American Studies Research Articles

Going beyond «The Standard Menu»?

Book Review: Davydov V.M. Conceptual positioning in the context of regional studies. The experience of Latin American Studies and not only… – Moscow: Ves’ Mir, 2023. – 150 p.

Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Chile

Objective This study aimed to estimate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) incidence and survival rates in the Metropolitan region of Chile. Methods We conducted a cohort study of ALS cases in the Metropolitan Region from 2016 to 2019. A total of 219 ALS patients were recruited from Corporación ELA-Chile registry, in collaboration with neurologists from Sociedad de Neurología, Psiquiatría y Neurocirugía de Chile. We calculated incidence rates by sex and age and determined median survival from onset and diagnosis. Survival analysis used the Kaplan–Meier statistic, estimating hazard ratios for age, sex, time from symptom onset and from diagnosis using a Weibull regression model. All analyses were done using R 4.1.0. Results Overall, ALS diagnosis incidence was 0.97 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, peaking in the 70–79 age group and declining thereafter. The male-to-female ratio was 1.23. The median time to death from diagnosis was 2.3 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9–2.5), and from the first symptom, it was 3.1 years (95% CI: 2.8–3.5). Conclusions This is the first population-based study reporting ALS incidence and survival rates in Chile’s Metropolitan region. Incidence resembled other Latin American studies. Median survival from diagnosis and from the first symptom were in line with previous findings. Our results corroborated lower ALS rates in Latin America, consistent with prior research.

TRANSLATIONAL CONSTRUCTION OF ISLAND IDENTITY IN AMERICAN NRMS’ TEXTS: POSTSTRUCTURALIST STUDY OF MALTA NARRATIVE IN AMERICAN ENGLISH AND KIRUNDI NWTS

The study investigated the construction of Island Identity through translation in American New Religious Movements’ texts (NRMs). The research used the descriptive qualitative method that is based on the American studies interdisciplinary method and Kristeva’s theory of intertextuality and notions of identity, abjection, and revolt. Moreover, Kovecses’ theory of Conceptual Metaphor (CM) in American Studies and Schmidt’s CM translation typology were used. Primary data were collected from the Kirundi New World Translation (NWT), American English NWT, and New American Standard Bible (NASB). Secondary data were obtained from books and articles about American NRMs, island, and CM translation. It was found out that in the conceptualization of alterity about island identity the source text (ST) is in abjection to the mainstream NASB. Moreover, the findings proved that, despite the subversion tints of the ascetic virtues from the center of the church, the target text (TT) is a nihilation of all island identity forms. Furthermore, it was discovered that the Burundi JW Bible imitates the ST to revolt against colonial and nationalist conceptualization and ipso facto to construct an island identity that supports the church’s propensity for the postnational and global discourse of American society and culture.

Prevalence of Sexual Minority Adolescents Worldwide: A Systematic Review

Health research documenting sexual minority adolescents exists predominately in North American literature. However, sexual minority youth exist elsewhere in the world. This study aims to provide estimates of sexual minority adolescent populations worldwide. In this systematic review, we searched Medline, Embase, CAB direct, Sociology Collection, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, LGBT Life, Bibliography of Native American Studies, Bibliography of Asian Studies, ERIC, and PsycINFO between 2008 and 2022. We included peer-reviewed publications that focused on youth and sexual orientation or youth and sexual behavior—youth in this study were people who were between 10 and 19 years of age. Examples of publications that were excluded from our study were qualitative studies, mixed-method studies, and interventions. Publications obtained from the search results underwent a country screen, a title and abstract screen, and a methods screen, before moving onto a full-text screen. We extracted the prevalence of sexual minority youth after full-text screening. We identified 42,711 results from searching the electronic databases and an additional 105 records via hand searching. After duplicates were removed, 32,213 articles were screened and 41 studies were eligible for this review. We found estimates of sexual minority adolescents in 47 countries, with at least one estimate for each World Health Organization region. The development of inclusive laws and policies is needed on a global basis to decrease health disparities in a community of people who are at higher risk of adverse health outcomes.

Disciplinary Futures: Sociology in Conversation with American, Ethnic, and Indigenous Studies

Disciplinary Futures: Sociology in Conversation with American, Ethnic, and Indigenous Studies

Arginine metabolomics in mood disorders

Alterations of nitric oxide (NO) homeostasis have been described in mood disorders. However, the analytical challenges associated with the direct measurement of NO have prompted the search for alternative biomarkers of NO synthesis. We investigated the published evidence of the association between these alternative biomarkers and mood disorders (depressive disorder or bipolar disorder). Electronic databases were searched from inception to the June 30, 2023. In 20 studies, there was a trend towards significantly higher asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in mood disorders vs. controls (p = 0.072), and non-significant differences in arginine (p = 0.29), citrulline (p = 0.35), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA; p = 0.23), and ornithine (p = 0.42). In subgroup analyses, the SMD for ADMA was significant in bipolar disorder (p < 0.001) and European studies (p = 0.02), the SMDs for SDMA (p = 0.001) and citrulline (p = 0.038) in European studies, and the SMD for ornithine in bipolar disorder (p = 0.007), Asian (p = 0.001) and American studies (p = 0.005), and patients treated with antidepressants (p = 0.029). The abnormal concentrations of ADMA, SDMA, citrulline, and ornithine in subgroups of mood disorders, particularly bipolar disorder, warrant further research to unravel their pathophysiological role and identify novel treatments in this group (The protocol was registered in PROSPERO: CRD42023445962)

Native American Catholic Studies Reader: History and Theology ed. by David J. Endres (review)

Native American Catholic Studies Reader: History and Theology ed. by David J. Endres (review)

Houdini versus the Medium: Talking to the Dead and the Origin of American Literary Studies

Abstract: This essay locates an origin story for American literary studies in the takedown of a 1920s Boston medium named Margery, first by Harry Houdini and then by a Harvard English instructor. Her twice-over debunking lets us see literary studies' professionalism as a takeover of two competing practices: mediums talking to the dead and magicians disproving such talk. Focusing on the New Critics, the essay argues that a literary scholar's professional autonomy depended on judging a text's aesthetic autonomy, namely its capacity to speak for the dead. This essay urges us to keep performing and teaching the value of that labor.

Are there limits to globalising the medieval?

AbstractThe aim of this article is threefold: firstly, it seeks to critique, from the perspective of Iberian and Latin American studies, the Eurocentrism inherent in the research programme known as the ‘Global Middle Ages’ that has emerged in the last two decades in Humanities faculties primarily in the USA and Europe. Secondly, it argues that the identification of global neomedievalism is particularly indicative of the Eurocentric limits of the global medieval paradigm, which is illustrated with several examples from Hispanophone contexts. Lastly, it proposes some alternative theoretical frames through which to analyse the histories of diverse geographies, which seek to account for multiple global temporalities in different linguistic traditions without reinforcing the medieval/modern construction that is in turn rooted in systemic forms of racism and antiblackness.

Prevalence of persistent hypertension following pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can lead to persistent hypertension (pHTN) in the months and even years following delivery. However, its prevalence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not well characterized. To synthesize available evidence on the pHTN prevalence following a pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in LMICs. PubMed, CINAHL Plus, Global Health (EBSCOhost), and Scopus from inception through a search date of July 12, 2022, and updated on January 2, 2024. Cross-sectional studies and cohort studies reporting pHTN prevalence were eligible. We conducted a narrative synthesis of data and categorized reported prevalence time points into several broader categories. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa checklist to assess the risk of bias. The protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022345739). We reviewed 1,584 abstracts and identified 22 studies that reported pHTN between 2000 and 2023 from 14 LMICs. The overall prevalence of pHTN ranged between 6.9% and 62.2%, with the highest prevalence noted within African studies and the lowest in South American studies. Estimates at different follow-up periods postpartum were 6.9%-42.9% at six weeks, 34.0%-62.2% at three months, 14.8%-62.2% at six months, 12.7%-61.2% at 12 months, and 7.5%-31.8% at more than 12 months. The quality score of the selected studies ranged from 50% to 100%. The extant literature reports a high prevalence of pHTN in LMICs following a pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders. To reduce long-term complications of pHTN, programs should emphasize early screening and linkages to long-term care for at-risk women. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=345739, PROSPERO (CRD42022345739).

A Black Studies Professor Who Talks the Talk and Walks the Walk: A Conversation with OSU Professor and Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of African American Studies, Judson L. Jeffries, PhD

A Black Studies Professor Who Talks the Talk and Walks the Walk: A Conversation with OSU Professor and Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of African American Studies, Judson L. Jeffries, PhD

MSphere of Influence: Compartmentalized cAMP signals in American trypanosomes.

Noelia Lander works on cell signaling in American trypanosomes and studies the role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) microdomains in environmental sensing and differentiation. In this mSphere of Influence, Dr. Lander reflects on three research articles in different eukaryotic models that had impacted on the way she thinks about the regulation of cAMP signals in Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. The articles "FRET biosensor uncovers cAMP nano-domains at β-adrenergic targets that dictate precise tuning of cardiac contractility" (N. C. Surdo, M. Berrera, A. Koschinski, M. Brescia, et al., Nat Commun 8:15031, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15031), "Cyclic AMP signaling and glucose metabolism mediate pH taxis by African trypanosomes" (S. Shaw, S. Knüsel, D. Abbühl, A. Naguleswaran, et al., Nat Commun 13:603, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28293-w), and "Encystation stimuli sensing is mediated by adenylate cyclase AC2-dependent cAMP signaling in Giardia" (H. W. Shih, G. C. M. Alas, and A. R. Paredez, Nat Commun 14:7245, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43028-1) influenced her current hypothesis that cAMP signals are generated in response to environmental cues leading to changes in membrane fluidity at the flagellar tip and the contractile vacuole complex of T. cruzi, structures where cAMP mediates key cellular processes for developmental progression.

Playing Filipino: Racial Display, Resistance, and the Filipino Rough Riders in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

Abstract: This article examines the intersection of empire, national identity, performance, and cultural representation through an analysis of the Filipino Rough Riders in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West . Drawing on historical material—including newspaper articles and illustrations, photographs, and Wild West ephemera—this article explores how and why Filipino performers were included in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and how they were represented by the exposition, the press, and the performers themselves. It develops the concept of “playing Filipino,” a phrase that adapts and alters the notion of “playing Indian,” to capture the interactive process of performing not only racialized types for white-dominated audiences and institutions, but also the resistant and creative activity of embodying Filipino-ness through self-crafted style and aesthetic appearance. This study advances transnational Asian American studies by presenting new ways of thinking about turn of the twentieth-century Filipino performers and their relation to US imperialism through cultural institutions and popular entertainment like traveling Wild West shows, and it also expands American West scholarship by considering how Asian subjects figured into constructions of US domestic and overseas frontiers during times of war.

Spain’s Long Shadow: The Black Legend, Off-Whiteness, and Anglo-American Empire: A retrospective

Located at the intersection of American Studies, LatinX Studies, and Romance Studies, the scholarly book Spain’s Long Shadow: The Black Legend, Off-Whiteness, and Anglo-American Empire turns a “critical ethnic studies” lens on Anglo-American culture. It argues that constructions of Anglo-American identity as “American” have depended on figures of Spain. These figurations have been crucial to the dominant Anglo fictions of “American” exceptionalism, revolution, and manifest destiny; to Anglo-America’s articulation of its empire as an anti-empire; and to its fears of racial contamination and hybridity. Spain’s Long Shadow unfolds the story of one imperialist shadowing another. Now, nearly two decades since its publication, what insights and which questions linger, especially as we engage with what Claudia Milian has termed “a globally entangled LatinX Studies”? Pushing off from Spain’s Long Shadow’s concluding thoughts, this essay responds to that question in relation to the more than 3 million-plus people of a heterogeneous LatinX diaspora living in Spain today. This estimate constitutes approximately 6.4% of Spain’s current population, which is also Europe’s largest concentration of LatinXs. This undertaking is conceptualized as a retrospective—a thinking piece that looks at the past, the present time, and the speculative future to postulate and assess global LatinX processes. The piece fleshes out and updates Spain’s Long Shadow’s invitation to develop new perspectives, frameworks, and scholarship on the transatlantic transcultural impetus of LatinX cultural production from South-North and West-East axes of orientation.

Late mortality among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk of late mortality (death ≥5years after diagnosis) from cancer recurrence and treatment-related late effects. The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide comprehensive estimates of late mortality risk among survivors internationally and to investigate differences in risk across world regions. Health sciences databases were searched for cohort studies comprised of 5-year childhood cancer survivors in which the risk of mortality was evaluated across multiple cancer types. Eligible studies assessed all-cause mortality risk in survivors relative to the general population using the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). The absolute excess risk (AER) was assessed as a secondary measure to examine excess deaths. Cause-specific mortality risk was also assessed, if reported. SMRs from nonoverlapping cohorts were combined in subgroup meta-analysis, and the effect of world region was tested in univariate meta-regression. Nineteen studies were included, and cohort sizes ranged from 314 to 77,423 survivors. Throughout survivorship, SMRs for all-cause mortality generally declined, whereas AERs increased after 15-20years from diagnosis in several cohorts. All-cause SMRs were significantly lower overall in North American studies than in European studies (relative SMR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.80). SMRs for subsequent malignant neoplasms and for cardiovascular, respiratory, and external causes did not vary significantly between world regions. The current findings suggest that late mortality risk may differ significantly between world regions, but these conclusions are based on a limited number of studies with considerable heterogeneity. Reasons for regional differences remain unclear but may be better elucidated through future analyses of individual-level data.

Learning to Speak Chinese: Defining the Sino-American Film Paradigm

This article proposes a new paradigm, Sino-American film, that is centered on Chinese language in American films. Sino-American films comprise two generations. The First Generation includes Pushing Hands (1993), Take Out (2004), and Saving Face (2004) and is characterized by independent production, limited distribution, and creation during a period when Asian Americans were rarely represented on film. The Second Generation includes The Farewell (2019), Tigertail (2019), Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (2021), and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and is characterized by a Hollywood production model, widespread distribution across streaming services, and creation during a period of growing Asian American cultural representation. Sino-American films negotiate both Chinese-language film and Hollywood by focusing on overlooked characters— Chinese-language-speaking Americans. This article contributes to conversations in Chinese film studies and Asian American studies by bringing Asian American film into exchanges with three Chinese film studies paradigms: transnational cinema, Chinese-language film, and Sinophone film. This cross pollination uncovers new areas for further study. Sino-American film demonstrates the importance of Sino-American language, ethnicity, and culture within the subsuming category of Asian American film. Furthermore, pairing Sino-American films with Chinese film studies uncovers a new category of Chinese-language film outside assumed contexts and paradigms.

P.B. Umansky as a Scholar and Pedagogue: The Origins of American Studies in Kazan

Petr Borisovich Umansky (1930–1993), a distinguished scholar and Kazan University lecturer in the latter half of the 20th century, stands out as a key figure in the Kazan school of world history and American studies in Russia. After graduating from university in 1952, he was mentored by another famous Soviet historian, G.R. Levin. In 1962, he defended his Сandidate’s dissertation titled “F. Douglas and the abolitionist movement in the United States between the 1830s and 1850s” at the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute. He later became widely recognized as the founder of the study of American historiography of the War of Independence. His works were featured in the publications of Kazan University and major central journals like “Novaya i Noveishaya Istoriya”, “Voprosy Istorii”, and “Istoriya i Istoriki”. He also actively participated in various scientific gatherings, such as the First All-Union Historiographical Conference and the First Symposium of Americanists in Moscow. At Kazan University, P.B. Umansky played a vital role in shaping the school of researchers specializing in American studies. Many of his former students now teach at his alma mater and continue to pass down their knowledge to new generations of historians. With a career spanning from the 1950s until his death, P.B. Umansky was widely hailed as one of the top international lecturers in Tatarstan. The article is supplemented with the memoirs of the historian’s son, E.P. Umansky.

Organizing Democracy: How International Organizations Assist New Democracies (by Paul Poast and Johannes Urpelainen)

Organizing Democracy: How International Organizations Assist New Democracies (by Paul Poast and Johannes Urpelainen)

«...ЦЕ ДИВО, ЩО МИ НЕ НАРОБИЛИ ПОМИЛОК ЩЕ БІЛЬШЕ»: ГАРРІ ГОПКІНС І ПОЧАТОК ПРОГРАМ «НОВОГО КУРСУ» (1933–1935 рр.)

The article deals with the social programs in the United States initiated in the first years of the reforms by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, known as the New Deal. The purpose of this study was to analyze the activity of Harry Hopkins in 1933–1935 with the intention of presenting the author’s evaluation of its outcomes. Methodology. The research is based on the traditional narrative history method, along with source criticism, and examines the topic in terms of chronology. The author studied multiple sources to present the historical context of the events, validate the claims in historiography, and formulate her own interpretation of the presented problem in U.S. history. The study referred to the archival and library collections of the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS) in Middelburg, the Netherlands. The author used microfilms and technical equipment at the RIAS while working with primary sources (documents, letters, diaries, newspaper articles, etc.). Novelty of the research. The article covers a topic unrepresented in Ukrainian American studies before. It also stands out for appealing to the early period of the New Deal and Harry Hopkins’ role in it (1933–1935), while other works (by American authors first of all) often deal with a broader and, therefore, more generalized context. In conclusion, the author summarized her findings on Harry Hopkins’ leadership in 1933–1935 as head of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. And emphasized the outcomes of the federal relief programs for the unemployed and poor in the frames of FERA, noting that they were often contradictory yet pivotal for shaping the social policies of the U.S. government in the New Deal era.

Caracterização histopatológica e análise de proliferação celular em 162 casos de mastocitoma subcutâneo em cães no Brasil

ABSTRACT: There are limited publications about canine subcutaneous mast cell tumors (MCT). International studies have shown that subcutaneous MCT has longer survival times than cutaneous MCT, with lower recurrence and metastasis rates. In addition, subcutaneous MCT has a specific histopathological classification (circumscribed, combined, or infiltrative pattern). Our study evaluated 162 cases of subcutaneous MCT diagnosed from 2014 to 2017 in Brazil. The mean age of the animals was 8.6 years, with a predominance of females and higher incidence in dogs with mixed breed (n=40), followed by Boxer (n=20), Labrador Retriever (n=14), Golden Retriever (n=11) and Pug (n=10). Regarding histopathological characterization, the most common infiltrative pattern represented 54.3% of cases, followed by circumscribed (34.8%) and combined (11%) patterns. The mean mitotic index (MI) was 1.04, with 93.9% of cases presenting MI≤4 and 53.1% MI=0. The data found in this Brazilian study regarding subcutaneous MCT does not differ from those described in American studies, suggesting similar genetic and epidemiological factors. The evaluated proliferation indices suggest that subcutaneous MCT presents slow progression and should be evaluated as a distinct form of cutaneous MCT.