Perusing the Stacks: Cataloging Music

This week and last I have been learning about some of the basics of cataloging. While the cataloging of books is often fairly straight forward, such is not case with music. There are some extra, important bits of information that make a big difference in cataloging and finding musical works. [excerpt

Life in the Fishbowl

I was never quite certain what went on in those offices behind the glass windows on the second floor of Musselman Library, but two weeks into my Fortenbaugh Music Librarian Internship I am beginning to get an idea. After talking with some of the staff that work in the fishbowl I have gotten a glimpse at some of the goings on behind the scenes of the librarian. If you’ve ever wondered how all these books and resources came to be or how in the world you are able to find a single thing in this place (maybe with some assistance), well, I can tell you it is not the work of little library fairies. [excerpt

Gender Roots: Conceptualizing Honor Killing and Interpretations of Women\u27s Gender in Muslim Society

The phenomenon of “honor” killing is one that has formed out of deeply rooted concepts of sexuality and gender roles in Muslim societies. These conceptions have been implemented into everyday life and social infrastructure and have created, in some places, a generally accepted power dynamic that subjugates women and generates conceptualizations about women’s sexuality and their assumed obedience. In recent decades the gender constructions of, predominantly, the Middle East and of other Muslim populations have captured the attention of Western thinkers, especially with regards to feminist thought. The Western gaze has produced a number of responses, some of which have reinforced and even strengthened imbalanced gender hierarchies as a means of rejecting Western engagement. The idea of “honor” means something different within the context of Muslim cultures and is not one necessarily accessible to outsiders. The practice of “honor” killing found in some Muslim communities is built on a foundation of gender ideologies that have predominated since pre-modern Muslim society and it is driven by the need to hold onto traditional values

From the Classroom to Musselman Library: Bridging the Gap for Music Education

I am in my sixth semester as a music education major through the Sunderman Conservatory and yet I had no idea there was a music education collection here at Musselman Library until just a couple weeks ago. After reading up on some policies and practices for maintaining collections I was given some time to peruse the music education collection more closely. As I looked through the shelves and skimmed some introductions and tables of contents of a few of the books in MT1 I began considering how I would go about updating and maintaining this small collection. [excerpt

Why Women Choose Dance: An Analysis of Balinese Women’s Participation in the Arts

At the start of our trip in Bali, Indonesia I had set out to research women’s gamelan. All-women’s gamelan is still a fairly new concept, only popularized within the last 2-3 decades. From my white, Western feminist perspective, I had assumed the reason more women did not participate in gamelan had to do with empowerment. As we attended the women’s gamelan competition at the Bali Arts Festival I wondered if they wanted more out of their gamelan playing. Although the sight of an all-women’s gamelan is no longer out of the ordinary, they serve strictly entertainment and secular purposes as opposed to men’s gamelan, which also holds sacred purposes such as their performances at temple ceremonies, tooth filings, and cremations. It has been stated, however, by dancer and scholar I Wayan Dibia that in spite of context performers still feel they are performing for a “divine audience” (Gold, 2005, p. 18). Knowing Bali to be a patriarchal society I initially assumed structural and institutional practices were the only forces working to sustain the push for women to pursue dance rather than gamelan. While this still may be true, the women I had the privilege of working with made it sound like there was more to it

The Fortenbaugh in a Music Education Context

This past weekend I attended the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Annual Conference in Hershey, PA. Along with the rest of my music education program here at Gettysburg College I went on a two day trip the Hershey Lodge to attend professional sessions, network with in-service teachers and administrators, and walk the music education marketplace. Now that I am back it is time to begin work putting together my library research guide geared towards helping others involved in music education and I have new insights to consider. [excerpt

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

Treatment outcomes in global systematic review and patient meta-analysis of children with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) has extremely poor treatment outcomes in adults. Limited data are available for children. We report on clinical manifestations, treatment, and outcomes for 37 children (<15 years of age) with bacteriologically confirmed XDR TB in 11 countries. These patients were managed during 1999–2013. For the 37 children, median age was 11 years, 32 (87%) had pulmonary TB, and 29 had a recorded HIV status; 7 (24%) were infected with HIV. Median treatment duration was 7.0 months for the intensive phase and 12.2 months for the continuation phase. Thirty (81%) children had favorable treatment outcomes. Four (11%) died, 1 (3%) failed treatment, and 2 (5%) did not complete treatment. We found a high proportion of favorable treatment outcomes among children, with mortality rates markedly lower than for adults. Regimens and duration of treatment varied considerably. Evaluation of new regimens in children is required

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead