bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
10 Village, Rural Environment
Authors: Chattopadhyay Budhaditya
Published: January 2022

The village and rural environment are traditionally recognised as the cohabitation of nature and culture based on a sustainable ecological relationship between humans and non-human entities, flora and fauna, and humans and animals. In villages, humans don’t live as estranged from natural environments as they do in cities. However, we have arguably entered the Anthropocene epoch, a new geologic era defined by unprecedented man-made disturbances of earth’s ecologies (...
16 Underwater, Outer Space
Authors: Chattopadhyay Budhaditya
Published: January 2022

Ever since I was a child, I have been afraid of water. My mother’s only brother drowned in a lake while learning to swim. He was just twelve years old at the time. I have developed a deep fear of unknown depths and underwater crevasses, knowing that the only uncle I could have had from my mother’s side of the family was taken away by water. In the bathroom of my childhood home shivers would run down my spine when I looked at the world under the water scattered on the floor, even though they were mere reflections upside down. I have never learnt to swim because every time I went underwater I would hear ghostly, unknowable, otherworldly sounds that were beyond my cognitive universe....
Introduction
Authors: Mclay Mark
Published: January 2022

This introductory chapter explores how Democrats and Republicans differ in their approach to tackling poverty and how this has become central to each party’s identity. It also argues that historians have neglected the role that the Republican Party played in shaping and severely curtailing Johnson’s War on Poverty. It also shows how opposing the anti-poverty effort helped Republicans electorally.
A path to relevance: the Republican crusade against the War on Poverty, 1965–66
Authors: Mclay Mark
Published: January 2022

This chapter demonstrates how Republicans employed creative opposition to the War on Poverty as a route back to political relevance. It explores the Republican ‘Opportunity Crusade’ – the Republican alternative to the War on Poverty – and shows how Republicans had a significant influence in shaping the War on Poverty during its congressional renewal. The chapter also shows how Republicans campaigned against the War on Poverty in 1966 and how the anti-poverty effort was becoming symbolic of the ills befalling Johnson’s Great Society.
The choice and the echo: poverty politics and the 1968 campaign
Authors: Mclay Mark
Published: January 2022

This chapter focuses on Richard Nixon’s successful campaign for the presidency in 1968. It shows how Nixon tread a fine line between conservative Republicans and progressive Republicans in seeking the party’s nomination. In harmony with conservatives, Nixon promised to return ‘law and order’ to the United States, but to appease progressives, Nixon also promised to pursue ‘black capitalism’. The chapter also argues that Nixon’s opposition to the War on Poverty – which he called the ‘clearest choice’ in the 1968 campaign - has been underappreciated by historians who have analysed the Nixon, Humphrey, and Wallace contest.
Desired Futures: Sidney Godolphin and Edmund Waller
Authors: Calvert Ian
Published: January 2022

Chapter 1 outlines two key strands of Virgil’s mid-seventeenth century English reception: his reputation as a vates (poet-prophet) and the belief that his poetry contained ethical and political counsel that was directed to Augustus. It argues that his translators were drawn to Virgil’s use of prophecy and counsel as a means of imagining the alternate near-futures that the fragility of his own historical moment had made possible in light of the political uncertainties prompted by Rome’s civil war and its transition from Republic to Principate. Virgil’s poetry consequently provided a site for his translators to evaluate their own experience of civil war and express their hopes for the future, both personal and political. The translation of Aeneid 4 by Sidney Godolphin and Edmund Waller is used to identify the book’s overall concerns, especially with regard to the sometimes mobile nature of the translators’ loyalties across the period, and the signalling of their political affinities through paratextual materials as well as direct interventions in their translations and imitations of Virgil’s texts.
Private Interest: James Harrington
Authors: Calvert Ian
Published: January 2022

Chapter 6 shows that James Harrington used his writings to present himself as a Virgilian counsellor to a sovereign, but despite his period of service as a personal attendant to Charles I the person he sought to advise was Oliver Cromwell. Harrington quoted and adapted Virgil in The Commonwealth of Oceana to delineate the values of autocratic republicanism, and to criticise Cromwell as Lord Protector for not seizing the opportunity to establish a republic on Harringtonian principles when he had the means to do so. While Harrington continued to use Virgil for political purposes in his translations from the Eclogues, his translation of Aeneid 1-6 lacked any substantial political commentary beyond his sympathetic commemoration of Charles I’s execution. A coda to the chapter discusses Sir William Kingsmill, who like Harrington produced an apolitical translation of the Aeneid despite his history of royal service and the presence of political commentary in his other writings.
‘Monuments of Industry’? The Otago Gold Rushes in Public and Private Memory
Authors: Davy Daniel
Published: January 2022

Chapter Six continues this discussion of the development of New Zealand nationalism to examine how memories of the Otago gold rushes intersected closely with contemporary social debates about New Zealand. It also discusses how the rushes were remembered and forgotten among those who left New Zealand.
A Conversation with the Director
Authors: Ghorbankarimi Maryam
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, Banietemad speaks articulately and at length about her life and work, relating memories and anec-dotes concerning her childhood and her individual path to filmmaking. She also offers insightful reflections on the decisions and circumstances behind the making of some of her most prominent works, and emphasizes the endless inspiration she gets from the many different people in her country, and the social and cultural issues they have always faced.
The Artistic and Political Implications of the Meta-cinematic in Rakhshan Banietemad’s Films
Authors: Khosroshahi Zahra
Published: January 2022

This chapter explores the central- ity of the recurring theme of the meta-cinematic and the film-within-the- film as an artistic and political tool in Banietemad’s body of work. She argues that, through the meta-cinematic, Banietemad comments directly on the very concept of cinema; the films allude to their own form and this is especially significant in the way in which they challenge censorship laws. This chapter also focuses on where visualization and use of the camera as a theme and a technique can lead us. The author shows that the double-camera function not only serves as a vivid reminder of the cinematic form, but also, inevitably, tells stories.
Affective Listening, Sonic Intimacy, and the Power of Quiet Voices in Rakhshan Banietemad’s The May Lady: Towards a Cinema of Empathy
Authors: Nooshin Laudan
Published: January 2022

This chapter focuses on the variety of ways in which sound plays a pivotal role in The May Lady. Nooshin analyzes the act of listening as portrayed and provoked by the protagonist of the film, examining how the purely sonorous material qualities of the spoken voice, such as timbre, texture, and contour—often presented as being outside of referential meaning—in fact communicate a great deal to the listener “beyond words.” She argues in particular how sounds facilitate a new kind of filmic intimacy, affective subjectivity, and embodied listening that she terms “cinema of empathy.”
Hidden Transcripts of Subordinates and the Art of Resistance in Our Times
Authors: Abdi Bahar
Published: January 2022

This chapter employs James Scott’s theory of hidden transcript as a mode of resistance, and demonstrates how, in her polemic documentary Our Times, Banietemad has subtly managed to give voice and agency to youth in general and, in a more specific sense, to female presidential candidates
History, Cityscape and Spatial Stratification
Authors: Zou Hongyan
Published: January 2022

This chapter presents cinematic Chongqing as a space of literal stratification of high and low spaces, with characters appropriating distinct urban spaces that correspond to their stratified social classes. Providing the geographical, historical and social background of changing cinematic images of the city over half a century, this chapter explains the reasons why the city has been continuously captured and represented as a mundane and vernacular place. This is explicitly shown in the black comedy Crazy Stone [Feng kuang de shitou] (Ning Hao, 2006), which displays Chongqing as a melting pot characterised by immigrants, dialects and the lack of cultural originality and moral values. This chapter then argues that cinematic Chongqing reflects the city’s power to create disorientation, anxiety and social discontent owing to an increasingly complicated and unevenly developed technocratic society where great changes of identity, subjectivity and social class are underway. The second analysis is of the psychological horror Curiosity Kills the Cat [Haoqi haisi mao] (Zhang Yibai, 2006), and it explores urban spaces pervaded by desire, infidelity and class stratification. In addition, tragic consequences ensue when film characters transgress such stratified spaces, which sheds light on the wide disparity between social classes in reality.
Natural Disaster and Trauma
Authors: Zou Hongyan
Published: January 2022

This chapter discusses how natural disaster (the 2018 Wenchuan earthquake) and the consequent traumatised memories have influenced cinematic representations of Chengdu and its adjacent areas. Feature films and documentaries proliferated after the earthquake, and ruins, heavy loss of life and local survivors’ troubled situations wrought by the disaster have dominated cinematic modern Chengdu. Moreover, with the catastrophic disaster’s ability of erasing physical spaces and producing traumatised experiences and memories, post-earthquake cinematic Chengdu becomes an optimal space for emotional remedy and contemplation on existence. In urban feature Buddha Mountain [Guanyin shan] (Li Yu, 2011), the ruins wrought by the earthquake symbolise the interior wasteland inhabited by film characters, and mirror the disintegration of traditional family units and the consequent psychological vacuum in modern families. Characters in the film are shown as drifters, driven from place to place because of the trend of demolition and construction, and impacted by accidents, mobility and imposed spatial oppression associated with urban spaces.
Islam in History, Islamic History
Authors: Ringer Monica M.
Published: January 2022

The taxonomy of human religions, generated and confirmed as the guiding organizational grammar of European disciplines of religious studies, philology, and anthropology, claimed to map civilizational evolution. Muslim Modernists, in addition to locating Islam in this universal taxonomy, also explored Islam in history, rewriting Islamic history as the story of transcendent Islamic essence in a sequence of particular historical contexts. They determined the historical laws of progress that dictated the path of the ‘torch of civilization’ in order to provide a historical explanation for moments of progress, and to understand the reasons for present stagnation. These new Islamic Histories chart the interaction of Islam in historical context, beginning with the revelation of the Quran, the Prophet’s application of Quranic ideals – God’s intent – and the subsequent history of Islamic institutions in historical context, from the Rashidun through the Abbasid period. Islamic History demonstrated both the enduring relevance of Islam as essence, but also the need to re-contextualize it in the present. In making these arguments, Modernists were in dialogue not only with European Orientalist scholars, but also with their own Islamic historical tradition.
Introduction
Authors: Amann Elizabeth , Boyden Michael
Published: January 2022

The introduction to the collection discusses the concept of reverberations of revolution and differentiates it from other metaphors such as waves, networks and series. It also situates the research within comparative studies of revolution.
Enlightenment Tropes in French Popular Theater on the Haitian Revolution in the 1790s
Authors: Bandau Anja
Published: January 2022

Anja Bandau’s chapter focuses on the French reception of the Haitian Revolution in two plays staged in Directory France: Pigault-Lebrun’s Le blanc et le noir (1795) and Béraud and Rosny’s Adonis ou le bon nègre (1798). Although the works belong to different genres – bourgeois drama and melodrama – and adopt different strategies, both seek to quell the violence of the uprising, drawing on Enlightenment discourse, staging improbable scenes of forgiveness and using sentimental tropes and the family romance to reconcile black and white characters. As Bandau shows, the events in Haiti are seen through the lens of the post-Terror period, which sought to avoid at all costs the bloody excesses of the recent past.
Coda: Frederick Douglass and the Wild Songs of Revolution
Authors: Boyden Michael
Published: January 2022

Examining the writings of Frederick Douglass, Michael Boyden’s coda traces how the former slave’s political vision developed as he observed and came into contact with other revolutionary projects and events such as the fight for Irish liberation and the Revolutions of 1848, which echoed the antislavery struggle in the United States. The essay also points to future directions for research underscoring the importance of embodied practices in disseminating revolutionary ideas as, for example, in the reenactments performed in the “die-in” protests that have spread across the world in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
‘Herodias’ Daughters Have Returned Again’: W. B. Yeats and the Ideal Body
Authors: Girdwood Megan
Published: January 2022

Salome was a source of fascination for the poet and playwright W. B. Yeats, appearing in his poetry, letters, memoirs, and plays. Examining Wilde’s often underplayed influence on Yeats, this chapter considers Yeats’s subtle yet persistent engagement with the image of Salome’s dance as a constitutive element of his broader ambition to incorporate choreography into his theatrical projects, otherwise known as his ‘plays for dancers’. This chapter explores how Yeats’s revisions of the Salomean figure in the plays At the Hawk’s Well (1916), The King of the Great Clock Tower (1934) and The Death of Cuchulain (1939) shaped his approach to stage space, modernist dramaturgy, Symbolist themes, stage pictures, and the depersonalisation of the performer, shaped by his collaborations with the practitioners Edward Gordon Craig, Michio Ito, and Ninette de Valois.
‘What had become of me?’: Sheppard Lee’s Blackface Transformation
Authors: Murray Hannah Lauren
Published: January 2022

Robert Montgomery Bird boldly experiments with cross-racial transformation in his proto-science fiction fantasy Sheppard Lee. This chapter draws on archival research to read Sheppard Lee as textual blackface through two interwoven forms: blackface minstrelsy and the slave narrative. Sheppard’s liminal journey into and out of an African American enslaved corpse mirrors the paradoxical demarcation and transgression of racial boundaries set up in early blackface minstrelsy. This chapter argues that Sheppard’s minstrel-inspired inhabitation of Blackness and his ventriloquisation of the burgeoning slave narrative genre rejects cross-racial consciousness. Instead Bird mocks White civic values of industry and self-possession, while seeking to contain palpable threats of fluid and violent social and racial movement in Jacksonian America.
‘How can I speak to thee?’: Herman Melville’s Muted Voice
Authors: Murray Hannah Lauren
Published: January 2022

Odd forms of speech permeate Herman Melville’s fiction, from the strange tongue of Polynesian natives in Typee, to Billy Budd’s broken stuttering. This chapter examines a movement towards silence and wordlessness to express liminality in Melville’s later fiction. Pierre’s otherworldly Isabel Banford gives voice to her social isolation and familial exclusion through shrieks and a spirit-possessed guitar, influenced by the cultural phenomenon of spiritualism. Cadaverous Bartleby is a ghostly figure whose verbal refusals and withdrawals from conversation disavow ideals of the professional White male tied to sociality and self-making. In response to these unusual utterances, Pierre and the narrator of ‘Bartleby’ turn Isabel and Bartleby into dependent figures that define their own formation of White male civic identity as providers and protectors. Melville explores how one can move beyond language to testify experience, both in his characters’ strange voices and in his own wrestling with language and writing itself in his later fiction.
“You can’t say you’re not gettinga horror film here!”: Authorship,Genre, and the AccidentalAvant-Garde in Doris Wishman’s
Authors: Hook Jamie
Published: January 2022

This chapter considers the question of authorship in A Night to Dismember—a film commonly downplayed in Wishman’s oeuvre due to its stilted production and post-production history—and concludes that the film is quintessentially a Wishman film despite its critical denigration. Considering the film through three lenses—as a Wishman film and its attendant engagement with the hallmarks of her earlier filmography; as a piece of paracinematic horror that draws on/departs from trends of the contemporaneous slasher cycle; and, as an accidental evocation of avant-garde aesthetics—the chapter demonstrates indicates the impracticality of ever fully disentangling its respective authorial and generic influences.
The Age of Unions? Dissenting Reunion, 1847–63
Authors: Mallon Ryan
Published: January 2022

While the Disruption marked the culmination of over a century of schism within Scottish Presbyterianism, the decade followed saw a series of reunions with Presbyterian dissent. This chapter covers three major events: the 1847 ‘voluntary’ union between the United Secession and Relief churches; the 1852 merger of the establishmentarian Original Secession Church into the Free Church; and the 1857 resolutions to unite the Free and United Presbyterian churches. Though the unions of 1847 and 1852 were on the surface based on competing voluntary and establishment principles respectively, this chapter argues that a dissenting (but not voluntary) and a national (but not strictly establishmentarian) viewpoint emerged from these unions that paved the way for the albeit failed attempt to secure broader dissenting union in 1857, which would in essence create a national dissenting church to truly rival and possibly overtake the Established Church. While historians have generally tended to overlook these church unions, they offer valuable insight into the development of Presbyterian dissent after 1843. This chapter, and the section in general, places greater emphasis on inter-church co-operation within Scottish dissent between 1843 and 1863, and attempts to explain the background to the 1863 negotiations.
Liturgical Continuities and Denominational Differences
Authors: Macinnes Allan I.
Published: January 2022

Episcopalianism retained a considerable presence beyond the confines of the central belt, and in association with the Catholic minority, became the sacramental life force behind Jacobitism which sought to restore the exiled house of Stuart and terminate the Anglo-Scottish Union. This introductory chapter argues that while much has been made of the polity, the doctrine and the discipline of the churches in Scotland, relatively little has been done on modes of worship, and even less on liturgical practices; and that historical writing has been weighted towards the preaching of the word in comparison to the administration of the sacraments. To redress this imbalance, this collection of essays examines the essence of liturgical practices for Roman Catholics and Episcopalians from Reformation to Enlightenment.
Liturgical Problems on the Catholic Mission: Franciscan Mission to the Highlands in the Seventeenth Century
Authors: McInally Thomas
Published: January 2022

In the seventeenth century, reinvigorated missions, sponsored by Propaganda Fide deepened the sacramental experience of Scottish Catholics. As with the Jesuits, the various covert missions mounted by secular clergy as by religious orders, most notably the Franciscans, Vincentians and Dominicans, faced practical problems that were not just logistical but also doctrinally at odds with Tridentine decrees, especially for the open celebration of the new Roman liturgy. In this chapter, Tom McInally makes clear, such problems were not insurmountable and were tackled through imagination as well as dispensation.
Education
Authors: Spolsky Bernard
Published: January 2022

Schooling is a major factor in language management, and choice of language of instruction normally laid down by the state is central. There is considerable variety in school language practice. In early history, there were elite schools for scribes, but in Judea after the destruction of the Temple, Jewish communities were enjoined to teach literacy to all male children. Traditional Indian and medieval European schooling were both under the influence of religious leadership. Starting in the eighteenth century in Europe, economic and political pressure encouraged secular language policies that supported national identity and unity. This continued gap between home and school, which still affects nearly half the world’s children. School language policy is usually controlled by national governments which favour standard varieties over vernaculars, although there are many other stakeholders. Bilingual and multilingual education is proposed as one solution to the home-school gap.
Management Agencies and Advocates
Authors: Spolsky Bernard
Published: January 2022

Managers and managing agencies assume that they have authority to changes the language practices and belief of others; advocates and advocacy groups realise they need to persuade others to change. Examples from India are cited. Language academies are usually advocates; the Quechua Academy proved to be quite unsuccessful, and the Hebrew Language Academy had quite limited effects. Under totalitarian governments, language management is more easily enforceable, as illustrated by Soviet and PRC policies. The advocacy groups supporting Māori revitalization persuaded community and government to help. Language reformers are generally advocates, proposing changes in spelling and grammar.
The Nation State as Language Manager
Authors: Spolsky Bernard
Published: January 2022

Most nations emphasize their claim to sovereignty by naming a national language in a constitution, but English dominant states take its primacy for granted. Many states have laws recognizing national and some other selected languages. Some empower agencies to enforce these preferences.
Some National Language Policies
Authors: Spolsky Bernard
Published: January 2022

The chapter gives details of language policy and management in nine regions: Singapore and Malaysia, East Africa, former Soviet nations, China and the Koreas, The European Union, India, Israel, Indonesia and Ireland.
Reconstructing the Past
Authors: Alharthi Jokha
Published: January 2022

This chapter argues that, no matter whether the narratives claim or deny that physical contact took place in the relationships between lovers, the result is still the same. The body lies at the heart of the ‘udhri tradition. The lack of physical consummation, or indeed of physicality itself, serves only to inflame desire, since it only draws more attention to that which is being denied. Hence, this shows us the privileged position of the body by means of the prominent duality of its presence and absence. The very concept of chastity involves a conscious denial of physical contact, and this consciousness often implies a correspondingly strong awareness of physicality.
Book Production within Iran: A Look at the Numbers
Authors: Nanquette Laetitia
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, I use the data of the Iran Book House to analyse the productionof books within Iran after the 1979 revolution and its ties to politics. This is an example of how the methods of digital humanities and book history can be used to help us to understand a literature that has not often been its object of study. The study juxtaposes this data to the discourse of literary practitioners I have been exposed to when doing fieldwork in the literary field in Iran between 2006 and 2017. As such, it confirms some ideas, for example the ebb and flow of publications according to politics, and contradicts others, such as that governmental publishers publish higher quantities of texts than independent ones. The chapter analyses data on the link between books’ production and who is in government; the decline of the number of copies published over the years since 1979; the decreasing amount of translations versus original texts; the increased centralisation of book production in Tehran; and the relative minority of governmental publishers compared to independent publishers.
Iranian Writers in Australia
Authors: Nanquette Laetitia
Published: January 2022

I compare Iranian writers in Australia to the other Iranian diasporic locations discussed previously, mostly the US and France, revealing the similarities and differences in the literary production between the various locations. It will become apparent that Iranian writers in Australia – perhaps because of, rather than despite, the short history of migration – have adapted to their Australian readers quickly by using English and modes of writing preferred by Australian readers. I first sketch the history of Iranian migration to Australia, describing its demographics and the characteristics of the Australian diaspora, also focusing on the cultural connections to Iran and to the other diasporic literary communities maintained by Iranian writers in Australia. I then focus on literary production and reception, with texts written in Persian and in English. Finally, I examine the literary institutions that facilitate this production.
Gothic Keepsakes
Authors: Cook Daniel
Published: January 2022

Scott intended to include ‘My Aunt Margaret’s Mirror’, a supernatural tale, and ‘The Tapestried Chamber’, a ghost story, in the second series of Chronicles of the Canongate. His publisher rejected them. Scott eventually sold the works for inclusion in The Keepsake, an elegant gift book. As communal fora for short fiction such ornate books did not allow for the same anonymity as the experimental, character-driven periodicals in which Scott first explored the shorter mode. Gift-book stories and poems might reasonably be construed as safe, homely works attached to dependable authors. However, these highly inventive stories are not cast-offs but recastings finely attuned to a bespoke word-and-image forum. To keep readers interested, Scott would need to employ some new tricks – as well as the old ones – within a condensed space. His Gothic gimmicks – a magic lantern show and a family ghost – apparently have little impact on the plots. But the unsettling effect they exert on the reader is real enough, thanks to the trusted skills of the narrators.
Historiographies
Authors: Vlassopoulos Kostas
Published: January 2022

This chapter offers a historiographical overview of the study of ancient slavery from the eighteenth century till the present. The chapter examines in detail the work of Moses Finley, which has set the main parameters of the traditional paradigm. It focuses on the emergence of the dominant paradigm and the three major debates that have shaped it: the modernist, the humanitarian and the class struggle debates. The chapter also follows recent work on ancient slavery which has challenged the traditional approach and reviews developments in the study of global slavery; in combination, these two trends have set the stage for the novel framework presented in the rest of the book.
The Slave View of Slavery: Slave Hopes and the Reality of Slavery
Authors: Vlassopoulos Kostas
Published: January 2022

Chapter 7 focuses on how enslaved persons conceived and experienced slavery and their own identities. The first section of the chapter explores the diverse modalities of slavery that co-existed in ancient societies. Slavery could be conceived as an instrumental relationship; an asymmetrical negotiation of power between masters and slaves; a relationship of benefaction and reward; or an extreme form of bad luck. The existence of different modalities of slavery allowed masters and slaves to negotiate their respective positions and enabled slaves to conceive slavery and their relationship to their masters in their own ways. Slaves tried to modify slavery from a unilateral and instrumental form of power exercised by their masters into something more negotiable, even if in asymmetric ways. The second part of the chapter uses the various hopes of enslaved persons both about life in slavery and life beyond slavery in order to explore the identities and communities that enslaved persons constructed and adopted.
¡O Romeo! Shakespeare on the Altar of Día de los Muertos
Authors: Saltveit Olga Sanchez
Published: January 2022

In this chapter, Sanchez examines her role as director and devisor of ¡O Romeo!, a devised, musical play based on the life, work, and imagined death of Shakespeare created for Milagro’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration in 2014. Milagro, as the Pacific Northwest’s premiere Latinx culture and arts organization, was uniquely situated to do this work in Portland due to its longstanding role in both the Latinx and theatre communities. This chapter asks what it means to use a canonically Anglo figure such as Shakespeare in a Latinx cultural context. ¡O Romeo! honored Shakespeare’s artistic contributions while humanizing the artist as a father still mourning the death of his son, Hamnet. Facing his own mortality, Shakespeare is visited by several of his most memorable characters including the villainous Lady M and Richard III who plot to destroy his legacy. This chapter explores how Shakespeare is imagined and inspired by the history of Aztec culture, Spanish colonization, and the languages of Spanish and Nahuatl, to create the first literary celebration of Día de los Muertos in his imaginary final play entitled, The Mystical Story of Love and Reunion of Xochiquetzal, the Aztec Maiden, and the Spanish Conquistador Don Armando.
La Voz de Shakespeare: Empowering Latinx Communities to Speak, Own and Embody the Text
Authors: DeCure Cynthia Santos
Published: January 2022

The chapter addresses the misconception that Shakespeare’s words are reserved for elite (re: white) actors, a fact that has led to some Latinx actors being hesitant to perform Shakespeare. These misgivings have suppressed our voices and have sown doubts that our voices may not be “good enough” to tackle classical texts. As a result, Latinx acting students in learning institutions and in community theatres often apologize or communicate embarrassment when asked to work on Shakespeare’s texts. However, the journey of learning, exploring, and voicing Shakespeare can be an impactful way to declare our vocal rights. Voice, speech, and language are an act of rebellion; Shakespeare expressed this notion as spoken by Caliban. Using her own experiences as a vocal coaching and directing The Tempest to predominately Latinx students, DeCure unpacks how feelings of embarrassment when working on Shakespeare’s text can transform to a powerful way to declare vocal rights. As this chapter demonstrates, voice and speech work is for everyone; Shakespeare is for all.
Shakespeare Through the Latinx Voice
Authors: Lopez-Rios Michelle
Published: January 2022

The chapter explores Latinx voices performing the plays of Shakespeare. The author discusses the vocal demands of Shakespeare’s text as well as that of many Latinx works. Specifically, she discusses the voice and text work for productions of Measure for Measure at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and Julius Caesar and Mojada: A Mexican Medea (by Luis Alfaro) at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She details her work with actor Alejandra Escalante and cultivating a Dominican New Yorker accent for Robert Falls’ production of Measure. At OSF, she writes of her work with actor Armando Duran and director Juliette Carrillo. She draws parallels between the vocal work demands of Shakespeare’s works and that of Latinx plays. The author concludes that Shakespearean text through the Latinx voice offers a unique connection for artists and audience.
STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS OF FOOD SECURITY IN THE CONDITIONS OF GLOBALIZATION
Authors: Vytvytska Olga , Kulaets Maria , Valov Oleg
Published: January 2022

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the process of formation and
implementation of strategic guidelines for food security in the face of globalization
challenges.
The methodological basis of the research is the use of general scientific and
special scientific methods and approaches (axiological and anthropological
approaches, systemic, functional methods and logical methods).
The scientific novelty of the obtained results will improve the theoretical and
empirical basis, on the basis of which the basic theoretical approaches to
understanding the process of formation and implementation of strategic guidelines
of food security strategy of territorial development in the context of modern
challenges will be synthesized.
Conclusions. According to the results of the study, the main stages of the
strategy development process are determined, the main stages of development and
formation of medium-term priority areas of development are formed. Emphasis is
placed on research on key issues of the country’s future development, determined
by the growing needs of people for food, energy, environmental and social goods,
the production of which reduces the burden on natural resources. The article
substantiates the National priorities in the transformation of food systems until
2030 in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The
scheme of formation and implementation of food security strategy in the context
of globalization is proposed. The implementation of strategic guidelines is proposed
to be carried out on the basis of program-targeted and project-oriented approaches.
Key words: strategy, food security, globalization, strategic landmarks, priorities
Robotic Cardiac Surgery in Europe: Status 2020
Authors: Cerny Stepan , Oosterlinck Wouter , Onan Burak , Singh Sandeep , Segers Patrique , Bolcal Cengiz , Alhan Cem , Navarra Emiliano , Pettinari Matteo , Van Praet Frank , De Praetere Herbert , Vojacek Jan , Cebotaru Theodor , Modi Paul , Doguet Fabien , Franke Ulrich , Ouda Ahmed , Melly Ludovic , Malapert Ghislain , Labrousse Louis , Gianoli Monica , Agnino Alfonso , Philipsen Tine , Jansens Jean-Luc , Folliguet Thierry , Palmen Meindert , Pereda Daniel , Musumeci Francesco , Suwalski Piotr , Cathenis Koen , Van den Eynde Jef , Bonatti Johannes
Published: January 2022

Background

European surgeons were the first worldwide to use robotic techniques in cardiac surgery and major steps in procedure development were taken in Europe. After a hype in the early 2000s case numbers decreased but due to technological improvements renewed interest can be noted. We assessed the current activities and outcomes in robotically assisted cardiac surgery on the European continent.

Methods

Data were collected in an international anonymized registry of 26 European centers with a robotic cardiac surgery program.

Results

During a 4-year period (2016–2019), 2,563 procedures were carried out [30.0% female, 58.5 (15.4) years old, EuroSCORE II 1.56 (1.74)], including robotically assisted coronary bypass grafting (n = 1266, 49.4%), robotic mitral or tricuspid valve surgery (n = 945, 36.9%), isolated atrial septal defect closure (n = 225, 8.8%), left atrial myxoma resection (n = 54, 2.1%), and other procedures (n = 73, 2.8%). The number of procedures doubled during the study period (from n = 435 in 2016 to n = 923 in 2019). The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time in pump assisted cases was 148.6 (63.5) min and the myocardial ischemic time was 88.7 (46.1) min. Conversion to larger thoracic incisions was required in 56 cases (2.2%). Perioperative rates of revision for bleeding, stroke, and mortality were 56 (2.2%), 6 (0.2 %), and 27 (1.1%), respectively. Median postoperative hospital length of stay was 6.6 (6.6) days.

Conclusion

Robotic cardiac surgery case numbers in Europe are growing fast, including a large spectrum of procedures. Conversion rates are low and clinical outcomes are favorable, indicating safe conduct of these high-tech minimally invasive procedures.
Small Proline-Rich Protein 3 Regulates IL-33/ILC2 Axis to Promote Allergic Airway Inflammation
Authors: Zhu Guiping , Cai Hui , Ye Ling , Mo Yuqing , Zhu Mengchan , Zeng Yingying , Song Xixi , Yang Chengyu , Gao Xin , Wang Jian , Jin Meiling
Published: January 2022

Small proline-rich proteins (SPRRs), components of cornified cell envelope precursors, have recently been found to participate in airway diseases. However, their role in allergic airway inflammatory conditions remains unknown. Here, we explored the expression of SPRR3 in house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized/challenged mice and attempted to elucidate the regulatory role of SPRR3 in allergic airway inflammation. SPRR3 was identified via bioinformatics analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and further confirmed to be upregulated in the lungs of asthmatic mice. Knockdown of SPRR3 via the intratracheal route significantly inhibited eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and suppressed the expressions of type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in BALF and lung tissues. Further, SPRR3 knockdown reduced the expression of IL-33 and further attenuated the activation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway in the recruitment of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) to inhibit allergic airway inflammation. In vitro, SPRR3 siRNA could alleviate HDM-induced inflammatory responses in BEAS-2B cells. This study reveals the regulatory role of SPRR3 in allergic airway inflammation, identifying this protein as a potential novel therapeutic target for asthma.
Efficacy Comparison of Pulsed Dye Laser vs. Microsecond 1064-nm Neodymium:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet Laser in the Treatment of Rosacea: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Li Yuanchao , Wang Rupeng
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The advantage of pulsed dye laser (PDL) for the treatment of rosacea is not yet clear. This meta-analysis compared the curative effect of PDL to neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser for the treatment of rosacea.

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for clinical studies on the efficacy of PDL for the treatment of rosacea through October 13, 2021, and heterogeneity tests among studies were evaluated. Meta-analysis was conducted to combine the effects of physicians' clinical assessments, patient global assessment, erythema index, and visual analog scale.

Results

A total of 326 articles were obtained from three databases and ten articles were finally included. The clinical improvements of >50% clearance of up to 68.6% in the PDL group and 71.4% in the control group, and the subjective satisfaction rate of patients in the PDL group of 88.6% compared to 91.4% in the Nd:YAG group, but there were no significant differences in the rates of patients with rosacea with clinical improvement (>50% clearance) (relative risk [RR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75–1.17, P = 0.578) or patient subjective satisfaction rate (RR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.70–1.33, P = 0.808) between PDL and Nd:YAG groups for rosacea treatment. Also, the pain score for PDL and Nd:YAG were not significant (mean = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.82–4.32, P = 0.115).

Conclusion

Two treatments all showed clinical efficacy and patient satisfaction for the treatment of rosacea, with no significant differences observed between treatments. The pain scores for PDL and Nd:YAG were not significant.
Endothelial Dysfunction in Hypertension: Current Concepts and Clinical Implications
Authors: Gallo Giovanna , Volpe Massimo , Savoia Carmine
Published: January 2022

Endothelium plays a fundamental role in the cardiovascular system, forming an interface between blood and adjacent tissues by regulating the vascular tone through the synthesis of nitric oxide, prostaglandins and other relaxing factors. Endothelial dysfunction is characterized by vasoconstriction, cell proliferation and shifting toward a proinflammatory and prothrombic state. In hypertension endothelial dysfunction may be involved in the initiation and development of vascular inflammation, vascular remodeling, and atherosclerosis and is independently associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Different conditions such as impaired vascular shear stress, inflammation and oxidative stress, activation of the renin angiotensin system have been described as important pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development of endothelial dysfunction. The release of extracellular vesicles by neighboring cells in the vascular wall has emerged as an important regulator of endothelial function and with potential antihypertensive properties and beneficial effects by counteracting the hypertension mediated organ damage. Furthermore, macrovesicles are emerging as an innovative therapeutic approach for vascular protection, allowing the delivery of bioactive molecules, such as miRNA and drugs interacting with the renin angiotensin system. In this review we summarize the available evidence about the pathophysiological implications of endothelial dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases, focusing on hypertension and its sequelae, and the potential innovative therapeutic strategies targeting the endothelium with the aim to improve vascular function and remodeling.
Bodily Illusions and Motor Imagery in Fibromyalgia
Authors: Scandola Michele , Pietroni Giorgia , Landuzzi Gabriella , Polati Enrico , Schweiger Vittorio , Moro Valentina
Published: January 2022

Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterised by chronic, continuous, widespread pain, often associated with a sense of fatigue, non-restorative sleep and physical exhaustion. Due to the nature of this condition and the absence of other neurological issues potentially able to induce disorders in body representations per se, it represents a perfect model since it provides an opportunity to study the relationship between pain and the bodily self. Corporeal illusions were investigated in 60 participants with or without a diagnosis of FM by means of an ad hoc devised interview. In addition, motor imagery was investigated and illusions relating to body part movements and changes in body size, feelings of alienness, and sensations of body parts not belonging to one’s own body (disownership and somatoparaphrenic-like sensations) were found. Crucially, these symptoms do not correlate with any of the clinical measures of pain or functional deficits. The results showed that motor imagery was also impaired, and the severity of the deficits found correlated with the functional impairment of the participant. This indicates that disorders in body representations and motor imagery are part of the clinical expression of FM. However, while motor imagery seems to be linked to reduced autonomy and functional deficits, bodily illusions are independent and potentially represent a concurrent symptom.
Continuous Monitoring of Mental Load During Virtual Simulator Training for Laparoscopic Surgery Reflects Laparoscopic Dexterity: A Comparative Study Using a Novel Wireless Device
Authors: Maimon Neta B. , Bez Maxim , Drobot Denis , Molcho Lior , Intrator Nathan , Kakiashvilli Eli , Bickel Amitai
Published: January 2022

Introduction

Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) relates to the efficiency with which individuals manipulate the limited capacity of working memory load. Repeated training generally results in individual performance increase and cognitive load decrease, as measured by both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. One of the known biomarkers for cognitive load is frontal theta band, measured by an EEG. Simulation-based training is an effective tool for acquiring practical skills, specifically to train new surgeons in a controlled and hazard-free environment. Measuring the cognitive load of young surgeons undergoing such training can help to determine whether they are ready to take part in a real surgery. In this study, we measured the performance of medical students and interns in a surgery simulator, while their brain activity was monitored by a single-channel EEG.

Methods

A total of 38 medical students and interns were divided into three groups and underwent three experiments examining their behavioral performances. The participants were performing a task while being monitored by the Simbionix LAP MENTOR™. Their brain activity was simultaneously measured using a single-channel EEG with novel signal processing (Aurora by Neurosteer®). Each experiment included three trials of a simulator task performed with laparoscopic hands. The time retention between the tasks was different in each experiment, in order to examine changes in performance and cognitive load biomarkers that occurred during the task or as a result of nighttime sleep consolidation.

Results

The participants’ behavioral performance improved with trial repetition in all three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, delta band and the novel VC9 biomarker (previously shown to correlate with cognitive load) exhibited a significant decrease in activity with trial repetition. Additionally, delta, VC9, and, to some extent, theta activity decreased with better individual performance.

Discussion

In correspondence with previous research, EEG markers delta, VC9, and theta (partially) decreased with lower cognitive load and higher performance; the novel biomarker, VC9, showed higher sensitivity to lower cognitive load levels. Together, these measurements may be used for the neuroimaging assessment of cognitive load while performing simulator laparoscopic tasks. This can potentially be expanded to evaluate the efficacy of different medical simulations to provide more efficient training to medical staff and measure cognitive and mental loads in real laparoscopic surgeries.
Bioactivities, Applications, Safety, and Health Benefits of Bioactive Peptides From Food and By-Products: A Review
Authors: Zaky Ahmed A. , Simal-Gandara Jesus , Eun Jong-Bang , Shim Jae-Han , Abd El-Aty A. M.
Published: January 2022

Bioactive peptides generated from food proteins have great potential as functional foods and nutraceuticals. Bioactive peptides possess several significant functions, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, and antihypertensive effects in the living body. In recent years, numerous reports have been published describing bioactive peptides/hydrolysates produced from various food sources. Herein, we reviewed the bioactive peptides or protein hydrolysates found in the plant, animal, marine, and dairy products, as well as their by-products. This review also emphasizes the health benefits, bioactivities, and utilization of active peptides obtained from the mentioned sources. Their possible application in functional product development, feed, wound healing, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, and their use as food additives have all been investigated alongside considerations on their safety.