bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
African studies in Russia (with special reference to the Institute of African Studies, Moscow)
Authors: Shubin Vladimir
Published: April 2022

The history of African Studies in Russia goes back to the 19th century. Traditionally two fields were most developed - Egyptology and Ethiopian Studies. Several Russian explorers travelled to East Africa and the Horn of Africa at the end of that century. After the 1917 revolution, more attention was paid to the anti-colonial struggle of the African peoples and the workers’ movement.

The first centres of African Studies were created in the early 1930s in Moscow as an African cabinet in the short-lived Scientific Research Association for the Study of National and Colonial Problems and die African Section of the so-called Communist University of the Toiling Peoples of the East. In 1945 the Department of African Languages was founded at the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) State University, followed by the African Section in the Institute of Ethnography and the African Department in the Institute for Oriental Studies.
British influence on the education of librarians in Anglophone Africa
Authors: Aina L.O. , Serema B.C.
Published: April 2022

Librarianship is a relatively new profession in Africa. It is certainly less than 100 years old. Most of the countries in Africa, having being colonised by the British and the French, imported librarianship into the continent wholesale from their colonial masters. For Anglophone Africans, their first contact with librarianship was when British officials set up libraries in the various colonies. To a large, extent, librarianship, can be said to be alien to the culture of Anglophone Africans. However, the role of a library in the development of a nation was quickly, recognised by the peoples of Anglophone Africa and libraries were warmly received when they were established.

As early as 1908, a medical library was established in the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, and a geology library was set up in Nigeria in 1919 (Akinyotu, 1972). According to Ogunsheye (1970) the Tom Jones library in Nigeria was founded between 1910 and 1920.
The Long Garden Master: Charles Lynn, Agricultural Officer in the Gold Coast
Authors: Lynn-Meaden Sylvia
Published: April 2022

In 1968, while redecorating my grandmother's flat, I came across an old battered brown suitcase containing the letters my father had written to her from the Gold Coast. I had lived in Tamale as a three year old child, and our closest family friends were from that period of my father's life. So I grew up with the stories and affection for Tamale - my first home - and a place called Zuarungu. In later life I encouraged my father to write his memoirs, reminding him of half remembered stories and encouraging him to dig deep into his memory. We discussed shaping these memoirs into book form, but he died in 1985 leaving me to finish the task.

My somewhat unorthodox idea was to make it an edited autobiography of his early life, by integrating interesting letters into the text, and further illuminate it with detailed footnotes added by myself.
A Guide to Africanist Research in the Archive of the American Baptist Historical Society
Authors: Covington-Ward Yolanda
Published: April 2022

Africanist scholars seeking archives on Africa and Africans often travel back to the continent to conduct research, or more commonly, to the various repositories of former colonial powers in Western Europe to find their information. However, there are some archives located in the United States that, although they are not dedicated exclusively to Africanist materials, contain an array of resources relevant to Africanist research. One such archive is that of the American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS).

The American Baptist Historical Society was founded in 1853, and, according to a conversation with Communications and Reading Specialist Betsy Dunbar, contains many records “by, about, for, and against Baptists.”
The Digital Age and African Studies Scholarship: Promoting access and visibility of information resources
Authors: Kanyengo Christine Wamunyima
Published: April 2022

Africa is a region made up of different countries; occupied by people of different ethnicities and cultures with a rapidly growing population. “Africa's population has been growing 2.3 per cent per year, a rate more than double that of Asia's population (1 per cent per year). The population of Africa first surpassed a billion in 2009 and is expected to add another billion in just 35 years (by 2044)”. It is also a region whose countries are at different levels of development; politically, socially and economically. Politically, at least since the 1990s, most of the countries are moving away from one party forms of governance and military dictatorships to multiparty political dispensations. Socially it has been affected and afflicted by poverty, diseases and internal conflicts that have brought a lot of suffering to its peoples.
A Half Century of Abstracting at the African Studies Centre Leiden
Authors: van Doom Marlene C.A.
Published: April 2022

Since 1968 the African Studies Centre (ASC) in Leiden, The Netherlands, has published an abstracts journal, first under the titleDocumentatieblad(1968-1993), subsequently renamedAfrican Studies Abstracts.In 2003African Studies Abstractswent online. RenamedAfrican Studies Abstracts Online,it also appeared in a limited print edition, principally for distribution in Africa where Internet connectivity was often problematic. However as the ICT infrastructure in African countries developed, the print edition was increasingly seen as having outlived its usefulness. The last paper copy ofAfrican Studies Abstracts Online,number 37, appeared in February 2012.

In the years since 1968 the abstracts journal has undergone a number of changes, not only in name and appearance, but also in frequency of publication and coverage, number of abstracts and types of indexes, and price. More fundamental changes are expected in the near future.
De L’Edition Camerounaise Au Marche International Du Livre
Authors: Thierry Raphaël
Published: April 2022

This article considers the challenges and opportunities for African publishing in an age of ‘book globalisation’, dominated by large multinational firms based in Europe and North America since the 1980s. ‘Bibliodiversity’ is desirable. Different kinds of networks have been structured for the African book market to sustain diffusion and distribution. It is important to take account of the institutions, economic factors and authors’ strategies which lie behind a given book. The first part of this article considers the relations between African literary production and the global book market. The second considers the Cameroonian book market and globalisation.
English Literature in Southern Africa: NELM at 30
Authors: Grant Lynne
Published: April 2022

The National English Literary Museum (NELM) is one of South Africa's greatest treasures (website: http://www.ru.ac.za/nelm). Tucked away in the university town of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, NELM collects-all creative writing by southern African authors who write in English, and in the following genres: novels, short stories, plays, essays, poetry, theatre, television and film scripts, autobiography, travel, letters, memoirs and diaries. Critical writing on the authors and their works is also collected, as well as writings on related subjects such as literary history, censorship and literary awards. These materials are collected in all formats: books, study guides, theses, literary manuscripts, press clippings and audio-visual material.
Management Perceptions of Internet-Based Banking Services in Nigerian Commercial Banks
Authors: Popoola S.O. , Haliso Yacob
Published: April 2022

This study investigates management perceptions of internet-based banking services with special references to commercial banks in Nigeria. There was a significant difference between male and female management perceptions of internet-based banking services; management had significant positive rather than negative perception of Internet-based banking services; there was a significant difference between strategic and tactical management perceptions of Internet-based banking services. Gender age, work experience, management cadre and computer experience/training strongly influenced the management perceptions of Internet-based banking services in the Nigerian commercial banking system. Suggestions are proffered on how to further enhance management's positive perceptions of the Internet-based banking services in Nigerian commercial banks.
Perceived influence of academic qualifications, gender, religious affiliation and ethnic sentiment on mentoring practices in selected University Libraries in Nigeria
Authors: Haliso Yacob , Onuoha Uloma Doris
Published: April 2022

Mentoring as a concept has been in existence throughout the centuries. For instance, Socrates mentored Plato, Plato mentored Aristotle, and Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great. The Holy Bible is also full of information about mentoring practices. For example, Elijah mentored Elisha; Jesus Christ mentored His disciples and Paul did the same to Timothy. Mentoring is a sustained relationship between a youth (one who is professionally young) and an adult (experienced professional). This is achieved through a sustained involvement. In this case a more advanced and experienced librarian offers support, guidance, and assistance as the younger professional (librarian), goes through a difficult time, faces new challenges or works to correct earlier problems.

Nigeria with an estimated population of over 140 million is a vast country and the giant of Africa. There are three major ethnic groups (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) and over 250 minor ethnic groups.
Preserving and Protecting Press Freedom – Insights from the archive of the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association
Authors: Clover David
Published: April 2022

The Commonwealth Journalists’ Association (CJA) was established at a meeting of Commonwealth journalists held in Toronto, alongside the Commonwealth Press Union conference, on the 16th September 1978, following earlier discussions at a conference of Commonwealth NGOs at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1976. The organisation adopted its constitution at the first general meeting in Nicosia, Cyprus, April 1983, with the stated purpose: “To foster and promote better understanding and closer collaboration between the journalists of the Commonwealth; to further the interests of Commonwealth journalists in all aspects of their work; and, though the media, to enhance understanding and goodwill amongst the peoples of the Commonwealth”.
Photography: a reflexive overview from anthropology
Authors: Edwards Elizabeth
Published: April 2022

Photography which has traditionally been classified as “ethnographic” or “anthropological” has received considerable attention in recent years and some of the major contributions to the field have been on African images, presenting analytical histories of photographic production and use, for instance Geary's analysis of photographs of Bamum in the Cameroon Grassfields (1988). I am not going to review this literature or the particular issues raised by it as there have been various such useful exercises, for instance Geary (1991) and Roberts (1988); nor am I going to consider the merits of specific collections because this would merely regurgitate much of what was said on the subject, and subsequently published (Roberts 1989a), during a two day seminar convened by Andrew Roberts which took place at S.O.A.S. London in 1988.
Images of Africa in the Royal Commonwealth Society Collections
Authors: Barringer Terry
Published: April 2022

The Library of the Royal Commonwealth Society, born in 1868 as the Colonial Society, known successively as the Royal Colonial Institute, the Royal Empire Society and finally, and affectionately, as the RCS, is now the largest special collection of Cambridge University Library. I have told elsewhere the dramatic story of the Library's rescue from dispersal and disaster and its transfer from the old imperial heart of London, near Trafalgar Square, to Cambridge. Visual images paid an important part in the campaign to save the Library and, of all the material in its rich and varied collections, it was perhaps the photographs that most caught the imagination of the media and benefactors. The Library's visual resources were already well-known to and well-quarried by a select band of academics and picture researchers. The Library Appeal brought them to the attention of a wider public.
Constraints to the Use of Media and Information Technology in Selected Health Institutions in Nigeria
Authors: Kolawole L.F.
Published: April 2022

Good health is a prerequisite to the socio-economic development of any community. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (1988), health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not the mere absence of disease or infirmity. Education which plays an important role in achieving good health, however, is a complex and planned learning experience that aims to bring about changes in cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitude, belief and value) and psychomotor (skill) domains of behaviour (Yazachew and Alem, 2004). It is a combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health. According to Fabiyi (2001), health education aims at encouraging people to adopt and sustain healthful life patterns, to use judiciously and wisely the health services available to them and use these to make their decisions, both individually and collectively to improve their health status and environment.
Supporting Capacity Building for Archives in Africa: initiatives of the Cooperative Africana Materials Project (CAMP) since 1995
Authors: Schultz Jason M.
Published: April 2022

In May 1963, discussions between the African Studies Association (U.S.), the Midwest Interlibrary Center (now Center for Research Libraries), and Africana librarians from twelve North American institutions helped create the Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP). Owing to the rise in digital information and preservation formats, CAMP renamed itself the Cooperative Africana Materials Project in 2010. Its mission has been to collect and preserve African newspapers, serials, and ephemera not typically held at U.S. institutions. As its original name suggests, microfilming continues to be an important method of preserving CAMP holdings. While building the collection involved some direct purchases of microfilm from Africa and Europe, the role of collaboration among U.S. and later African institutions enhanced collections and expanded the scope of CAMP's work. The history of these initiatives prior to 1995 has been documented by several CAMP members.
Building a web based Agricultural Information Gateway using a participatory approach – a case study from Zambia and Zimbabwe
Authors: Chivhanga Batsirai Mike
Published: April 2022

This paper will look at how ICTs, in particular Internet technologies, can be used to contribute to change in Africa with a focus on developments in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The article will look at the role of Internet and wireless technologies to solve some of Africa's information and communication problems. A case study is cited that looks at building a gateway to Web based agricultural information in the COMESA (Common Market for East and Southern Africa) and SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) Sub-Regions.
A Short Report on Two Diaries in the Roman Catholic Archives in Navrongo-Ghana
Authors: Ntewusu Samuel Aniegye
Published: April 2022

By about 1470 the Portuguese had arrived on the coast of what would later become the Gold Coast, now Ghana. Having established a trading post, the Portuguese engaged in trade with the indigenous Fanti and other traders from the interior particularly Ashanti. Trade came along with the building of forts and castles and also with the introduction of Christianity albeit at a slow pace and limited to the forts and castles. By the end of the sixteenth century these fortresses particularly Elmina and Christiansburg castles had Catholic priests who were stopping over on missions to other parts of Africa and considering the possibility of opening a mission in either Accra or Elmina. Such plans never materialised mostly due to lack of commitment, early death of the missionaries or lack of funds.
Saving Archives Through Digitisation: Reflections on Endangered Archives Programme Projects in Africa
Authors: Butterworth Jody
Published: April 2022

When I began researching for my talk, I started by consulting the published volume celebrating SCOLMA's 50th anniversary that came out of the 2012 conference on African studies in the digital age: disconnect? I turned to the index at the back of the book to see how many times the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) was mentioned. There were three entries. The first included the programme amongst a list of projects that have supported or funded both large-scale and smaller digitisation initiatives in the region. The second mention was slightly more critical in tone, saying that the programme should provide more technical and logistical assistance, and the last reference was a brief sentence about a Gambian historian who had consulted the digitised Muslim court rolls from one of our projects when writing his doctoral thesis.
Repeat Landscape Photography, Historical Ecology and the Wonder of Digital Archives in Southern Africa
Authors: Scott Samantha L. , Rohde Rick , Hoffman Timm
Published: April 2022

Environmental history projects using repeat photography often involve the acquisition of large collections of historical and current images, matching those images for comparative analysis, and then cataloguing and archiving the imagery for long-term storage and later use (Webb et ah, 2010). When used in combination with other techniques, repeat photography is an excellent tool for documenting change (Gruell, 2010) and has been used in a variety of disciplines, including historical ecology, to determine changes in plant populations, soil erosion, climate trends and ecological processes to name a few. Historical photographs often provide greater temporal range to an analysis compared to, for example, satellite imagery and in many cases even aerial photography (Gruell, 2010).
Free Access to Scientific Publications for Developing Countries: the Research Archive of the French National Research Institute For Sustainable Development (IRD)
Authors: Rossi Pier Liugi
Published: April 2022

The IRD (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development) is a French research institute serving the Mediterranean and intertropical countries that make science and innovation one of the first levers of their development. It is a French public science and technology establishment (EPST) which is under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

The Decree of 1 December 1955 (ORSTOM 1955) organising the services of the Office for Scientific and Technical Research Overseas, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic of 21 December 1955, defines the existence of a documentation centre under the direction of the Institute. Article 6 of the decree states that “le Centre de documentation est charge1 d'assurer le depouillement, la conservation et la diffusion de la documentation scientifique et technique se rapportant aux activitfe de 1'O.R.S.T.O.M.”.
Subaltern Voices/Interests in Contemporary Protest Theatre in Zimbabwe
Authors: Chikonzo Kelvin
Published: April 2022

Critics contend that Zimbabwe plunged into a political and economic crisis between 1999 and 2009. This decade in crisis witnessed a boom in a form of theatre that questions the authority and legitimacy of the state (Zenenga 2010). This theatre is highly adversarial and oppositional to state hegemony (Chivandikwa 2012). This brand of theatre, known as protest theatre, refers to a theatre that directs its efforts towards the subversion of an existing dominant ideology. In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere, protest theatre develops as an alternative platform through which citizens challenge and engage the state on issues of democratic reforms. Protest theatre, thus, aims to provide alternative democratic space (public sphere) where voices that the state-controlled media silenced can deliberate on issues of social and political transformation. Hence, from its inception, protest theatre predicates its practice upon democratic ‘ intentions.
South African Literary Archives after the ‘Archival Turn’: a Case Study of the Guy Butler collection at the National English Literary Museum
Authors: Wyrill Beth
Published: April 2022

This article seeks to investigate the largest collection of literary artefacts in South Africa, housed at the National English Literary Museum, and particularly the relationship between the founder of the museum and archive, Guy Butler, and how NELM has come to operate in the South African literary landscape in a post-colonial and post-apartheid moment. It is necessary to invoke the post-colonial moment from the outset in order to explore the question of post-colonial archives from a critical perspective.

This research is informed by what has come to be known as the ‘archival turn,’ which considers the ‘meta-text’ of archival formation. The work investigates the locations of power and regularities of logic that have informed the collection of certain items and histories, and the neglect of others.
Part II: Le Don de Livre, Mais À Quel Prix, et en Échange de Quoi? un Regard Sur le Don de Livre en Afrique Francophone
Authors: Thierry Raphaël
Published: April 2022

La diversité éditoriale se conçoit parfois de façon binaire: d'un côté, les pays qui ont les moyens de produire des ouvrages, de l'autre ceux qui en manquent. On pourrait presque reformuler cette phrase par ‘les pays qui sont en mesure de donner des livres à ceux qui en demandent’. Mais ceci concerne la surface, la partie émergée d'un iceberg éditorial, en quelque sorte. Derrière l'image de pays en déficit de ressources éditées, il y a une infinité de fils, une vaste ramification de problématiques qui concernent l'imbrication de champs symboliques, économiques et politiques. Et au croisement de tous ces fils, il y a le livre, gratuit ou non.

Pour rappel, dans un marché international du livre de plus en plus globalisé il est commun de prendre les statistiques comme témoins des réalités. Ceci en facilite la compréhension. Prenons par exemple la Francophonie: à elle seule, la France y représente une production moyenne d'environ 70 000 nouveaux titres par an.
Some highlights of Jewish Africana
Authors: Musiker Reuben
Published: April 2022

Although the Jewish Community in South Africa has always been a small but nevertheless significant minority, it has featured prominently in the country's history. This paper sets out to highlight some of the most important events and developments in the community's local history, culturally, historically and politically. The various events and perspectives are mirrored through the vital documentation of the time, including the following premier examples: the struggle to obtain recognition for Yiddish as a language, the fight against anti-Semitism in the 1930s (the Grey Shirt movement and apartheid in more recent times), hurdles in regard to the immigration of Jews from Europe (especially refugees), the contribution of Jews to the development of the South African economy, commerce, law, literature and medicine.
"There Came A Darkness": Keynote Address
Authors: Paice Edward
Published: April 2022

I am honoured to have been asked to give the keynote speech at this year's SCOLMA conference, especially so for two reasons. Firstly, Terry Barringer, John Pinfold, Mandy Banton, Lucy McCann and others connected with SCOLMA were an invaluable source of assistance and advice when I was researching Tip & Run - The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa. Secondly, if I am honest I feel like a bit of a ‘has been’: Tip & Run was published almost a decade ago and since then scholarship in the field has flourished. The evidence is before us today, with papers on a wide range of new topics to do with World War 1 in Africa.

Since the millennium interest in the Africa campaigns has grown exponentially across a broad front. Knowledge has been advanced by academic and popular historians, medal collectors, descendants of combatants, military associations.
Duty to Empire? South Africa's Invasion of German South West Africa, 1914-1918
Authors: Samson Anne
Published: April 2022

Before war broke out in August 1914, the Union of South Africa had determined to include the German colony of South West Africa in the Union fold if ever an opportunity arose. So, when Britain went to war on 4 August 1914, the British War Cabinet request that South Africa put the German wireless stations in the South West African territory out of action was likely to be met with favourable response. It was, but not by all as this paper will set out.

In 1914, South Africa as a country was only four years old and was still trying to heal the wounds caused by the Anglo-Boer or South African War of 1899-1902. The Union Defence Force (UDF) was even younger, having been approved in 1912. Where the Union had already had a number of years to develop, the UDF was in effect starting from zero.
The First World War Diaries of the King's African Rifles, the East African Campaig
Authors: Gilfoỹle Daniel
Published: April 2022

This article describes the First World War diaries of the King's African Rifles, one of the British African colonial regiments. The documents are held, together with other related material, at The National Archives, Kew, London. The content of these daily accounts of the activities of individual Units is discussed and their position within the structure of the archive is outlined, as is their relationship with certain other categories of War Office and Colonial Office records. It is suggested that the information contained in the war diaries might potentially contribute, apart from the military history of the East African campaign, to a social history of the regiment and to an environmental history of the campaign.
African Studies in the UK: measuring what we have achieved in the past 50 years
Authors: Kirk-Greene Anthony
Published: April 2022

This article does not attempt to give a full answer to the question of what has been achieved in African Studies. It does attempt to give a preliminary checklist of measurement indices which might be helpful especially as the African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK) approaches its half century in 2013.

ASAUK was founded in 1963, on the initiative of Professors Roland Oliver and John Fage, who went on to organise its first conference in 1964. Appropriately this was held at the University of Birmingham, where Fage had been appointed to direct a new (1962) Centre of West African Studies. Identifying Birmingham as the first Africa-dedicated centre in the UK must not be allowed to mask the pioneering role of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) which however, though founded in 1916, did not add Africa to its title until 1938.
Images of Southern Ethiopia in the Archives of the Frobenius Institute
Authors: Thubauville Sophia
Published: April 2022

The subject of this article is the unique and extensive visual documentation of Southern Ethiopia that is today preserved in the archives of the Frobenius Institute. The article will start by giving an overview on the research expeditions of Frobenius Institute members to southern Ethiopia in the years between 1934 and 1974. Then the methods and scope of the visual documentation created during these expeditions will be discussed, with a focus on two artists, who made the largest contribution to this exceptional material. Finally, I will describe the current efforts of the Frobenius Institute to make this visual documentation visible and freely accessible via online databases.
Contextualising Books among the Muslim Oromo in Southwestern Ethiopia: Prospects for Future Research
Authors: Ishihara Minako
Published: April 2022

There is a general understanding that Ethiopia runs counter to other African countries, where basically books were introduced by the Europeans to ‘civilise’ the ‘illiterate’ people during the colonial period. This colonialist point of view is problematic for it obliterates the pre-existence of notable centers of Islamic learning located in the continent, for example Timbuktu and Harar. Moreover, Ethiopians, even before the introduction of Christianity, were already equipped with a writing system of their own for more than 3,000 years (Ayele, 1997), and books were not new when Europeans set foot in the country in the 16th century. In Ethiopia, where Christianity arrived long before the European advent, literacy was provided to a limited range of people seeking clerical careers. Thus, pre-modern education was primarily religious in terms of personnel, textbooks, and places. Clerics taught those children who wished to pursue a clerical career, using religious books at classrooms attached to churches and monasteries.
Secondary objectives of the European Central Bank and economic growth: A human rights perspective
Authors: Kılıç Arınç Onat
Published: April 2022

This article focuses on the correlation between the secondary objectives of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the right to a healthy environment. Whereas the primary mandate of the ECB is maintaining price stability, the applicable law also envisages secondary objectives, such as supporting economic growth and sustainable development. Crucially, however, there is an emerging scientific literature suggesting a trade-off between economic growth and environmental sustainability. This results in a balancing problem: To what extent environmental protection and sustainability can be balanced with economic growth within the ECB’s monetary policy? This article aims to analyse this issue with a specific focus on legal implications in terms of the right to a healthy environment. This study reveals the failure of the member states to comply with the international obligations under the right to a healthy environment in shaping the law of the ECB.
Nationalism and Conservatism in Neopagan Movements: The Case of PolishRodzimowierstwo
Authors: Grochowski Piotr
Published: April 2022

In this article I explore the political aspects of contemporary Paganism. Based on my own fieldwork, I analyze the changes in views and attitudes in relation to nationalism among Polish followers ofRodzimowierstwo, which is a modern religious movement referring to the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs. I put forward the thesis that the attitude toward nationalism is an important element in shaping the dynamics of divisions within believers and at the same time radical nationalist views and attitudes present among them are marginalized. The gradual weakening of nationalist tendencies does not mean, however, the dissemination of liberal and universalist attitudes and views. Nationalism is being replaced by a specific type of conservatism, which consists in creating a clear opposition between “foreign” and “native” cultural patterns, and the postulate of preserving and defending the latter.
Combined Nitrogen‐Isotope and Cyclostratigraphy Evidence for Temporal and Spatial Variability in Frasnian–Famennian Environmental Change
Authors: Percival L. M. E. , Marynowski L. , Baudin F. , Goderis S. , De Vleeschouwer D. , Rakociński M. , Narkiewicz K. , Corradini C. , Da Silva A.‐C. , Claeys P.
Published: April 2022

Widespread marine anoxia triggered by the runoff and recycling of nutrients was a key phenomenon associated with the Frasnian–Famennian (FF) mass extinction. However, the relative importance of global‐scale processes versus local influences on site‐specific environmental change remains poorly understood. Here, nitrogen‐isotope (δ15N) trends are combined with organic‐biomarker, phosphorus, and Rock‐Eval data in FF sites from the USA (H‐32 core, Iowa), Poland (Kowala Quarry), and Belgium (Sinsin). Up‐to‐date cyclostratigraphic age models for all three sites allow the nature and timing of changes to be precisely compared across the globe. Negative δ15N excursions across the FF interval from the H‐32 core and Kowala correlate with geochemical evidence for euxinic, phosphorus‐rich, water columns, and possible cyanobacterial activity, suggestive of increased diazotrophic N fixation, potentially coupled with ammonium assimilation at the latter site. By contrast, previously studied sites from Western Canada and South China document enhanced water‐column denitrification around the onset of the Upper Kellwasser (UKW) Event, re‐emphasizing the geographical heterogeneity in environmental perturbations at that time. Moreover, environmental degradation began >100 kyr earlier in Poland, coeval with a major increase in bioavailable phosphorus supply, than in Iowa, where no such influx is recorded. These regional differences in both the timing and nature of marine perturbations during the FF interval likely resulted from the variable influx of terrigenous nutrients to different marine basins at that time, highlighting the importance of local processes such as terrestrial runoff in driving environmental degradation during times of climate cooling such as the UKW Event.
Sensitivity‐Oriented Clustering Method for Parameter Grouping in Water Network Model Calibration
Authors: Chen Xinran , Zhou Xiao , Xin Kunlun , Liao Ziyuan , Yan Hexiang , Wang Jiaying , Tao Tao
Published: April 2022

As water network models contain a lot of parameters that are hard to directly obtain or be precisely measured, model calibration technologies are often used to estimate unknown parameters and ensure model accuracy. A main problem faced by calibration is the underdetermination due to the low ratio between available field measurements and parameters to be estimated. Parameter grouping is an effective approach to turn the calibration problem to even or over‐determined, but current studies often group parameters manually according to engineering experience, which has low efficiency and accuracy, and even cause non‐convergence of the calibration process. In this study, a Sensitivity‐Oriented Clustering (SOC) method is proposed to automatically group unknown pipe roughness coefficients with promised convergency and promoted accuracy of the calibration process. SOC divides the grouping process into two stages. The first one focuses on high‐sensitivity pipes to guarantee the convergence of calibration, and the second stage grouping attaches the remaining low‐sensitivity pipes to the determined high‐sensitivity groups to ensure estimation accuracy of these pipes. Two case studies are conducted to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed grouping method. It has been proved that the SOC provides an intelligent way to group unknown parameters and can be combined with various calibration methods. The results show that SOC significantly improves the stability and accuracy of the calibration process, which makes it reliable and effective in practical application.
Momentum considerations inside near-zero index materials
Authors: Lobet Michaël , Liberal Iñigo , Vertchenko Larissa , Lavrinenko Andrei V. , Engheta Nader , Mazur Eric
Published: April 2022

Near-zero index (NZI) materials, i.e., materials having a phase refractive index close to zero, are known to enhance or inhibit light-matter interactions. Most theoretical derivations of fundamental radiative processes rely on energetic considerations and detailed balance equations, but not on momentum considerations. Because momentum exchange should also be incorporated into theoretical models, we investigate momentum inside the three categories of NZI materials, i.e., inside epsilon-and-mu-near-zero (EMNZ), epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) and mu-near-zero (MNZ) materials. In the context of Abraham–Minkowski debate in dispersive materials, we show that Minkowski-canonical momentum of light is zero inside all categories of NZI materials while Abraham-kinetic momentum of light is zero in ENZ and MNZ materials but nonzero inside EMNZ materials. We theoretically demonstrate that momentum recoil, transfer momentum from the field to the atom and Doppler shift are inhibited in NZI materials. Fundamental radiative processes inhibition is also explained due to those momentum considerations inside three-dimensional NZI materials. Absence of diffraction pattern in slits experiments is seen as a consequence of zero Minkowski momentum. Lastly, consequence on Heisenberg inequality, microscopy applications and on the canonical momentum as generator of translations are discussed. Those findings are appealing for a better understanding of fundamental light-matter interactions at the nanoscale as well as for lasing applications.
Unsupervised machine learning improves risk stratification in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: an analysis of the Spanish Myeloma Group
Authors: Mosquera Orgueira Adrian , González Pérez Marta Sonia , Diaz Arias Jose , Rosiñol Laura , Oriol Albert , Teruel Ana Isabel , Martinez Lopez Joaquin , Palomera Luis , Granell Miguel , Blanchard Maria Jesus , de la Rubia Javier , López de la Guia Ana , Rios Rafael , Sureda Anna , Hernandez Miguel Teodoro , Bengoechea Enrique , Calasanz María José , Gutierrez Norma , Martin Maria Luis , Blade Joan , Lahuerta Juan-Jose , San Miguel Jesús , Mateos Maria Victoria ,   the PETHEMA/GEM Cooperative Group, Mosquera Orgueira Adrian , González Pérez Marta Sonia , Diaz Arias Jose , Rosiñol Laura , Oriol Albert , Teruel Ana Isabel , Martinez Lopez Joaquin , Palomera Luis , Granell Miguel , Blanchard Maria Jesus , de la Rubia Javier , López de la Guia Ana , Rios Rafael , Sureda Anna , Hernandez Miguel Teodoro , Bengoechea Enrique , Calasanz María José , Gutierrez Norma , Martin Maria Luis , Blade Joan , Lahuerta Juan-Jose , San Miguel Jesús , Mateos Maria Victoria
Published: April 2022

The International Staging System (ISS) and the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) are commonly used prognostic scores in multiple myeloma (MM). These methods have significant gaps, particularly among intermediate-risk groups. The aim of this study was to improve risk stratification in newly diagnosed MM patients using data from three different trials developed by the Spanish Myeloma Group. For this, we applied an unsupervised machine learning clusterization technique on a set of clinical, biochemical and cytogenetic variables, and we identified two novel clusters of patients with significantly different survival. The prognostic precision of this clusterization was superior to those of ISS and R-ISS scores, and appeared to be particularly useful to improve risk stratification among R-ISS 2 patients. Additionally, patients assigned to the low-risk cluster in the GEM05 over 65 years trial had a significant survival benefit when treated with VMP as compared with VTD. In conclusion, we describe a simple prognostic model for newly diagnosed MM whose predictions are independent of the ISS and R-ISS scores. Notably, the model is particularly useful in order to re-classify R-ISS score 2 patients in 2 different prognostic subgroups. The combination of ISS, R-ISS and unsupervised machine learning clusterization brings a promising approximation to improve MM risk stratification.
HORDB a comprehensive database of peptide hormones
Authors: Zhu Ning , Dong Fanyi , Shi Guobang , Lao Xingzhen , Zheng Heng
Published: April 2022

Peptide hormones (also known as hormone peptides and polypeptide hormones) are hormones composed of peptides and are signal transduction molecules produced by a class of multicellular organisms. It plays an important role in the physiological and behavioral regulation of animals and humans as well as in the growth of plants. In order to promote the research on peptide hormones, we constructed HORDB database. The database currently has a total of 6024 entries, including 5729 peptide hormones, 40 peptide drugs and 255 marketed pharmaceutical preparations information. Each entry provided comprehensive information related to the peptide, including general information, sequence, activity, structure, physical information and literature information. We also added information on IC50, EC50, ED50, target, and whether or not the blood-brain barrier was crossed to the activity information note. In addition, HORDB integrates search and sequence analysis to facilitate user browsing and data analysis. We believe that the peptide hormones information collected by HORDB will promote the design and discovery of peptide hormones, All data are hosted and available in figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5522241.
Risk factors, transcriptomics, and outcomes of myocardial injury following lower extremity revascularization
Authors: Smilowitz Nathaniel R. , Cornwell MacIntosh , Offerman Erik J. , Rockman Caron B. , Shah Svati H. , Newman Jonathan D. , Ruggles Kelly , Voora Deepak , Berger Jeffrey S.
Published: April 2022

Myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) is common. We investigated the incidence and outcomes of MINS, and mechanistic underpinnings using pre-operative whole blood gene expression profiling in a prospective cohort study of individuals undergoing lower extremity revascularization (LER) for peripheral artery disease (PAD). Major adverse cardiovascular and limb events (MACLE) were defined as a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, major lower extremity amputation or reoperation. Among 226 participants undergoing LER, MINS occurred in 53 (23.5%). Patients with MINS had a greater incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (49.1% vs. 22.0%, adjusted HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.07–3.26) and MACLE (67.9% vs. 44.5%; adjusted HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.08–2.55) at median 20-month follow-up. Pre-operative whole blood transcriptome profiling of a nested matched MINS case–control cohort (n = 41) identified upregulation of pathways related to platelet alpha granules and coagulation in patients who subsequently developed MINS. Thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) mRNA expression was 60% higher at baseline in patients who later developed MINS, and was independently associated with long-term cardiovascular events in the Duke Catheterization Genetics biorepository cohort. In conclusion, pre-operative THBS1 mRNA expression is higher in patients who subsequently develop MINS and is associated with incident cardiovascular events. Pathways related to platelet activity and coagulation associated with MINS provide novel insights into mechanisms of myocardial injury.
Stabilizing superconductivity of ternary metal pentahydride $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$ via electronic topological transitions under high pressure from first principles evolutionary algorithm
Authors: Tsuppayakorn-aek Prutthipong , Phaisangittisakul Nakorn , Ahuja Rajeev , Bovornratanaraks Thiti
Published: April 2022

We explored the phase stability of ternary pentahydride $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$

CaCH
5

based on the first principles evolutionary algorithm. Here, we successfully search for a candidate structure up to 500 GPa. As a consequence, the possible stable structure of $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$

CaCH
5

is found be to a monoclinic structure with space group Pm at a pressure of 50 GPa. Moreover, the orthorhombic structure with a space group of Cmcm is found to be thermodynamically stable above 316 GPa. With this, the Kohn-Sham equation plays a crucial role in determining the structural stability and the electronic structure. Therefore, its structural stability is discussed in term of electronic band structure, Fermi surface topology, and dynamic stability. With these results, we propose that the superconducting transition temperature ($$\hbox {T}_{{c}}$$

T
c

) of Cmcm structure is estimated to be 50 K at 450 GPa. This could be implied that the proposed Cmcm structure may be emerging as a new class of superconductive ternary metal pentahydride. Our findings pave the way for further studies on an experimental observation that can be synthesized at high pressure.
CNS imaging characteristics in fibromyalgia patients with and without peripheral nerve involvement
Authors: Aster Hans-Christoph , Evdokimov Dimitar , Braun Alexandra , Üçeyler Nurcan , Kampf Thomas , Pham Mirko , Homola György A. , Sommer Claudia
Published: April 2022

We tested the hypothesis that reduced skin innervation in fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with specific CNS changes. This prospective case–control study included 43 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome and 40 healthy controls. We further compared the fibromyalgia subgroups with reduced (n = 21) and normal (n = 22) skin innervation. Brains were analysed for cortical volume, for white matter integrity, and for functional connectivity. Compared to controls, cortical thickness was decreased in regions of the frontal, temporal and parietal cortex in the fibromyalgia group as a whole, and decreased in the bilateral pericalcarine cortices in the fibromyalgia subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Diffusion tensor imaging revealed a significant increase in fractional anisotropy in the corona radiata, the corpus callosum, cingulum and fornix in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy controls and decreased FA in parts of the internal capsule and thalamic radiation in the subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Using resting-state fMRI, the fibromyalgia group as a whole showed functional hypoconnectivity between the right midfrontal gyrus and the posterior cerebellum and the right crus cerebellum, respectively. The subgroup with reduced skin innervation showed hyperconnectivity between the inferior frontal gyrus, the angular gyrus and the posterior parietal gyrus. Our results suggest that the subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with pronounced pathology in the peripheral nervous system shows alterations in morphology, structural and functional connectivity also at the level of the encephalon. We propose considering these subgroups when conducting clinical trials.
Phase retrieval based on deep learning in grating interferometer
Authors: Oh Ohsung , Kim Youngju , Kim Daeseung , Hussey Daniel. S. , Lee Seung Wook
Published: April 2022

Grating interferometry is a promising technique to obtain differential phase contrast images with illumination source of low intrinsic transverse coherence. However, retrieving the phase contrast image from the differential phase contrast image is difficult due to the accumulated noise and artifacts from the differential phase contrast image (DPCI) reconstruction. In this paper, we implemented a deep learning-based phase retrieval method to suppress these artifacts. Conventional deep learning based denoising requires noise/clean image pair, but it is not feasible to obtain sufficient number of clean images for grating interferometry. In this paper, we apply a recently developed neural network called Noise2Noise (N2N) that uses noise/noise image pairs for training. We obtained many DPCIs through combination of phase stepping images, and these were used as input/target pairs for N2N training. The application of the N2N network to simulated and measured DPCI showed that the phase contrast images were retrieved with strongly suppressed phase retrieval artifacts. These results can be used in grating interferometer applications which uses phase stepping method.