Earlier Article Research Articles

Assessment of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship, Phase 2: Impact on the Research Productivity and Careers of Academic Librarians

Objective – This article reports on the qualitative phase of a two-phase sequential mixed-methods study to assess the first six years of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL), a continuing education program for academic and research librarians. The study is designed to assess the effectiveness of IRDL in meeting short-term and long-term programmatic objectives related to the research productivity, job performance, and professional identities of the participants in the program. Methods – In this second part of a two-phase study, the authors conducted focus group and individual interviews with 37 IRDL participants (hereafter called Scholars) and coded the resulting transcripts. The first phase of the study surveyed all 124 program participants; the results were reported in an earlier article in this journal. The second-phase interviews were conducted and then coded using a deductive process. The researchers identified transcript excerpts that explored the concepts of research productivity, job performance, and identity as a researcher. Each of these concepts was further sub-coded to explore the four sources of self-efficacy, as described in Albert Bandura’s theory: mastery experiences; verbal or social persuasion; vicarious experiences; and physiological and affective states. Results – The majority of the conversations in both the in-depth individual interviews and the focus group interviews centered around research productivity; approximately 70% of the transcript excerpts from focus groups and 55% of the individual interviews addressed issues related to productivity. Participants also discussed the impact of IRDL on their job performance and their identify as researchers. Gaining research confidence had a notable positive impact on job performance related to classroom teaching and supporting researchers. Within these areas of conversation, all sources of self-efficacy were evident, but the most frequently noted were influences related to mastery learning and social persuasion, through mentorship and becoming part of a peer research community. Conclusion – The findings from the focus groups and in-depth interviews deepen the meaning of the results from the quantitative phase of our IRDL assessment research. The participants in the study reported both frustration and satisfaction with conducting their research. A supportive environment focused on helping librarians gain needed research skills, practice those skills, and become part of a research community contributes to research confidence and productivity, improved job performance, and identity as a researcher. The findings of this study have implications for developing librarians as researchers, including the importance of a supportive work environment, research mentoring, and the positive influence of becoming part of a research community.

Identification of two mutant JASON-RELATED genes associated with unreduced pollen production in potato

Key messageMultiple QTLs control unreduced pollen production in potato. Two major-effect QTLs co-locate with mutant alleles of genes with homology to AtJAS, a known regulator of meiotic spindle orientation.In diploid potato the production of unreduced gametes with a diploid (2n) rather than a haploid (n) number of chromosomes has been widely reported. Besides their evolutionary important role in sexual polyploidisation, unreduced gametes also have a practical value for potato breeding as a bridge between diploid and tetraploid germplasm. Although early articles argued for a monogenic recessive inheritance, the genetic basis of unreduced pollen production in potato has remained elusive. Here, three diploid full-sib populations were genotyped with an amplicon sequencing approach and phenotyped for unreduced pollen production across two growing seasons. We identified two minor-effect and three major-effect QTLs regulating this trait. The two QTLs with the largest effect displayed a recessive inheritance and an additive interaction. Both QTLs co-localised with genes encoding for putative AtJAS homologs, a key regulator of meiosis II spindle orientation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The function of these candidate genes is consistent with the cytological phenotype of mis-oriented metaphase II plates observed in the parental clones. The alleles associated with elevated levels of unreduced pollen showed deleterious mutation events: an exonic transposon insert causing a premature stop, and an amino acid change within a highly conserved domain. Taken together, our findings shed light on the natural variation underlying unreduced pollen production in potato and will facilitate interploidy breeding by enabling marker-assisted selection for this trait.

Kobieta z drugiego planu. Katarzyna Konstancja z Niszczyckich Towiańska i jej polityczna działalność w burzliwych czasach przełomu XVII i XVIII w.

A woman in the background. Katarzyna Konstancja Towiańska, née Niszczycka, and her political activity in the turbulent period of the late 17th and early 18th century The article deals with the figure of Katarzyna Konstancja Towiańska, née Niszczycka, a relative of Primate Michał Stefan Radziejowski. Its purpose is to shed light on Towiańska’s activities and her unofficial influence on the clergyman’s political endeavours in 1680–1705. They were associated with the events of the interregnum following the death of John III in 1696, when Radziejowski found himself in the party supporting the French candidate. Towiańska played a key role during the interregnum from the point of view of canvassing for support, then the split election and finally the Łowicz Rebellion. In the following years, during the reign of Augustus II, Towiańska engaged in political manoeuvring, at one time declaring allegiance to the monarch, at another showing deference to his opponents and even favouring the idea of dethroning the monarch and electing his successor, designated by Charles XII. However, Towiańska’s political activity in the background was much broader in scope and included patronage for offices and in the affairs of the clergy, matchmaking in marriages that determined political sympathies, and attendance at public events in the presence of the king. For services rendered, Towiańska and her family received specific favours from their protector, Primate Radziejowski, in the form of official patronage, landed estates, bequests and legal protection. Concluding the article, the author sums up Towiańska’s political successes and failures, and addresses the opinion about her as the cardinal’s mistress and her influence on Radziejowski’s political plans.

Evaluation of the impact of a health-system specialty pharmacy patient management program on achieving predefined clinical outcome measures.

Specialty medications often have high costs, pose difficulties with payor approval, and require additional monitoring. Earlier articles have defined various examples of clinical outcome measures (COMs); however, goals and benchmarks have not been well defined, and a gap in the literature exists. This study evaluated the effectiveness of our health-system specialty pharmacy (HSSP) patient management program (PMP) in achieving predefined COM goals. Disease state protocols were developed within the HSSP, and clinical and adherence goals were created for each COM based on primary literature. This retrospective, single-center review examined outcomes and adherence data on patients enrolled in the PMP during 2022. The primary outcome was the number of predefined disease state COM goals met. Secondary outcomes included the number of predefined adherence goals met and annual financial impact. Of 1,431 patients whose records were reviewed, 1,053 met criteria for inclusion. The primary outcome analysis showed that 85% (33 of 39) of the predefined disease state goals were met. Predefined adherence goals were met, with an average proportion of days covered (PDC) for all specialty medications of >90%. The PMP yielded $5,167,043 in direct patient cost savings and $167,260 in cost avoidance. The PMP yielded positive results in meeting goals set for the COMs in the disease states managed within the HSSP. COMs will remain a focus for HSSPs to help patients achieve desired clinical outcomes and HSSPs adhere to accreditation standards. More research in this field and standardization of COM goals may benefit the larger HSSP community.

Типичные личностные предпосылки проблем клиентов психотерапии и ее цель в работах К. Юнга и К. Роджерса с точки зрения интегративного подхода

Background. In an earlier article (Kapustin, 2024a), as a result of the analysis of E. Fromm’s works, three basic theoretical provisions were formulated that constitute the basis of the proposed integrative approach to understanding the personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose, which allows for considering the diferent perspectives on these issues contained in the well-known theories of psychotherapy by S. Freud, A. Adler, K. Jung, C. Rogers and V. Frankl from a unifed common position. Te frst of them characterizes the objective property of human life inherent in its very nature, the second one concerns the typical personal prerequisites for the clients’ problems in psychotherapy, and the third one identifes the purpose of psychotherapy itself. Te subsequent publications (Kapustin, 2024b, 2024c), based on the analysis of the theories of S. Freud, A. Adler and V. Frankl, have demonstrated the declared possibilities of the integrative approach. Objective. To analyze theoretical ideas on the typical personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose contained in the works of K. Jung and C. Rogers from the position of an integrative approach, demonstrating its capabilities on the basis of these theories. Results. It is shown that theoretical ideas of the named authors on the typical personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose can be considered as a particular case of the more general basic provisions of the integrative approach. Conclusions. Ideas of K. Jung and C. Rogers about the typical personal prerequisites for the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose, despite obvious theoretical diferences, nevertheless allow for considering them from a unifed, common position set by the three basic provisions of the integrative approach. Tus, on the basis of these two psychotherapeutic theories, the proposed integrative approach obtains a certain theoretical justifcation for its capabilities.Background. In an earlier article (Kapustin, 2024a), as a result of the analysis of E. Fromm’s works, three basic theoretical provisions were formulated that constitute the basis of the proposed integrative approach to understanding the personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose, which allows for considering the diferent perspectives on these issues contained in the well-known theories of psychotherapy by S. Freud, A. Adler, K. Jung, C. Rogers and V. Frankl from a unifed common position. Te frst of them characterizes the objective property of human life inherent in its very nature, the second one concerns the typical personal prerequisites for the clients’ problems in psychotherapy, and the third one identifes the purpose of psychotherapy itself. Te subsequent publications (Kapustin, 2024b, 2024c), based on the analysis of the theories of S. Freud, A. Adler and V. Frankl, have demonstrated the declared possibilities of the integrative approach. Objective. To analyze theoretical ideas on the typical personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose contained in the works of K. Jung and C. Rogers from the position of an integrative approach, demonstrating its capabilities on the basis of these theories. Results. It is shown that theoretical ideas of the named authors on the typical personal prerequisites of the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose can be considered as a particular case of the more general basic provisions of the integrative approach. Conclusions. Ideas of K. Jung and C. Rogers about the typical personal prerequisites for the clients’ problems in psychotherapy and its purpose, despite obvious theoretical diferences, nevertheless allow for considering them from a unifed, common position set by the three basic provisions of the integrative approach. Tus, on the basis of these two psychotherapeutic theories, the proposed integrative approach obtains a certain theoretical justifcation for its capabilities.

Николай Минский — исследователь и переводчик Гомера: история советского издания «Илиады» (ГИХЛ, 1935 г.) и сопроводительные материалы к нему

The information for this publication comes from archival documents from the fund of A.V. Lunacharsky (Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, Moscow). These documents were prepared by N.M. Minsky (1855/1856–1937) as accompanying materials for the publication of his own (fifth) translation of the Iliad in the Soviet State Publishing House (Gosizdat). Minsky had sent these materials to Lunacharsky in 1929. The materials comprise four parts: 1) the history of the “Homeric question”; 2) the idea of the Iliad; 3) the translation of the Iliad; and 4) the latest foreign literature on the Homeric question. However, due to ideological reasons, Gosizdat banned the publication of these materials. In the “Literary Fact,” they are published and commented on for the first time. Minsky’s materials lack a strictly historical understanding of the Iliad. He searches for meanings relevant to man fin de siècle in Homer’s poem. In his early article “The Idea of the Iliad” (1896), Minsky interprets the image of Achilles in the spirit of the cult of the “superman” by F. Nietzsche. However, the horrors of the First World War convinced Minsky of the insolvency of this cult, which was reflected in the “modern mystery” “Faces of War” (1815). In the accompanying materials of 1929, Minsky emphasizes the Iliad’s humanistic pathos. He appreciates the ability of Homer’s characters to be compassionate and merciful. By 1929, Minsky’s understanding of the idea of the Iliad had changed significantly. In his opinion, the Iliad is a poem in which “Greece forever dissociated itself from barbarism and took the first step towards the future union of all mankind.”

Supply Chain Complexity and Traceability in Adverse Events Revisited: A COVID-19 Perspective

Previous research regarding complexity, traceability, and adverse events in supply chains has examined the avoidance of adverse events or the traceability of adverse events. An earlier article regarding the influence of supply network complexity on traceability of adverse events offered propositions regarding the relationships among complexity, traceability, and transparency. Utilizing covariance-based structural equation modeling techniques, we analyze data from nonfood manufacturers, gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic disruption (Summer of 2021), and test three of the propositions considering an actual catastrophic adverse event. Results are analyzed through the lens of event system theory and contingent resource-based view. In addition, we expand the model by including the variable information sharing. The results indicate that in the absence of information sharing as a mediator in the model, complexity positively impacts transparency and traceability, which contradicts some findings in the literature. When information sharing is included in the model as a mediator, the results reveal that information sharing partially mediates the complexity/transparency relationship and information sharing fully mediates the complexity/traceability relationship. We offer possible reasons for the difference from previous findings. This provides insights for companies that necessarily maintain a certain degree of complexity of their supply chains due to the nature of their products or production processes.

Retraction: Xianhong Xie, Sen Wang, Yi Ouyang and Lanqiang Li. A note on subfield subcodes and trace codes of cyclic codes. Advances in Mathematics of Communications, 2024, Early Access article, doi: 10.3934/amc.2024023

Retraction: Xianhong Xie, Sen Wang, Yi Ouyang and Lanqiang Li. A note on subfield subcodes and trace codes of cyclic codes. Advances in Mathematics of Communications, 2024, Early Access article, doi: 10.3934/amc.2024023

What Challenges Do Researchers Face in the Study of Inclusive Science Education?

The study of inclusive science education poses researchers with new challenges and tasks. There is an inherent complexity within this field as it requires understanding of science subject matter in combination with the normative demands of inclusive pedagogy. A Delphi study was conducted to systematically survey research challenges that arise in the research of inclusive science education from the perspective of experts. In the Delphi study, challenges for research on inclusive science education were identified using an exploratory approach in the first round. In the course of the following rounds, a consensus could be reached for eight challenges (> 50% agreement, IQR < 1, SD < 1.5). These included challenges known from the literature, e.g. a lack of suitable research instruments. The results also showed a change or an overcoming of challenges documented in earlier articles. For example, many experts, no longer experience a lack of research studies as a challenge. Alongside the progress made in the research field of inclusive science education, challenges still need to be addressed, such as the discrepancy between existing theoretical approaches and actual teaching practices. Future research must address these issues.

What Is the Ideal Duration for Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis?

Background: Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis practice became common in the 1970s and has since become almost universal. The earliest articles used three doses over 12 hours with the first being administered before the start of the operation. Conclusions: The duration of prophylaxis has varied widely in practice over time, but an increasing body of evidence has supported shorter durations, most recently with recommendations in influential guidelines to avoid administration after the incision is closed.

COVID-19 and cities: a systematic review of early urban studies

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered lifestyles in cities, sparking attention in the field of urban planning. While previous research has touched on this topic, a comprehensive overview of the key concerns and areas in need of further investigation is lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review and content analysis of early research articles on COVID-19 and urban planning. Our review included the top 100 journals in urban studies, based on the SJR index, and identified 63 relevant articles. We analyzed the content of these articles in terms of the publisher, research origin, methodology, scale, subject, and recommendations. Our analysis revealed that the most frequently discussed topics were urban design and landscape, followed by futurism. Additionally, we identified eight categories of recommended solutions, including the use of flexible design at the neighborhood scale, smart technologies for controlling the presence of people during the pandemic, and biophilic design strategies at the urban scale. These findings provide insights for future research and can inform planning and policy decisions for cities.

A.A. Gromyko and security policy: setting up for Helsinki

The article continues the study of the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR A.A. Gromyko in the formation, development and maintenance of security policy, its principles and structural elements. The relevance of the article is determined by the importance of strategy and strategic thinking in modern foreign policy and diplomacy, their influence on interstate cooperation, the evolution and manageability of international relations. The chronological framework is limited to the events of 1971. The importance of these events allowed the author to identify and characterise some elements of the complex and controversial process of setting up for a future conference on security and cooperation in Europe, as well as to analyse A.A. Gromyko’s strategy of in this setting. The studied materials are presented in six subsections. The scientific novelty of the first subsection lies in the consideration of the logic and features of the diplomatic game of the West. The scientific novelty of the second subsection consists of five differences in the approaches of L.I. Brezhnev and A.A. Gromyko, who could help or hinder the defense of the interests of the Soviet Union at a future conference. The scientific novelty of the third subsection lies in the consideration of the Soviet position on a conference on security and cooperation in Europe by Western diplomats. The scientific novelty of the fourth and fifth subsections was determined by the proof of the hypothesis that A.A. Gromyko had two plans - in case the conference was convened or postponed. In the fourth and fifth subsections, the author presents the main activities and expected results of «Plan A» and «Plan B». The sixth subsection is devoted to conclusions that can be classified into historical conclusions (conclusion 3) and historical and political conclusions (conclusions 1-2, 4-5). The results obtained make it possible to test hypotheses related to the influence of the personal factor (long-term holding of a responsible position; constant strengthening of influence, authority and opportunities) on foreign policy and evolutionary processes in the systems of international relations. In relation to 1971, the author discovered Soviet version of the “magnet theory” developed by A.A. Gromyko's. The sources of the article are published documents of the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the use of which can be explained methodologically. It was important for the author to conduct the analysis on the basis of the foreign partners' assessment of the statements made by the Soviet Foreign Minister during official negotiations (outer reflection). The author's reasoning should be understood in the context of his earlier article in the journal.

The law that came in from the cold.

As winter draws on it is timely to look at ways in which nurses in the community may be faced with problems, expected and unexpected, when their patients are particularly affected by cold conditions and at the precautions which need to be taken to avoid or lessen adverse effects on their health. As in the case of heat-related risks to health, examined in an earlier article, so too in the case of cold those most at risk are elderly patients and those who are vulnerable due to a pre-existing condition affecting health even in a more clement climate. Cold weather attracts extra legal responsibilities which are examined in this article.

What Self in Self-Organization? Engaging Varela's Epistemology for the Co-embodied Self

I focus on an early article by Francisco Varela, 'Not One, Not Two' (1976), to argue that his non-dualistic epistemology entails a paradigm shift towards a fundamentally co-embodied, and thus social, view of self. Varela argued that the mind–body duality could be resolved by understanding the mind as embodied. Both Varela and Evan Thompson have later elaborated on this and suggested an enactive, essentially embodied view of the self in terms of selforganized, organismic autonomy. I will argue that the enactive view of the self remains ambiguous with regards to the role of social interactions: are they constitutive for the minimal self-organization of the self or do they only play a shaping, secondary factor? I rely on Varela's epistemology in 'Not One, Not Two' to support my argument that the minimal self-organizational network that is the human self entails both individual bodily and joint co-embodied processes so that the self is already and constitutively social.

Abstract A083: A breast cancer PDX-derived cell lines preclinical platform as a tool for pharmacological screening and functional studies

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease that likely originates from different cell compartments that co-inhabit the mammary gland, with more than 20 different histology types reported. At molecular level, BCs are classified by immunohistochemistry as luminal if estrogen and/or progesterone receptor (ER and PR) are over-expressed, HER2-positive if they over-express HER2/neu receptor (encoded by ERBB2, a known proto-oncogene), or triple negative (TN) when ER and PR are not expressed with HER2 being expressed at (sub-)normal levels. The availability of an increasing number of very well molecularly annotated BC samples allows an unprecedented stratification of this disease, with numerous gene signatures published in recent years that identified additional mutational landscape and/or signaling pathway-based molecular subtypes. Despite this considerable progress in understanding the biology and genetics of this disease, the development of effective therapies is hampered by the lack of sufficient experimental models that recapitulate the genetic diversity of this disease. To tackle this issue, over the last 15 years, we have generated and well characterized a collection of 40+ breast cancer patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) that accurately reproduce BC histological and molecular heterogeneity. This preclinical panel is currently used to validate candidate anticancer drugs and has allowed for the preclinical evaluation of several drugs that are now used in the clinic. Although being an indispensable tool to complete preclinical studies, the use of PDX in vivo systems for large-scale screening during early drug discovery is hampered by ethical and economical burdens limiting the number of test articles being tested. To address this problem, we developed a panel of BC PDX-derived cell lines (PDXDCs) that we offer as a cost-effective and rapid preclinical screening tool to profile the anti-cancer activity of early test articles in medium-throughput. To date, 14 PDXDCs from various BC PDXs including TNBC, HER2+ and ER+ have been generated and tested for their in vitro response towards known anti-BC agents, used as monotherapy or in combination to study possible synergistic effects. In parallel to PDXDCs RNA/WES sequencing data matching well with the parental PDX features, we also could phenocopy in vitro the corresponding PDXs’ sensitivities to chemotherapies, PARP inhibitors, antibodies and ADC (T-DM1) therapies. These results support our PDXDCs panel as valuable in vitro tool for drug screening to help selecting drug candidates to be further validated in vivo. Citation Format: Kathleen Flosseau, Léa Sinayen, Enora Le Ven, Emilie Indersie, Ester Morgado, Laurent Pouyet, François Romagné, Olivier Déas. A breast cancer PDX-derived cell lines preclinical platform as a tool for pharmacological screening and functional studies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A083.

Future of work from everywhere: a systematic review

PurposeTeleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.Design/methodology/approachThe Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.FindingsThe major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.Practical implicationsA key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.Originality/valueA wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

Types of Analysis: Planned (prespecified) vs Post Hoc, Primary vs Secondary, Hypothesis-driven vs Exploratory, Subgroup and Sensitivity, and Others.

In research, there are different, overlapping ways in which the plan of analysis may be described. This article explains planned (prespecified) vs post hoc, primary vs secondary, hypothesis-driven vs exploratory, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses; intent-to-treat vs per-protocol vs completer analysis was explained in an earlier article in this column. A prespecified analysis is one that is outlined before the study starts; it is usually separated into primary and secondary analyses for the single primary outcome and the many secondary outcomes, respectively. Exploratory analyses examine relationships between variables in the absence of well-defined expectations; these tend to be statistical fishing expeditions. Subgroup analyses examine findings in categories of subjects in the sample. Sensitivity analyses examine whether the findings remain similar if the data are handled in a way that differs from the original plan of analysis. Post hoc analyses examine hypotheses that are conceptualized after the data are seen. All these terms are explained with the help of examples, and strengths and limitations are briefly discussed.

Epigenetics research in eye diseases: a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2023

ABSTRACT Clinical relevance A bibliometric analysis is a quantitative study that utilises methods such as citation analysis to evaluate research performance. A bibliometric analysis could provide a valuable reference for ophthalmic researchers to understand the trends in epigenetics research. Background The number of studies on epigenetics in eye diseases has exceeded 5,000, but the progress and scope of epigenetic research on eye diseases remain unclear. The study aimed to bibliometrically analyse epigenetic research conducted in eye diseases. Methods Studies concerning epigenetic research on eye diseases from 2000–2023 were searched using the Web of Science Core Collection. Following this, the included studies were analysed for citations, journals, keywords, authors, and countries, using the Bibliometrix package in R Studio. Results In total, 3758 studies were included in the analysis, including 3099 original articles, 599 reviews, 11 editorials, and 49 early access articles. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science was the most published journal with 185 articles, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America was the most cited journal, with 8727 citations. The journal with the highest h-index was Oncogene (h-index = 38).Renu A Kowluru from the Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA, had the most citations with 1,690 and the highest h-index (h-index = 23). China and the USA were the countries with the highest number of publications (1739) and total citations (40533), respectively. Furthermore, from 2000–2023, the top five frequent research topics were diabetic retinopathy, 522; microribonucleic acid, 469; retinoblastoma, 370; apoptosis, 268; and epigenetics, 206. Conclusions The results of this bibliometric study provide the current status and trends of epigenetic research in eye diseases and will help researchers identify areas of current interest in the field, which should help highlight new research directions.

Historical Development and the Funding of Libraries for the Public in the United States

To better understand the funding issues confronting public libraries today, this article examines the development of library services for the public in the United States before the emergence of the tax-supported public library in the first half of the 19th century. It follows an earlier article on the development of such services in England. Adopting a historical research methodological approach, it was found that the early types of libraries included the town book collection, the social library and the commercial circulating library, and these are described and discussed. Where possible, funding or financial issues are highlighted. The importance of philanthropic and voluntary support emerged as important factors in the establishment and maintenance of the social library in its various forms. However, it was found that neither type of support was able to sustain the existence of the social library, and this was particularly evident during difficult economic times. With the emergence of the tax-supported public library, the social library slowly declined in importance and, with a few exceptions, eventually disappeared, often being absorbed into the emerging public library system.

The Weimar/Russia Comparison Revisited

Abstract Just over a quarter-century ago, the authors published a widely read essay comparing Weimar Germany and Post-Soviet Russia in historical perspective. After Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine, comparisons of Vladimir Putin’s regime with Nazi Germany are once again tragically relevant. Reexamining our arguments from 1997 shows the continuing relevance of the variables we emphasized in that essay: the burdensome legacies of the past imperial regime, intense international pressure to marketize post-Soviet Russia’s statist economy, and Russia’s weak party system. Three main issues in our earlier article, in retrospect, required greater development: pinpointing the time span needed to assess regime change, distinguishing mobilizational and patrimonial forms of ‘anti-liberal statism,’ and exploring more fully the foreign policy options for would-be defenders of the liberal global order facing powerful revanchist challenges. We conclude that this sort of ‘replication’ of earlier research should be encouraged more often among political scientists adopting the comparative-historical approach.