The Soubrette Character as an Agent of Social Change in 18th and 19th Century Opera Buffa and Singspiel

The secondary female role of lower class status in comic opera, designated by the term soubrette, is often given a diminutive value to match her diminutive name ending. As a result, the origins of the soubrette figure and how the role developed and changed throughout the history of comic opera have not been studied in detail. While Italian soubrette characters from eighteenth century opera buffa productions have been recognized, little attention has been paid to the soubrette characters of German Singspiel despite their strong representation. Scholars have assumed that this archetypal role is superficial and insignificant to the plot, but nothing could be further from the truth. In most plot scenarios, the soubrette character contributes to the plot complications and resolutions more than the primary heroine. Because the soubrette role stems from the action-based medium of the Commedia dell’Arte tradition, the character thrives through action while the primary heroine wallows in introspection. Soubrette roles are often described as having music that contributes a superficial image, such as shorter phrases, smaller ranges, and bubbling rhythms. However, these traits coincide with the active musical topics, or topoi, that are associated with the activities of peasant life, such as peasant dances. This document will trace the origins of the soubrette role in opera buffa to the stock character Colombina as depicted by Caterina Biancolelli, an actress who performed with the seventeenth century Gelosi Commedia dell’Arte troupe. The purpose will be to define the archetypal characteristic and musical qualities of the soubrette of opera buffa and German Singspiel in order to advocate for the soubrette’s value as a key figure for understanding the social climate of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This document will pursue a hermeneutic approach of particular soubrette repertoire by interpreting the use of specific musical topics by composers, which define, question or deny the social stratification and gender relations of the soubrette

Effects of PECS and Staff Instruction on Social Requests in a Naturalistic Setting

Communication deficits are a core symptom of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and as a result many autistic children use Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), to facilitate communication. PECS interventions are typically taught in a classroom setting, whereas few studies have evaluated PECS use in a naturalistic setting, such as a playground. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of introducing PECS into a naturalistic setting on social requests (SR), as well as the effects of staff instruction on SR made with PECS. Participants consisted of 6 pre-school aged autistic children who used PECS. Overall, results indicated a significant increase in the percentage of correct social requests following staff instruction, and an increase in the frequency of SR made with PECS. Frequency of social requests remained consistent across phases. Implications for introducing PECS into a naturalistic setting are discussed.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1066/thumbnail.jp

Examining the Relationship between ASD Knowledge and Educator Experience in a NY State Sample

Given the increase in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence rates (CDC, 2021), educators are more likely than ever to serve autistic students across educational environments. The literature suggests that educator knowledge of ASD may be poor and impact effectiveness in working with students (Gómez-Mari, 2021). This study will examine knowledge about ASD in a large sample of educators from New York state (N=400) using data from an online survey. Autism knowledge was measured using the ASK-Q, a measure validated and designed to reliably identify gaps in ASD knowledge across cultures and professions (Harrison, 2017). Regression analyses will be used to examine the association between years of experience and other demographic variables (e.g., age, educator type) with educators’ ASD knowledge across specific domains—diagnosis and symptoms, etiology, treatment, and stigma. Implications are relevant to identifying demographic-specific training needs and developing resources for educators working with autistic students.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2022/1015/thumbnail.jp

Is current preoperative frailty assessment adequate?

Preoperative frailty predicts adverse postoperative outcomes. Recommendations for preoperative assessment of elderly patients include performing a frailty assessment. Despite the advantages of incorporating frailty assessment into surgical settings, there is limited research on surgical health care professionals’ perception and use of frailty assessment for perioperative care. We surveyed local health care employees to assess their attitudes toward and practices for frail patients. Nurses and allied health professionals were more likely than surgeons to agree frailty should play a role in planning a patient’s care. Lack of knowledge about frailty issues was a prominent barrier to the use of frailty assessments in practice, despite clinicians understanding that frailty affects their patients’ outcomes. Results of this survey suggest further training in frailty issues and the use of frailty assessment instruments is necessary and could improve the uptake of such tools for perioperative care planning

Is current preoperative frailty assessment adequate?

Preoperative frailty predicts adverse postoperative outcomes. Recommendations for preoperative assessment of elderly patients include performing a frailty assessment. Despite the advantages of incorporating frailty assessment into surgical settings, there is limited research on surgical health care professionals’ perception and use of frailty assessment for perioperative care. We surveyed local health care employees to assess their attitudes toward and practices for frail patients. Nurses and allied health professionals were more likely than surgeons to agree frailty should play a role in planning a patient’s care. Lack of knowledge about frailty issues was a prominent barrier to the use of frailty assessments in practice, despite clinicians understanding that frailty affects their patients’ outcomes. Results of this survey suggest further training in frailty issues and the use of frailty assessment instruments is necessary and could improve the uptake of such tools for perioperative care planning

Getting Found, Staying Found, Increasing Impact: Enhancing Readership and Preserving Content for OJS Journals, Second Edition.

Publishing a journal is about more than simply putting ink to paper (or pixels to screen). It is a collaboration between you and your readers. Two critical aspects of this relationship are, first, making your journal visible to your prospective audience. By putting your content online and making it freely available through open access, you can be reaching of millions of people around the world. But if they don’t know you are out there, they will not be able to become part of your scholarly community. Second, once you have your content in place, and have established an audience of dedicated readers, you will want to ensure that your journal is always available – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Unlike paper publications, electronic journals can disappear rather easily, either temporarily or permanently. Regular downtime caused by an unreliable server environment, or worse, complete loss of your content due to a lack of any kind of backup or preservation strategy, can seriously undermine your credibility with your readers, or even totally wipe out all of the work you and your collaborators have done together.   This revised edition of Getting Found, Staying Found highlights many aspects of the publishing process that are important for increasing your journal’s “findability” and building a wider audience. Moreover, it will also show you how to ensure reliable and ongoing access to your valuable content. Much of the information in this resource is intended to be generic and could be applied to any journal, using any software platform. However, the authors have opted to include additional information pertaining to the Open Journal Systems (OJS) software developed by the Public Knowledge Project to provide further illustrations of how to apply this information in a real world setting.   This guide is designed to offer practical advice on various considerations for making Open Access journals more discoverable and sustainable, and is geared largely towards journals that use the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. This guide is intended largely for journal managers, editors, and those responsible for a journal’s operations. Some of PKP’s other documentation, such as the Learning OJS 3 guide and the PKP Administrators guide contains information pertinent to using and administrating OJS. &nbsp

Obesity is not associated with progression to end stage renal disease in patients with biopsy-proven glomerular diseases

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with renal disease progression in unspecified CKD. The relationship between BMI and primary glomerular disease (GN) may be more complex. We aimed to evaluate the association between BMI and renal disease progression in patients with primary glomerular disease (GN). Methods: This was a single-centre retrospective cohort study performed in adult patients with biopsy-proven primary GN (excluding minimal change disease) from January 2000 to December 2015, with follow-up data until June 2017. BMI at time of biopsy was categorised as ≤25 kg/m2, > 25 to ≤30 kg/m2 and > 30 kg/m2. We used univariate and multivariate survival analyses to evaluate factors associated with progression to a composite endpoint of stage 5 CKD or renal replacement therapy (Major Adverse Renal Event - MARE) censoring for competing risk of death using Fine and Gray subdistribution hazards model. Results: We included 560 patients with biopsy-proven primary GN and available BMI data: 66.1% were male with median age 54.8 (IQR 41.1–66.2) years and BMI 28.2 (IQR 24.9–32.1) kg/m2. Those with BMI 25-30 kg/m2 (n = 210) and with BMI > 30 kg/m2 (n = 207) were older (p = 0.007) with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures (p = 0.02 and 0.004 respectively) than those with BMI < 25 kg/m2 (n = 132). There was a greater proportion of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in those with higher BMI (3.9% in BMI < 25 kg/m2, 7.9% in BMI 25–30 kg/m2 and 10.7% in BMI > 30 kg/m2 of biopsies (p = 0.01)), but similar proportions of other GN diagnoses across BMI groups. Baseline eGFR (p = 0.40) and uPCR (p = 0.17) were similar across BMI groups. There was no interaction between BMI and time to MARE (log-rank p = 0.98) or death (log-rank p = 0.42). Censoring for competing risk of death, factors associated with progression to MARE were: younger age, lower baseline eGFR and higher uPCR, but not BMI (SHR 0.99, 95%CI 0.97–1.01, p = 0.31) nor blood pressure or GN diagnosis. Conclusion: BMI was not associated with progression to MARE in this patient cohort with primary GN. Efforts should be directed to managing other known risk factors for CKD progression

A longitudinal study of change in substance use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults

Introduction We assessed change in substance use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults and identified factors associated with initiation/increase in use. Methods The sample comprised young adults from a longitudinal investigation of 1294 youth recruited at ages 12-13 (1999-2000) in 10 Montr eal-area high schools. Pre-pandemic data on use of cannabis, alcohol, combustible ciga- rette, e-cigarette and binge drinking were collected at ages 20.4, 24.0 and 30.6. During COVID-19, data were col- lected from December 2020 to June 2021 (age 33.6). We studied the prevalence of any and weekly/daily use from age 20.4 to 33.6. Individual-level change in substance use during the pandemic was estimated as differences in the fre- quency of use from age 30.6 to 33.6 versus from age 24.0 to 30.6. Heterogeneity in the risk of initiated/increased sub- stance use during COVID-19 across sociodemographic subgroups was assessed using modified Poisson regression. Results The prevalence of cannabis use increased from 17.5% to 23.1% from before to during the pandemic; e-ciga- rette use increased from 3.8% to 5.4%. In individual change analyses, the proportion of participants whose substance use did not change ranged from 48.9% (alcohol) to 84.0% (e-cigarettes). The incidence of initiated/increased canna- bis use (22.4%), and quit/decreased alcohol (35.2%) and binge drinking (53.5%) were higher during the pandemic than between ages 24.0 to 30.6. Low education and living alone were associated with higher risks of initiated/ increased use of most substances. Discussion Most participants reported stable patterns in substance use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic

Interaction between socioeconomic deprivation and likelihood of pre‐emptive transplantation: influence of competing risks and referral characteristics – a retrospective study

Socioeconomic deprivation (SED) influences likelihood of pre‐emptive kidney transplantation (PET), but the mechanisms behind this are unclear. We explored the relationships between SED and patient characteristics at referral, which might explain this discrepancy. A retrospective cohort study was performed. SED was measured by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Logistic regression evaluated predictors of PET. A competing risks survival analysis evaluated the interaction between SED and progression to end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) and death. Of 7765 patients with follow‐up of 5.69 ± 6.52 years, 1298 developed ESKD requiring RRT; 113 received PET, 64 of which were from live donors. Patients receiving PET were “less deprived” with higher SIMD (5 ± 7 vs. 4 ± 5; P = 0.003). This appeared independent of overall comorbidity burden. SED was associated with a higher risk of death but not ESKD. Higher SIMD decile was associated with a higher likelihood of PET (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.06, 1.23); the presence of diabetes and malignancy also reduced PET. SED was associated with reduced likelihood of PET after adjustment for baseline comorbidity, and this was not explained by risk of death or faster progression to ESKD. Education and outreach into transplantation should be augmented in areas with higher deprivation