bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monumental Painting: Pre-Iconoclasm
Authors: Bolman Elizabeth S.
Published: November 2021

Early Byzantine artists (active ca. fourth–early eighth century) continued to employ traditional Roman techniques. In most of the empire, they painted on wet plaster (fresco) but in Egypt they applied pigments onto dry plaster (secco) using bonding agents of animal protein (tempera) or molten wax (encaustic). By far the largest number of surviving wall paintings from this period is found in Egypt, especially in desert monasteries and burial grounds. Painted buildings also survive in the city of Ephesus (Turkey), as well in other sites scattered across the empire. Although regional styles probably existed, too little survives to identify their characteristics. Instead, the extant paintings indicate considerable unity in in both styles and subjects.
Monumental Painting: Post-Iconoclasm
Authors: Gerstel Sharon E. J.
Published: November 2021

Although few secular examples of Byzantine monumental painting survive, hundreds of churches throughout the Mediterranean and the Balkans preserve impressive decorative programs. Many of these churches are well studied. Others, however, remain unpublished. Close study of the paintings provides valuable information about techniques, materials, and artistic styles. Church decoration can show enormous regional variation: specific communities and patrons often exerted influence on subject matter. Inscriptions played an important role in many churches, providing an archive of liturgical texts to be spoken and sung and epigrams to be read. Liturgical texts, hymns, and ritual performance were important inspirations for painters and communities in the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. Phenomenological effects of sound and light were also considered in monumental decoration.
Ceramics
Authors: Papanikola-Bakirtzi Demetra
Published: November 2021

During the Early Byzantine period, ceramic vessels evolved from Roman pottery; red-slip tableware produced by Asia Minor and North African workshops dominated the market. Christian motifs enriched the decorative repertoire. From the seventh century onward, glazing signaled a major change in the appearance of vessels during the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. Glazed White Ware from Constantinople monopolized the tableware market until the eleventh century. From this time onward a light-colored slip layer on red fabric ensured a surface suitable for decoration and allowed for the development of sgraffito decoration, the Byzantine pottery decorative technique par excellence. It also made the production of glazed decorated ceramics possible in parts of the empire without white clay. During the Late Byzantine period, decentralization of pottery workshops allowed the development of local characteristics.
Glass
Authors: Antonaras Anastassios
Published: November 2021

This essay discusses the presence and distribution of glass in Byzantium and the different ways in which glass was used. Glassware, employed for the preservation and display of goods and above all as tableware, was in continuous use in throughout Byzantine history, and is found at both urban and rural sites. The greatest part of the glass produced during these eleven centuries was used in architectural decoration, that is, wall and floor mosaics, opus sectile, and as window glazing. Glass was also widely used in the production of jewelry and for the embellishment of metal jewelry and objects.
Ivories and Steatites
Authors: Connor Carolyn L.
Published: November 2021

Objects carved from elephant ivory and steatite (soapstone) have been identified with Byzantine culture from Late Antiquity to the Late Byzantine period. Mainly relief icons, and ceremonial and liturgical objects, most are small enough to be held in the hand or worn as amulets. No other organic material carried as high an intrinsic and symbolic value as elephant ivory, and its increasing rarity in the Middle Byzantine era lent carved objects especially high status. When the trade ceased in the eleventh century, steatites took on greater importance. Evidence of polychromy on ivories has altered traditional perceptions of the medium and its aesthetic. Technical analyses and interdisciplinary approaches have the potential to shed new light on long-held issues.
Liturgical Objects
Authors: Klein Holger A.
Published: November 2021

From the Late Antique period through the end of the Byzantine Empire and beyond, liturgical objects were used for the preparation and celebration of the Eucharistic rites. Often of precious metals, these objects are documented in both written sources and the archaeological record. They provide important evidence for the development of Christian liturgical and artistic practices as well as elite attitudes towards charitable giving and expectations for the afterlife. This chapter discusses material and documentary evidence surviving from Late Antique Italy, North Africa, Syria, Britain, and Germany to Late Byzantine Asia Minor, Greece, and the Balkans, providing an overview of types, their relationship to objects of domestic silverware, and their material, artistic development, and epigraphic as well as iconographic decoration.
Archaeology: Sites and Approaches
Authors: Ivison Eric A.
Published: November 2021

This chapter presents an overview of the history, practice and results of Byzantine archaeology in modern Greece and Turkey. Originating in Classical and Early Christian archaeology, and Byzantine art history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, its early focus was largely ecclesiastical; the modern field has widened to investigate the urbanism and rural settlements, fortifications, ecclesiastical, monastic and funerary monuments, along with remains of the Byzantine economy and landscape. The chapter considers sources, contemporary research goals and field methods, theoretical approaches, organization of field surveys and excavations, and the administration of archaeology in Greece and Turkey, as well as academic publishing and the place of the field in academia; It ends with a discussion of future prospects.
Barbara Hammer: Lesbian Feminist Iconography and Queer Aesthetics
Authors: Keller Sarah
Published: November 2021

This chapter discusses the early work of experimental filmmaker and artist Barbara Hammer. Focusing on the first two decades of her career, it demonstrates how Hammer’s working method demands the expansion of the parameters of the idea of feminist queer cinema to encompass the many methods, mediums, and types of experiments a queer artist might employ to capture changing notions of identity and art over time. In her shift from an emphasis on female and, especially, lesbian bodies in the 1970s to an emphasis on places and an exploration of her medium in the 1980s, Hammer illustrates an expansive approach to creativity and queer expressivity within her film art.
“A Panorama of Gay Life”: Nighthawks and British Queer Cinema in the 1970s
Authors: Davis Glyn
Published: November 2021

This chapter details the production history and reception of Paul Hallam and Ron Peck’s film Nighthawks (1978), often recognized as a “classic” of British LGBTQ cinema. It centrally engages with Vito Russo’s suggestion that the film offered “a community reaction to itself.” Making the film was a lengthy undertaking: the chapter draws on Peck and Hallam’s archives to reconstruct its creation, and unpacks Peck’s involvement with the Four Corners collective and its influence on the content and form of Nighthawks. The film is situated in relation to key events in British queer history and the landscape of British filmmaking during the decade, as well as in relation to Richard Dyer’s landmark 1977 film season “Images of Homosexuality.” The film’s “sequel,” Strip Jack Naked (1991), is also explored as a partial atonement for Nighthawks’s omissions.
For Shame!
Authors: Francis Marc
Published: November 2021

“For Shame!,” engages with the reclaimed “bad objects” or “guilty pleasures” of the queer canon that, once reviled by lesbian and gay liberationists, have acquired cult fandom and signal ways to liberate “contaminated” forms of enjoyment. Putting festival and repertory house programming from the 1970s to the 1990s in dialogue with lesbian feminist reclamations of campy sexploitation films (such as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! [1965]) and vampire films (such as Daughters of Darkness [1971]), “For Shame!” proposes a method for what the author refers to as the “reparative historicizing” of bad objects. The chapter argues that film programming and curation, practices that makes and remake attachments by continually producing new intertexts, help loosen the traumatic grips of individual texts deemed offensive. Programming, in turn, can lead the spectator to pleasures and critiques that interact in surprising and layered ways.
Representing Ourselves into Existence
Authors: Horak Laura
Published: November 2021

This chapter explores the energetic and innovative trans cinema movement that emerged in the 1990s by looking at case studies of the first transgender film festivals—Counting Past 2 in Toronto, the International Transgender Film and Video Festival in London, and Tranny Fest in San Francisco. Each festival took a different approach to trans film programming, community building, and arts funding. Together, the three festivals helped define a specifically transgender identity and community that overlapped with but were not the same as “queer.” They also influenced the programming of lesbian and gay festivals, carving out more room for trans-made work. These case studies demonstrate how film festivals can contribute to social and aesthetic movements, how festival organizers have overcome and become mired in the challenges they face, and the many ways in which trans has long put pressure on “lesbian and gay” and “queer” in the face of its erasure.
Queer Pedagogy
Authors: Waugh Thomas
Published: November 2021

This essayistic chapter dissects case studies of two international queer feature films from the 1980s and two queer shorts from twenty-first-century Quebec, all of which boldly grapple with—and arguably perform—queer pedagogy: Abuse (Arthur J. Bressan Jr., 1983, USA), A Strange Love Affair (Eric de Kuyper, 1985, Belgium, Netherlands), Rituels queer (Richard E. Bump and Ryan Conrad, 2013, USA, Quebec), and Rousings (Jamie Ross, web series, 2015, Quebec). Alongside, the author ponders pedagogical relationships over the years with his queer students, in terms of both their scholarly and artistic work and anecdotal memories of interactive relations between mentor and students. Inspired by Jane Gallop’s anecdotal theory, and in the shadow of the #MeToo sex panic, this autobiographical essay calls for far-ranging cultural and political conversations about sexuality and pedagogy, and their complex relations to cinephilia and the specificity of queer cultures.
Documentary Disclosures: The Emergence of Queer Independent Filmmaking in India
Authors: Ghosh Shohini
Published: November 2021

“Documentary Disclosures” is about the emergence of queer-identified filmmaking in India against the dramatic backdrop of a rapidly transforming mediascape in the last decade of the twentieth century. The restructuring of India’s urban mediascape in the 1990s—through processes of economic globalization, an open-sky policy, and the rise of the Hindu right—witnessed wide-ranging cultural transformations, including an unprecedented efflorescence of cinematic and televisual speech on issues of sex and sexuality. Against this backdrop, the works of three independent filmmakers—Pratibha Parmar, Riyad Wadia, and Nishit Saran—rendered queer subjects and communities visible while raising formalist concerns about documentary’s ability to “disclose.” This chapter discusses the work of these filmmakers as both intercultural texts and confessionals that shaped a new generation of queer interlocutors.
Queerly, Hopelessly, Precariously
Authors: Tsai Hwa-Jen
Published: November 2021

This paper reimagines a queer politics of globalization through three contemporary Taiwanese films. Lesbian Factory (2010) and Rainbow Popcorn (2013) were made by labor activists and focused on a landmark labor protest organized by Filipina migrant workers in Taiwan. However, during the filming process, the documentaries inadvertently turn into productions about migration, workers' protests, and new forms of queer intimacy and relationality forged among people who are on the move. Thanatos, Drunk (2015) is a feature film that centers on those who are forced to move, those without mobility, and those who have failed to move even when doing so is necessary for one's survival. Whether queer or straight in the film, everyone is on a downward spiral in life due to the neoliberal restructuring of the global economy. Drawing from queer theories of negativity, affect, and relationality, this paper rethinks queerness in regard to migration by establishing connections between queers' and migrants' negative relation to space and movement. Further, it cautions against the rhetoric of occupation in the Occupy Wall Street movement. It critiques the tendency to valorize mobility, capacity, and the logic of spatial expansion embedded in that of “occupy,” as well as the same logic that underlines contemporary Chinese nationalist and triumphalist thinking dominating large parts of Chinese and Sinophone locations. Ultimately, this paper is a critical intervention from the position of geopolitical and academic marginality. It reimagines the global politics of resistance against neoliberal economic order, the resurgence of nationalism, and imperialist ambition by placing subjects of resistance on the other side of mobility, spatial expansion, hope, and capacity—where new forms of intimacy and relationality also emerge.
Tracing Lesbian Cinema in Latin America
Authors: Venkatesh Vinodh
Published: November 2021

This chapter discusses the representation of lesbian bodies, desires, and identities in Latin American cinema. It contextualizes the production of LGBTQ cinema in Latin America, and its accompanying body of criticism. In doing so, the chapter identifies a critical lacuna that it then proceeds to address by first providing a historical tracing of several important films dealing with lesbian and gynosexual desires—including movies by such directors as Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, Abel Salazar, Diego Lerman, Lucía Puenzo, María Luisa Bemberg, Julia Solomonoff, and Raúl Fuentes. The chapter then proceeds to explore why these films are understudied within the field. The chapter broadens the scope of the current studies on queer Latin American cinema by adapting their theoretical and taxonomical structures to lesbian-themed films, to thus provide a point of reference for future filmic production and critique.
Queer Laughter in the Archives of Silent Film Comedy
Authors: Hennefeld Maggie
Published: November 2021

This chapter looks and listens for queer traces of lesbian sexuality in the archives of American silent film comedies, from 1894 to 1919. Like sexuality, laughter is arousing, ambiguous, and often difficult to understand out of context. Focusing on A Florida Enchantment (1914) and Phil-for-Short (1919), as well as several very early slapstick film comedies, the chapter pursues queer laughter as a historiographic method. It argues that potential queer subtexts emerge in tense conflict with their juxtaposition to offensive representations of blackface minstrelsy, patriarchal sexism, and capitalist class ideology. At once amusing and disturbing in their sexuality effects, these films provoke new intersectional strategies in queer critical reading.
Introduction
Authors: Fu Xiaolan , McKern Bruce , Chen Jin
Published: November 2021

In conceiving the Oxford Handbook of China Innovation, the editors were motivated by the belief that it should provide comprehensive and authoritative views of the role of innovation in China’s rise. Accordingly, the Handbook consists of chapters written by some sixty experts from universities and research institutions, who provide an exposition of the state of the art in their fields, with criticism and suggestions for further research. These ideas cover a review of China’s development policies, the place of innovation within national priorities, the specific components of the national innovation system, and the resources required for effective innovation. It gives detailed attention to the many elements of the system that provide incentives and support and the factors contributing to a technologically sophisticated society. The issue of foreign influence is also addressed, along with open innovation, foreign direct investment, and sectoral differences. Several chapters include examples of the capabilities and strategies of Chinese corporations that have become world-class innovators. This introduction provides a short overview of each of the book’s seven sections and an outline of each chapter. The editors hope that readers will find that the volume enhances their understanding of China’s march toward technological and innovation leadership and provides a foundation for informed conjecture regarding the challenges ahead.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China
Authors: Chen Jin , Wang Liying
Published: November 2021

The long-term gradual recovery of the world economy has provided a good international environment for entrepreneurship and innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With the continuous deepening of reforms and policies such as “Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation” and “Internet Plus,” unprecedented policy dividends have benefited SMEs’ entrepreneurship and innovation. In particular, the new round of opening up, led by “The Belt and Road” construction, will stimulate more external demand, which will provide good opportunities for the development of SMEs. With the current weak foundation for the recovery of the world economy, there are still many uncertainties. The problem of insufficient and imbalanced domestic economic development is still outstanding, and economic development still faces many difficulties and challenges. Overall, the international and domestic environment faced by China’s SMEs is improving.
System Reform, Competition, and Innovation in China
Authors: Zhang Weiying
Published: November 2021

China’s economic reform and openness have promoted innovation through intensifying competition. A cross-regional analysis shows that innovations in terms of research and development intensity, patents, and sales of new products are all positively and significantly correlated with the degree of marketization, share of private ownership, and foreign investments. However, China is far away from an innovative economy. The high growth of the past four decades is mainly a result of improvement in allocative efficiency driven by entrepreneurial arbitrage. As the potential of pure allocative efficiency is exhausting, future growth will be more and more dependent on entrepreneurial innovation. For Chinese entrepreneurs to be really innovative and for China to be a real innovative country, abolishing the dominance of the state sector and putting the government under law are urgently called for.
The Role of Clusters in the Development of Innovation Capabilities in China
Authors: Li Tuoyu , Wei Jiang
Published: November 2021

Industrial clusters have long been recognized as important elements of an innovation system and are very prevalent in China. While they can be important forces for development, they do not always contribute to innovative results. This chapter will look specifically at the development of clusters in China, the forces facilitating their success and their contribution to the economy, and the long-term enhancement of innovation capability. By presenting a conceptual framework combining determinants and elements of a cluster innovation system, this chapter aims to contribute to the theoretical construct in order to capture the main features and relationships of a cluster innovation system.
China’s Science-Based Innovation and Technology Transfer in the Global Context
Authors: Li Jizhen , Yin Ximing , Shen Subrina
Published: November 2021

Science-based innovation in universities and diffusion through university-industry linkages are the keys to strengthening national innovation capability, especially for emerging markets. This chapter provides a critical overview of China’s innovation and technology transfer between the university and industry in the context of globalization and the new industrial revolution. By doing this, the chapter attempts to provide critical insights for relevant stakeholders—whether they be researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, government officials, investors, or international organizations—in China’s development, innovation, and technology transfer. The chapter illustrates three aspects related to China’s innovation and technology transfer in comparison with other major players in the field. Then it further analyzes the drivers and challenges of China’s science-based innovation and university technology transfer for understanding the future of China’s innovation and technology transfer.
Science Parks and High-Tech Zones
Authors: Walcott Susan M.
Published: November 2021

Science parks were envisioned as an economic development institution from their inception, designed to provide employment that is particularly geared toward a highly educated labor force. Funds generally come from government sources at the early stage. The intention of science park development is to jump-start businesses that could benefit from research generated by a nearby university or research institution. This chapter reviews the development of science parks and high-technology zones in China with a focus on their impact on regional and national innovation. Discussion includes the industrial and technological focus of such zones, the relevance of specialization, and issues of effective implementation.
China’s International Migration: Status and Characteristics
Authors: Wang Huiyao
Published: November 2021

This chapter provides an overview of China’s role in global migration flows, as both one of the largest sources of international migrants and an increasingly popular destination for work, travel, or study. The chapter reviews key trends related to China’s outbound and inbound migration, including geographical distribution, citizenship and visa issues, employment, and other forms of migration. It also summarizes relevant policy and institutional developments, including the recent creation of China’s National Immigration Administration. Finally, the chapter outlines a series of measures to improve migration governance, raise global talent competitiveness, and enhance international cooperation on migration. It is proposed that China play a larger international role in this field and promote a more person-centered approach to global migration governance.
Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investments and Innovation
Authors: Amendolagine Vito , Fu Xiaolan , Rabellotti Roberta
Published: November 2021

Pursuing the “Go Global” strategy launched in 1999, China has recently become one of the major outbound investors worldwide. In the first stage, Chinese outward foreign direct investments (OFDIs) were directed to developing countries, mainly driven by resource-seeking motives; afterward, they started targeting advanced economies, searching for new markets and new technologies. This chapter provides some descriptive evidence of dynamic trends and spatial/sectoral distribution of the Chinese OFDIs that are more likely to affect investors’ innovation capabilities: greenfield investments in research and development activities and cross-border acquisitions of medium-high-tech companies located in technologically advanced countries. Moreover, it discusses the impact of such OFDIs by providing a critical review of the existing literature about the moderating factors that enhance the chances of positive outcomes and the learning mechanisms though which investors source new knowledge from foreign subsidiaries. It concludes with suggestions for future research.
International Innovation Collaboration in China
Authors: Chen Kaihua , Feng Ze , Fu Xiaolan
Published: November 2021

At present, China is in the critical period of economic growth transformation and structural adjustment. Strengthening international innovation cooperation is becoming extremely important. However, there are distinctive characteristics of international innovation collaboration that differ from domestic research collaboration, so that international innovation collaboration meets more challenges compared with other kinds of research collaboration. This chapter attempts to analyze China’s international innovation cooperation from a more macro level. Combining theory with practice, the chapter analyzes the necessity of international innovation cooperation, China’s practice and experience, and the status quo of China’s international cooperation. The chapter provides suggestions for solving the problems existing in the present stage. It also collates and forecasts the future research areas of international innovation cooperation.
The Puzzle of the Underdog’s Victory
Authors: Li Peter Ping , Zhou Shihao , Yang Monsol Zhengyin
Published: November 2021

Traditionally, Chinese companies have been viewed as underdogs in global competition, but many Chinese latecomers have actually caught up and become major players in the global market in the past decade. This begs the question about this puzzle. Based on the authors’ case evidence, the central theme of this chapter is that many successful corporate underdogs share a pattern with two salient features. First, these firms tend to have stretch goals, that is, seemingly impossible goals given their available capabilities. Second, such firms tend to behave in a way similar to the notion of bricolage in terms of “making do by applying combinations of the resources at hand to new problems and opportunities.” By focusing on the question of how stretch goals and exploratory bricolage work together in the context of China, this chapter identifies the bricolage pattern with both theoretical and practical implications for both scholars and practitioners within and beyond China.
Facing the Future of China’s Science and Technology Development
Authors: Pan Jiaofeng , Chen Guanghua , Lu Xiao
Published: November 2021

China’s scientific and technological strength is in a critical period of transition, from quantitative accumulation to a qualitative leap, and from point breakthroughs to system-wide capacity improvement. China has formulated the “Three-Step” strategic goal of scientific and technological innovation leadership. This chapter introduces eight socioeconomic foundations and strategic systems for supporting China’s science and technology innovation. These are sustainable energy and resources, advanced materials and intelligent green manufacturing, ubiquitous information network, ecologically high-value agriculture and bioindustry, universal healthcare, ecological and environmental conservation and development, space and ocean, and national and public security. China is committed to promoting the modernization of science and technology governance capabilities, improving the science and technology decision-making consultation mechanism, re-engineering the science and technology plan management system, optimizing scientific research projects and funding systems, promoting the open sharing of scientific and technological resources, and creating a deeply integrated open innovation environment.
Conclusion
Authors: Fu Xiaolan , McKern Bruce , Chen Jin , Yin Ximing
Published: November 2021

The Handbook of China Innovation, through the contributions of more than sixty leading scholars in the field of China innovation and development studies, attempts to provide a contemporary, authoritative, and critical assessment of the current state of knowledge on the topic of innovation in China. This concluding section, summarizes the main findings of this Handbook, based on the insights from each of the chapters and addresses the question of whether China will become a global innovation superpower. It considers China’s past, present, and future innovation prospects from the perspectives of macroeconomic policy, institutions, microeconomic policies, and managerial initiatives, considering the roles played by both the state and the private sectors and by both domestic and international actors.
China’s Science and Technology Progress through the Lens of Patenting
Authors: Jefferson Gary H. , Jiang Renai
Published: November 2021

This chapter assesses China’s science and technology (S&T) progress through the lens of the patenting literature in the context of China. In particular, after presenting an overview of China’s patent production over the past twenty-five years, it investigates the following questions: What accounts for China’s patent surge? What are the implications of the surge for patent quality? Does the nature of the patenting reveal China’s S&T direction and comparative advantage? How has the international sector affected China’s patent production? What has been the role of the government—the central, provincial, and local governments—in shaping patent production? And finally, how heterogeneous is China’s regional patent production; are patenting capabilities diffusing across China?
Hedge Funds and Herding Behavior
Authors: Kellard Neil M.
Published: November 2021

This chapter examines whether hedge funds herd, how this herding occurs, and any potential market wide effects. Bringing together the mainstream finance literature and that from a more management and sociological perspective, it is shown that hedge funds herd, although there is some evidence this is less than other large institutional investors. Mechanistically, such consensus trades occur because hedge firms communicate within tight knit clusters of trusted and smart managers, who share and analyze trading positions together. This industry structure is a function of the hyper decision-making environment faced by hedge fund managers, coupled with a desire for legitimization and to maintain reputation. Finally, note that hedge fund herding can have market wide effects either directly via network risk and indirectly, as follower institutional investors amplify hedge fund trading patterns.
A Review of Hedge Fund Activism: Impact on Shareholders vs. Stakeholders
Authors: Aslan Hadiye
Published: November 2021

This chapter reviews the growing empirical literature on shareholder activism by hedge funds, summarizing the sources and nature of the activist data and examining the evidence on target firm outcomes. Target firms do not exist in a vacuum, however; they have industry competitors, suppliers, customers, debtholders, and employees. Hedge fund activists often demand a reformulation of the target firm’s product market strategy to enhance its ability to earn inframarginal profits. This positive strategic effect may be especially significant for target firms that are economically distressed and facing predatory moves from deep-pocketed rival firms to induce exit. The putative significant effects of hedge fund activism on targets should generate spillover effects on their stakeholders. The chapter considers these spillover effects in a number of well-defined categories: industry rivals, customers, suppliers, debtholders, and employees.
The Lost Decade for Hedge Funds: Three Threats
Authors: McCahery Joseph A. , de Roode F. Alexander
Published: November 2021

The last decade has challenged the paradigm of the hedge fund industry as a unique performer. In this chapter three main factors are identified that have affected the operation of hedge funds: competition from mutual funds, the market environment, and tighter regulation. Recent trends in the financial industry have moved asset managers closer to hedge funds by introducing similar underlying strategies, such as liquid alternative funds, to directly compete with hedge funds. Such strategies can achieve performance similar to that of hedge funds, thus introducing more competition for hedge funds. Moreover, it is shown that several hedge fund styles that have traditionally worked well in crisis times—even in the last decade—are also strategies that can be replicated by liquid alternatives. Together with tighter regulation and a strong market environment, these developments continue to put pressure on the hedge fund industry. The chapter’s empirical findings add to the existing debate on the performance of hedge funds and the direct competition from liquid alternatives.
Tissue-specific transcriptomics reveal functional differences in floral development
Authors: Yang Hailong , Nukunya Kate , Ding Queying , Thompson Beth E
Published: November 2021

Flowers are produced by floral meristems, groups of stem cells that give rise to floral organs. In grasses, including the major cereal crops, flowers (florets) are contained in spikelets, which contain one to many florets, depending on the species. Importantly, not all grass florets are developmentally equivalent, and one or more florets are often sterile or abort in each spikelet. Members of the Andropogoneae tribe, including maize (Zea mays), produce spikelets with two florets; the upper and lower florets are usually dimorphic, and the lower floret is greatly reduced compared to the upper floret. In maize ears, early development appears identical in both florets but the lower floret ultimately aborts. To gain insight into the functional differences between florets with different fates, we used laser capture microdissection coupled with RNA-sequencing to globally examine gene expression in upper and lower floral meristems in maize. Differentially expressed genes were involved in hormone regulation, cell wall, sugar, and energy homeostasis. Furthermore, cell wall modifications and sugar accumulation differed between the upper and lower florets. Finally, we identified a boundary domain between upper and lower florets, which we hypothesize is important for floral meristem activity. We propose a model in which growth is suppressed in the lower floret by limiting sugar availability and upregulating genes involved in growth repression. This growth repression module may also regulate floret fertility in other grasses and potentially be modulated to engineer more productive cereal crops.
Measuring the derivative using surfaces
Authors: Wangberg Aaron , Gire Elizabeth , Dray Tevian
Published: November 2021

Students need a robust understanding of the derivative for upper-division mathematics and science courses, including thinking about derivatives as ratios of small changes in multivariable and vector contexts. In Raising Calculus to the Surface activities, multivariable calculus students collaboratively discover properties of derivatives by using tangible tools to solve context-rich problems. In this paper, we present examples of student reasoning about derivatives during the first of a sequence of three Raising Calculus activities. In this sequence, students work collaboratively on dry-erasable surfaces (tangible graphs of functions of two variables) using an inclinometer, a tool that can measure derivatives in any direction on the surfaces, to invent procedures to determine derivatives in any direction. Since students are not given algebraic expressions for the underlying functions, they must coordinate conceptual and geometric notions of derivatives, building on their understandings from introductory differential calculus. We discuss examples of student reasoning that demonstrate how the activity supports student realization of the need to define a path, attend to direction and the orientation of the coordinate axes and recognize covariation between related quantities. This first activity enables students to initially recognize the ratio of small changes approach to derivatives. We briefly describe how students utilize the ratio of small changes approach in subsequent activities as they measure partial derivatives on surfaces (using an inclinometer) and on contour maps.
Pragmatic Approach to Neuraxial Anesthesia in Obstetric Patients With Disorders of the Vertebral Column, Spinal Cord, and Neuromuscular System
Authors: Walsh E. , Zhang Yi. , Madden H. , Lehrich J. , Leffert L.
Published: November 2021

(Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2021;46:258–267)

Approximately 40% of women of childbearing age are affected by vertebral column, spinal cord, and neuromuscular system disorders and conditions, raising questions about neuraxial anesthesia safety and efficacy for labor analgesia and obstetric surgical anesthesia. As research regarding how to approach neuraxial anesthesia during care is limited, the aim of this review is to familiarize anesthesiologists with anatomy, present available data, and empower physicians to use a pragmatic approach to neuraxial anesthesia.
Regional Anesthesia for Labor, Operative Vaginal Delivery and Cesarean Delivery: A Narrative Review
Authors: Sultan P. , Sultan E. , Carvalho B.
Published: November 2021

(Anaesthesia. 2021;76(suppl 1):136–147)

Intrapartum and postpartum pain management is important to recovery from childbirth regardless of mode of delivery. While multimodal analgesia is often the first choice in cesarean delivery (CD), it may not always be suitable for all patients. As the availability of ultrasound grows, regional anesthesia may play a larger role in obstetric anesthesia. This narrative review aims to describe the current clinical applicability of regional nerve blocks for intrapartum analgesia for and recovery following CD. When possible, intrapartum nerve blocks are compared with placebo, systemic opioids and neuraxial techniques. Comparisons are made in terms of opioid consumption, pain scores, time to first analgesic use, quality of recovery scores, and incidence of adverse events.
COVID-19 and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: An N95 Respirator Mask May not be Adequate
Authors: Wong P. , Ong S.G. , Lim W.Y.
Published: November 2021

(Br J Anaesth. 2020;125:e319–e322. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2020.05.008. PMID: 32425209)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a 3.1% fatality rate and is spread primarily through droplets and contact. Anesthetists working in hospitals may perform procedures and provide care involving the respiratory system [eg, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), airway management, intubation, chest compression, and face mask ventilation], which increases their risk of viral infection and death. To help mitigate these adverse outcomes, the European Resuscitation Council has prioritized staff safety and recommends that personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn by rescuers performing CPR. The minimum PPE recommendation includes a respirator mask (FFP2 or N95 respirator mask if FFP3 is not available).
Storage Conditions of Oxytocin in a Tropical Climate in a Low-income Country
Authors: de Vries E.L. , van Tetering A.A.C. , van der Hout M.B. , Derijks L.J.J. , Sseguya S.P. , Namagembe . , Byamugisha J. , Oei S.G.
Published: November 2021

(Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2021;154:44–48. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.13505)

As postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) has severe maternal outcomes and accounts for almost 20% of maternal deaths in low-income countries, decreasing the risk of PPH is critical. One way to help prevent the incidence of PPH is administering oxytocin immediately following delivery and repeating the dose as needed. Oxytocin degrades at increased temperatures, so storing it at temperatures between (2 and 8°C) is recommended, yet optimal storage conditions can be difficult in tropical, low-income countries. This study aims to establish oxytocin storage conditions in a tropical climate within a low-income country.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is Associated With Adverse Maternal Outcomes Using a United States Multistate Database Cohort, 2007-2014
Authors: Lui B. , Burey L. , Ma X. , Kjaer K. , Abramovitz S.E. , White R.S.
Published: November 2021

(Int J Obstet Anesth. 2021;45:74–82)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often goes undiagnosed in reproductive-age women, affecting approximately one in ten. Due to physiological changes during pregnancy, OSA may begin or be worsened in the peripartum period. OSA is associated with higher risk of adverse events including postoperative hypoxemia and intensive care unit transfer. While some studies have linked OSA to adverse maternal outcomes, findings have been inconsistent and larger studies are needed. This study aimed to explore the association between OSA and maternal outcomes using a large US cohort.
Quality of Labor Epidural Analgesia at a High-volume Tertiary Care Obstetric Unit: A Before-and-After Study
Authors: Easther R.G. , Downey K. , Watts N. , Ye X.Y. , Carvalho J.C.A.
Published: November 2021

(Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2021;46:157–163. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2020-101873. [Epub November 6, 2020]. PMID: 33159006)

Randomized controlled trials show neuraxial analgesia minimizes pain and improves patient experience across North America, yet these findings are under controlled conditions within homogenous populations. Also, practice changes were made between 2011 and 2017 at the institution’s obstetric unit including a more consistent epidural loading dose of local anesthetic plus fentanyl, increased hourly and maximum limits of bupivacaine, and conversion from continuous epidural infusion to programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) regimen. Any changes in reported data between the 2 time periods provide insight on the quality of labor analgesia. This study aimed to improve maternal care and outcomes by further understanding the safety, quality, and patient satisfaction of labor analgesia using prospective observational studies.
Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASIS) in Multiparous Women With the Use of Epidural Anaesthesia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Putri  , Simons K. , Nettle J. , Woodward A.
Published: November 2021

(Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2021;61:30–34)

Epidural anesthesia is the gold standard for managing labor pain. But it is also associated with longer second stage of labor and an increased risk of instrumental vaginal delivery, which can lead to obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS). The risk of OASIS is 5.7% in women giving birth for the first time, compared with 1.5% in multiparous women with no history of OASIS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of epidural use in multiparous women on the rates of OASIS and other outcomes.
A Prospective, Up-down Sequential Allocation Study Investigating the Effectiveness of Vital Capacity Breaths Using High-flow Nasal Oxygenation versus a Tight-fitting Face Mask to Preoxygenate Term Pregnant Women
Authors: Al-Sulttan S. , Bampoe S. , Howle R. , Setty T. , Columb M. , Patel A. , Fernando R. , Husain T. , Sultan P.
Published: November 2021

(Int J Obstet Anesth. 2021;45:28–33)

While neuraxial anesthesia is the preferred technique for cesarean delivery (CD), sometimes general anesthesia (GA) is warranted. Preoxygenation before rapid-sequence induction of GA in obstetric patients can prolong the time to oxygen desaturation. High-flow nasal oxygenation (HFNO) has been used in other settings, but there is a lack of data on its use in the obstetric population. A previous study examined the use of HFNO, using tidal volume breaths rather than vital capacity (VC) breaths. This current study aimed to determine the number of VC breaths needed using HFNO to achieve FETO2 ≥90% in pregnant women undergoing CD at term, and compare this to the number of VC breaths needed to achieve FETO2 ≥90% using a tight-fitting face mask for preoxygenation.
Vasodilator Dysfunction in Human Obesity: Established and Emerging Mechanisms
Authors: Schinzari Francesca , Tesauro Manfredi , Cardillo Carmine
Published: November 2021

Human obesity is associated with insulin resistance and often results in a number of metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular complications. Over the past decades, substantial advances in the understanding of the cellular and molecular pathophysiological pathways underlying the obesity-related vascular dysfunction have facilitated better identification of several players participating in this abnormality. However, the complex interplay between the disparate mechanisms involved has not yet been fully elucidated. Moreover, in medical practice, the clinical syndromes stemming from obesity-related vascular dysfunction still carry a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality; thus, early identification and personalized clinical management seem of the essence. Here, we will initially describe the alterations of intravascular homeostatic mechanisms occurring in arteries of obese patients. Then, we will briefly enumerate those recognized causative factors of obesity-related vasodilator dysfunction, such as vascular insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, visceral adipose tissue expansion, and perivascular adipose tissue abnormalities; next, we will discuss in greater detail some emerging pathophysiological mechanisms, including skeletal muscle inflammation, signals from gut microbiome, and the role of extracellular vesicles and microRNAs. Finally, it will touch on some gaps in knowledge, as well as some current acquisitions for specific treatment regimens, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 enhancers and sodium-glucose transporter2 inhibitors, that could arrest or slow the progression of this abnormality full of unwanted consequences.
Surgical Correction of Popliteal Pterygium with Serial Splinting: A Case Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Sewilam Mohammed , Hassan Ahmed Sabry , Shoaib Amr , Alrayes Majd
Published: November 2021

Popliteal pterygium syndrome is an extremely rare congenital disorder, with only a few cases reported in the literature. It consists of facial, genitourinary, and musculoskeletal anomalies. A very striking characteristic of this syndrome is the popliteal pterygium contracture, which is considered the most challenging malformation to be corrected. Hence, we report a case of popliteal pterygium contracture in a 30-month-old female child with no family history of popliteal pterygium syndrome. The child was treated successfully with satisfactory results, by combining surgical intervention with postoperative serial splinting. We discuss here the tips and tricks of the surgical approach we performed, which was followed by serial splinting and physiotherapy. In addition, a literature-based review was performed providing a summary of all relevant reported cases.
Women’s awareness about menopausal symptoms and its management: a cross-sectional study in 2 selected settings of Asmara, Eritrea
Authors: Idris Idris M. , Amr Drar A.
Published: November 2021

Objective:

The authors tried to identify women’s level of awareness about menopausal symptoms and the measures they take to relieve the menopausal symptoms in selected areas of Asmara, Eritrea.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional study design was utilized from November 1 to 21, 2018. Data about menopausal symptoms and the relieving measures taken were collected using a pretested questionnaire from 180 selected women from Asmara College of Health Sciences and Public Transportation of Zoba Maekel. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify associations of demographic variables with level of awareness using SPSS (Version 22.0).

Results:

More than half of the study participants (56%) were between the age group of 40 and 45 and the mean age at which menopause had started was 45 years. About 52% of them reached menopause out of whom more than half (56%) were not aware of menopausal symptoms. The main menopausal symptoms mentioned were absence of periods (34.4%), followed by irritability (32.8%) and hot flashes (27.8%). About seven-tenth of the participants (68.3%) did not take any action to relive the menopausal symptoms. Women with higher level of education [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.12 (1.07, 3.96)], who were from a nuclear family [adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.65 (0.76, 3.23)] were having a significantly better level of awareness about menopause and its symptoms.

Conclusion:

Majority of the women were not aware of the menopausal symptoms and the measures that should be taken. Appropriate actions to increase women’s awareness level regarding menopause should be incorporated as a critical aspect in promoting women’s health.