical thought (that of Han Yu) in the face of many calamities, natural and social. Eventually three political and ideological crises emerged, the Champa invasions (1370–1390), the seizure of power by Lê/Hồ Quý Ly (1380–1407), and the Ming conquest and occupation (1407–1427) turning Ðại Việt into its province of Jiaozhi. Each crisis led to deeper Sinic ideological penetration.
The Power of Representation: Mimesis and Alterity in Nanzhao-Tang Relations
Authors: Bryson Megan
Published: April 2022

The Nanzhao kingdom ruled a large region in what is now southwest China and southeast Asia from the mid-seventh century to 903. Its strategic position next to the Tibetan empire and its own expansionist goals meant that Nanzhao had extensive diplomatic and military relations with the Tang dynasty (618–907) during the eighth and ninth centuries. This paper argues that Tang-Nanzhao relations, as well as the Nanzhao court’s relations with its own diverse subjects, were pursued in accordance with the colonial dynamics of mimesis theorized by Homi Bhabha and Michael Taussig. Tang representations of the Nanzhao population and the Nanzhao court’s self-representations conform to colonial modes of depicting difference, namely mimesis (which involves copying or mimicking) and alterity (which involves asserting difference). These representations appear specifically in the 863 Book of Barbarians (Manshu) by the Tang official Fan Chuo, the 766 Nanzhao Stele of Transforming through Virtue (Dehua bei), and the 899 Illustrated History of Nanzhao (Nanzhao tuzhuan).
Virtual Belonging, Digital Diaspora, and Sindhi Hindu Identity in the Early 2000s
Authors: Raheja Natasha
Published: April 2022

This article explores online articulations of Sindhi Hindu identity in 2010. The early 2000s mark a key moment of generational shift in the post-Partition Sindhi Hindu diaspora during an era of engagement with websites and virtual discussion forums more broadly. Tracking three diasporic websites, this article helps us to understand what virtual spaces have offered those who are distal from the imagined homelands of their longing. My analysis of the websites and a discussion forum reveal how Sindhi Hindu identity is negotiated around dominant narratives of Hinduness and Indian national identity, but in ambivalent ways that elude religious nationalist binary taxonomies in post-Partition South Asia. In its focus on websites and virtual discussion forums, this article thus brings together questions of deterritorialization and the digital to extend insights about the multiplicity, pluralism, and interconnectedness of the Sindhi diaspora more broadly.
Interannual Variation and Prediction of Wintertime Precipitation in Central Asia
Authors: Chen XinHai , Jia XiaoJing , Wu Renguang , Qian Qifeng
Published: April 2022

In this study, the interannual variations of winter precipitation over central Asia (CA) are investigated over the period 1948–2018 using both observational analysis and a linear baroclinic model (LBM). The focus is on the characteristics and factors of the leading empirical orthogonal function mode (EOF1) of winter precipitation over CA. The results show that the key circulation anomalies associated with the positive phase of EOF1 feature a tripole pattern that is responsible for transporting moisture from the subtropical North Atlantic region to CA. An examination of the lower boundary conditions indicates that anomalous North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST), Kara Sea ice in the preceding autumn, and simultaneous snow cover in central Asia can promote large-scale atmospheric waves that contribute to the EOF1-related anomalous tripole pattern. This result is verified by an analysis of the apparent heat source (Q1) in the atmosphere and the LBM experiments. Linear regression (LR) models were constructed using the precursors revealed by the above observational analyses to perform hindcasts for EOF1 over the period 1950–2018. The North Atlantic SST and the Kara Sea ice in the preceding autumn are shown to be effective predictors in the LR model that can capture the variation in EOF1 during this period. The seasonal forecasts of winter precipitation over CA for the 2011–18 period based on the LR models outperform those of the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) over central and northern CA.
Lifestyle risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms and related phenomena: What should lifestyle interventions target?
Authors: Brierley Mary-Ellen E , Albertella Lucy , Christensen Erynn , Rotaru Kristian , Jacka Felice N , Segrave Rebecca A , Richardson Karyn E , Lee Rico SC , Kayayan Edouard , Hughes Sam , Yücel Murat , Fontenelle Leonardo F
Published: April 2022

Objective:

Understanding the impact of lifestyle on mental illness symptoms is important for informing psycho-education and developing interventions which target mental and physical comorbidities. Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders can have a significant impact on health-related quality of life and physical health. However, our understanding of the impact of lifestyle on obsessive-compulsive symptoms and broader compulsive and impulsive problematic repetitive behaviours is limited.

Aims:

We investigated whether lifestyle factors predicted change in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and problematic repetitive behaviours in a general population sample over a 3-month period.

Methods:

Eight hundred thirty-five participants completed an online questionnaire battery assessing lifestyle and mental health. Of these, 538 participants completed the same battery 3 months later. We conducted negative binomial regressions to analyse the association of lifestyle factors at baseline with future (1) obsessive-compulsive symptoms, (2) compulsive problematic repetitive behaviours and (3) impulsive problematic repetitive behaviours, adjusting for baseline obsessive-compulsive symptoms and problematic repetitive behaviours.

Results:

Lower vegetable ( p = 0.020) and oily fish ( p = 0.040) intake and lower moderate intensity physical activity ( p = 0.008) predicted higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms at follow-up. Higher intake of high-fat foods ( p < 0.001) predicted higher compulsive problematic repetitive behaviours at follow-up. No lifestyle factors significantly predicted impulsive problematic repetitive behaviours at follow-up.

Conclusion:

Our results speak to the potential importance of lifestyle quality screening, education and lifestyle interventions (e.g. an anti-inflammatory diet) for individuals experiencing compulsivity-related behaviours and/or symptoms. Further research into potential mechanisms of action will allow for more targeted approaches to lifestyle interventions for transdiagnostic compulsive behaviours.
Pathways from Built Environment to Health Care Costs: Linking Objectively Measured Built Environment with Physical Activity and Health Care Expenditures
Authors: Wali Behram , Frank Lawrence D. , Young Deborah R. , Saelens Brian E. , Meenan Richard T. , Dickerson John F. , Keast Erin M. , Kuntz Jennifer L. , Fortmann Stephen P.
Published: April 2022

Evidence connecting health care expenditures with physical activity and built environment is rare. We examined how detailed urban form relates to mode specific moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and health care costs—controlling for transit access, residential choices/preferences, sociodemographic factors. We harness high resolution data for 476 participants in the Rails and Health study on health care costs, mode specific MVPA, parcel-level built environment, and neighborhood perception surveys. To account for dependencies among outcomes, structural equation modeling framework is used. A 1% increase in bike, walk, and transit-related MVPA was associated with lower health care costs by −0.28%, −0.09%, and −0.27% respectively. A one-unit increase in neighborhood walkability index correlates with a 6.48% reduction in health care costs. Indirect associations between residential choices, attitudes, and health outcomes through MVPA were also observed. The results suggest the potential to alter behaviors and lower health care costs through retrofitting neighborhoods.
Breaking taboos: Why insurgents pursue and use CBRN weapons
Authors: Asal Victor , Avdan Nazli , Ackerman Gary
Published: April 2022

Much ado has been made about the specter of unconventional weapons in the hands of militant groups. Despite the alarmism of the policy community, the pursuit of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear capabilities by non-state actors is rare. What explains why some violent non-state organizations pursue chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons while most do not? Using new data on organizational behaviors and attributes from the Big Allied and Dangerous 2 Insurgency project, we analyze 140 insurgent actors, from 1998 to 2012. We expand previous work by Asal, Ackerman & Rethemeyer by studying the phenomenon longitudinally and attending to organizational behavior rather than only to structural and environmental factors. We find that organizations that attack cultural sites are more likely to pursue and use chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. We interpret the latter as a willingness to transgress upon accepted mores, for the sake of sensationalism and shock value, which coheres with a willingness to pursue unconventional weapons. Our results reflect that chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear pursuit and use is part of a larger strategy for some violent non-state organizations, one predicated on generating mass fear and exacting a psychological toll.
A word about . . . mythmaking, gender, and race in the histories of Ann Judson and Sojourner Truth
Authors: Levens Laura Rodgers
Published: April 2022

This article investigates two instances of the nineteenth-century American impulse to create national saints and fabricate myths about them. It focuses on the gender and racial stereotyping involved in the creation of the popular history and characterizations of two celebrated American women, Ann Judson and Sojourner Truth. Ann Judson’s case is an example of American myth-making in the service of both American Christian missions and nineteenth-century constructs of womanhood. Sojourner Truth’s case involved two white women re-inscribing racial stereotypes to serve their own purposes, even though one was motivated by financial gain and the other by women’s rights. The author argues that American biographers created these myths to deliver eternal and transcendent values embodied in remarkable lives of women like Judson and Truth. In doing so, they distorted the complex reality of these women’s lives and stifled the women’s ability to tell their own stories. The article concludes with an appreciation for the author’s growing awareness of the values and motives she brings to her work, which she gained by studying the myths as well as the historical figures.
Black mothering as spiritual praxis: Engendering a multigenerational leadership paradigm
Authors: Grady-Hunt Ayanna A.
Published: April 2022

Moral autobiography, as defined by eco-womanist scholar Melanie Harris, is in keeping with the womanist ethical task of uncovering Black women’s stories and highlighting their experience as an important source for their moral framework. This article encompasses the moral autobiography of my grandmother, Mama Eva R. Bird, whose theo-ethical response to the oppression of Black communities between the 1960s and 1980s led her and her husband, Rev. Van S. Bird, to open their home and their heart to activists in Philadelphia’s Black Liberation Movement. This article highlights the African heritage of mothering as central to the formation and sustenance of communities and as a valuable source for womanist interpretation. This article also introduces a decolonizing methodology, a Sankofic ethic of survival that challenges intellectual colonization and the proliferation of Afro-phobic discourse in Black religious and cultural spaces.
Standing in: Self-determination, power, and faith activism of Black lesbian religious leaders
Authors: Moultrie Monique
Published: April 2022

This article explores womanist ethical leadership through the experiences of Black lesbian religious leaders led to social justice activism by their religious callings. By examining their oral histories, I use womanist ethicist Katie Cannon’s theory of “womanist emancipatory historiography” as a method for interpreting how these women re-evaluate and revise modern understandings of how race, gender, and sexual identities interact with religious practice and organization in the twenty-first century. This article postulates how their models of leadership can be instructive for future generations countering notable and negative opposition to women in leadership and lesbians in some Black Protestant denominations. Beginning with a delineation of definitions of lesbian identity as activism, the article then explicates the marginal status experienced by these five Black lesbian religious leaders as they “stand in” oppressive structures and concludes with ways these women are active agents of resistance. This exploration is a challenge and call to redirect scholarship toward a more pluralistic vision of Black female leaders.
An ecology of trust? Consenting to a pluralist universe
Authors: Debaise Didier , Stengers Isabelle
Published: April 2022

The idea of ‘progress’ was undoubtedly at the heart of the experience of the Moderns, guiding at the same time their thought, the values that they gave themselves, the hopes that animated them and of innumerable justifications that they found for all the processes of dispossession, disqualification and dismemberment that they implemented. Starting with William James’s diagnosis of the hold the idea of ‘progress’ has over us, and following his proposition that this idea is at work in the world itself, in the ecological and social ravages that it guides and justifies, this article aims to analyse the political and speculative effects of the notion of progress and to propose, through what we call an ‘ecology of trust’, other ways of collectively composing our modes of existence.
Speculating on land, property and peri/urban futures: A conjunctural approach to intra-metropolitan comparison
Authors: Leitner Helga , Sheppard Eric
Published: April 2022

This article explores a conjunctural approach to comparison as a means to capture the complexity of the processes shaping metropolitan land transformations in a city of the global South, comparing the co-implicated actions of developers and local residents across central and peri-urban Jabodetabek. A conjunctural approach shares with some other forms of comparison the ambition to build new theories and challenge existing knowledge. Rather than controlling for the characteristics of units of analysis as in conventional comparison, a conjunctural approach attends to the broader spatio-temporal conjuncture. It involves highlighting unexpected or overlooked starting points for comparison, attending to inter-place, inter-scalar and inter-temporal relationalities in order to identify shared general tendencies as well as particularities and to chart their mutual constitution. Grounding this comparison iteratively puts local knowledge and observations in conversation with already existing theories. Deploying these principles in a socio-spatial intra-metropolitan comparison, we show that economic speculation on land and property is complexly entangled with actors’ socio-cultural speculations, as they seek also to realise aspirations for distinct peri/urban futures. Economic speculation deepens already existing inequalities in wealth and power differentials between and among developers and kampung residents. The erasure of informal settlements and displacement of their residents is supplemented by the ability of other kampungs and select residents to take advantage of spillover opportunities from the formal developments built on former kampung land. Distinct central city and peri-urban landscapes are emerging, shaped by differences in the social ecology of land and local governance and planning regimes.
Police interventions in victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in a rural setting
Authors: Gumani Masefako A
Published: April 2022

One of the most frequently experienced types of violent crime in South African rural communities is interpersonal violence, which includes intimate partner violence. Rural policing is among the vital forms of intervention required to manage such incidents. This article employs a qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, to describe and interpret police members’ experiences of policing victims’ encounters of intimate partner violence in the rural Vhembe district in Limpopo. Fifteen police members, from the two South African Police Service’s subprogrammes: Visible Policing and Detective Service were sampled through purposive sampling. Unstructured open-ended interviews, field notes, diaries, and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data-collection methods. Data were analysed in accordance with the interpretative phenomenological analysis guidelines. The findings show that intimate partner violence in matrimonial and intimate relationships is common in this district; that it manifests as physical, emotional, sexual violence, and controlling behaviour and affects women, men, children, and the victims’ next-of-kin, with men mostly being the perpetrators. Paradoxes on the home front and cultural customs shape how the incidents are handled in the district communities and also determine the implementation of policing of the incidents leading to incident-focussed and evasive intervention strategies. The findings have implications for police training, further research, collaborative community stakeholder workshops, and setting up intimate partner violence community capacity-building centres.
Three narrative patterns of the city image visually presented on Instagram under the influence of self-presentation
Authors: Qian Xiao
Published: April 2022

The emerging trend of online self-presentation that cause the selective release of photos and thus create biased city images circulating in social networks deserves greater research attention. As a response to this, the paper investigates the image of Wangfujing Beijing on Instagram, which cements its reputation as a symbol of traditional food culture but limits its potential to be the embodiment of cosmopolitan urban living. After arguing that the exotic images of the food market can better help Instagrammers play an urban adventurer before followers, the paper analyzes over 5500 sets of Instagram data, and then examines three narrative patterns used to describe the place, corresponding to the context description, the connection establishment, and the visual emphasis of the dominant theme. The visual storytelling techniques used in them will assist in understanding the image-based communication between social network users and thereby increase the possibility of managing the online city image.