The Lyrical Subversions of Socialist Realism in Đặng Nhật Minh’s New Wave Cinema

This article looks at the career and work of a prominent Vietnamese film director, Đặng Nhật Minh. By taking a closer look at his film When the Tenth Month Comes, this article challenges the Cold War perception of communist art as a mere servant to politics and ideology, with little aesthetic ambition beyond its didactic and propagandist duty. It explores Minh’s use of lyricism as an effective tool of subversion and means to assert his autonomy as a communist artist. It is through the lyrical that the film director reaches back to the core of Vietnamese cultural identity and ancient traditions to provide a poetic affirmation of the resilience of his nation’s culture, while mobilizing a sense of belonging and loyalty to the communist project

Fluorescence-Based Detection of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene, and Cumene (BTEXC) Compounds in Fuel-Contaminated Snow Environments

Reported herein is the sensitive and selective cyclodextrin-promoted fluorescence detection of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and cumene (BTEXC) fuel components in contaminated snow samples collected from several locations in the state of Rhode Island. This detection method uses cyclodextrin as a supramolecular scaffold to promote analyte-specific, proximity-induced fluorescence modulation of a high-quantum-yield fluorophore, which leads to unique fluorescence responses for each cyclodextrin-analyte-fluorophore combination investigated and enables unique pattern identifiers for each analyte using linear discriminant analysis (LDA). This detection method operates with high levels of sensitivity (sub-micromolar detection limits), selectivity (100% differentiation between structurally similar compounds, such as ortho-, meta-, and para-xylene isomers), and broad applicability (for different snow samples with varying chemical composition, pH, and electrical conductivity). The high selectivity, sensitivity, and broad applicability of this method indicate significant potential in the development of practical detection devices for aromatic toxicants in complex environments

Care of the Critically Ill Pregnant Patient and Perimortem Cesarean Delivery in the Emergency Department

BackgroundMaternal resuscitation in the emergency department requires planning and special consideration of the physiologic changes of pregnancy. Perimortem cesarean delivery (PMCD) is a rare but potentially life-saving procedure for both mother and fetus. Emergency physicians should be aware of the procedure's indications and steps because it needs to be performed rapidly for the best possible outcomes.ObjectiveWe sought to review the approach to the critically ill pregnant patient in light of new expert guidelines, including indications for PMCD and procedural techniques.DiscussionThe prevalence of maternal cardiac arrest and survival outcomes of PMCD in the emergency department setting are difficult to estimate. Advanced cardiovascular life support protocols should be followed in maternal arrest with special considerations made based on the physiologic changes of pregnancy. The latest recommendations for maternal resuscitation are reviewed, including advance planning, rapid determination of gestational age, emergent delivery, and postprocedure considerations for PMCD.ConclusionsMaternal resuscitation requires knowledge of physiologic changes and evidence-based recommendations. PMCD outcomes are best for both mother and fetus when the procedure is performed rapidly and efficiently in the appropriate setting. Emergency physicians should be familiar with this unique clinical scenario so they are adequately prepared to intervene in order to improve maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality

Genome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer

We conducted a genome-wide association study of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. We detected eight significantly associated loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)), seven of which are new for these cancer sites. Oral and pharyngeal cancers combined were associated with loci at 6p21.32 (rs3828805, HLA-DQB1), 10q26.13 (rs201982221, LHPP) and 11p15.4 (rs1453414, OR52N2-TRIM5). Oral cancer was associated with two new regions, 2p23.3 (rs6547741, GPN1) and 9q34.12 (rs928674, LAMC3), and with known cancer-related loci-9p21.3 (rs8181047, CDKN2B-AS1) and 5p15.33 (rs10462706, CLPTM1L). Oropharyngeal cancer associations were limited to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and classical HLA allele imputation showed a protective association with the class II haplotype HLA-DRB1*1301-HLA-DQA1*0103-HLA-DQB1*0603 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.59, P = 2.7 x 10(-9)). Stratified analyses on a subgroup of oropharyngeal cases with information available on human papillomavirus (HPV) status indicated that this association was considerably stronger in HPV-positive (OR = 0.23, P = 1.6 x 10(-6)) than in HPV-negative (OR = 0.75, P = 0.16) cancers

The Potential of Antimicrobial Peptides as Biocides

Antimicrobial peptides constitute a diverse class of naturally occurring antimicrobial molecules which have activity against a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. Antimicrobial peptides are exciting leads in the development of novel biocidal agents at a time when classical antibiotics are under intense pressure from emerging resistance, and the global industry in antibiotic research and development stagnates. This review will examine the potential of antimicrobial peptides, both natural and synthetic, as novel biocidal agents in the battle against multi-drug resistant pathogen infections