This paper examines the early history of Black basketball—the Black Fives Era (1904–1950)—as a pedagogical movement shaped by segregation, racial violence, and the persistent myth of Black intellectual inferiority. Using the Black Intellectual Legacy Model (BILM) as an interpretive framework, I position basketball not as “sports for sports’ sake,” but as labor in motion: an intellectual, moral, and communal practice through which Black communities cultivated academic identity, achievement motivation, and leadership development. In this study, the court functions as a classroom—an institutional space where mind, body, and spirit converged in the service of racial uplift, self-determination, and collective responsibility. Drawing on the YMCA movement, muscular Christianity, and the Black Value System (BVS), the paper argues that early Black teams and clubs transformed physical culture into a disciplined strategy for institution-building and social survival. Gymnasiums, churches, schools, and Black YMCAs became structured environments of mentorship, character formation, and critical consciousness, especially during the “nadir” of race relations. Within these spaces, Black educators and organizers used basketball to teach cooperation, restraint, strategic thinking, self-control, and perseverance—qualities linked to civic participation and the demands of higher learning. By tracing the intellectual and cultural foundations of the Black Fives movement, this paper reframes early Black basketball institutions as living educational ecosystems that transmitted cultural capital across generations. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that Black athletic excellence and Black academic development were historically intertwined, forming a tradition of holistic education grounded in discipline, dignity, and collective uplift—an enduring legacy that continues to inform culturally responsive pedagogy and contemporary debates about education, identity, and freedom.
Myrmecomorphy is the most common type of Batesian mimicry in arthropods. In the true bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera), myrmecomorphy has been recorded in at least seven superfamilies, but not among the stink bugs (Pentatomoidea) until 2014. The only known species that exhibits a high degree of myrmecomorphy during both the adult and nymphal stages within this group, Pentamyrmex spinosus, was reported based on a single specimen, yet little was known beyond its morphological description. In this study, the biology of this species is reported as living in bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae), in close proximity with a highly similar ant species, Polyrhachis dives (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Further, the phylogenetic position and the origin time of this stink bug species were inferred in the context of Pentatomoidea. The dated phylogeny indicates that Pentamyrmex spinosus is the sister group of Phyllocephalinae, a specialized grass-feeding subfamily in Pentatomidae, and diverged about 42.7 Ma (52.6-33.2 Ma), roughly synchronous with the radiation of the crown group of Polyrhachis ants (42.0-33.0 Ma) and slightly after the early radiation of bamboos (66.9-24.9 Ma). Our results suggest that the origin of this myrmecomorphic stink bug was probably driven by the rapid diversification of spiny ants and bamboo. In addition, our results also provide a reference framework for the phylogenetic and taxonomic systems of Pentatomoidea and Pentatomidae.
The inclusion of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impacts on informal carers in health technology assessments (HTAs) is lacking due, primarily, to a deficiency in evidence and methodological issues on how informal carer HRQoL is captured and incorporated into economic models. These issues are magnified in areas of significant burden, such as caring for children and adolescents with rare, progressive, life-limiting conditions. In this commentary we outline key challenges in measuring, and incorporating in HTA submissions, informal carer HRQoL data in rare, progressive, paediatric, life-limiting conditions and identify future research priorities in this space. We argue that: (i) a generic model of carer HRQoL is likely inadequate to characterise the HRQoL impacts in this population; (ii) the underlying evidence-base is underdeveloped, including understanding commonalities across conditions, impact beyond the primary carer, and differences over time; and (iii) methodological challenges in modelling informal carer HRQoL in cost-effectiveness analysis are inhibiting progress. A research agenda is proposed that addresses these challenges by focusing first on in-depth qualitative research to develop an appropriate, content valid 'disease-group-specific' model for understanding informal carer HRQoL in rare, progressive, paediatric, life-limiting conditions. This model can be used to inform the appropriate measurement of carer HRQoL in this population, which, alongside methodological research on addressing modelling challenges, can help to facilitate the recommended inclusion of informal carer HRQoL data in HTA submissions for children and adolescents living with rare, progressive, life-limiting conditions.
e19004 Background: CAR T-cell therapy, which involves engineering a patient's T-cells with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to target and eliminate cancer cells, has revolutionized treatment for hematological malignancies By bypassing MHC restrictions ,CAR T-cells effectively target antigens such as CD19 and BCMA, achieving high response rates even in relapsed/refractory cases However, challenges such as severe toxicities (cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity) prolonged cytopenias, high costs and limited accessibility persist. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated CAR T-cell therapy in relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and clinical trial registries identified 27 studies. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and clinical trials reporting overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) response rates, and adverse events Four reviewers extracted data and assessed bias using the Cochrane tool. Statistical analyses included Cox Proportional Hazards models and Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Limitations included dataset imbalance (n = 27; p = 345) affecting generalizability. Results: Survival outcomes: Median OS was 15.6 months (95% CI: 13.1–18.7), with 2- and 1-year survival rates of 45% and 65% respectively. Median PFS was 12.2 months (95% CI: 10.4–14.8). Efficacy: Complete remission occurred in 59% with a median response duration of 8.3 months. Safety profile: CRS occurred in 100% of patients, with severe cases (Grade 3–4) in 50% mild to moderate 40.6% and fatal CRS in 9.37%. Neurotoxicity affected 22%, resolving in 2.1 months. Late-onset cytopenias occurred in 37%, resolving in 6.8 months. Re-hospitalization for toxicity management occurred in 26.3%. Quality-of-life analysis revealed significant improvements in emotional and physical well-being. Exploratory analyses showed no significant age impact on OS or PFS but poorer survival was observed in patients with secondary malignancies (HR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.21–2.75, p = 0.008). Conclusions: This systematic review underscore the significant long-term benefits and challenges of CD19 CAR-T cell therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The therapy demonstrates a promising outcome, achieving durable remissions and high response rates in heavily pretreated patients. Toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity, remain substantial but largely manageable, with most late-onset toxicities resolving within 6.8 months. These findings highlight the transformative potential of CD19 CAR-T therapy as a durable treatment option for relapsed or refractory DLBCL. However, improved toxicity management and long-term follow-up protocols are essential to optimize outcomes and address relapse risks. CRS Grade Frequency Percentage Mild to Moderate (Grade A) 13 40.63% Severe (Grade B) 16 50.00% Fatal (Grade C) 3 9.37%
