bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Scorned Women and Their Protégées: Aunt Betsey, Miss Wade, and Miss Havisham
Authors: Hamby James
Published: December 2024

Abstract: In the characters of Betsy Trotwood, Miss Havisham, and Miss Wade, Dickens created a pattern of a scorned woman who adopts a protégée whom she teaches to hate men. This pattern has four main components. Firstly, the elder woman has had a negative experience with a man that mingles romance and economics. Secondly, the mentor selects a protégée whom she teaches to reject men, and, by extension, the nuclear family. The protégée is somehow disadvantaged in socio-economic terms. Next, the mentor is associated with rage and violence. Finally, both the mentor and mentee either come back into the fold of the patriarchy or are severely punished. Dickens's creation of this pattern is an endorsement of the traditional view that women should be wives and mothers and a rejection of the advent of what, later in the nineteenth century, would be recognized as the "New Woman."
Narratives of Authority around Chalcedon’s Canon 28: The Emperor Marcian, Bishop Leo I, and the Functions of Late-Antique Imperial Letters in Ecclesiastical Letter Collections
Authors: Kooijman Marijke
Published: December 2024

Abstract: In the context of fifth-century ecclesiastical disputes, more specifically during the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon with its controversial canon 28, imperial communication to Christian clergy could not be as straightforward as usual. This article proposes that the diplomatic relationship between the Eastern Roman emperor Marcian (450–457 c.e.) and Bishop Leo I of Rome (440–461 c.e.) was governed by interdependence. Through examining the rhetoric of authority in Marcian’s understudied letter to Leo from December 18, 451, and placing it in the context of its transmission history in two antithetical late-antique letter collections, this article demonstrates how Marcian’s letter to Leo could be reused to defend consecutively both Rome and Constantinople thanks to its rhetorical subtletly. It argues that the divergent functions of Marcian’s letter in the fifth-century Greek Chalcedonian letter collection B and the ninth-century Latin Collectio Thessalonicensis were made possible by its diplomatic phrasing and the ambiguity of the Emperor’s position in theological disputes. Thus, it clarifies the functions of correspondence in ecclesiastical decision-making processes and adds to our understanding of textual and imperial authority in the Late Roman Empire.
Mani and the Myth of the Perpetual Foreigner
Authors: Han Jae Hee
Published: December 2024

Abstract: This article argues that the presumed distinction between Christianity and Manichaeism among some scholars of early Christianity replicates an Orientalist fantasy that divides the world into West and East. In this discourse, West and East do not designate relative locations as a matter of convention, but function in an interested way to excise Manichaeism from Christianity. To make this argument, this article traces the persistent surfacing of the West/East binary in a number of academic works about Manichaeism, especially by Arthur Vööbus, Peter Brown, book reviews on Manichaean topics, and a recent introduction of Manichaeism written for scholars of early Christianity. It sharpens the contours of the West/East binary in these works with attention to recent developments in “Asian American” scholarship on the cultural location of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners.” It concludes with a brief “Asian American” reading of a passage from the Coptic Manichaean Psalmbook . This reading attempts to situate the passage within developments in late antique Roman Christianity, rather than as a reflection of some distant moment in third-century Sasanian Mesopotamia, that is, to situate the passage within its contemporary context rather than in relation to Manichaeism’s origins in the East. This article does not argue that Manichaeism is a form of Christianity, but that there is much to be gained for scholars of early Christianity if we considered it as such.
Je suis artiste : Trajectoires des migrations subsahariennes à Tanger
Authors: Jaquet Victoire , Mouna Khalid
Published: December 2024

Résumés: Notre étude des pratiques artistiques interroge le rôle de l'art comme voie parmi les stratégies connues d'adaptation des récits d'exil pour susciter la sympathie et organiser les conditions d'une régularisation. Elle suggère une perspective singulière sur le devenir migrant. Face à la prescription d'un statut, ces individus renouvellent leurs identités avec créativité. Ainsi, devenir artiste est perçu comme un accomplissement. Ces parcours témoignent du rôle et du pouvoir de l'art à re-symboliser le réel, ici, à travers la danse et le son. Ces réalités nous incitent à formuler l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'art, en tant que processus liminal, constituerait une pratique, un moment de transition, de flottement et d'inversion. Ainsi, la régularisation de leurs situations comme artistes constitue, pour des migrants aux statuts juridiques singuliers, une occasion de renversement d'une situation qui révèle le caractère construit et relatif des hiérarchies sociales. Abstracts: Based on the fieldwork research and immersion in artistic groups founded by Cameroonian migrants, this article addresses the complexity of the migration process. Within the well-known strategies of adapting exile narratives to elicit sympathy and organize the conditions for regularization, the interlocutors of the study open up a dynamic perspective on becoming a migrant. Faced with the prescription of a status, these individuals renew their identities through artistic practice; thus, becoming an artist is perceived as an accomplishment. These journeys testify to the role and power of art in re-symbolizing reality, here through dance and sound. We start from the hypothesis that liminality is a moment of transition and floating, a moment of inversion where art in general presents an opportunity to turn a situation around. The aim is to observe the constructed and relative nature of social hierarchies between migrants, and the singular legal dimension involved in regularizing their situations as artists.
Moussa, Mdou Moctar, and Akounak : How Migration and the Ishumar Overlap in the Sahara via Tuareg Guitar Music
Authors: Hagan Ampson
Published: December 2024

Abstracts: It was my chance meeting with the film director of a film on Tuareg music, Akounak Tedelat Taha Tazoughai , that pushed me to tune into the music and artistry of the film's lead, Nigerien Tuareg artist Mdou Moctar. In Niger, researching trans-Saharan migration and humanitarian aid targeted at unauthorized migrants traveling through Niger en route to Algeria, my conversations about Akounak and Moctar's music transformed my research. While listening to Moctar's music, I understood that his perspectives and arrangements have a veritable connection to migration in Africa, as well as the struggle of African peoples more broadly. This article explores this connection, weaving through my brief encounter with the film director and one of his Tuareg guitarist collaborators, Moussa, to a film review of Akounak in which Moctar brilliantly starred, to a review of his two most recently published music albums, to the state of the Tuareg music genre and that of the Ishumar , young men who play much of the Tuareg guitar music popular in Niger today. It also explores a conversation with Malcolm, a Liberian migrant in Niamey, and provides an instructive perspective on what Tuareg music has to say about the plight of Africa, the Ishumar , and African migrants. Résumés: C'est lors de ma rencontre fortuite avec le réalisateur d'un film sur la musique touarègue, Akounak Tedelat Taha Tazoughai , que j'ai été poussé à m'intéresser à la musique et au talent artistique de l'artiste touareg nigérien Mdou Moctar, personnage principal du film. Au Niger, alors que je faisais des recherches sur la migration transsaharienne et l'aide humanitaire destinée aux migrants clandestins traversant le Niger en route vers l'Algérie, mes conversations sur la musique d' Akounak et de Moctar ont transformé mes recherches. En écoutant la musique de Moctar, j'ai compris que ses perspectives et ses arrangements avaient un lien véritable avec la migration en Afrique, ainsi qu'avec la situation de détresse des peuples africains en général. Cet article explore ce lien, en passant par ma brève rencontre avec le réalisateur et l'un de ses collaborateurs guitaristes touaregs, Moussa. Cet article discute une critique du film Akounak dans lequel Moctar a brillamment joué, et offre une critique de ses deux albums de musique les plus récemment publiés, l'état du genre musical Touareg et celui des Ishumar , des jeunes hommes qui jouent une grande partie de la musique de guitare touareg populaire au Niger aujourd'hui. Il explore également une conversation avec Malcolm, un migrant libérien à Niamey, et offre une perspective instructive sur ce que la musique touarègue a à dire sur la situation de l'Afrique, des Ishumar et des migrants africains.
Géographies insulaires de la Méditerranée dans le roman d'aventures français: Du Comte de Monte-Cristo (1844/1846) d'Alexandre Dumas à Mathias Sandorf (1885) de Jules Verne
Authors: Izzo Sara
Published: December 2024

Résumé: La présente contribution se propose d'examiner la géographie littéraire de la Méditerranée dans le roman d'aventures français au 19eme siècle. Notre principal point de focalisation sera la référence intertextuelle entre le roman Mathias Sandorf de Verne et le Comte de Monte-Cristo de Dumas. La géographie littéraire de la Méditerranée est caractérisée dans les deux romans par des îles utopiques, voire hétérotopiques, qui peuvent être considérés comme des images microcosmiques de la Méditerranée entière. Nous allons présenter l'interaction entre l'espace géographique et imaginaire ainsi que le processus d'une 'cartographisation' narrative de la Méditerranée à travers les actions des protagonistes respectifs.
Une traversée maritime, destination l'Europe: " Mur Méditerranée " de Louis-Philippe Dalembert
Authors: Modenesi Marco
Published: December 2024

Résumé: Cet essai analyse l'ouvrage de l'écrivain haïtien Louis-Philippe Dalembert intitulé Mur Méditerranée (2019) et examine les trajectoires odéporiques et existentielles des personnages principaux, à savoir trois migrantes : Chochana, Semhar et Dima. L'auteur de cet article démontre que ce roman de migration subsume le schéma paradigmatique du genre (abandon de la terre natale, voyage, arrivée - possible - en terre d'accueil) et qu'il se fonde sur une image de la mer Méditerrané qui, loin d'incarner le centre de la civilisation, constitue un espace caractérisé par la prolifération de murs et de diverses perspectives ontologiques.
"Emporter de l'autre côté de la Méditerranée un souvenir précis": The Mediterranean as a Memory Space in L'art de perdre (2017) by Alice Zeniter and La guerre, la guerre, la guerre (2020) by Leïla Slimani
Authors: Kraume Anne
Published: December 2024

Abstract: With L'art de perdre (2017) by Alice Zeniter and La guerre, la guerre, la guerre (2020) by Leïla Slimani, this article examines two contemporary novels in which a trans-Mediterranean space of memory is created in different ways. In particular, it discusses the extent to which this Mediterranean space of memory is significant in a narratological sense against the background of the question of the narratability of memories implicitly and explicitly raised in the two novels. Although the two works are based on very different spatial poetics, the narrated space is of particular importance for both. This significance arises from the fact that the space reflects the mnemonic structure underlying each novel. For Leïla Slimani, the Mediterranean represents a kind of blind spot, as the story at best circles around it, but never explicitly describes it. On a structural level, the directness of the narrative serves as an equivalent to this "empty" center: it is not staged as a mnemonic search for traces, but rather produces the narrated past in its supposed immediacy and presence. In contrast, Alice Zeniter's Méditerranée functions as a space of movement whose elementary components are revealed in the characters' continuous physical and mental journeys from one side to the other. Accordingly, the movement of the narrative itself becomes clear in the traverses set in motion by the characters in the space of movement of the sea, which are traced by the multitude of crossings.
Seeing linguistic systems as intellectual, aesthetic, and expressive achievements
Authors: Woodbury Anthony C.
Published: December 2024

Abstract: Linguists in the last century have asked how lexico-grammatical systems may or may not vary, due perhaps to their origins in human biology or sociality; as well as how they may reflect their genetic relationships or geographic distributions. But alongside seeing linguistic systems as instances of principles we may posit, it is also important to leave room for local contingency, and that includes seeing linguistic systems, to the fullest extent possible, as people's intellectual, aesthetic, and expressive achievements. Four steps are proposed in that direction: (i) striving for perspicuous descriptions of linguistic systems on their own terms in order to identify pervasive design or 'genius' across suites of features; (ii) exploring cases where unusual suites of features persist over time, where consistent choice and continuing intellectual, aesthetic, or expressive engagement with those features stand among possible explanations for their persistence; (iii) investigating speakers' creative engagement with lexico-grammatical features in verbal art and elsewhere, emphasizing dialectical relationships that tend to form as creative practices and suites of features affect each other, and then gauging how these relationships might shape linguistic systems over time; (iv) examining degrees of awareness, attention, and purpose when considering people's creative engagement with lexico-grammatical systems and their implications for how we understand linguistic systems as creative achievements. Two extended examples are considered: the multimillennial persistence, across all of its branches, of an unusual lexico-grammatical design or genius in the Unangan-Yupik-Inuit language family, suggesting the ongoing renewal of a particular set of aesthetic or expressive sensibilities; and the work of Eastern Chatino speakers to gain and teach awareness of the extraordinary systems of tonal lexico-grammar across Eastern Chatino varieties and how that awareness, helped in part by their work as linguists, has led to intellectual and aesthetic engagement with tone in the context of an ongoing social and political struggle for Indigenous language recognition and maintenance.
Cosmopolitan Anarchy: Ananda Coomaraswamy, Transnationalism, and Walt Whitman
Authors: Antliff Allan
Published: December 2024

abstract: This article explores how anarchists championing Walt Whitman's sexual libertarianism before and during World War I were eclipsed by American conservatives, who promoted the poet as a parochial nationalist to assert the hegemony of US-style democracy on a global scale. Focusing on a special "Walt Whitman" issue of The Modern School journal marking the centenary of the poet's birth in 1919, I discuss Ananda Coomaraswamy's argument that Whitman was spokesperson of a "new religion" antithetical to puritanical sexuality, capitalist acquisitiveness, and the anthropocentrism undergirding the West's industrial exploitation of the natural world. I conclude with an examination of Lajpat Rai's mobilization of Whitman to the cause of Indian nationalism and Coomaraswamy's disruptive counter discourse, in which Whitman embodied an anarchic form of cosmopolitanism that was internationalist.
Surviving the Disappearance of Landscape: Joan Merli, the Catalan Exile Who Printed Argentine Modernity
Authors: Martínez Pablo García
Published: December 2024

abstract: This article reenacts the trajectory of Catalan art critic and editor Joan Merli (1901–95), who was exiled to Argentina after the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) and became a pivotal figure in the local artistic field. Departing from prewar Barcelona—where Merli gained recognition as an art dealer, magazine editor, and art critic—the text advances to analyze how his contribution to a landscape-dominated art canon was refracted to the first stages of his exile, when he wrote art criticism aimed at the Catalan diaspora in Argentina. Nevertheless, the dialogue with Buenos Aires's cosmopolitan art scene influenced Merli's abandonment of his self-sufficient gaze on art, conceived as a tool to represent and preserve stability. This transformation in Merli's art criticism went hand in hand with his emergence as a central player in Argentine modernity from the 1940s and 1950s, when he directed the country's leading art-specialized publishing house, Poseidón.
Kissing Statues: Eroticism and Satire in the Short Stories of Jean Rhys
Authors: Stanley Rachael
Published: December 2024

abstract: Within the short stories of Jean Rhys we can observe her attempting to find a means to write the erotic by using descriptions of the visual arts as a way to explore female desire and sexuality. In these moments of engagement with the visual arts, Rhys finds a way to subvert the supposed "neutrality" of ekphrasis and satirize male depictions of the female body and female desire. Working alongside this satirical intent to critique male artistic practice, we witness Rhys adopting prototypical modernist techniques but using them to describe moments of eroticism. Fragmentation, ellipsis, intense subjectivity, a sense of timelessness—all are revealed by Rhys to have a much wider application beyond depicting the trauma and confusion of early twentieth-century European culture. Instead, Rhys shows how these techniques might be ideally suited to describe female desire.
How to Balance and Integrate Multiple Social Identities: Reading 1 Corinthians
Authors: Cornelius Elma
Published: December 2024

Abstract: The focus of this paper is to interpret Paul's reference to and opinion on different social identities in 1 Corinthians and to find an answer, through an interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7, to the question of how to balance and integrate multiple social identities. Relevant passages in 1 Corinthians are interpreted by using an interdisciplinary method, including the fruits of sociological and psychological studies of social identities, while taking the socio-historical background of the text into consideration, interpreting the structure of the letter, considering the use of persuasion strategies and stylistic devices, and undertaking word studies. It is concluded from 1 Corinthians that through God a spiritual identity is possible – an "in-Christ" identity. Paul argues in 1 Corinthians that one's spiritual identity is not supposed to replace other identities. For the sake of unity and peace, one's spiritual identity, with the implication of the transformation of the believer, should infiltrate other social identities.
Siblings in Parallel: The Significance of Jesus Calling Mary and Lazarus in John 11
Authors: Feník Juraj
Published: December 2024

Abstract: This article aims to show that the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11 contains a conceptual similarity between Mary and Lazarus, namely, their calling by Jesus. In particular, the episode devoted to Jesus's meeting with Mary (11:28–37) includes Martha's clandestine admission to her sister that Jesus is calling her (v. 28), which is followed by Mary's immediate departure from the house to Jesus (v. 29), who has not yet entered the village (v. 30). Aside from other dimensions of the story, Jesus is here portrayed as the one who calls Mary out of the house to a meeting with him. A similar dynamic is found in the episode of Lazarus's exit from the grave (11:38–44); for here Jesus is the one who calls Lazarus out of the tomb (v. 43), which results in his immediate compliance (v. 44). Verse 12:17 lexicalizes Jesus's action as a "call," thus securing a lexical and conceptual resemblance to his call of Mary. By attending to these and related lexical features, this article argues that the story in John 11 contains two calls: a call of Mary and a call of Lazarus. As such, it offers a contribution to the research on the parallels between men and women in the Fourth Gospel.
Prodigality, Repentance and Reconciliation in Luke 15: 11–32 and its Significance to the Family Ethos
Authors: Etukumana Godwin A.
Published: December 2024

Abstract: This article analyses the teaching of Jesus on prodigality, repentance, and reconciliation in Luke 15:11–32 (the parable of the Prodigal Son). It also examines the meaning of reconciliation in this text since Luke does not use any relevant words for reconciliation; instead, Luke focuses on using actions to describe reconciliation. The parable of the Prodigal Son is an example of the teaching of Jesus about the nature of reconciliation. This article asserts that the parable of the Prodigal Son is an example of where the Lukan Jesus employs a story in the form of a parable to teach his audience the true meaning of reconciliation and forgiveness when there is repentance. The teaching of the Lukan Jesus embedded in this parable is unique to Luke and suggests that the words are Luke's own. The article also examines the socio-historical function of the story in Luke 15:11–32 and discusses its relevance towards understanding the Lukan reconciliation within the family setting.
Any Empathy for a Character of Prime Evil? Judas Iscariot and a Hermeneutic of Vulnerability
Authors: Snyman Gerrie F.
Published: December 2024

Abstract: What does one do with a perpetrator in society, especially in the light of the reception of Judas's treason in the New Testament, more specifically, in Matthew and in Acts? The presence of someone who killed for the Apartheid government poses an ethical dilemma that fundamentally challenges one's way of thinking. This article tries to address this dilemma by bringing into the discourse the issue of vulnerability. It starts with a reference to a recent example in South African discourse about a specific Apartheid perpetrator's presence in public, followed by a brief introduction to the ethics of vulnerability. The article then explores the example of Judas in the four Gospels, Papias and in the Gospel of Judas. The author concludes that Matthew's description of his repentance puts to the reader the question of empathy, whereas the Lukan reception in Acts deals more harshly with Judas without any vulnerability. Subsequently, for a post-Apartheid discourse regarding white complicity in racism, space needs to be created for white embarrassment and subsequent mourning.
Arguments from Order for Q, Revisited: A New Solution to an Old Method
Authors: Tripp Jeffrey M.
Published: December 2024

Abstract: Quantitative arguments from order examine similarities in the sequencing of textual parallels to strengthen broader arguments for a literary relationship between two texts. However, criteria have rarely been offered for distinguishing between coincidental and significant agreement in order. Data analytics software allows us to create probability distributions to determine minimum thresholds for significant agreement. This study uses these distributions to test arguments from order for Q as a unified source text of material that is unique to Luke and Matthew. After building on Tripp 2013 to discuss problems with the argument from order as it appears in Q scholarship, we nevertheless find (in contrast to my earlier study) that agreements in the sequencing of the double tradition are significant, which is consistent with the Q hypothesis. However, the agreement is not strong enough to rule out alternative hypotheses such as one Gospel's direct dependence on the other or, on the assumption of Matthew's and Luke's independent adaptation of Mark, dependence on multiple smaller source texts. Additional arguments are needed to confirm that Q is best understood as a single text before trying to reconstruct it. Finally, we make suggestions for how these distributions may be used to assess arguments from order across biblical scholarship.
Reconciliation as Endless Process: The Limits of Reconciliatory Politics and the Possibility of Indigenous Redress
Authors: Stevenson Shaun , Hunt Dallas
Published: December 2024

Abstract: This article examines how reconciliatory discourse, especially its intersection with law, politics, and academic engagement, often foregrounds immaterial processes at the expense of substantive, material outcomes for Indigenous peoples. We engage the dominant lexicon of reconciliation, examining its mobilization across academic, legal, and political domains, and its potential for deferring material outcomes for Indigenous communities. Through examination of recent scholarship in the humanities and social sciences as well as the case study of the decision in Coldwater Indian Band et al. v. Canada , we argue that a focus on reconciliation as an endless process undermines Indigenous self-determination and meaningful redress.
Brain Warfare and the Malleable Mind: Experiments in the Programmable Subject
Authors: Reeves Joshua , Stoneman Ethan
Published: December 2024

Abstract: This article examines mid-century mind control experiments—carried out by intelligence services like MK-Ultra and the CIA—as biopolitical strategy. This analysis has two main goals: first, to build theory at the boundaries of biopolitical research, examining the conditions under which something like a “programmable subject” can emerge; and second, to reframe a key episode in the scientific management of the US population. In service of these aims, the article builds upon theories of anatomo-politics and dividuated biopower to analyze how subjects are governed via the manipulation of their data-processing faculties. This method of governmentality targets the subject by pre-processing its data inputs and commands, thus managing its conduct at a pre-ideological, sub-representational level. To illustrate, we analyze how this subject appeared in the CIA’s psychochemical experiments with LSD, hypnosis, “truth serums,” and other methods of behavioral management.
Possibilities of an Evolving Field as Reflected in Monmouth College's Classics Day
Authors: Simmons Robert Holschuh
Published: December 2024

Abstract: Monmouth College's Classics Day—an active outreach events that ties together not just disciplines throughout the school, but also other schools and community members from across the region—has evolved in important ways over its ten years of existence, both in response to various cultural developments and through independent realizations of better ways to operate. In its three-hour, biennial festival layout, Classics Day has served as something of a test lab for different innovations in the field of Classics, and it provides models of Classics at its most appealing. In the following article, I provide seven tips, based on insights gained from Classics Day, for Classics faculty members aiming to make their departments as strong and appealing as they can be during a time of challenge in the field.
High-resolution patterning of graphitic carbon structures in laser-induced graphitization of cellulose nanofiber film
Authors: Kondo Yosuke , Kashikawa Ken , Kato Mari , Terakawa Mitsuhiro
Published: December 2024

In laser-induced graphitization, decreasing the linewidth of patterned structures is key to enhancing the potential in microdevice fabrication. In this study, we demonstrated that graphitic carbon structures with narrow linewidth can be directly patterned in laser-induced graphitization of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) film by immersing the film in CaI2 solution. The linewidth of the structures increased with increasing laser power, indicating that the linewidth can be readily controlled. Based on the above findings, we patterned multiple concentric structures with precisely controlled linewidth to fabricate a Fresnel zone plate, which can focus laser light in the visible wavelength range.
High-performance all-fiber-integrated perovskite photodetector based on FA0.4MA0.6PbI3
Authors: Zhang Yuchen , Miao Yinping , Liu Jie , Ma Chenghong , Fan Yanqi , Zhao Chaoyuan , Li Xiaolan
Published: December 2024

The performance of an all-fiber-integrated photodetector (AFPD) depends on the integration of the active layer, where FA0.4MA0.6PbI3 emerges as a promising candidate due to its high absorbance, long carrier diffusion distance, and self-assembly. In this study, we report an AFPD based on FA0.4MA0.6PbI3 perovskite, along with thickness design for enhancement. The active layer of the AFPD is regarded as a thin-film waveguide for thickness design. Theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate the presence of resonance mode, enhancing and confining the light field even in a thinned active layer. An FA0.4MA0.6PbI3 based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector is directly deposited onto a side-polished multimode fiber (SP-MMF). The transmitted light in fiber leaks from the core to the MSM photodetector through the polished surface of SP-MMF, inducing a detection response. Experimental results demonstrate that the device achieves a responsivity of 3.2 A/W to 650 nm light, with both rising and falling edges of the response time reaching 8 ms. The proposed AFPD and method exhibit potential to simultaneously achieve high responsivity, fast response, and low insertion loss, providing a reliable solution for high-performance photodetection.
EXAM: Ex-vivo allograft monitoring dashboard for the analysis of hypothermic machine perfusion data in deceased-donor kidney transplantation
Authors: Schwab Simon , Steck Hélène , Binet Isabelle , Elmer Andreas , Ender Wolfgang , Franscini Nicola , Haidar Fadi , Kuhn Christian , Sidler Daniel , Storni Federico , Krügel Nathalie , Immer Franz
Published: December 2024

Deceased-donor kidney allografts are exposed to ischemic injury during ex vivo transport due to the lack of blood oxygen supply. Hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) effectively reduces the risk of delayed graft function in kidney transplant recipients compared to standard cold storage. However, no free software implementation is available to analyze HMP data for state-of-the-art visualization and quality control. We developed the tool EXAM (ex-vivo allograft monitoring) as an interactive analytics dashboard. We wrote functions in the R programming language to read, process, and analyze HMP data from the LifePort kidney transporter (Organ Recovery Systems, USA). Time series for pressure, flow rate, organ resistance, and temperature are visualized, and relevant statistical indicators have been developed. We explain how data were processed, and indicators were calculated, and we present summary statistics for N = 255 kidney allografts receiving machine perfusion in Switzerland between 2020 and 2023. Median (interdecile range, IDR) of the main indicators were as follows: perfusion duration 5.18 hours (2.29−11.2), flow rate 110 ml/min (52.9−167), ice temperature 1.97°C (1.53−3.07), and perfusate temperature 6.68°C (5.58−8.36). We implemented the dashboard to identify issues, such as atypical perfusion parameters, high ice, or high perfusate temperature to inform transplant centers for quality assurance. In conclusion, EXAM is a free tool that statisticians and data scientists can quickly deploy to enable quality control at transplant organizations that use LifePort kidney transporters. An online viewer is available at https://data.swisstransplant.org/exam/.
Factors associated with time to first birth interval among ever married Bangladeshi women: A comparative analysis on Cox-PH model and parametric models
Authors: Setu Sarmistha Paul , Kabir Rasel , Islam Md. Akhtarul , Alauddin Sharlene , Nahar Mst. Tanmin
Published: December 2024

The fertility rate of a married woman can be measured by the length of the first birth interval (FBI). This length is influenced by some significant factors. Better knowledge about the factors affecting the birth interval can help in controlling population growth and fertility progress. The main focus of this study was to compare the performance of Cox-Proportional Hazard (Cox-PH) and the parametric Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model in assessing the impact of significant factors affecting the time to FBI of ever-married Bangladeshi women. Information of 14941 women having at least one birth was included in this study from the most recent nationally representative data 2017–18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). We used the Cox-PH model and AFT model under various parametric forms of survival time distributions (Weibull, Exponential, and Log-normal distribution) to measure the effect of factors influencing FBI. And then, a respective Akaike information criterion (AIC) was calculated for selecting the best-fitted model. According to the AIC and BIC values, the log-normal model fitted better than other AFT models. Based on the log-normal model, women’s age and age at first marriage, maternal and paternal education, contraceptive use status, used anything to avoid pregnancy, sex of household head, and spousal age difference had a significant association with FBI of ever married Bangladeshi women. The parametric AFT model (log-normal distribution) was a better fitted model in evaluating the covariates associated with FBI of ever-married Bangladeshi Women. Higher education, the right age at marriage, and proper knowledge about family planning (i.e., contraception use) should be ensured for every married person to control the gap of the first birth.
Estimating the effects of Basic Income schemes on mental and physical health among adults aged 18 and above in the UK: A microsimulation study
Authors: Reed Howard Robert , Johnson Elliott Aidan , Stark Graham , Nettle Daniel , Pickett Kate E. , Johnson Matthew Thomas
Published: December 2024

Basic Income is a largely unconditional, regular payment to all permanent residents to support basic needs. It has been proposed as an upstream health intervention by increasing income size and security. Modelling has quantified prospective effects on UK young people’s mental health. This paper extends this analysis to mental and physical health among adults aged 18+ using data from the 2021/22 Family Resources Survey and 12 waves (2009/11-2020/22) of Understanding Society to model the effects of three prospective schemes: 1) (£ per week) £50 per under-18, £75 per 18–64, £205 per 65+; 2) £75, £185, £205; 3) £100, £295, £295. We estimated effects on cases of depressive disorders (SF-12 MCS ≤45.6) and physical health problems (SF-12 PCS ≤50), quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and willingness-to-pay value gained, as well as direct NHS, personal social services and patients’ associated costs savings regarding depressive disorders. Between 124,000 (95% CI: 86,000–150,000) and 1.005m (95% CI: 845,000–1.402m) cases of depressive disorders and 118,000 (70,000–156,000) to 1.042m (881,000–1.612m) cases of physical health problems could be prevented or postponed each year depending on the scheme. 129,000 (86,000–172,000) to 655,000 (440,000–870,000) QALYs could be gained, valued at £3.87bn (£2.58bn–£5.16bn) to £19.65bn (£13.21bn–£26.10bn). Estimated 2023 NHS and personal social services cost savings are between £126m (£88m–£154m) and £1.026bn (£872m–£1.432bn) assuming 50% of depressive disorders cases are diagnosed and treated at baseline. Estimating savings based on physical health problems is more difficult, but may reflect far greater related NHS and social care spend. Although non-income change impacts are not microsimulated, these findings indicate that Basic Income could provide substantial population health benefits, social return on investment and health and social care system savings. This gives policymakers and researchers an evidence base on which to base trial and policy design. Basic Income; Social determinants; Prevention; Upstream interventions; Microsimulation modelling.
Inter-rater reliability in labeling quality and pathological features of retinal OCT scans: A customized annotation software approach
Authors: Du Katherine , Shah Stavan , Bollepalli Sandeep Chandra , Ibrahim Mohammed Nasar , Gadari Adarsh , Sutharahan Shan , Sahel José-Alain , Chhablani Jay , Vupparaboina Kiran Kumar
Published: December 2024

Objectives

Various imaging features on optical coherence tomography (OCT) are crucial for identifying and defining disease progression. Establishing a consensus on these imaging features is essential, particularly for training deep learning models for disease classification. This study aims to analyze the inter-rater reliability in labeling the quality and common imaging signatures of retinal OCT scans.

Methods

500 OCT scans obtained from CIRRUS HD-OCT 5000 devices were displayed at 512x1024x128 resolution on a customizable, in-house annotation software. Each patient’s eye was represented by 16 random scans. Two masked reviewers independently labeled the quality and specific pathological features of each scan. Evaluated features included overall image quality, presence of fovea, and disease signatures including subretinal fluid (SRF), intraretinal fluid (IRF), drusen, pigment epithelial detachment (PED), and hyperreflective material. The raw percentage agreement and Cohen’s kappa (κ) coefficient were used to evaluate concurrence between the two sets of labels.

Results

Our analysis revealed κ = 0.60 for the inter-rater reliability of overall scan quality, indicating substantial agreement. In contrast, there was slight agreement in determining the cause of poor image quality (κ = 0.18). The binary determination of presence and absence of retinal disease signatures showed almost complete agreement between reviewers (κ = 0.85). Specific retinal pathologies, such as the foveal location of the scan (0.78), IRF (0.63), drusen (0.73), and PED (0.87), exhibited substantial concordance. However, less agreement was found in identifying SRF (0.52), hyperreflective dots (0.41), and hyperreflective foci (0.33).

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates significant inter-rater reliability in labeling the quality and retinal pathologies on OCT scans. While some features show stronger agreement than others, these standardized labels can be utilized to create automated machine learning tools for diagnosing retinal diseases and capturing valuable pathological features in each scan. This standardization will aid in the consistency of medical diagnoses and enhance the accessibility of OCT diagnostic tools.
Nonlinear interaction and compounding factors of vehicle parameters influencing exhaust pollution
Authors: Milku Augustine Kwame , Atombo Charles , Derkyi Nana Sarfo Agyeman , Attiogbe Francis , Asuako Enoch Larson
Published: December 2024

One of the main causes of air pollution, particularly in large cities, is vehicles due to it continued use of hydrocarbon fuels. The understanding of nonlinear interactions of vehicle parameters uncovers more realistic relationships for enhancing formulation of strategies to address vehicle-related pollution. Thus, the study aims to evaluate the interaction and quadratic effect of vehicle parameters on Hydrocarbon (HC), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), and Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The SV-5Q Vehicle Exhaust Gas Analyzer was used to collect emission concentrations data from one thousand and two (1002) light-duty petrol vehicles at three (3) government-accredited vehicle inspection sites in Accra, Ghana. Pollution control devices, maintenance frequency, and vehicle age were also collected. The linear regression analysis revealed that vehicle age showed a positive linear relationship with CO emissions. Maintenance frequency, on the other hand, demonstrated a negative linear relationship with both CO and HC emissions. The interaction between vehicle age and maintenance frequency positively impacted CO and HC emissions, while the interaction between vehicle age and emission technology had a negative effect on CO. Additionally, the combined effect of frequency of maintenance and emission technology significantly reduced CO emissions but increased HC emissions. Notably, the quadratic effect of vehicle age positively influenced CO emissions. Similarly, CO, HC, and NOx emissions were positively correlated with the squared effect of emission technology. Stricter emissions standards, encouraging frequent maintenance and testing of vehicular exhaust emissions, and doing away with over-aged vehicles are recommended to control and reduce vehicular exhaust emissions.
Facilitators and inhibitors of attitude and word-of-mouth intention toward adoption of digital municipal service systems: A stimulus-organism-response approach
Authors: Talukder Md. Shamim , Islam Quazi Tafsirul , Karim Ziaul
Published: December 2024

Increased technology adoption has significantly transformed how governments interact with citizens. Today, e-government services and tools are integral to modern public administration. Factors affecting users’ adoption of e-government services have been studied in the past. However, this study focuses on citizens’ acceptance and resistance to such services, which have not been thoroughly explored. This study addresses the gap by examining the facilitators and inhibitors affecting users’ perceptions of the Digital Municipal Service System (DMSS). An integrated research model was developed based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework. Using Smart-PLS, the study validated 353 respondents’ data collected from Bangladesh. The study revealed that platform quality, convenience, social, and inclusiveness values significantly influenced attitudes toward DMSS adoption. On the other hand, tradition and usage barriers significantly negatively impacted attitudes toward DMSS adoption. These findings offer important insights for policymakers involved in developing and implementing e-government services in emerging economies such as Bangladesh. The study also provides a foundation for further research on technology adoption.
Renal survival and treatment of adult patients with Primary Focal Segmental glomerulosclerosis: A historical cohort study of the National Greek Registry
Authors: Marinaki Smaragdi , Kompotiatis Panagiotis , Michelakis Ioannis , Stangou Maria , Papagianni Aikaterini , Koukoulaki Maria , Zerbala Synodi , Xydakis Dimitrios , Kaperonis Nikolaos , Dounousi Evangelia , Golfinopoulos Spyridon , Stefanidis Ioannis , Paikopoulou Aggeliki , Moustakas George , Stylianou Kostas , Tzanakis Ioannis , Papasotiriou Marios , Goumenos Dimitrios , Andrikos Aimilios , Kriki Pelagia , Panagoutsos Stylianos , Kiousi Eva , Grapsa Eirini , Koutroumpas Georgios , Pateinakis Panagiotis , Papadopoulou Dorothea , Liakopoulos Vasilios , Bacharaki Dimitra , Kouki Penelope , Petras Dimitrios , Bamichas Gerasimos , Boletis Ioannis
Published: December 2024

Background/Objective

Primary Focal and Segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is one of the most common causes of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Our aim was to describe a large cohort of patients with primary FSGS, identify risk factors associated with worse renal survival and assess the impact of different immunosuppressive regiments on renal survival.

Methods

This was a historical cohort study of adults who were diagnosed with primary FSGS from March 26, 1982, to September 16, 2020. The primary outcome was progression to ESRD.

Results

We included 579 patients. The mean age was 46 (±15) years of age, with 378 (65%) males and median 24-hour proteinuria was 3.8 (2–6) g. In multivariable analysis only eGFR (HR: 0.97 per ml/min increase, 95% CIs 0.95–0.98) and remission status (complete remission (HR: 0.03, 95% CIs 0.003–0.22) and partial remission (HR: 0.28, 95% CIs 0.13–0.61) compared to no remission) were associated with renal survival. Among patients who received immunosuppression compared to those that did not, there was a higher percentage of complete remission (121 (41%) vs. 40 (24%), p<0.001), and higher percentage of relapses (135 (64%) vs. 27 (33%), p<0.001). Immunosuppression and its type (glucocorticoids vs. cyclosporine ± glucocorticoids) were not associated with renal survival.

Conclusion

In primary FSGS, complete and partial remission were associated with improved renal survival. Further randomized studies are needed to assess the efficacy of different therapeutic agents and guide treatment.
Low prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 and 3 gene deletions in malaria-endemic states of India
Authors: Krishna Sri , Nema Shrikant , Sangle Ruchika , Ahmad Amreen , Singh Akansha , Kumar Devendra , Verma Anil K. , Udhayakumar Venkatachalam , Das Aparup , Anvikar Anup R. , Bharti Praveen K.
Published: December 2024

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are crucial for diagnosing malaria in resource-limited settings. These tests, which detect the histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) and its structural homologue PfHRP3, are specifically designed to identify Plasmodium falciparum. Deletion of the Pfhrp2 gene in parasite has been reported in India and other malaria-endemic countries. Therefore, periodic surveillance of Pfhrp2 and Pfhrp3 genetic deletions is crucial. We conducted a study to examine these gene deletions in P. falciparum isolates from nine malaria-endemic states in India. In this study, we analyzed 1,558 samples that were microscopically confirmed to be P. falciparum positive. We isolated genomic DNA from all the aforementioned samples, followed by PCR amplification of the Pfhrp2/3 gene. The results showed that the deletion rates for Pfhrp2 and Pfhrp3 genes were 0.44% and 1.47%, respectively. These findings indicate that the gene deletions in all nine states are at low level. Despite these low deletion rates, continuous surveillance is crucial to monitor the efficiency of HRP2 based malaria RDTs. It is recommend that conducting large-scale studies which include other endemic states in India to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the prevalence and impact of these gene deletions over time. This ongoing surveillance will ensure that diagnostic strategies remain effective and that any emerging trends in gene deletions are promptly addressed to achieve the malaria control and elimination.
Body, subject, other, thing: Drawing LEAPs
Authors: Ayuso Alessandro
Published: December 2024

Leaky Embodiment Alter-ego Personas (LEAPs) are visions of tragicomic actors with bodies comprising bulbous, mismatched and ever-changing parts. Their portrayal is meant to challenge ideal notions of embodiment, particularly through envisioning an inherent and intensified otherness of the body, where ruptures occur between desire and empirical reality with respect to an ‘owner’s’ body. Conceived first through sketches, one LEAP figure was portrayed further as a 1:1 mixed-media relief. Two narrative voices – notes from the field by the artist and imagined dialogues between the artist and the LEAP – explore the perception of this process. The pairing of the two narratives exposes contradictions between artistic intentionality and effect. Drawing, whether as a trace with a ballpoint pen, scalpel or jigsaw, was a thread through the process of creation, with various effects ranging from delineating to unravelling. Drawing enacted a physical connection between the real and the imaginary, conflating the bodies of the creator and the depicted figure. Yet as the differing perspectives and evolving manifestations of embodiment in the narratives show, the actuality of bodies is not necessarily found in their facticity; how they feel and what they mean remains multivalent and shifting depending on positioning amidst differing subjectivities, circumstances and temporal frames. Drawing the LEAP’s body enabled traversals of dichotomies of subject/object, self/other and alien/familiar, complicating the assumed categories and opening ground for speculation of what a body could be and do.