Traditional Culture Research Articles

Patshitinikutau Natukunisha Tshishennuat Uitshuau (a place for Elders to spend their last days in life): a qualitative study about Innu perspectives on end-of-life care.

Indigenous palliative persons and their families often have different values, spiritual traditions, and practices from Western culture and Canadian health systems. Additionally, many healthcare policies and practices have been established without adequate consultation of the Indigenous populations they are meant to serve. This can result in barriers to Innu receiving culturally safe end-of-life care. Innu community leaders from Sheshatshiu, Labrador, have identified a need for further research in this area. The purpose of this study is to: (1) describe the cultural and spiritual practices related to death and dying of the Innu in Sheshatshiu; (2) identify aspects of current end-of-life care delivery that serve and/or fail to meet the cultural and spiritual needs of the Innu in Sheshatshiu; and (3) explore ways to integrate current end-of-life care delivery practices with Innu cultural and spiritual practices to achieve culturally safer care delivery for the Innu. This qualitative patient-oriented research study was co-led by Innu investigators and an Innu advisory committee to conduct semi-structured interviews of 5 healthcare providers and 6 decision-makers serving the community of Sheshatshiu and a focus group of 5 Innu Elders in Sheshatshiu. Data was analyzed thematically from verbatim transcripts. The codebook, preliminary themes, and final themes were all reviewed by Innu community members, and any further input from them was then incorporated. Quotations in this article are attributed to Innu Elders by name at the Elders' request. The findings are described using eight themes, which describe the following: relationships and visitation support a "peaceful death"; traditional locations of death and dying; the important role of friends and community in providing care; flexibility and communication regarding cultural practices; adequate and appropriate supports and services; culturally-informed policies and leadership; and Innu care providers and patient navigators. The Innu in Sheshatshiu have a rich culture that contributes to the health, care, and overall well-being of Innu people approaching end of life. Western medicine is often beneficial in the care that it provides; however, it becomes culturally unsafe when it fails to take Innu cultural and spiritual knowledge and traditions into account.

Clinical applications of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in the identification of pathogens in periprosthetic joint infections: a retrospective study.

This study aimed to evaluate the application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) technology to identify pathogens in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). A retrospective analysis was conducted on 65 patients suspected of having PJI between April 2020 and July 2023. The patients were categorized into PJI (46 patients) and non-PJI (19 patients) groups based on the 2018 International Consensus Meeting criteria. Clinical data were collected, and both conventional bacterial culture and mNGS were performed. The diagnostic performance of the two methods was compared and analyzed. mNGS exhibited a sensitivity of 89.13%, a specificity of 94.74%, a positive predictive value of 97.62%, a negative predictive value of 78.26%, and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 90.77%. Compared to microbial culture, mNGS demonstrated superior diagnostic sensitivity while maintaining similar specificity. A total of 48 pathogens were successfully identified using mNGS, with Coagulase-negative staphylococci, Streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, and Cutibacterium acnes being the most common infectious agents. Notably, mNGS was used to identify 17 potential pathogens in 14 culture-negative PJI samples, highlighting its ability to detect rare infectious agents, including Cutibacterium acnes (n = 5), Granulicatella adiacens (n = 1), Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (n = 1), and Coxiella burnetii (n = 1), among others, which are not detectable by routine culture methods. However, mNGS failed to detect the pathogen in 4 culture-positive PJI patients, indicating its limitations. Among the 46 PJI patients, 27 had positive culture and mNGS results. The results of mNGS were concordant with those of culture at the genus level in 6 patients with PJI and at the species level in 18 patients. Furthermore, the present study revealed a significantly greater proportion of Staphylococcus aureus in the sinus tract group (45.45%) than in the non-sinus tract group (14.29%), indicating the association of this pathogen with sinus formation in PJI (P = 0.03). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of polymicrobial infections between the sinus tract group (27.27%) and the non-sinus tract group (33.33%) (P = 0.37). Metagenomic next-generation sequencing can serve as a valuable screening tool in addition to traditional culture methods to improve diagnostic accuracy through optimized culture strategies.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture, Senior Tourism and Elderly Care Industry: Analysis and Discussion on the Integrated Development Under the Background of Big Health

In the era of the rise of the concept of Big Health, traditional Chinese medicine culture, senior tourism and elderly care industry show a trend of integration. Combining traditional Chinese medicine health and ecological tourism, a new form of business is taking shape in the elderly care industry, which is the "cross-border" cooperation between traditional Chinese medicine and tourism. This paper sought to analyze the integrated development and potential of traditional Chinese medicine culture, senior tourism and elderly care industry; discuss the realistic dilemma of the integrated development under the background of big health. This Thesis makes an in-depth study on the standardization degree and influence of the integration of traditional Chinese medicine culture and Senior Tourism and Elderly Care Industry through literature review method, and reveals the problems and challenges in the current traditional Chinese medicine culture and Senior Tourism and Elderly Care Industry .The feasibility of traditional Chinese medicine culture and Senior Tourism and Elderly Care Industry was studied in depth by means of various evaluation indicators and sample survey.

An ethnography of construction and characteristics of curriculum for inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities

BackgroundInheriting excellent traditional Chinese culture is a prerequisite for ensuring the continuity of the cultural genes of the Chinese nation. However, with the historical mission of shaping the national character of the descendants of the Chinese nation, intangible cultural heritage martial arts face the problem of an unclear curriculum content construction mechanism in university inheritance and make it difficult for these martial arts to shoulder the responsibility of cultural inheritance in the era.MethodEducational ethnography as a research method is conducive to the in-depth exploration of the mechanism of curriculum content construction in the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities.ResultsResearch suggests that the construction of curriculum content for the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities relies on the form of cooperation between universities and inheritors, and form three models of curriculum content construction: off campus, on campus, and on-campus cooperation. The construction of curriculum content for off-campus inheritors belongs to the “attachment style” model, which is based on the actual needs of the inheritors and the selection of boxing types. The construction of curriculum content for inheritors on campus belongs to the “reshaping” model, which is the inheritor's “simplification and reorganization” based on traditional routines and subjective and objective conditions of inheritance. The construction of course content in school local cooperation belongs to the “integrated” model, which is the reintegration of course content by universities based on their own development characteristics and the characteristics of various martial arts.ConclusionIn the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage martial arts in universities, emphasis is placed on local knowledge, core skills, cultural traditions, and other characteristics, highlighting the excellence of its cultural inheritance. In the future, the focus of the inheritance of these martial arts in universities should be to cultivate innovative talents who are familiar with both traditional and modern martial arts.

A Comparative Study on the Painting Forms of Western Oil Painting and Chinese Ink Painting

Since modern international students introduced oil painting on a large scale to China, oil painting has been developing in China for over a hundred years. In citing the process of progress, learning, integration, and improvement, the change in titles from “Western painting” and “Western painting” to “oil painting” and then to “Chinese oil painting” indicates that oil painting, as an art form, has deeply embodied the characteristics and connotations of traditional Chinese culture. During this period, its development is closely related to the historical background of the entire China, reflecting the continuation and evolution of traditional Chinese freehand brushwork spirit in the complex and changing context of the times. This article compares oil paintings imported from abroad with domestic ink painting, taking the artistic realm of painting in both the East and the West as the starting point. The main axis that runs through them is Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting landscapes. Showcasing the similarities and differences between Chinese ink wash landscape painting and Western oil painting landscapes, Chinese landscape painting emphasizes the expression of emotions and a sense of awe and emotion towards nature, with the main idea of “learning from nature”; The Western oil painting landscape emphasizes the realism of the scenery, which is a re-creation of nature, allowing people to have a realistic feeling of being there when watching the painting. The main reason there are these differences between Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting landscapes is due to different social and cultural backgrounds and fields of consciousness.

Vascular dysfunction in hemorrhagic viral fevers: opportunities for organotypic modeling.

The hemorrhagic fever viruses (HFV) cause severe or fatal infections in humans. Named after their common symptom hemorrhage, these viruses induce significant vascular dysfunction by affecting endothelial cells, altering immunity, and disrupting the clotting system. Despite advances in treatments, such as cytokine blocking therapies, disease modifying treatment for this class of pathogen remains elusive. Improved understanding of the pathogenesis of these infections could provide new avenues to treatment. While animal models and traditional 2D cell cultures have contributed insight into the mechanisms by which these pathogens affect the vasculature, these models fall short in replicating in vivo human vascular dynamics. The emergence of microphysiological systems (MPS) offers promising avenues for modeling these complex interactions. These MPS or "organ-on-chip" models present opportunities to better mimic human vascular responses and thus aid in treatment development. In this review, we explore the impact of HFV on the vasculature by causing endothelial dysfunction, blood clotting irregularities, and immune dysregulation. We highlight how existing MPS have elucidated features of HFV pathogenesis as well as discuss existing knowledge gaps and the challenges in modeling these interactions using MPS. Understanding the intricate mechanisms of vascular dysfunction caused by HFV is crucial in developing therapies not only for these infections, but also for other vasculotropic conditions like sepsis.

Basic models to advanced systems: harnessing the power of organoids-based microphysiological models of the human brain.

Understanding the complexities of the human brain's function in health and disease is a formidable challenge in neuroscience. While traditional models like animals offer valuable insights, they often fall short in accurately mirroring human biology and drug responses. Moreover, recent legislation has underscored the need for more predictive models that more accurately represent human physiology. To address this requirement, human-derived cell cultures have emerged as a crucial alternative for biomedical research. However, traditional static cell culture models lack the dynamic tissue microenvironment that governs human tissue function. Advanced in vitro systems, such as organoids and Microphysiological systems (MPS), bridge this gap by offering more accurate representations of human biology. Organoids, which are three-dimensional miniaturized organ-like structures derived from stem cells, exhibit physiological responses akin to native tissues, but lack essential tissue-specific components such as functional vascular structures and immune cells. Recent endeavors have focused on incorporating endothelial cells and immune cells into organoids to enhance vascularization, maturation, and disease modeling. MPS, including organ-on-chip technologies, integrate diverse cell types and vascularization under dynamic culture conditions, revolutionizing brain research by bridging the gap between in vitro and in vivo models. In this review, we delve into the evolution of MPS, with a particular focus on highlighting the significance of vascularization in enhancing the viability, functionality, and disease modeling potential of organoids. By examining the interplay of vasculature and neuronal cells within organoids, we can uncover novel therapeutic targets and gain valuable insights into disease mechanisms, offering the promise of significant advancements in neuroscience and improved patient outcomes.&#xD.

Educators’ Subjectivities in Localising Global Citizenship Education: A Chinese Case

ABSTRACT Global citizenship education (GCE) encounters epistemic barriers in curriculum localisation, which, from a semiotic perspective, are related to educators’ subjectivation process. By choosing a Chinese case based on six secondary schools on the east coast of China, this paper builds on previous efforts to investigate how principals’ (n = 6) and teachers’ (n = 10) subjectivation process could influence their comprehension of the concept of GCE. The focus of this paper is on distinguishing the subjectivities in participants’ interviews that related to their perceptions and planning of the curriculum. The findings of the study included qualitative feedback, which was later categorised into three themes: the communitarian subjectivity, the hybrid subjectivity and the assimilated subjectivity. The three forms of subjectivity exposed the vulnerability inherent in participants’ efforts to localize GCE. This study demonstrated a specific epistemic condition that challenges the prevailing discourse, suggesting that defending traditional culture does not always serve the purpose of promoting cultural diversity on a global scale.

Identity Politics as Lingua Franca?

Abstract Although identity politics dates back to the 1960 s, it has acquired a new urgency since the ascendance of Black Lives Matter in the late 2010 s. And while identity politics, as a critical framework, was developed in the United States, its rhetoric has since been taken up in much of the rest of the world. This article argues that the terminology of US-style identity politics is especially ill-suited to Germany, a country in which race does not exist as a legal category, and discrimination and inequality do not revolve around a Black/white axis. It points out, moreover, that the German appropriation of certain words and concepts – such as diversity, political correctness, cancel culture, woke, intersectionality, and others – clashes both with their usage and meaning in the US and with the demographic changes that have transformed post-Second World War German culture. In order to illustrate this clash, this article compares Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A Strange Loop (2019) with Yael Ronen’s Slippery Slope (2021), a critically acclaimed musical performed in English at Berlin’s Maxim Gorki Theater. It critiques Slippery Slope’s appropriation of the buzzwords of identity politics and notes with regret that German theatres are ill-equipped to perform the plays of the most important playwrights working in the US today, a new generation of African American writers, including Jackson, whose work is steeped in the performance traditions of Black American cultures.

The ethics of research informed consent from the Kyrgyz perspective: A qualitative study.

To ensure informed consent is tailored to ethnic Asian communities, it is necessary to establish an ethical foundation that is relevant to the specific populations. We hypothesized that certain communitarian factors unique to traditional Kyrgyz culture may influence an individual's decision to participate in research. Guided by Seedhouse's (2005) Rational Field Theory, we conducted qualitative, in-depth interviews with cultural experts in Kyrgyzstan to identify the ethical foundations of decision-making for informed consent in Kyrgyz culture. The results indicate that Kyrgyz people have a distinctive decision-making style influenced by their nomadic culture and history, which values and prioritizes family integrity and reputation. These findings indicate that a multidimensional approach based on socio-cultural sensitivities is necessary to assess the appropriateness of consent procedures. We believe our results may have implications for revising the guidelines of local and regional research ethics committees in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries.

Expressing the Spatial Concepts of Interior Spaces in Residential Buildings of Huizhou, China: Narrative Methods of Wood-Carving Imagery

In the interiors of ancient Huizhou buildings in China, a profusion of wood carvings are employed for decoration, with traditional research interpreting their function from decorative and aesthetic perspectives. However, this research suggests that the role of Huizhou wood carvings in interior spaces surpasses mere decoration; they enhance the expression and experience of spatial concepts through narrative imagery. By analyzing the mechanism and intrinsic logic behind the spatial concepts formed in Huizhou residential buildings, this study investigates how wood-carving imagery contributes to shaping spatial concepts through narrative techniques, as well as their creativity and expressiveness in architectural design. Utilizing literature reviews, field surveys for case selection, and case analysis methods combined with observation, interviews, and measurements, this research ultimately employs image analysis to interpret the narrative structures and styles of wood-carving imagery in detail. This study reveals that (1) the spatial concepts of Huizhou residential buildings are influenced by traditional thought, social culture, and other factors, leading to an interweaving of material, cultural, and social spaces that results in a spatial concept characterized by harmony between heaven and humanity, clear hierarchy, and orderliness; (2) Huizhou wood-carvings, through their narrative images, actively engage in the production of spatial concepts, employing thematic juxtaposition narrative modes and utilizing singular-scene narration, composite-scene narration, and cyclical narration to articulate these concepts. These findings significantly deepen our comprehension of the relationship between the spatial concepts of Huizhou’s traditional residential architecture and social culture. By integrating cultural elements with spatial production theory, this research addresses the limitations of existing studies and augments their theoretical interpretative power. Additionally, clarifying the connection between the cultural elements of wood-carving imagery and the formation of spatial concepts offers a novel perspective on the study of Huizhou wood carvings, moving beyond their longstanding categorization as purely decorative elements.

Systematic literature review on the nexus of food waste, food loss and cultural background

PurposeThe present paper aims to reveal how different cultures, as reflected by cultural norms, traditions, and social expectations, influence food waste behaviour in different regions of the world.Design/methodology/approachA systematic multifaceted literature review was employed as a main research tool.FindingsThe focal role of education and awareness campaigns in reducing household food waste and promoting responsible food consumption behaviours is revealed. The importance of guilt, behavioural control, negative attitudes towards leftovers, and social norms are among the most important factors predicting intentions to reduce food waste. Cultural beliefs significantly shape food attitudes and waste. Tailoring sustainable practices to traditions helps to ensure food security. Embracing cultural diversity can lead to the development of effective and sustainable food consumption patterns across different parts of the world.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper fully devoted to revealing how different cultural backgrounds shape food consumption habits and which marketing strategies aiming to nudge positive changes in responsible food consumption are preferred in different cultural contexts.

Haptic and deep sensing in ballet class

ABSTRACT Different cultural traditions about the sensory domain of tactility can lead groups of people to categorize the senses differently. This research explores how professional dancers in their social relations learn sensorially through touch at three London institutions and offers new perspectives on how touch compose part of the dancers’ shifting sensoria and the epistemology of the culture of their ballet class. Drawing on de Sousa Santos (2018) development of the concept of corazonar and Borda’s (2015, 10) notion of “sentipensar” (feeling-thinking) I discuss how dancers feel touch, how other sensorial modalities intersect with touch and how the variants of touch/being touched influence learning. In my study the dancer’s ways of knowing are inscribed in social relations by combining the feeling/thinking, reason, and love in emotions/affects indicating a deeper understanding of the confluence of various senses. The methodology involved four years of ethnographic observations, my active participation in professional ballet classes and interviews with dancers.

SCIENTIFIC FOREIGN LANGUAGE ETIQUETTE AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN FORMING THE HUMANITARIAN CULTURE OF FUTURE TEACHERS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

SCIENTIFIC FOREIGN LANGUAGE ETIQUETTE AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN FORMING THE HUMANITARIAN CULTURE OF FUTURE TEACHERS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Sonication protocols and their contributions to the microbiological diagnosis of implant-associated infections: a review of the current scenario

Addressing the existing problem in the microbiological diagnosis of infections associated with implants and the current debate about the real power of precision of sonicated fluid culture (SFC), the objective of this review is to describe the methodology and analyze and compare the results obtained in current studies on the subject. Furthermore, the present study also discusses and suggests the best parameters for performing sonication. A search was carried out for recent studies in the literature (2019-2023) that addressed this research topic. As a result, different sonication protocols were adopted in the studies analyzed, as expected, and consequently, there was significant variability between the results obtained regarding the sensitivity and specificity of the technique in relation to the traditional culture method (periprosthetic tissue culture – PTC). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) and Staphylococcus aureus were identified as the main etiological agents by SFC and PTC, with SFC being important for the identification of pathogens of low virulence that are difficult to detect. Compared to chemical biofilm displacement methods, EDTA and DTT, SFC also produced variable results. In this context, this review provided an overview of the most current scenarios on the topic and theoretical support to improve sonication performance, especially with regard to sensitivity and specificity, by scoring the best parameters from various aspects, including sample collection, storage conditions, cultivation methods, microorganism identification techniques (both phenotypic and molecular) and the cutoff point for colony forming unit (CFU) counts. This study demonstrated the need for standardization of the technique and provided a theoretical basis for a sonication protocol that aims to achieve the highest levels of sensitivity and specificity for the reliable microbiological diagnosis of infections associated with implants and prosthetic devices, such as prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). However, practical application and additional complementary studies are still needed.

Utilizing stem cell-secreted molecules as a versatile toolbox for skin regenerative medicine

Stem cells are recognized as an important target and tool in regenerative engineering. In this study, we explored the feasibility of engineering amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cell-secreted molecules (afMSC-SMs) as a versatile bioactive material for skin regenerative medicine applications in a time- and cost-efficient and straightforward manner. afMSC-SMs, obtained in powder form through ethanol precipitation, effectively contributed to preserving the self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential of primary human keratinocytes (pKCs) in a xeno-free environment, offering a potential alternative to traditional culture methods for their long-term in vitro expansion, and allowed them to reconstitute a fully stratified epithelium sheet on human dermal fibroblasts. Furthermore, we demonstrated the flexibility of afMSC-SMs in wound healing and hair regrowth through injectable hydrogel and nanogel-mediated transdermal delivery systems, respectively, expanding the pool of regenerative applications. This cell-free approach may offer several potential advantages, including streamlined manufacturing processes, scalability, controlled formulation, longer shelf lives, and mitigation of risks associated with living cell transplantation. Accordingly, afMSC-SMs could serve as a promising therapeutic toolbox for advancing cell-free regenerative medicine, simplifying their broad applicability in various clinical settings.

ANEKA DISRUPSI PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA ARAB DI PONDOK PESANTREN

<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>Islamic boarding schools, as traditional Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia, play a central role in preserving and promoting Islamic religious and cultural traditions. One of the important elements of education in Islamic boarding schools is the teaching of Arabic. Arabic is not only a means of understanding the teachings of Islam but also a gateway to the rich intellectual heritage of the Islamic world. This qualitative research uses open questionnaires as a data collection technique. The questionnaires were distributed to Arabic teachers in seven Islamic boarding schools in Situbondo. The results cite the strengths of Islamic boarding schools in the form of their long-standing tradition of teaching Arabic and Islamic culture, the presence of knowledgeable teachers, a focus on memorizing the Quran, and a communal learning environment. However, weaknesses in the traditional curriculum may overlook practical aspects such as the use of digital technology in Arabic language learning in the modern world. To improve Arabic language learning in Islamic boarding schools, it is important to address the practical aspects of the language, maximize opportunities for collaboration and adoption of technology, and address challenges such as cultural and social change and competition from formal educational institutions offering Arabic language instruction.</em></p>

Apple Fruit Disease Classification using Naive Bayes Algorithm

Apples are one of the most productive varieties of fruit in the world, with a high nutritional and medicinal value. However, numerous diseases affect apple production on a wide scale, resulting in significant economic losses. These diseases often go overlooked until just before, after, or after fruit has been processed. Many pathogens can be avoided with cultural traditions and (optional) fungicides, even if there are no cures for tainted fruit. However, accurate diagnosis is essential for determining the right management practices and preventing further losses. Apple scab, apple rot, and apple blotch are some of the most prevalent diseases that affect apples. The proposed approach will greatly aid in the automated identification and classification of apple diseases, according to our test results. We discovered that normal apples were easy to discern from diseased apples in our trial, and that the texture-based GLCM function produced more reliable results for apple disease classification, with a classification accuracy of more than 96.43 percent. This demonstrates that combining the GLCM extraction function with naive bayes classification will greatly improve accuracy. Key Words: Naive bayes, Apple Diseases, Classifier

From Aristocrat to Religionist: Kyai Pati and Islamic Renaissance in 16th-Century Semarang

Semarang is a city with a sizeable Muslim population in Central Java Province, Indonesia. In 2022, the Muslim population in Semarang will reach 87.38%, and this indicates that the role of the Muslim community in various areas of life cannot be underestimated. Reading the history of Islamization in Semarang, a unique name will emerge: Wasis Jaya Kusuma, known as Kyai Pati; this figure is a symbol of concrete identity change in the life of traditional Javanese society in the 16th century. This change occurred because of his bitter life experience, being defeated in the war against the Islamic Mataram Kingdom under the leadership of Panembahan Senopati. Finally, he changed from being a nobleman to becoming a religionist who devoted himself to the people of the South Semarang area. This life story is a humanitarian phenomenon that is important to reflect from a global perspective that war can change a person's identity. Advantage or disadvantage, this change in identity has placed someone like Kyai Pati in a respected position; through the path of Syiar, he has become an essential part of the history of Islamization in Semarang.

An analysis of the development path of ethnic villages under the protection of traditional Jiarong culture

An analysis of the development path of ethnic villages under the protection of traditional Jiarong culture