bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The expression of affect
Authors: Corr Alice
Published: August 2022

Ibero-Romance affective que constructions implement a conversational move associated with the speaker’s affective perspective. The speaker simultaneously asserts the truth of their utterance—whence the requirement of the indicative in such clauses—realized through c/overt V-to-Fin movement, whilst the complementizer insertion mitigates the extent to which the utterance performs an extensional truth. The affective contribution of the construction involves a greater degree of intensity relative to complementizer-less sentence exclamations, indicating that it is the complementizer itself that acts as a syntactic conduit for the construction’s expressive (Potts 2007a) value, the interpretative result of which is the bootstrapping of the speaker’s affective stance to the complementizer’s overt realization. Affective que utterances thus perform a ‘double duty’ insofar as they are configured with the referential potential of a truth-denoting deictic act whilst additionally providing instruction on how that clause should be interpreted in the external world, viz. through an affective lens.
Quantum Mechanics in a Nutshell
Authors: Jena Debdeep
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses the following questions: • What experimental facts led to the development of quantum mechanics? • What are the core ideas of quantum mechanics, and how are they different from classical mechanics? • How did quantum mechanics lead to the explanation of the existence of atoms, molecules, and the entire periodic table? • How did quantum mechanics forever change the core concepts of classical thermodynamics through the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics?
Electrons in the Quantum World
Authors: Jena Debdeep
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses the following questions: • How does application of quantum mechanics and statistics to free electrons help reveal their wavefunctions 𝜓, momentum, energy, density of states, energy density, and quantum mechanical currents? • How do the above physical properties of electrons depend on the number of dimensions the electron is allowed to move in? Specifically, what are the similarities and differences of the properties for electrons moving in 1D, 2D, and 3D? • How did quantum mechanics and quantum statistics of free electrons resolve the discrepancies of the classical Drude model of the behavior of electrons in solids, and what phenomena could still not be explained? • A few exactly solved situations when electrons are not free, but form bound states, in which case there is no motion of electrons.
Bloch Theorem, Bandstructure, and Quantum Currents
Authors: Jena Debdeep
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses the following questions: • The Bloch theorem, which states that the exact eigenfunctions of an electron in a periodic crystal are 𝜓k (x) = eikxuk (x) where uk (x + a) = uk (x) has the same periodicity as the crystal. • What is the crystal momentum and a Brillouin Zone? • How can Bloch theory enable the identification of energy bandstructure and DOS of electron states in crystals? • What is the velocity and current carried by Bloch states? How do these respond to external forces and scattering? • Why are metals, semiconductors and insulators different electronic phases of matter? Why do some divalent metals have lower electrical conductivities than their monovalent neighbors?
Zeroes and Ones: The Ballistic Transistor
Authors: Jena Debdeep
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses the following questions: • How the field-effect mechanism dynamically controls mobile electron and hole densities in semiconductors, • The quantum mechanical operation principles of FETs, • Fundamental quantum limits of operation of ballistic FETs, • Effect of scattering and drift/diffusion transport on the operation of FETs, and • How FETs in today’s CMOS and HEMT technologies are used for logic, memory, and communications, and the historical development that led to the current state of the art FET technologies.
No Turning Back: The Boltzmann Transport Equation
Authors: Jena Debdeep
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses the following questions about the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE): Why do we need the BTE to understand semiconductors? • How are the concepts of entropy and equilibrium explained by the BTE? • How does the BTE help calculate transport properties of electrons and phonons? • How are the relations between electronic and thermal transport properties explained by BTE? • What are the power and limitations of the BTE?
The Pedagogy of Trash
Authors: Hoffman Danny
Published: August 2022

How waste is managed, where it goes, who profits from and who suffers from its presence are critical development questions. And like any development story, trash has its narrative conventions and its representational norms. In this chapter I contrast the work of two photographers who take up the subject of African trash dumps. Fabrice Monteiro and Pieter Hugo have each produced well-known and critically acclaimed bodies of work on accumulating African waste. Both employ an activist camera, seeking to catalyse action around environmental issues. But the different approaches to visualizing trash in Monteiro’s The Prophecy and Hugo’s Permanent Error reflect a broad divide over how photography communicates urgent issues in global development and what photography has to offer in the particular discourses of African environmental and economic futures.
Allah megh de
Authors: Selim Shahpar
Published: August 2022

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries, and the country’s natural ecology has long experience in dealing with environmental instability and risk that provides useful resources for the future. Climate science and policymaking asks us to imagine a life that must adapt. Climate change has impacted cultural practices in the past; it challenges our cultural imaginations in the present; and its culture can be used as an important resource to inform better climate prescriptions. This chapter makes a case for making more of the potential value of cultural resources in climate policy and development intervention, drawing on the case of Bangladesh and its pot gan tradition of community theatre. By discussing practical examples, the chapter suggests that the integration of both ‘formal scientific’ and ‘local contextual’ approaches to knowledge is both highly desirable and demonstrably possible.
The organization of the book
Authors: d’Inverno Ray , Vickers James
Published: August 2022

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the book. Relativity theory captures the imagination: special relativity, black holes, the prospect of gravitational wave detection, the advent of gravitational wave astronomy, and the sheer scope and nature of cosmology and its posing of ultimate questions excite the minds of the inquisitive. Yet, in order to examine it in a meaningful way, it is really necessary to have both physical insight and a sound mathematical foundation. The aim of this book is to help provide both of these. As well as looking at the nature of scientific research in general, the chapter explains the motivation for writing the book as well as the changes made in producing a second edition. It explains something of the history of Einstein’s search for a relativistic theory of gravitation and how this has influenced the authors in their approach to the subject in this book.
Rotating black holes
Authors: d’Inverno Ray , Vickers James
Published: August 2022

Chapter 20, the final chapter in Part D, looks at the Kerr solution, which describes a rotating black hole. It turns out to be a rather long process to solve Einstein’s vacuum equations directly for the Kerr solution, so the chapter instead describes a ‘trick’ used by Newman and Janis for obtaining the Kerr solution from the Schwarzschild solution. This same trick can then be applied to the Reissner–Nordström solution to obtain the Kerr–Newman solution, the most general solution for a charged rotating black hole. After considering the properties of the Kerr solution, the chapter goes on to consider the Penrose process to extract energy from a black hole. It then concludes by providing an outline of the singularity theorems and introducing Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics.
Relativistic cosmology
Authors: d’Inverno Ray , Vickers James
Published: August 2022

Chapter 24 introduces the field of cosmology. It starts by considering Olber’s paradox and then constructs a simple Newtonian cosmology model. It then discusses the cosmological principle and Weyl’s postulate as assumptions that go into formulating relativistic cosmology. It shows how this leads to the Robertson–Walker metrics and how, when these are substituted into Einstein’s equations, one obtains the Friedmann equation, which is an evolution equation for space-time. The geometry of such Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW, for short) solutions is then studied, which leads to so-called FRW cosmologies. Finally, it is shown that these satisfy Hubble’s law, in which the velocity of recession of distant stars, as defined by their gravitational red shift, is (approximately) proportional to their distance from the observer.
Modern cosmology
Authors: d’Inverno Ray , Vickers James
Published: August 2022

Chapter 26 introduces ‘modern cosmology’, in which one considers general multicomponent Friedmann-type models described in terms of four parameters. While the previous chapter looked at the Friedmann equation under radiation-dominated, matter-dominated, or vacuum-dominated conditions, this chapter examines situations which allow for all three conditions and relates the theoretical predictions to observational parameters. This leads to the ‘standard cosmological model’ of a flat space-time containing both conventional and dark matter and in which the expansion of the universe is driven by a cosmological constant. Other topics discussed are the cosmic microwave background radiation, the possible origin of the cosmological constant, dark energy, the theory of inflation, and the anthropic principle, which essentially states we see the universe the way it is because we exist. It ends with a review of the main results in the book, and some philosophical musings on the nature of the universe.
Language shift and religious change inCentralPennsylvania
Authors: Brown Joshua R.
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines language shift as it occurred in Kishacoquillas Valley, Pennsylvania, within a heavily populated Anabaptist (Amish and Mennonite) settlement. Historically, the settlement’s Amish congregations used an archaic form of standard German for written liturgy, parts of education, and occasionally for correspondence. They also spoke Pennsylvania Dutch with members of the in-group and English with out-group members. By the mid-19th century, some of the Amish changed their religious orientation. By allying themselves with national religious movements, the congregations shifted from German and Pennsylvania Dutch to monolingual English. National religious movements and educational and vocational aspirations provided for external ties and were the motivators in this situation of language shift. None of these congregations use German in worship services today and the last speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch in these groups are now elderly. Importantly, this work, involving several languages, shows language shift as it interacts with religion.
Ordinary Lives, Death, and Social Class
Authors: Breathnach Ciara
Published: August 2022

This book focuses on the evolution of the Dublin City coroner’s court and on Dr Louis A. Bryne’s first two years in office. Wrapping itself around the 1901 census, it uses gender, power, and blame as analytical frameworks to examine what inquests can tell us about the impact of urban living from lifecycle and class perspectives. Coroners’ inquests are a combination of eyewitness testimony, expert medico-legal language, detailed minutiae of people, places, and occupational identities pinned to a moment in time. Thus they have a simultaneous capacity to reveal histories from both above and below. Rich in geographical, socio-economic, cultural, class, and medical detail these records collated in a liminal setting about the hour of death bear incredible witness to what has often been termed ‘ordinary lives’. The subjects of Dr Byrne’s court were among the poorest in Ireland and, apart from common medical cause problems linked to lower socio-economic groups, this book covers preventable cases of workplace accidents, neglect, domestic abuse, and homicide.
Unnatural, Suspicious, and Violent Death
Authors: Breathnach Ciara
Published: August 2022

This chapter offers a systematic way of examining how the coroners’ courts operated as a crucial first step in establishing evidence of criminality vis-à-vis cause of death. It focuses on cases where there was evidence of infanticide, suicide, and homicide. As the vox populi, or voice of the people, jury riders in the coronial setting could be very powerful; they were indicative of the public appetite and support for conviction and sentencing in the criminal courts, especially in the context of capital offences. Where possible, the chapter traces how these cases move from the coroner’s to the police, summary, and criminal courts in an attempt to establish patterns of inquiry and sentencing. Moreover, it shows how verdicts in coronial courts were subject to political, moral, and gender bias even when clear evidence of criminality was apparent.
Pension Product Design and Relations to the Danish Market
Authors: Jarner Søren Fiig , Munk Claus , Steffensen Mogens
Published: August 2022

This chapter discusses both the overall design of pension plans and the design of specific pension products found in the Danish occupational pension system. From the perspective of designing a pension plan, or indeed a national pension system, the sponsors and the funding structure are the two most important top-level design choices. In Denmark, the occupational pension system was structured as a nonsponsored, defined contribution system centered on pension funds and life insurance companies. After introductory remarks in Section 4.1, Section 4.2 describes these design choices and how they affect benefit characteristics. Section 4.3 investigates optimal consumption and investment decisions over a lifetime in a theoretical framework. The analysis shows that a mandatory, defined contribution pension plan featuring low-cost annuities leads to significant welfare gains for procrastinators who are incapable of accumulating sufficient retirement savings on their own. Section 4.4 turns attention to a comparison of the theoretically optimal investment profiles with those found in marketed life-cycle products, while Section 4.5 discusses insurance of disability and death risk, which is often an integrated part of pension savings contracts.
Pension Wealth and Macroeconomic Stability
Authors: Andersen Henrik Yde , Hansen Niels Lynggård , Kuchler Andreas
Published: August 2022

This chapter reviews and updates the literature on the implications of accumulation of pension wealth for household finances, as well as for macroeconomic and financial stability, with a particular focus on evidence from Denmark. From an international perspective, increasing pension wealth is associated with higher debt levels. Microeconomic evidence also points to pension wealth being an important factor for explaining household wealth and debt positions. The maturing pension system in Denmark has given rise to concerns about the implications of larger household balance sheets for macroeconomic and financial stability. In general, Danish households are resilient and have access to substantial amounts of liquid wealth to buffer unexpected shocks to their disposable income. The balance sheet expansion may, however, have implications for macroeconomic stability since consumption among highly leveraged households tends to be more volatile than that of their less-leveraged peers.
A TREE NEVER LIES
Authors: Gibson David J.
Published: August 2022

This chapter begins with the case of the kidnapping of the infant Charles Lindbergh. It details how the case still resonates in the annals of forensic science as it represents a landmark in the use of scientific expert witnesses and was one of the first uses of botanical evidence in a court of law. It also focuses on wood anatomy, which forms one type of botanical evidence. The chapter looks at the legal principles of evidence, specifically the evidence triangle that connects a victim, a perpetrator, and the crime scene. It considers the principle that perpetrators or witnesses can easily transfer evidence from one location to another, noting that this important evidence is botanical.
Easter 1916 and the Celtic Primitive
Authors: Patten Eve
Published: August 2022

This chapter takes its starting point in the Easter Rising of 1916 and traces the legacy of Ireland’s nationalist rebellion in both specific and latent references across English modernist texts, with particular focus on 1920s novels by D.H. Lawrence and Wyndham Lewis. The Irish rising provoked immediate outrage in English authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, and John Buchan, but over the longer term it also propelled certain modernist writers towards the imaginative contemplation of revolution itself, and to the extension of a violent and proleptic paradigm from Ireland to England. Serially repurposed by Lawrence and Lewis, Ireland’s 1916 drama shadows literary projections of English, European, and then global landscapes, each envisaged in the long wake of the First World War through motifs of atavistic violence, primitivism, and degeneration.
Tonal variability and marginal contrast
Authors: Bennett Ryan , Henderson Robert , Harvey Megan
Published: August 2022

Uspanteko (Mayan) is unique among the languages of Guatemala in having a full-fledged system of lexical tone. Tone is thoroughly integrated into the morphology of the language, and triggers several predictable phonological alternations. The Uspanteko tone system is also relatively simple, involving at most two contrastive categories. However, tone in Uspanteko shows a high degree of phonetic variability, and there is no consensus as to what tones are phonetically or phonologically active in the language. This paper argues that at least some of this unclarity owes to the effect of intonation, which can obscure lexical tone on vowels. A phonetic study attempting to control for intonation suggests that lexical tone in Uspanteko involves a privative [H]~Ø contrast on short vowels, and either a [H]~Ø or [H]~[L] contrast on long vowels. The relationship between the phonetics of tone and its low functional load in Uspanteko is also discussed
Durham—its regional, economic, and physical setting
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the City of Durham and discusses its location, topography, and history, as well as the regional, economic, and physical aspects of its setting. These glimpses of the city provide context for the weather observations presented in the rest of the chapters in this book. Durham University Observatory was built in 1840, and weather observations commenced in 1841. To date, the unchanged site and limited urban expansion near the Observatory has meant that the urban warming influence on the Durham Observatory is very small, and as such the record is particularly important in climate change studies.
Meteorological observations in Durham
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

Weather observations began at the astronomical Observatory at Durham University in 1841. This chapter provides information on the history of the records, with particular attention to the part played by Professor Gordon Manley, the foremost British climatologist of his generation, during his time at Durham. Details are given of the extension of the temperature record back to 1784, and the contribution of urban influence on the Durham record is quantified. The chapter covers the beginning of astronomy in Durham, the start of meteorological observations, and also includes information about the stopping of manual observations and the resulting introduction of automatic weather station records.
October
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

Like September, October is another transitional month, and it ushers in shorter, cloudier days, more frequent rainfall, and lower temperatures. Furthermore, the mean daily maximum temperature can be expected to fall more than 5 °C during this month, there is increased precipitation, and autumn’s first air frosts can normally be expected before the month is out. This chapter examines the long-term records (averages and extremes) of temperature, precipitation, sunshine, barometric pressure, wind direction and speed, snowfall, and fog at Durham during the month of October. The chapter includes descriptive accounts and local photographs of notable weather events during the month.
November
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines the long-term records (averages and extremes) of temperature, precipitation, sunshine, barometric pressure, wind direction and speed, snowfall and fog at Durham during the month of November. The chapter includes descriptive accounts and local photographs of notable weather events during the month. Some Novembers see unseasonably mild or even warm days, but November can also be wintry, and the first snow of the winter is quite likely. November’s mean air temperature falls almost four degrees when compared with October’s, emphasizing the sharp decline in temperature at this time of year, and several frosty mornings can be expected in a normal month.
December
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

December is the shortest month and has the least sunny days of the year, and it is the second-coldest month. The week leading up to Christmas has, on average, the least sunshine of any week in the year, and a normal December will see 13 days without any sunshine whatsoever. It has about 19 measurable days with rain or snow. This chapter examines the long-term records (averages and extremes) of temperature, precipitation, sunshine, barometric pressure, wind direction and speed, snowfall and fog at Durham during the month of December. The chapter includes descriptive accounts and local photographs of notable weather events during the month.
Summer
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

Summer is the warmest and sunniest season of the year, although not the wettest. In the northern hemisphere, temperatures typically reach their annual peak at the end of July and the beginning of August. Not surprisingly, the lowest summer temperatures tend to be recorded early in the season. This chapter examines the long-term records (averages and extremes) of temperature, precipitation, sunshine, barometric pressure, wind direction and speed, and fog at Durham during the summer season. The chapter includes descriptive accounts and local photographs of notable weather events during the June–July–August period and assesses summers since 1880 using a quantitative index.
Precipitation extremes in Durham
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines Durham’s extremes of precipitation and considers long droughts, rainfall depth-duration extremes dry and wet from one day to one year, wettest and driest calendar months, wettest days, heaviest snowfalls, and maximum snowfall depths by winter.
Sunshine extremes in Durham
Authors: Burt Stephen , Burt Tim
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines Durham’s extremes of sunshine, considering sunniest days and the sunniest and dullest months (by duration, and by percentage of possible).
England from Elsewhere
Authors: Dimmock Matthew , Hadfield Andrew
Published: August 2022

The chapter explores how the English were seen by travellers to England. Travellers came as members of diplomatic missions; as refugees fleeing persecution; or as individuals driven by curiosity. Their observations are often consistent, and travellers comment on the fertility of the soil and number of sheep; the importance of drinking in English society; English hostility to foreigners; the pale skins of the English; and their barbarous language and lack of culture. Four extracts are included: from Nicander Nucius’s ‘Travels’ (1546); Étienne Perlin’s ‘Description of England’ (1553?); Thomas Platter’s Diary (1599), detailing his journey to London from France, and containing his observations of English theatre; and Emmanuel van Meteren’s ‘Description of the English’ (c.1612).
The Nature of Complex Networks
Authors: Dorogovtsev Sergey N. , Mendes José F. F.
Published: August 2022

The researchers studying complex networks will acquire from this advanced modern book a number of new issues and ideas, not yet touched upon in other reference volumes. The book considers a wide range of networks and processes taking place on them, paying particular attention to the recently developed directions, methods, and techniques. It proposes a statistical mechanics view of random networks based on the concept of statistical ensembles, but approaches and methods of modern graph theory, concerning random graphs, overlap strongly with statistical physics. Hence mathematicians have a good chance to discover interesting things in this book, even though it does not contain mathematical proofs and trades off rigour for comprehension, brevity, and relevance. The book combines features of an advanced textbook, a reference book and a detailed review of the current state of the art. This book will be useful for undergraduate, master, and PhD students and young researchers from physics, multidisciplinary studies, computer science, and applied mathematics wishing to gain a serious insight into the principles of complex networks. The book can be used as a text in university courses on complex networks. It proposes to determined students not only a brief trip to the land of complex networks but an option to stay there forever.
Temporal Networks
Authors: Dorogovtsev Sergey N. , Mendes José F. F.
Published: August 2022

When a process takes place on an evolving network or this network serves as an evolving substrate of a dynamical system, two time scales naturally emerge: (i) the shortest time of structural changes in a local neighbourhood of each vertex, and (ii) the shortest time (time step) of a process. The notion of a temporal network assumes that local structural changes in an evolving network occur faster than the time step of a process or that these two time scales are comparable. The simplest example of such structural changes is sufficiently frequent emergence and disappearance of edges in a network. A standard example of a process on a network is a random walk, whose shortest time scale is the minimal time a walker stays on a vertex between two moves. Loosely speaking, a temporal network changes locally faster than a process on it or with equal speed. Still, this state of a network can be steady.
Development of prognostic scoring system for predicting 1-year mortality among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in South India
Authors: Krishnamoorthy Yuvaraj , Ezhumalai Komala , Murali Sharan , Rajaa Sathish , Majella Marie Gilbert , Sarkar Sonali , Lakshminarayanan Subitha , Joseph Noyal Mariya , Soundappan Govindarajan , Prakash Babu Senbagavalli , Horsburgh Charles , Hochberg Natasha , Johnson W Evan , Knudsen Selby , Pentakota Sri Ram , Salgame Padmini , Roy Gautam , Ellner Jerrold
Published: August 2022

Background

Development of a prediction model using baseline characteristics of tuberculosis (TB) patients at the time of diagnosis will aid us in early identification of the high-risk groups and devise pertinent strategies accordingly. Hence, we did this study to develop a prognostic-scoring model for predicting the death among newly diagnosed drug sensitive pulmonary TB patients in South India.

Methods

We undertook a longitudinal analysis of cohort data under the Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis India consortium. Multivariable cox regression using the stepwise backward elimination procedure was used to select variables for the model building and the nomogram-scoring system was developed with the final selected model.

Results

In total, 54 (4.6%) out of the 1181 patients had died during the 1-year follow-up period. The TB mortality rate was 0.20 per 1000 person-days. Eight variables (age, gender, functional limitation, anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, diabetes, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio) were selected and a nomogram was built using these variables. The discriminatory power was 0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.75–0.86) and this model was well-calibrated. Decision curve analysis showed that the model is beneficial at a threshold probability ~15–65%.

Conclusions

This scoring system could help the clinicians and policy makers to devise targeted interventions and in turn reduce the TB mortality in India.
An outbreak of Rift Valley fever among peri-urban dairy cattle in northern Tanzania
Authors: de Glanville William A , Allan Kathryn J , Nyarobi James M , Thomas Kate M , Lankester Felix , Kibona Tito J , Claxton John R , Brennan Benjamin , Carter Ryan W , Crump John A , Halliday Jo E B , Ladbury Georgia , Mmbaga Blandina T , Mramba Furaha , Nyasebwa Obed M , Rubach Matthew P , Rostal Melinda K , Sanka Paul , Swai Emmanuel S , Szemiel Agnieszka M , Willett Brian J , Cleaveland Sarah
Published: August 2022

Background

Human and animal cases of Rift Valley fever (RVF) are typically only reported during large outbreaks. The occurrence of RVF cases that go undetected by national surveillance systems in the period between these outbreaks is considered likely. The last reported cases of RVF in Tanzania occurred during a large outbreak in 2007–2008.

Methods

Samples collected between 2017 and 2019 from livestock suffering abortion across northern Tanzania were retrospectively tested for evidence of RVF virus infection using serology and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Results

A total of 14 RVF-associated cattle abortions were identified among dairy cattle in a peri-urban area surrounding the town of Moshi. RVF cases occurred from May to August 2018 and were considered to represent an undetected, small-scale RVF outbreak. Milk samples from 3 of 14 cases (21%) were found to be RT-qPCR positive. Genotyping revealed circulation of RVF viruses from two distinct lineages.

Conclusions

RVF outbreaks can occur more often in endemic settings than would be expected on the basis of detection by national surveillance. The occurrence of RVF cases among peri-urban dairy cattle and evidence for viral shedding in milk, also highlights potentially emerging risks for RVF associated with increasing urban and peri-urban livestock populations.
Pyramiding of Adult-Plant Resistance Genes Enhances All-Stage Resistance to Wheat Stripe Rust
Authors: Wang Fang , Zhang Minghu , Hu Yanling , Gan Meijuan , Jiang Bo , Hao Ming , Ning Shunzong , Yuan Zhongwei , Chen Xuejiao , Chen Xue , Zhang Lianquan , Wu Bihua , Liu Dengcai , Huang Lin
Published: August 2022

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most destructive diseases in wheat production. Pyramiding of adult-plant resistance (APR) genes is a promising strategy to increase durability of resistance. The stripe rust resistance (R) genes Yr18, Yr28, and Yr36 encode different protein families which confer partial resistance to a broad array of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races. Here, we developed BC3F5 wheat lines representing all possible combinations of Yr18, Yr28, and Yr36 in a genetic background of the highly P. striiformis f. sp. tritici-susceptible wheat line SY95-71 that is widely used in stripe rust analysis. These lines enabled us to accurately evaluate these genes singly and in combination in a common genetic background. The adult plant resistance experiments were analyzed in the field, where stripe rust epidemics occurred frequently. The field results indicated that these partial R genes act additively in enhancing the levels of resistance, and a minimum of two-gene combinations can generate adequate stripe rust resistance. The Yr28 + Yr36 and Yr18 + Yr28 + Yr36 combinations also showed adequate resistance at the seedling stage, implying that APR gene pyramiding can achieve all-stage resistance. Meanwhile, the three genes were simultaneously introduced into elite wheat lines through gene-based marker selection. Elite lines exhibited strong all-stage resistance to stripe rust. This work provides valuable insights and resources for developing durable P. striiformis f. sp. tritici-resistant varieties and for elucidating the regulation mechanism of partial R gene pyramiding.
The LeEIX Locus Determines Pathogen Resistance in Tomato
Authors: Leibman-Markus Meirav , Gupta Rupali , Pizarro Lorena , Bar Maya
Published: August 2022

The mechanisms underlying the ability of plants to differentiate between pathogens and commensals in their environment are currently unresolved. It has been suggested that spatiotemporal regulation of pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) content could be one of the components providing plants with the ability to distinguish between pathogens and nonpathogenic microbes. The LeEIX PRRs recognize xylanases derived from beneficial or commensal plant colonizers of Trichoderma species, including the xylanase known as EIX. Here, we investigated possible general roles of PRRs from the LeEIX locus in immunity and pathogen resistance in tomato. Mutating the inhibitory PRR LeEIX1, or overexpressing the activating PRR LeEIX2, resulted in resistance to a wide range of pathogens and increased basal and elicited immunity. LeEIX1 knockout caused increases in the expression level of several tested PRRs, including FLS2, as well as bacterial pathogen resistance coupled with an increase in flg22-mediated immunity. The wild tomato relative Solanum pennellii contains inactive LeEIX PRR variants. S. pennellii does not respond to elicitation with the LeEIX PRR ligand EIX. Given that EIX is derived from a mostly nonpathogenic microbe, the connection of its PRRs to disease resistance has not previously been investigated directly. Here, we observed that compared with S. lycopersicum cultivar M82, S. pennellii was more sensitive to several fungal and bacterial pathogens. Our results suggest that the LeEIX locus might determine resistance to fungal necrotrophs, whereas the resistance to biotrophs is effected in combination with a gene/quantitative trait locus not within the LeEIX locus.
Regional anesthesia and analgesia for trauma: an updated review
Authors: Torrie Arissa M.
Published: August 2022

Purpose of review

This narrative review is an updated summary of the value of regional anesthesia and analgesia for trauma and the special considerations when optimizing pain management and utilizing regional analgesia for acute traumatic pain.

Recent findings

In the setting of the opioid epidemic, the need for multimodal analgesia in trauma is imperative. It has been proposed that inadequately treated acute pain predisposes a patient to increased risk of developing chronic pain and continued opioid use. Enhanced Regional Anesthesia techniques along with multimodal pain therapies is thought to reduce the stress response and improve patient's short- and long-term outcomes.

Our ability to save life and limb has improved, but our ability to manage acute traumatic pain continues to lag. Understanding trauma-specific concerns and tailoring the analgesia to a patient's specific injuries can increase a patient's immediate comfort and long-term outcome as well.
An Integrated Literature Review Revealing the Process of Awakening the Spiritual Self/Identity Among Adolescents With Cancer
Authors: Alshakhshir Nadeen Sami , Montgomery Kathleen
Published: August 2022

This integrative review was conducted to determine the current state of science in understanding the process of awakening the spiritual self/identity among adolescents with cancer. Twenty-six studies were included in the data synthesis. Six major themes were identified: recounting rough spots of the cancer experience, the spiritual self/identity, nurturing the spiritual self/identity, affirming values and beliefs, abiding resilience and transcendence, and portraying the cancer experience. Findings offer increased understanding of the process of awakening the spiritual self/identity among adolescents with cancer that can guide spiritual nursing practice and inform future research including the development of spiritual care interventions.
Virtual Reality Reduces Fear and Anxiety During Pediatric Orthopaedic Cast Room Procedures: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Richey Ann E. , Hastings Katherine G. , Karius Alexander , Segovia Nicole A. , Caruso Thomas J. , Frick Steven , Rodriguez Samuel
Published: August 2022

Background:

Virtual Reality (VR) has been used as a distraction tool in various medical settings to reduce pain and anxiety associated with procedures. This study evaluates the effectiveness of VR as a distraction tool for decreasing fear, anxiety, and pain in pediatric patients undergoing common outpatient orthopaedic procedures.

Methods:

A total of 210 patients were recruited from a single orthopaedic clinic between October 2017 and July 2019. Patients were randomized to the VR group or to the control group (standard of care). Outpatient procedures included cast and/or pin removals. Primary outcome measures were collected preprocedure and postprocedure using validated surveys, and included: fear (Children’s Fear Scale), anxiety (Children’s Anxiety Meter-State), and pain (Numerical Rating Scale). Patients and caregivers in the VR group completed a satisfaction survey at the end of their appointment. Fear, anxiety, and pain scores between the 2 groups were analyzed using multivariable linear regression models, and the satisfaction survey was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

One hundred twenty nine patients were included in the final analysis, with 85 patients in the VR group and 44 patients in the control group. During the procedure, patients in the VR group reported significantly lower average fear scores (P<0.001) and anxiety scores (P=0.003) as compared with controls. There were no differences between the groups in fear and anxiety scores before and after the procedure, or pain scores before, during, or after the procedure. Overall, patients and caregivers in the VR group reported high satisfaction scores, with 97% of patients and 95% of caregivers recommending this intervention to others.

Conclusion:

VR technology was found to be an effective distraction tool to improve fear and anxiety during cast removal procedures. Findings build on a body of evidence that supports the use of distraction tools in clinics, specifically pediatric orthopaedics, to improve fear and anxiety. The distraction tools can be easily translated into current practices.

Level of Evidence:

Level I.
Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of non-V600 E/K BRAF mutant melanoma patients: a single-institution experience
Authors: Comito Francesca , Aprile Marta , Pagani Rachele , Siepe Giambattista , Sperandi Francesca , Gruppioni Elisa , Altimari Annalisa , De Biase Dario , Melotti Barbara
Published: August 2022

The widespread use of more sensitive detection tools, such as next-generation sequencing, has increased the identification of a variety of BRAF mutations other than V600E/K in melanoma patients. However, there is a lack of established data regarding the efficacy of BRAF/MEK inhibitors and immune-checkpoint immune inhibitors (ICI) for these patients. We performed a retrospective study, including all the patients diagnosed with stage III or IV melanoma that were referred to the University Hospital of Bologna from 2011 to 2021, carrying a non-V600E or V600K mutation of BRAF and who were started on systemic treatment. We found 14 patients with stage III or IV melanoma harboring the following BRAF mutations: V600R, V600_K601delinsE, K601E, p.T599_V600insT, L597V, G466R, S467L, and A598T. Of note, G466R and A598T BRAF mutations have never been previously reported in melanoma. Four patients received combined BRAF/MEK inhibitors, two patients BRAF inhibitor monotherapy, and six patients were treated with ICI for advanced melanoma; four patients received adjuvant treatment with nivolumab. Given the few cases and the absence of randomized clinical trials, it is important to report clinical experiences, which can guide physicians in the treatment of melanomas harboring rare BRAF mutations.
Pain and Spirituality Among Women With Advanced Breast Cancer
Authors: Miller Megan , Greenwalt Kyle , Lehto Rebecca , Wu Horng-Shiuann , Moser Jason , Wyatt Gwen
Published: August 2022

Background:

Women with advanced breast cancer often experience significant pain. Previous studies indicate that spirituality may serve as a resource to alter pain perceptions; yet, the role of spirituality in pain management has not been examined as a lived experience among this population.

Objective:

This study qualitatively explored how women with advanced breast cancer describe their experiences with spirituality, pain, and how they perceived their spirituality as influencing their pain.

Interventions/Methods:

Guided by Self-transcendence Theory, a phenomenological approach was taken. Women were recruited via tumor registry mailings through a community cancer center. Face-to-face semistructured interviews (N = 9) were conducted. An inductive, interpretive data analysis approach was used, using open-coding thematic analysis conducted by 2 investigators.

Results:

Participants were Caucasian and Christian, with a mean age of 61 years. Findings revealed the complex, multidimensional nature of pain and broad encompassing experiences of spirituality. Themes included: (1) spirituality provides positive cognitive framing to help face pain; (2) spirituality elicited supportive emotions such as peace and tranquility despite pain; (3) spiritual practices serve as pain self-management tools; and (4) connection with others and service activities (aspects of spirituality) help women cope with pain.

Conclusions:

While various routes were mentioned, most women found spirituality to alter pain experiences in supportive ways. Greater attention to spirituality may open new avenues of research and expand insights for development of nurse-designed pain management interventions.

What is Foundational:

Women with advanced stage breast cancer identify pain as a total (physical, cognitive and emotional) experience that needs another total experience to overcome it. Spirituality is an intentional total experience that quiets the mind, and keeps the women in the present moment with a positive cognitive frame and altered positive emotional states including peace and tranquility.
Cross-cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of the Leuven Questionnaire for Patient Self-care During Chemotherapy
Authors: Nejat Nazi , Rafiei Fatemeh , Ebrahimabadi Maryam
Published: August 2022

Background:

Patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy frequently experience treatment side-effects that range in degrees of severity. Self-care is important for success in treatment and reducing patients’ suffering secondary to treatment side effects. Using a valid and reliable questionnaire is the first step in assessing patients’ self-care status.

Objectives:

To translate, adapt, and psychometrically test the Leuven questionnaire for Patient Self-care during Chemotherapy (L-PaSC) in Iranian adult oncology patients.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 154 patients in treatment for cancer. A cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument (translation, synthesis, back translation, synthesis of back-translation, expert committee review, and pretesting) was completed. Content and face validities of the adapted version L-PaSC were evaluated by expert committee review; reliability was evaluated through Spearman correlation coefficient, Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using the SPSS-16 software.

Results:

The face validity of the questionnaire was acceptable (mean score: 1.75). The content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were 0.89 and 0.98, respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficient, ICC, and Cronbach’s alpha value for the questionnaire were 0.94, 0.97, and 0.97, respectively.

Conclusion:

The Persian version (L-PaSC-P) has the potential to support a comprehensive assessment of cancer patients’ self-care during chemotherapy.

Implications for Practice:

Clinician insights regarding patients’ self-care status may help to give support to the self-care efforts which in turn may help to reduce side-effects, improve quality of life and even slow disease progression. Measurement of patients’ self-care status during chemotherapy can provide important information on patients’ well-being.

What is Foundational:

A translation, using well-established methods, of the Leuven questionnaire for Patient Self-Care during Chemotherapy (L-PaSC) with Iranian adult oncology patients produced a new and validated, reliable translation in Persian, LPaSC-P, which will be used to enhance clinician understanding and support of patient self-care activities.
Managing Family Building Concerns After Cancer
Authors: Gorman Jessica R. , Smith Ellie , Drizin Julia H. , Lyons Karen S. , Harvey S. Marie
Published: August 2022

Background:

Young adult breast cancer survivors (YABCS) and their partners commonly experience distress related to changes in their family building options.

Objective:

To explore how YABCS and their partners appraised and managed family building after cancer to inform approaches to support these couples.

Methods:

We conducted separate telephone interviews with 25 YABCS and their male partners. We used thematic analysis to examine individual interviews followed by analysis of responses within and across couples.

Results:

Themes were: (1) Purposeful discussion about family building plans with each other; (2) Balancing family building desires and priorities that do not always align; (3) Partners providing emotional and instrumental support for survivors; (4) Working toward finding a solution together; (5) Perception of limited choice; (6) Combination of time in life and cancer circumstance; (7) Access to financial resources and fertility care; and (8) Motherhood self-identity, social expectations, and assumptions.

Conclusions:

Open communication facilitated shared appraisal and management of family building plans, which were influenced by both the cancer experience and stage of life. Participants emphasized a lack of choice and autonomy, describing ways that structural factors and social expectations around biological motherhood disrupted family building plans.

Implications for Practice:

YABCS couples navigating family building would benefit from counseling focused on communication and consideration of each partner’s priorities based on circumstances, social expectations, and access to resources.

What Is Foundational:

Interpersonal, contextual, and structural factors are important considerations when developing strategies to comprehensively support couples navigating the complexities of family building after cancer.