bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remnant movement and smuggling in some Romance interrogative clauses
Authors: Pollock Jean-Yves , Poletto Cecilia
Published: January 2025

This chapter argues that remnant movement to the HLP and to the LLP coexist in French and the NIDs. To show this it first concentrates on the ill-understood syntax of quoi (what), pourquoi (why), and que (what) in French. It also shows that the syntax of French questions crucially takes into account the fact that most qu-pronouns are both interrogative and (free) relative pronouns, this dual nature being reflected in their syntax. The chapter takes up the question of ‘smuggling’, inherent in remnant movement derivations, to account for the distribution of que and goes back to (some) Qu’est-ce que questions tackled in Chapter 2. It suggests a new approach to these, according to which, what follows Qu’est is a free relative—despite the (misleading) spelling conventions of Modern French—and Qu’est is a question about the entity denoted by the free relative. The interrogative syntax of some NIDs is also revisited and the particularly innovative interrogative syntax of younger generations of French speakers is illustrated and further analysed in its appendix.
On French est-ce que (‘yes/no’) questions and related constructions
Authors: Pollock Jean-Yves
Published: January 2025

In addition to the Qu’est-ce que questions as analysed in Chapters 4 and 5, French has yes/no questions such as Est-ce que tu dors? (‘Is ce that you sleep?’ = ‘Are you asleep?’), Est-ce que Pierre est parti? (‘Is ce that Pierre is gone?’ = ‘Has Pierre gone?’), in which the est-ce que sequence shows up again. Style aside, these questions are interpreted as SCLI and CI interrogatives like Dors-tu? and Pierre est-il parti? In short, they are as monoclausal as their Qu’est-ce que counterparts. This strongly suggests that their respective syntaxes do share important features. Despite this, the chapter shows that a fully unified analysis cannot be correct: for example, in yes/no est-ce que questions, est may, though need not, be tensed, while it cannot be in Qu’est-ce que questions; Qu’est-ce que questions are fine in embedded contexts, but est-ce que questions are not. The chapter argues further that est-ce que (‘yes/no’) questions are derived by SCLI from a small clause embedded under est where ce is the predicate of an inverse copular clause. In short, while the ce+que sequence is a syntactic object in Qu’est-ce que questions—the (complex) complementizer of free relatives—it is not in est-ce que (‘yes/no’) questions. Nonetheless, the two types of questions are argued to share the property that what is spelled as est should be analysed as the root ε of the copula, obligatorily so in qu’est-ce que questions, optionally so in yes/no questions as regulated by general economy of computation constraints.
On free relatives and related constructions in French
Authors: Pollock Jean-Yves
Published: January 2025

In this chapter, Kayne’s anti-homophony heuristic is brought to bear on the occurrence of ce que in free relatives like Dis moice quetu veux (‘Tell me what you want’) and in understudied constructions like Je tiens à *(ce) quetu partes (‘I insist in this that you leave’ = ‘I insist that you leave’) and Paul se moquede *(ce) queses étudiants ne l’aiment pas (‘Paul laughs at this that his students don’t like him’ = ‘Paul doesn’t mind his students not liking him’). The chapter claims that an integrated analysis is possible and that in all such sentences, demonstrative ce licenses a non-lexical NP. This unification is possible if, in free relatives, demonstrative ce licenses the covert argument raised from the relative clause. Accepting this leads to denying that ce que and related entities like ceux, celui, celles are complex relative subordinators. This approach leads to syntactic analyses of ceux, celui, celles, ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, ce contre quoi, ce dont, and even parce que and en ce que (‘because’): all contain non-lexical NPs like PERSONNE, CHOSE, FAIT, etc. displaced to the complement position of ce for licensing purposes. In de+ce que clauses, ce licenses the entity FAIT that Kayne has argued is the covert antecedent of complement clauses. In à+ce que clauses like Je tiens à ce que tu partes (‘I insist that you leave’), to be seen in the light of ‘I’ll see to it that you leave’ in English, ce is tentatively claimed to license CHOSE, the non-lexical counterpart of chose in correlative constructions such as Je tiens à une chose: que tu partes (‘I insist on one thing: that you leave’). This general line of thought thus clearly requires the frontier between syntax and morphology to be redefined.
Introduction
Authors: Saward Michael , Diehl Paula
Published: January 2025

This Introduction outlines the ‘radical proposition’ of Bodies, Spaces, Claims—that there is no political representation without performance. It previews the ways in which the book’s twelve chapters convey this proposition with a rich array of in-depth illustrative examples drawn from a variety of countries and settings. The Introduction discusses the interdisciplinary methods deployed in the book, defines key concepts such as performance and performativity, and describes how the volume’s authors both embrace and move well beyond the electoral frame for understanding representation.
The Performativity of Political Representation
Authors: Castiglione Dario
Published: January 2025

This chapter discusses the performativity of political representation in democracy. Such performativity consists in the capacity of political representation as a series of institutions and social practices to offer a public language and a public space for democratic politics. It is argued that political representation is, in Claude Lefort’s terms, democracy’s mise en scène. With Lefort, this chapter argues that in democracy the place of power is ‘empty’; but differently from Lefort, it argues that this emptiness does not mean a complete disembodiment of power, but rather its diffusion. In the last two sections, the chapter shows how political representation is instrumental in constructing the unity of the political community, as well as providing opportunities for the democratic subjects and their struggles for representation.
To Thine Own Self Be True
Authors: Severs Eline , Meier Petra
Published: January 2025

When political actors claim to represent others, they also mobilize public images of self (e.g. bodily characteristics, personality traits) that attest to their capacity and right to speak on behalf of others. Existing literature has until now paid scant attention to how political actors’ embodied performances intervene in processes of political representation, and to what effect. This chapter elaborates on authenticity as a resource for performing political representation and unpacks the analytic and normative challenges it poses. When political actors appeal to their authenticity they allegedly make no claim on representation other than being ‘true to themselves’. Meanwhile, their appeals to authenticity may have detrimental effects on processes of political representation. We discuss four possible pitfalls: a relation of representation based on a claim for authenticity risks essentializing those represented, risks conflating authenticity with truth, enables antagonistic norm-breaking, and reduces opportunities for accountability.
The Council Chamber and the Politics of Encounter
Authors: Disch Lisa
Published: January 2025

This chapter takes the framework of Michael Saward’s ‘Square’ (see Chapter 3) to analyse the politics of encounter on a local legislative body. It focuses on the mediators of representation, which include the physical space and its positioning of bodies, the authoritative documents that order the agenda and govern communication during a meeting, the expertise of city staff, and the narratives through which residents view local political conflict. It demonstrates that competition over the power to represent occurs along two axes: one that links representatives and constituents, and one that runs between elected officials and city staff. Encounters along the first axis are overt, but rare. Along the second they are more common but less perceptible, and can be magnified by the lens of the Square.
Shaheen Bagh
Authors: Rai Shirin M.
Published: January 2025

Citizenship is a marker of belonging, an aspiration to participation, a representative claim, and also a key element through which the state brings the citizen into being and regulates their life within its boundaries. Citizenship is also performed, and through its performance reconstituted—through everyday and popular struggles, on local and global stages, as well as through changes in the law at national and international levels. This chapter explores the performative elements of citizenship and claim-making through examining a struggle against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act led by Muslim women. Using the performance lens, it analyses the women of Shaheen Bagh as performing counter-representations by invoking and enacting dissenting modes of citizenship that challenge India’s claims to being a democratic state under the current government.
Performing Political Myth
Authors: Peetz Julia
Published: January 2025

Focusing on contemporary performances that invoke the so-called ‘Founding Fathers’ of the United States, this chapter explores how myths of the American founding are mobilized in political representation. Drawing on instances of political speech from the left, the right, and the Supreme Court (Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Samuel Alito) as well as cultural representations of revolutionary memory (the musical Hamilton), the chapter explores how founding myths structure the perception of historical time in a way that makes certain claims to representation apposite and desirable, while delegitimating others. Scholarship of political representation needs to reckon with the continued power of political myth in contemporary politics, particularly in a post-truth context, in which myths continue to function as powerful points of identification because, regardless of their truth content, they work on audiences through affective storytelling.
Crisis Management
Authors: Gottschalk Petter
Published: January 2025

Corporate conformance in practice is needed to maintain a social license to operate, as discussed in this book. When conformance is violated, there is a need for measures to restore conformance and regain the social license to operate. Required measures have to align with expectations, values, and norms of stakeholders. Successful measures tend to be the result of communication with stakeholders based on creative ideas regarding opportunities for change. Therefore, creativity is an important element when violation has occurred. Creative ideas are characterized by novelty and usefulness.
Personal-Strain Deviance Cases
Authors: Gottschalk Petter
Published: January 2025

This chapter presents three cases of crisis management for the recovery of the social license by corporate conformance. In the perspective of convenience theory, all three cases are explained by the motive dimension of threats of individual strain and pain. Threats represent pain and obstacles that everyone would like to avoid. Threats are universal triggers for fear of danger, pain, or harm. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. The threat of job termination or starvation can imply pain and suffering. Individuals experiencing threats tend to focus inward and to acquire resources as a means of compensating for threats. In threatening situations, the brain tends to shift into a state that facilitates mobilization of defense mechanisms. Threats imply the salience of risk of loss. Threats tend to bring about socially undesirable actions geared toward self-protection. To cope with threat, people rely on a variety of potential mechanisms to shield themselves from negative experiences and unpleasant feelings.
Binary Theories of Political Authority
Authors: Jubb Robert
Published: January 2025

This chapter begins the book’s discussion of political authority by considering Rawls’ theory of civil disobedience. That theory depends on Rawls’ theory of political authority, which is binary and demanding, rejecting all claims to authority by regimes which are not at least nearly just. That means that Rawls must treat all challenges to the authority of liberal democratic regimes, which are too unjust to be fully authoritative, as in principle acceptable. The chapter also shows how common the assumptions that structure Rawls’ theory of political authority are, and so how common the problem his theory encounters is. Radical critics as well as those working in mainstream analytical political theory also tend to have binary and demanding theories of political authority. They also lack the resources to allow them to make sensible judgements about confrontations between liberal democracy and those whom it disappoints or angers.
Nonideal Political Authority
Authors: Jubb Robert
Published: January 2025

This chapter explores whether a Rawlsian commitment to justice can avoid generating a binary view of political authority by considering work in nonideal theory. Some nonideal theorists reject a Rawlsian commitment to justice, although this may leave them with other, equally serious problems. Those who continue to treat justice as the first virtue of social institutions instead adjust ideal permissions to take account of wrongdoing. Kirshner and Shelby use, respectively, political principles and natural duties to articulate limits on acceptable action. However, in the absence of institutional guarantees or realization, it becomes very difficult to put limits on the demand for justice. Focusing on injustice makes the treatment of its victims unacceptable and grants them extensive permissions to try to secure what they are owed in whatever way they see fit, including through force and fraud. Rawlsian moralism cannot avoid binary theories of political authority.
Anthony Tuckney’s Anti-Socinian Lecture on the Divinity of Christ
Authors: Slavinski Sergiej
Published: January 2025

This chapter evaluates Anthony Tuckney’s probationary lecture on John 17:3 at the University of Cambridge in 1656, which reflected the Reformed exegetical response to Socinian exegesis during Cromwell’s England. In his Latin lecture, Tuckney defended the divinity of Christ against Socinianism, an anti-Trinitarian movement that used John 17:3 to argue that only God the Father is the ‘true God’, thereby excluding Christ and the Spirit from the Godhead. According to Tuckney, the Socinians made John 17:3 ‘their chief weapon and place it at the front of their battle line’. The chapter fills in the lacuna on the 1650s Cambridge response to the challenge of Socinianism and updates the understanding of Tuckney’s Reformed scholasticism. In doing so, it presents the first English translation of Tuckney’s lecture along with an introduction and annotated text.
Nigel Aston, Enlightened Oxford: The University and the Cultural and Political Life of Eighteenth-Century Britain and Beyond (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023), pp. xxiv + 819
Authors: Darwall-Smith Robin
Published: January 2025

This chapter presents a review of Nigel Aston’s Enlightened Oxford; The University and the Cultural and Political Life of Eighteenth-Century Britain and Beyond (2023). Aston is not afraid to defend Georgian Oxford to the hilt; he regularly emphasises Oxford University’s national and international importance. He argues that ‘at no point should Oxford be considered intellectually at a clear remove from what one might call the moderate Enlightenment’. Aston rightly observes that contemporary scholarship finds it hard to believe that Christianity was anything other than central to enlightened intellectual activity at this time. The chapter then details the three main parts of the book: ‘Intellectual Presence’, ‘Institutional Presence and Interactions’, and ‘Cultural Constructions, Connections and Tensions’. The first part examines what people studied at Oxford, the second part discusses political matters, while the third part explores the complex links between Oxford and the rest of the country.
What Is It Like to Be an Addict?
Authors: 9780199388943  , Flanagan Owen
Published: January 2025

In What Is It Like to Be an Addict?, Owen Flanagan, an internationally acclaimed philosopher of mind and ethics, offers a state-of-the-art assessment of addiction science and proposes a new integrated model for understanding and explaining substance addiction. Flanagan has deep personal knowledge of what it is like to be an addict. He was one. And he has encyclopedic knowledge of the philosophy of mind, psychology, neuroscience, and the ethics and politics of addiction. At present, addiction theorizing is divided sharply between advocates of the view that addiction is a brain disorder and views that conceive addiction in psychological and social terms. What Is It Like to Be an Addict? offers a way out of this impasse by integrating the testimony of addicts with psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and cultural anthropology. The new model has important implications for the ethics and politics of addiction.
The Addict’s Point of View
Authors: Flanagan Owen
Published: January 2025

The chapter distinguishes the problem of addiction from four other related problems: widespread recreational use, the overdose epidemic, deaths of despair, and high mortality among the young. It argues for the necessity of the addict’s point of view for understanding and explaining addiction. We are introduced to the ten main themes of the book: Phenomenology (its importance); subjective and objective (tensions between how things seem to the addict and how things look to the behavioral and brain science that study addiction); addiction and identity; semantic issues; the disunity of addiction; failure of totalizing explanations; responsibility of addicts; willing, unwilling, and resigned addiction; shame for addiction; and the positive and negative ways Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous frame popular understanding of addiction.
What Is It Like to Be an Addict?
Authors: Flanagan Owen
Published: January 2025

Addiction is best conceived as a psychobiological behavioral disorder. A common identifying feature of an addiction is that the addict (because of their relationship to a drug) undermines the aims they have for their own life. Sometimes they see this; sometimes they don’t. The common feature is, at first pass, existential, not neural, social, or psychological. The existential view is compatible with many social, psychological, and neural views, but they are not all compatible with the existential view. The chapter then explains how phenomenology—the study of how things seem from the subject’s point of view—can assist in understanding the appeals of different drugs to different people. The story of the author’s addiction as well as the testimony of other addicts supports the claim that the existential criterion of addiction is the tie that binds them, not any distinctive causal history or neural regularity.
Identity and Addiction
Authors: Flanagan Owen
Published: January 2025

Many addictions originate in following lineage community practices that model approved substance-use norms and scripts. Cocktail hour; drinking at weddings and funerals; smoking pot before a concert; doing lines of coke at the dance club; and/or in the following practices of adolescent communities that try something new, different, or edgy—Ecstasy and Viagra, say. Many addicts come to identify with their addiction as part of a lifestyle, as a way of belonging to particular communities. The chapter discusses: 1. a variety of autobiographical and literary testimonies of addicts that reveal the ways addictions can be identity absorbing, how this grounds ambivalence about giving up an addiction; 2. arguments about whether we should think of the identity constituting aspects of many addictions as an essential aspect of the addiction, as a part of the reckoning involved in recovery.
Ritual Language and Police Discretion
Authors: Das Sonia N.
Published: January 2025

The intersection of law enforcement, racial bias, and speech acts has been insightfully explored in the anthropological literature. This chapter examines how the use of ritual language in a police–civilian interaction during a traffic stop, such as when an officer reads civilians their Miranda Rights or asks them to take a sobriety test, functions as an avoidance strategy in response to racist talk. By analyzing speech acts in several video-recorded events, I investigate how the communicative parameters of social action are refracted through the logic of police discretion to entail a favorable outcome for an older White civilian, who utters anti-Black racist language in conversation with a younger White police officer without facing punitive consequences. This chapter theorizes how stancetaking acts of affiliation between two White persons challenge language ideologies requiring listeners to spontaneously, transparently, and forcefully denounce racist talk, thereby reinforcing white supremacist practices in American law enforcement.
Children’s Economic and Social Rights
Authors: Tobin John
Published: January 2025

A chapter on “children’s economic and social rights” implies a divisible and disaggregated concept within the corpus children’s rights. This chapter interrogates this idea, noting the special status of children within human rights law. It takes a doctrinal perspective in order to examine the special obligations on states with respect to the rights of children. It also analyzes the constructed and artificial nature of the distinction between civil and political rights, and economic and social rights. Finally, it addresses the serious challenges facing the effective implementation of all children’s rights. Particular attention is drawn to the need to bridge what is termed the “disciplinary divide” and shift the conception of children from a welfare-based approach, which highlights the apparent deficits and vulnerability of children, to a rights-based approach, which recognizes their strengths and evolving capacities.
Transing Holodeck Realism in Video Games
Authors: Mejeur Cody
Published: January 2025

Taking Janet Murray’s theorization of the holodeck and the hegemony of high-fidelity graphics and photorealism in mainstream games as its starting points, this chapter turns to trans video games to build a theory of trans realism, extending work on the trans real by scholars such as micha cárdenas and Cáel M. Keegan. In sharp contrast to the narrow definition of holodeck realism provided in mainstream gaming, trans video games (which are often developed independently from large studios by individuals or small teams including trans people) offer a different and transformative type of realism that eschews graphical supremacy in favor of creating affective, personal, and glitchy realities. As examples of this trans realism, the chapter examines trans games like Dys4ia (Anna Anthropy 2012) that represent trans realities and embodiments through the feel of their mechanics, those like Curtain (Dreamfeel 2014) that represent queer and trans realities through low fidelity graphics, and those like Sin Sol (Critical Realities Studio 2020) that represent present and future trans realities through memory and glitch. Through the processes highlighted in these games, trans video games effectively trans holodeck realism. Thus, they realize the feminist potential of storytelling with digital media that Murray identified but that has often been lost in games in the years since.
Global Realism and the Gothic Genre
Authors: Bowers Katherine
Published: January 2025

This chapter discusses the gothic as a genre in terms of theories of literary realism, providing a context for the concept of gothic realism. Gothic realism has come to inform a critical trend that seeks to analyze the incursion of generically gothic elements within literary realism on a global scale. The chapter outlines a working definition of “gothic” and its appearance within the bounds of literary realism. Case studies of three realist texts that employ gothic narrative devices in their representation of death support the discussion of gothic realism. In Russian writer Ivan Turgenev’s sketch “Bezhin Meadow” (Bezhin lug, 1851), a gothic framing device enables a folkloric story to exist within the bounds of a realist structure. Norwegian writer Amalie Skram’s novel Constance Ring (1885) employs gothic atmosphere to emphasize its heroine’s experiences of oppression in a patriarchal society. Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis’s novel The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas, 1881) uses gothic tropes within a realist framework to enable an exploration of strong feelings around death. All three texts demonstrate the function of the gothic genre within the framework of literary realism, where gothic is perhaps not expected but nonetheless flourishes as a method for representing subjective reality.
A Political Ecology of Financialization and Farmland Control
Authors: Isakson S. Ryan
Published: January 2025

Financial actors have demonstrated a robust and growing interest in farmland over the course of the twenty-first century. Over the past two decades financial engineers have developed a variety of investment products linked to farmland, and as investment opportunities have decreased elsewhere in the economy, financial capital has poured into the farmland-based funds. Drawing on a rich and expanding literature, this chapter explains how financialization in farmland markets shapes land control in agrarian contexts. Formatting farmland for financial purposes is a contingent and complicated process. When it is successful, however, it often institutes new property relations that enable financial actors to extract value from agricultural production and compels farmers to intensify agro-extractive practices that undermine the ecological foundations of sustainable agriculture. With the objective of enabling scholars, activists, and policymakers to undo this process, this chapter not only details how financialization contours the socioecological conditions in agrarian contexts; it also identifies the different types of investors that are involved in the financial land rush, outlines the different types of financial products they use, and describes the processes and conditions that are involved in the financial assetization of farmland.
Mary Magdalene as Patron of Feminist Politics and Theology
Authors: Wijnia Lieke
Published: January 2025

Mary Magdalene’s womanhood has been a defining characteristic of how she has been interpreted throughout history. Her gender is directly connected to the notions of physicality and sexuality, which in turn are assessed in terms of morality. This chain of connections has had a lasting impact on how Mary Magdalene has been theologically interpreted, and in turn how women at large have been positioned in Christian traditions. It has resulted in a myriad of interpretations, which provide Mary Magdalene with roles ranging from prostitute to prominent disciple, and from penitent sinner to female leader. This chapter, by discussing the Synoptic Gospel references, the search for a historical Magdalene, and her vast reception history, argues how this multiplicity is key to studying Mary Magdalene through a feminist lens.
Nutrition and Neurodevelopment
Authors: Román Charlotte K. , Cannavale Corinne N. , Khan Naiman A.
Published: January 2025

There is increasing evidence that nutrition has a considerable influence on neurodevelopment. Intake of specific nutrients and bioactives during the necessary developmental period is important not only for normal brain development, but also to support cognitive function and allow individuals to reach their maximum potential. It is widely accepted that optimal nutrition in the first 1000 days of life is key for promoting healthy brain development, with the idea that failure to support neurodevelopment in early life results in consequences that may not be fully reversible. Comparatively little research has focused on nutritional support during childhood and adolescence, despite the importance of these developmental periods. While critical windows in early life nutrition create the foundation for lifelong cognitive, social, and emotional behavioral development, there is further opportunity in childhood and adolescence to optimize neurodevelopment and ameliorate deficits resulting from undernutrition in early life while neuroplasticity is still high. In addition to nutrition, food bioactives provide support for optimal neurodevelopment. While all nutrients support normal brain development, we have identified six important nutrients and four bioactives for neurodevelopment that are discussed in this chapter: protein, folate, iron, iodine, choline, vitamin D, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, gangliosides, human milk oligosaccharides, and lutein. Special consideration is given to understudied nutrients and bioactives of interest and periods of brain development when applicable.
Introduction
Authors: Bates Catherine
Published: January 2025

This chapter introduces the volume to the reader as the most comprehensive collection of essays on the life and work of Philip Sidney. It outlines the organisation of the volume into seven sections on I) the personal context of Sidney’s life, II) each of his works (including his correspondence), III) his literary contexts, IV) his choice of forms and genres, V) his poetic craft, VI) the wider historical context in which he lived and wrote, and finally VII) his literary legacy as his works continued to be read and imitated in the centuries after his death. Individual chapter summaries are also provided.
The Politics of Dutch Education Policy
Authors: Honingh Marlies , Stevenson Lars
Published: January 2025

This chapter sheds light on the dynamics of and research into the Dutch system of education, rooted in article 23 of the constitution. In article 23, both freedom of education for schools and the necessity of continued government attention to the education system are laid down. Consequently, from article 23 a complex balancing act emerges between schools enjoying freedom of education and government interventions based on the notion of continued attention. The authors offer a historical overview, demarcating four phases between 1917 and 2021 based on how the balance between freedom of education and continued attention changed over time. They discuss the actors that emerged within the system and show how changes in the balance between freedom of education and continued attention affect the power of the different actors in the educational field. With a lack of research on the only actors able to change the system and the balance within it, political parties, the authors provide a short analysis of party manifestos. They show that parties remain in favour of the system based on article 23, but increasingly push the balance within the system towards more government intervention. They discuss the state of research on the education system, arguing that there is a tripartite division with studies focusing (1) on the system, (2) on the governance of the system, and (3) on issues of education unrelated to the system. The authors conclude by reflecting on the impact of continuous government intervention and the role that studies unrelated to the system have in this.
Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and its Risk Factors, 1990–2021: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Authors: Tan Samuel Chin Wei , Zheng Bin-Bin , Tang Mae-Ling , Chu Hongyuan , Zhao Yun-Tao , Weng Cuilian
Published: January 2025

Background

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent a major global health challenge, necessitating up-to-date data on their burden for effective care planning and resource allocation.

Aim

To evaluate the trends and disparities in CVD burden and associated risk factors from 1990 to 2021.

Design

A population-based secondary analysis of global, regional, and national CVD burden using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study.

Methods

We analyzed CVD burden and its risk factors using estimates from the GBD 2021 study.

Results

In 2021, there were 612 million cases of CVD globally, accounting for 26.8% of all deaths. From 1990 to 2021, the global age-standardized prevalence rate of CVD rose by 0.88% to 7179 cases per 100 000 individuals, while mortality and DALY rates fell by 34.3% and 33.0% to 235 and 5056 cases per 100 000 individuals, respectively. The highest CVD burden is seen in low-middle SDI levels. Regional disparities, differences in health system outcomes and SDI-related inequalities persist. Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke are significant contributors among CVD subtypes. The burden is more pronounced in older age groups and men. Notably, 79.5% of total CVD disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were attributable to 11 risk factors, with high body mass index (BMI) showing the most significant increase.

Conclusion

Despite advancements, CVD remains a significant global burden, especially in low and lower-middle SDI regions. Rising prevalence and the impact of COVID-19 underscore ongoing challenges. The diverse burden across health systems highlights the need for sustained investment in healthcare infrastructure and targeted interventions. Addressing modifiable risk factors and socioeconomic inequalities is essential.
Balancing sterilization and functional properties in Poloxamer 407 hydrogels: comparing heat and radiation techniques
Authors: De Lauretis Angela , Eriksson Agger Anne , Pal Antara , Skov Pedersen Jan , Szostak Szymon Mikolaj , Lund Reidar , Lyngstadaas Ståle Petter , Ellingsen Jan Eirik , Linke Dirk , Haugen Håvard Jostein
Published: January 2025

Poloxamer 407, also known as Pluronic® F127, is gaining interest in the cosmetic, biomedical and pharmaceutical fields for its biocompatibility, safety and thermo-sensitive properties. Ensuring sterility is critical in clinical applications, and sterilization is often preferred over aseptic processing. However, sterilization can impact the functional properties of the hydrogel. In this study, we investigate the effects of steam heat (121°C, 20 min), dry heat (160°C, 1 h), gamma irradiation (25 kGy) and electron beam (e-beam) irradiation (15 and 25 kGy) on a 30% w/v Poloxamer 407 hydrogel formulation. Our analysis encompasses gelling properties, pH, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, small-angle X-ray scattering, rheology, swelling, degradation by-products and lactate dehydrogenase release of the sterilized hydrogels, comparing them to a non-sterile counterpart. We demonstrated that heat sterilization alters the hydrogel’s gelling and structural properties due to water evaporation and oxidation under harsh temperature conditions, especially when applying the dry heat method. Gamma irradiation proved unsuitable, resulting in an acidic and cytotoxic hydrogel due to oxidative degradation. In contrast, e-beam irradiation preserves the hydrogel’s elasticity, gelling and structural properties while enhancing mechanical resilience and moderating swelling. Therefore, e-beam irradiation within the 15–25 kGy range appears to be the most suitable method for sterilizing a 30% w/v Poloxamer 407 hydrogel.
Harm Reduction Is Nursing Practice
Authors: Carney Brittany L. , Loukas Vanessa , LaBelle Colleen T.
Published: January 2025

Barriers remain to applying this approach with people who use drugs.
Nonstandard arm position could lead to overestimation of hypertension
Authors: Rosenberg Karen
Published: January 2025

ACCORDING TO THIS STUDY:
Interpretation of good clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion research management
Authors: Tian Yukun , Wang Mengqi , He Liyun , Cao Xue , Liu Baoyan , Liu Jia
Published: January 2025

Improving the quality of acupuncture and moxibustion clinical research has become an urgent task to promote the international development of acupuncture and moxibustion with the spread and application of acupuncture and moxibustion , particularly in light of their global dissemination and application. However, due to the unique characteristics inherent to acupuncture clinical research, the existing clinical trial quality management standards are inadequately address to cover all aspects and elements of acupuncture clinical research. The protocol design, quality control, and implementation details of acupuncture research require immediate attention. Therefore, the establishment of Good Clinical Practice for Acupuncture and Moxibustion Research Management is imperative to enhance the standardization of clinical research in this field by developing standards and regulations that specifically address its key challenges. This article thoroughly explains the preparation process and specific content of the guideline in conjunction with relevant cases, with the aim of assisting readers to apply the guideline to the management of acupuncture clinical research and improve the study’s quality and the recognition of the evidence.
Microsurgical Repair of Large Nasal Septal Defects
Authors: Walton Robert L , Gherlone Nicole , Bai Jenny
Published: January 2025

Background

Nasal septal defects cause considerable morbidity and represent a challenging reconstructive problem. Traditional repair techniques have employed local intranasal tissues and allograft adjuncts. For large septal defects (>4–5 cm2), less than half are successfully resolved.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of patients presenting with large (>4 cm2) nasal septal defects treated by microsurgical septal reconstruction using various engineered or prelaminated flaps.

Results

Nine consecutive patients were included in this study. Defect size averaged 7.89 cm2 (range 4.5–13.5 cm2). There were 4 males/5 females. Average age was 49.3 years (range 34.4–76.2 years). Follow-up averaged 10.1 years (range 1.3–25.8 years). Etiology of the septal defects included cocaine (4), neoplasm (2), surgery (1), autoimmune disease (1), and infection (1). Flaps utilized: prelaminated radial forearm flap (3), prelaminated (skin only) radial forearm flap (3), folded radial forearm flap (1), first dorsal metacarpal artery flap (1), and engineered superficial inferior epigastric artery flap (1). There were no flap losses. Recurrent septal perforation occurred in 3 patients. The first patient developed a small 0.5-cm diameter anterior perforation that was the result of a local infection. This was successfully closed using local mucosal flaps. Recurrent septal perforations (each less than 1-cm diameter) were identified in 2 additional patients. In each of these patients, the perforation was located at the posterior, inferior aspect of the septal repair site. An attempt to repair one of these defects was unsuccessful but the defect has remained stable and asymptomatic. Similarly, the other recurrent perforation has also remained asymptomatic and is being managed conservatively. The remaining healed septal defects have remained stable over time without airway obstruction.

Conclusions

This experience underscores the significant clinical challenges confronting repair of large nasal septal defects. Our results demonstrate the safety and utility of microsurgical reconstruction in this setting. Technical precision in flap inset has emerged as a key requisite for a successful outcome. The application of engineered/prelaminated flaps for these defects represents a novel approach to management.
Wealth is health: High economic status in Cameroon correlates with protective gear use in traffic injuries and improved clinical outcomes
Authors: Dissak Delon Fanny N. , Yost Mark T. , Touko Arole Darwin , Mfondoum Roland , Oke Rasheedat , Christie S. Ariane , Chichom-Mefire Alain , Hubbard Alan , Juillard Catherine
Published: January 2025

INTRODUCTION

Africa is the least motorized populated continent, yet it experiences the highest traffic fatality rate. Despite laws mandating helmet and seatbelt use, data on protective gear use among Cameroonian road traffic injury (RTI) patients remains sparse.

METHODS

We extracted Cameroon Trauma Registry data prospectively collected from 10 hospitals during July 2022 to December 2023. Protective gear users wore helmets in motorcycle and seatbelts/car seats in vehicle crashes. We categorized patients into five economic clusters based on ownership of durable goods using parallel distance matrix computation. We analyzed associations between continuous variables with Wilcoxon rank-sum and categorical variables with χ2 and multivariate logistic regression. Our primary outcome was in-hospital death or major disability at discharge.

RESULTS

Among 3,554 RTI patients, 303 (9%) used protective gear. A larger proportion of patients who did not use protective gear were designated as majorly disabled or dead (20% vs. 16%, p < 0.001). The greatest percentage of protective gear users belonged to the richest cluster, while the poorest cluster patients comprised the smallest proportion of protective gear users (13% vs. 3%, p < 0.001). The richest cluster demonstrated the smallest percentage of major disability or death (13%), while the poorest cluster had the greatest percentage (28%, p < 0.001). When controlling for age, protective gear use, and injury severity, the three poorest clusters showed the greatest odds of major disability or death (cluster 3: adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.58–3.46; cluster 4: AOR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.59–2.74; cluster 5: AOR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.24–4.58).

CONCLUSION

Greater economic status is associated with increased protective gear use during RTIs in Cameroon. Despite suffering the most severe outcomes, the poorest patients remain less likely to use protective gear. Enforcement of protective gear laws and economic incentives such as price subsidies for helmets and seatbelts would particularly benefit the most vulnerable population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Retrospective Comparative Study; Level IV.
Systematic, Pretransplant Screening by Aortoiliac CT Angiography: Impact on Surgical Decision-making and Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Nielsen Marie B. , Budtz-Lilly Jacob , Dahl Jonathan N. , Keller Anna K. , Jespersen Bente , Ivarsen Per R. , Winther Simon , Birn Henrik
Published: January 2025

Background.

Aortoiliac screening before kidney transplantation is suggested by some guidelines to select patients for transplantation and to assist surgical planning. We investigated the clinical outcomes of systematic screening for aortoiliac disease in potential kidney transplant candidates.

Methods.

In this observational study, 470 potential kidney transplant candidates underwent aortoiliac computed tomography angiography. Patients were characterized by the presence of peripheral artery disease and calcification of iliac arteries and aortoiliac arteries. The risk of graft loss and graft function at 1 y posttransplant were examined and clinical decisions based on the vascular findings were assessed.

Results.

Clinically diagnosed peripheral artery disease was present in 66 patients (14%), circular calcifications in 101 patients (21%), and aortoiliac stenosis in 77 patients (16%). In 326 patients undergoing kidney transplantation, circular calcification or aortoiliac stenosis was not associated with an increased risk of graft loss (P = 0.45 and P = 0.28) or estimated glomerular filtration rate (P = 0.23 and P = 0.76) at 1 y posttransplant. When evaluated for transplantability, clinical decision-making based on vascular findings was recorded in 67 of 429 patients (16%), including rejection for transplantation in 7 patients (2%) and laterality for surgical implantation in 52 patients (12%).

Conclusions.

Systematic screening by aortoiliac computed tomography angiography may assist in surgical planning but seems of limited clinical value in assessing the risk of future graft loss and graft function in patients undergoing kidney transplantation.
Does Self-Compassion Expressive Writing Benefit People With an Ostomy? A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Harris Lauren , Reynolds Lisa M.
Published: January 2025

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a self-compassion expressive writing activity could improve psychological well-being in people with an ostomy, as assessed by changes in body image distress, ostomy-specific quality of life (QOL), self-compassion, and dispositional disgust.

DESIGN:

Randomized controlled trial design was used.

SUBJECTS AND SETTING:

The sample comprised 175 English-speaking patients over 18 years of age with a fecal or urinary ostomy; all participants resided in Australia and New Zealand. All were recruited online between May and July 2019.

METHODS:

Following completion of a baseline questionnaire, participants were randomly assigned to complete either an online self-compassion expressive writing exercise (intervention group; n = 88; 50.29%) or a control expressive writing exercise (n = 87; 49.71%). Online questionnaires were completed 1-week and 1-month following completion of either expressive writing task. Intent-to-treat repeated-measure ANOVA analyses assessed benefits to self-compassion, body image distress, and ostomy-specific quality of life. Dispositional disgust sensitivity and propensity, as assessed by baseline scores on the Dispositional Disgust Sensitivity and Propensity Scale (DPSS), were assessed as moderators.

RESULTS:

Analyses revealed that younger people with an ostomy had poorer self-compassion, greater body image distress, and poorer ostomy-specific QOL than older people, and those who had lived with their ostomy for longer had lower body image distress and greater QOL. There were no significant main effects of writing condition on primary measures; however, individuals in the intervention condition with low dispositional disgust had greater self-compassion, greater ostomy-specific QOL, and lower body image distress than those with high dispositional disgust.

CONCLUSION:

Although expressive writing is a pragmatic and accessible intervention, our findings suggested that it was of benefit only to people with low dispositional disgust. Further work is required to establish an effective psychological tool for this under-researched population.
Measurement of Convexity Characteristics
Authors: Beitz Janice M. , Colwell Jan , Doughty Dorothy , McNichol Laurie , Gray Mikel
Published: January 2025

While convex skin barriers have been used in patient care for decades, regulatory bodies and manufacturers have not established consistent parameters for measuring the most essential characteristics of a convex skin barrier. A transdisciplinary panel of manufacturers, engineers, marketing specialists and clinical subject matter experts from the United States was convened to address this gap. An initial consensus meeting was held to establish consensus around measurement parameters for 5 characteristics of convex skin barriers: depth, slope, flexibility, compressibility, and tension location. Consensus around 3 characteristics (depth, slope, and tension location) was achieved. In contrast, while multiple possible techniques for establishing measurement parameters for the remaining 2 characteristics (flexibility and compressibility) were discussed, final consensus for standardized measurement parameters was not achieved. The proceedings of this initial and novel approach to achieving consensus on measurement parameters for essential convexity characteristics lay the groundwork for development of international clinical practice standards on convex ostomy products. These standards aim to ensure predictable outcomes for persons with ostomies who use these products.