bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypoalphalipoproteinemia and
BRAF
V600E
Mutation Are Major Predictors of Aortic Infiltration in the Erdheim-Chester Disease
Authors: Cohen-Aubart Fleur , Guerin Maryse , Poupel Lucie , Cluzel Philippe , Saint-Charles Flora , Charlotte Frédéric , Arsafi Youssef , Emile Jean-François , Frisdal Eric , Le Goff Carine , Donadieu Jean , Amoura Zahir , Lesnik Philippe , Haroche Julien , Le Goff Wilfried
Published: June 2018

Objective—

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis characterized by the infiltration of multiple tissues with lipid-laden histiocytes. Cardiovascular involvement is frequent in ECD and leads to a severe prognosis. The objective of this study was to determine whether an alteration of lipid metabolism participates in the lipid accumulation in histiocytes and the cardiovascular involvement in ECD.

Approach and Results—

An analysis of plasma lipid levels indicated that male ECD patients carrying the
BRAF
V600E
(B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) mutation exhibited hypoalphalipoproteinemia, as demonstrated by low plasma HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) levels. Capacity of sera from male
BRAF
V600E
ECD patients to mediate free cholesterol efflux from human macrophages was reduced compared with control individuals. Cardiovascular involvement was detected in 84% of the ECD patients, and we reported that the presence of the
BRAF
V600E
mutation and hypoalphalipoproteinemia is an independent determinant of aortic infiltration in ECD. Phenotyping of blood CD14
+
cells, the precursors of histiocytes, enabled the identification of a specific inflammatory signature associated with aortic infiltration which was partially affected by the HDL phenotype. Finally, the treatment with vemurafenib, an inhibitor of the
BRAF
V600E
mutation, restored the defective sera cholesterol efflux capacity and reduced the aortic infiltration.

Conclusions—

Our findings indicate that hypoalphalipoproteinemia in male ECD patients carrying the
BRAF
V600E
mutation favors the formation of lipid-laden histiocytes. In addition, we identified the
BRAF
status and the HDL phenotype as independent determinants of the aortic involvement in ECD with a potential role of HDL in modulating the infiltration of blood CD14
+
cells into the aorta.
Metabolic Coordination of Physiological and Pathological Cardiac Remodeling
Authors: Gibb Andrew A. , Hill Bradford G.
Published: June 2018

Metabolic pathways integrate to support tissue homeostasis and to prompt changes in cell phenotype. In particular, the heart consumes relatively large amounts of substrate not only to regenerate ATP for contraction but also to sustain biosynthetic reactions for replacement of cellular building blocks. Metabolic pathways also control intracellular redox state, and metabolic intermediates and end products provide signals that prompt changes in enzymatic activity and gene expression. Mounting evidence suggests that the changes in cardiac metabolism that occur during development, exercise, and pregnancy as well as with pathological stress (eg, myocardial infarction, pressure overload) are causative in cardiac remodeling. Metabolism-mediated changes in gene expression, metabolite signaling, and the channeling of glucose-derived carbon toward anabolic pathways seem critical for physiological growth of the heart, and metabolic inefficiency and loss of coordinated anabolic activity are emerging as proximal causes of pathological remodeling. This review integrates knowledge of different forms of cardiac remodeling to develop general models of how relationships between catabolic and anabolic glucose metabolism may fortify cardiac health or promote (mal)adaptive myocardial remodeling. Adoption of conceptual frameworks based in relational biology may enable further understanding of how metabolism regulates cardiac structure and function.
Association of Blood Pressure Measurements With Peripheral Artery Disease Events
Authors: Itoga Nathan K. , Tawfik Daniel S. , Lee Charles K. , Maruyama Satoshi , Leeper Nicholas J. , Chang Tara I.
Published: June 2018

Background:

Current guidelines recommend treating hypertension in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) to reduce the risk of cardiac events and stroke, but the effect of reducing blood pressure on lower extremity PAD events is largely unknown. We investigated the association of blood pressure with lower extremity PAD events using data from the ALLHAT trial (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial).

Methods:

ALLHAT investigated the effect of different antihypertensive medication classes (chlorthalidone, amlodipine, lisinopril, or doxazosin) on cardiovascular events. With the use of these data, the primary outcome in our analysis was time to first lower extremity PAD event, defined as PAD-related hospitalization, procedures, medical treatment, or PAD-related death. Given the availability of longitudinal standardized blood pressure measurements, we analyzed systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse pressure as time-varying categorical variables (reference categories 120–129 mm Hg for SBP, 70–79 mm Hg for DBP, and 45–54 mm Hg for pulse pressure) in separate models. We used extended Cox regression with death as a competing risk to calculate the association of each blood pressure component with PAD events, and report the results as subdistribution hazard ratios and 95% CIs.

Results:

The present analysis included 33 357 patients with an average age of 67.4 years, 53.1% men, 59.7% white race, and 36.2% with diabetes mellitus. The median baseline blood pressure was 146/84 mm Hg. Participants were followed for a median of 4.3 (interquartile range, 3.6–5.3) years, during which time 1489 (4.5%) had a lower extremity PAD event, and 4148 (12.4%) died. In models adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics, SBP <120 mm Hg was associated with a 26% (CI, 5%–52%;
P
=0.015) higher hazard and SBP≥160 mm Hg was associated with a 21% (CI, 0%–48%;
P
=0.050) higher hazard for a PAD event, in comparison with SBP 120 to 129 mm Hg. In contrast, lower, but not higher, DBP was associated with a higher hazard of PAD events: for DBP <60 mm Hg (hazard ratio, 1.72; CI, 1.38–2.16). Pulse pressure had a U-shaped association with PAD events.

Conclusions:

In this reanalysis of data from ALLHAT, we found a higher rate of lower extremity PAD events with higher and lower SBP and pulse pressure and with lower DBP. Given the recent revised blood pressure guidelines advocating lower SBP targets for overall cardiovascular risk reduction, further refinement of optimal blood pressure targets specific to PAD is needed.

Clinical Trial Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00000542.
Cyclooxygenase-2, Asymmetric Dimethylarginine, and the Cardiovascular Hazard From Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Authors: Ricciotti Emanuela , Castro Cecilia , Tang Soon Yew , Briggs William T.E. , West James A. , Malik Dania , Rhoades Seth D. , Meng Hu , Li Xuanwen , Lahens Nicholas F. , Sparks Jeffrey A. , Karlson Elizabeth W. , Weljie Aalim M. , Griffin Julian L. , FitzGerald Garret A.
Published: June 2018

Background:

Large-scale, placebo-controlled trials established that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs confer a cardiovascular hazard: this has been attributed to depression of cardioprotective products of cyclooxygenase (COX)–2, especially prostacyclin. An alternative mechanism by which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs might constrain cardioprotection is by enhancing the formation of methylarginines in the kidney that would limit the action of nitric oxide throughout the vasculature.

Methods:

Targeted and untargeted metabolomics were used to investigate the effect of COX-2 deletion or inhibition in mice and in osteoarthritis patients exposed to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the
l
-arginine/nitric oxide pathway.

Results:

Analysis of the plasma and renal metabolome was performed in postnatal tamoxifen-inducible Cox-2 knockout mice, which exhibit normal renal function and blood pressure. This revealed no changes in arginine and methylarginines compared with their wild-type controls. Moreover, the expression of genes in the
l
-arginine/nitric oxide pathway was not altered in the renal medulla or cortex of tamoxifen inducible Cox-2 knockout mice. Therapeutic concentrations of the selective COX-2 inhibitors, rofecoxib, celecoxib, and parecoxib, none of which altered basal blood pressure or renal function as reflected by plasma creatinine, failed to elevate plasma arginine and methylarginines in mice. Finally, plasma arginine or methylarginines were not altered in osteoarthritis patients with confirmed exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that inhibit COX-1 and COX-2. By contrast, plasma asymmetrical dimethylarginine was increased in mice infused with angiotensin II sufficient to elevate blood pressure and impair renal function. Four weeks later, blood pressure, plasma creatinine, and asymmetrical dimethylarginine were restored to normal levels. The increase in asymmetrical dimethylarginine in response to infusion with angiotensin II in celecoxib-treated mice was also related to transient impairment of renal function.

Conclusions:

Plasma methylarginines are not altered by COX-2 deletion or inhibition but rather are elevated coincident with renal compromise.
Sequential Hybrid Therapy With Pulmonary Endarterectomy and Additional Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Yanaka Kenichi , Nakayama Kazuhiko , Shinke Toshiro , Shinkura Yuto , Taniguchi Yu , Kinutani Hiroto , Tamada Naoki , Onishi Hiroyuki , Tsuboi Yasunori , Satomi‐Kobayashi Seimi , Otake Hiromasa , Tanaka Hiroshi , Okita Yutaka , Emoto Noriaki , Hirata Ken‐ichi
Published: June 2018

Background

Residual symptoms after pulmonary endarterectomy (
PEA
) remain as the clinical issues to be solved. Additional balloon pulmonary angioplasty (
BPA
) after
PEA
showed its efficacy with symptoms in a case series, although long‐term spontaneous recovery of exercise ability after
PEA
was also reported. However, no studies have validated the clinical efficacy of additional
BPA
by directly comparing PEA with and without
BPA
. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of additional
BPA
as a sequential hybrid therapy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension after
PEA
.

Methods and Results

Among 44 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, 20 patients had residual symptoms after PEA. Of those, 10 patients underwent additional
BPA
(hybrid group) and were compared with the other 10 patients, who were followed up without
BPA
(
PEA
group). The period from
PEA
to additional
BPA
was 7.3±2.3 months. In hybrid group, mean pulmonary arterial pressure was significantly improved by
PEA
(40.6±1.8 to 26.9±3.1 mm Hg,
P
=0.001) and improved further (to 16.7±1.8 mm Hg,
P
=0.002) with additional
BPA
, which resulted in remarkable improvement in World Health Organization (
WHO
) functional class (pre‐ to post‐BPA: class I/
II
/
III
/
IV
, 0/5/4/1 to 7/3/0/0;
P
<0.001). Compared with the
PEA
group at follow‐up, the hybrid group achieved better mean pulmonary arterial pressure (18.7±1.7 versus 30.2±3.2 mm Hg,
P
=0.008),
WHO
functional class (class I/
II
/
III
/
IV
, 7/3/0/0 versus 0/8/2/0;
P
=0.001), and 6‐minute walking distance (429±38 versus 319±22 m,
P
=0.028).

Conclusions

A sequential hybrid strategy improved residual symptoms and exercise capacity compared with single‐
PEA
therapy.
On the Demand for Female Workers in Japan: The Role of ICT and Offshoring
Authors: Kiyota Kozo , Maruyama Sawako
Published: June 2018

This paper examines the determinants of the demand for female workers, focusing on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) and offshoring. Estimating a system of variable factor demands for manufacturing industries between 1980 and 2011, we find that, whereas the ICT capital stock has significantly positive effects on the demand for low-, middle-high-, and high-skilled female workers, it has significantly negative effects on the demand for middle-low-skilled female workers. In contrast, offshoring has insignificant effects on the demand for female workers, which suggests that offshoring is at least neutral on the demand for female workers.
What Explains Current Account Surplus in Korea?
Authors: Han Chirok , Shin Kwanho
Published: June 2018

Since the currency crisis in 1998, Korea has experienced continuous current account surpluses. Recently, the current account surplus increased more rapidly—amounting to 7.7 percent of GDP in 2015. In this paper, we investigate the underlying reasons for the widening of Korea's current account surpluses. We find that the upward trend in Korea's current account surpluses is largely explained by its demographical changes. Other economic variables are only helpful when explaining short run fluctuations in current account balances. Moreover, we show that Korea's current account surplus is expected to disappear by 2042 as it becomes one of the most aged economies in the world. Demographic changes are so powerful that they explain, quite successfully, the current account balance trends of other economies with highly aged populations such as Japan, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Greece. When we add the real exchange rate as an additional explanatory variable, it is statistically significant with the right sign, but the magnitude explained by it is quite limited. For example, to reduce the current account surplus by 1 percentage point, a 12 percent depreciation is needed. If Korea's current exchange rate is undervalued 4 to 12 percent less than the level consistent with fundamentals, it is impossible to reduce Korea's current account surplus to a reasonable level by adjusting the exchange rate alone. Another way to reduce current account surplus is to expand fiscal policies. We find, however, that the impact of fiscal adjustments in reducing current account surplus is even more limited. According to our estimates, reducing the current account surplus by 1 percentage point requires an increase in budget deficits (as a ratio to GDP) of 5 to 6 percentage points. If we allow endogenous movements of exchange rate and fiscal policy, the impact of exchange rate adjustment increases by 1.6 times but that of fiscal policy decreases that it is no longer statistically significant.
The End of Cheap Labor: Are Foreign Investors Leaving China?
Authors: Donaubauer Julian , Dreger Christian
Published: June 2018

China's government has been promoting the shift toward a consumption-based economy in the past few years to arrive at a path of sustainable and socially inclusive growth. In this context, the explicit goal to significantly raise the percentage of wages in the national household income was an integral part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–15). These changes in economic strategy are likely to affect the attractiveness of the country to foreign investors. In this paper, we raise the hypothesis that soaring relative wages negatively affect foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to China, and alter their distribution within China. In addition, low-wage countries in the Asian region might benefit from the changed direction of FDI inflows. We utilize fixed-effects panel models with spatial spillovers for Chinese provinces and developing ASEAN countries to provide strong and robust evidence that wage increases change the allocation of FDI within China. In addition, we show that the changes in China's economic strategy improve the chances of its low-income neighbors to attract FDI.
The State, Zionism and the Nazi Genocide
Authors: Englert Sai
Published: June 2018

This paper explores contemporary Jewish identity-formation and the centrality of official Holocaust memory and Zionism – understood as the ongoing settler-colonial project aiming at the formation and maintenance of a Jewish-exclusivist state in Palestine – to this process. It argues that identity politics within the Jewish community are based on an understanding of identity, which assumes it to be static and individual. In doing so, this political approach reproduces the essentialisation of Jewish communities under the banner of Zionism and official state history. The paper aims to show how this process of identification between Judaism, official Holocaust memory and Zionism has been a state-led process, rooted in the historical development of antisemitism and European colonialism. In order to do so, it builds on a critique of classical Marxist analyses of the Jewish question. It finally proposes a more fluid approach to identity, which understands it as socially constructed, contested, and subject to political contestation.
ASEAN People-to-People Connectivity
Authors: Fornalé Elisa
Published: June 2018

The concept of intra-regional connectivity is emerging as the rationale for the ASEAN regional project and will develop around three pillars: the physical infrastructure, the institutions and the people. Specifically, the facilitation of the free movement of highly skilled migrant workers at the regional level is identified in ASEAN documents as a primary mechanism to achieve people-to-people connectivity. The paper aims to study the emerging regional mobility framework under ASEAN by focusing attention on the potential impact of mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on professional services as connecting instruments. The objective is to provide new insights into the building of ASEAN’s regional process by taking the mutual recognition regime as a means to reconcile the traditional prerogatives of sovereignty and new common concerns in the context of cross-border human mobility and economic development. The review of the current evolution of ASEAN MRA architecture will focus on the challenges and promises of the intra-regional cooperation in developing the legal framework by fostering a rule-based organisation. To this end, the analysis will be complemented by an examination of Thailand’s mutual recognition initiatives for professionals in the health services.
Dreams and Christian Conversion: Gleanings from a Pentecostal Church Context in Nepal
Authors: Sears Robert E.
Published: June 2018

Despite consideration from missiologists studying Muslim-to-Christian conversion, the role of dreams in contemporary Christian conversion has not received widespread attention. Additionally, though researchers have frequently noted the use of dreams among Pentecostal/charismatic Christians, this finding stands in need of exploration vis-à-vis the concept of conversion. This study will address each of these issues and further the general understanding of the role of dreams in Christian conversion by examining this topic in contemporary Nepal, a predominantly Hindu nation with a rapidly growing, extensively Pentecostal/charismatic Christian community. Relying on data from a combination of surveys, interviews, and participant observation, this study discusses the prevalence, preconditions, processes, and impact of dream-related conversion vis-à-vis a Pentecostal church context in Nepal.
Songs that Carry Transformation: Pentecostal Praise and Worship Rituals in Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Prosén Martina
Published: June 2018

In this article, the theological meaning of transformation is examined from the vantage point of a local Pentecostal church in Nairobi, Kenya, and its liturgical practices. The church under study is the Woodley branch of Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAMWoodley), formerly Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC) Woodley, and data was collected through field research. Arguing with the help of Steven Land’s standard workPentecostal Spirituality. A Passion for the Kingdom, it is demonstrated that praise and worship rituals function as vehicles for transformation in the theology/spirituality of the informants. Singing and making music are not optional or random activities, but constitute a core ritual providing congregants a viable route to a central goal of Pentecostal spirituality: transformation. Transformation is thus both an idea and a goal, and praise and worship rituals – including the songs sung in worship – constitute a crucial link between the two.
Systemic and Structural Factors Relating to Quality and Equality of Human Rights Implementation in Federal States
Authors: Wyttenbach Judith
Published: June 2018

The internal organisation of a state is a contributing factor to the implementation of human rights treaties. Although federal states do not demonstrate an implementation standard that is generally lower or higher than in unitary states, both the positive developments and deficits arising can be linked to the federal structure. In many cases, under the state’s internal order, the responsibility for implementation lies not only with the federal government but in parallel or even exclusively with the constituent states, provinces or regions. The integration of uniform standards within a system of multi-level politics involves certain special features, which are identified and discussed. For those purposes, the author has evaluated and undertaken a critical analysis of the implementation requirements of international human rights treaties and the European Convention on Human Rights, interpretative documents issued by treaty bodies and judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The focus of the analysis concerns the structural and institutional frameworks typically found in federal states. The assessment seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the benefits and challenges of implementation in federal states.
The Postclassical Oral World and the Unity of Sūra 74
Authors: Archer George
Published: June 2018

This paper uses observations from studies of highly oral cultures to demonstrate the structural unity of Q 74, 30-31. That passage mysteriously says that over hell stands “nineteen”. This number is then followed by a strangely long aside that argues that this “nineteen” refers to angels and that “We have made their number only as a test for the disbelievers”. The reference to the nineteen has in the past been seen as unclear and the verse that follows as structurally bizarre in several ways, prompting many to argue that it is an interpolation. This article will use structural and oral rhetorical methods to suggest that this is not the case. Their content, style, and structure are all deliberate and are a response to various debates about numbers and numerology. More specifically, the passage is a correction of the Christological use of numbers by Near Eastern Christians in the Postclassical age. This article aims to show how the application of orality as a hermeneutical tool can resolve key questions regarding the coherence of the Qurʾānic text.
Was Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarabādī (d. 1036/1626-7) a Mujtahid?
Authors: Abisaab Rula Jurdi
Published: June 2018

The prevalent view that Muḥammad Amīn al-Astarabādī (d. 1036/1626-7) studied with a prominent uṣūlī (rationalist) jurist, namely, Shaykh Ḥasan Ṣāḥib al-Maʿālim (d. 1011/1602), the son of al-Shahīd al-Thānī (d. 965/1558), and that he was a mujtahid for most of his life before he converted to akhbārism (traditionism) in Mecca, is largely unfounded. This view surfaced during the late nineteenth century, through Muḥammad Bāqir al-Khwānsārī’s Rawḍāt al-Jannāt, and was uncritically integrated into the major bio-bibliographical accounts on al-Astarabādī’s life and scholarship afterwards. Many modern scholars in turn adopted this view, producing inadequate conclusions about the nature of his akhbārī movement. Based on a close assessment of al-Astarabādī’s extant works and his references to his teachers and places where he studied, Shiraz rather than Mecca was decisive in shaping his early traditionist stance in Shīʿa kalām (rational theology), which resonated with his traditionist positions in jurisprudence and ḥadīth. As far as one can tell through his ijāzās (scholarly licenses), he sought to transmit ḥadīth from one mujtahid, namely, Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Madārik (d. 1009/1600), but did not receive training in ijtihād (rational legal inference) with him. He appears to have been well-versed in the methods used by ūṣūlī jurists to evaluate ḥadīth and derive the law, prior to that time, through his studies in Shiraz. All these findings, lead us to question the background and nature of his akhbārī thought as they were presented in much of the secondary literature, and to bring attention to a distinct set of intellectual and sociopolitical forces that shaped it.
Alamūt, Ismailism and Khwāja Qāsim Tushtarī’s Recognizing God
Authors: Virani Shafique N.
Published: June 2018

Drawing extensively on the testimony of the Persian historians of the seventh-eighth hijri centuries (corresponding to the thirteen-fourteenth centuries of the Christian era), this article sketches a detailed picture of several personalities involved in founding the nascent Ismaili state centred at Alamūt in the fifth/eleventh century. This background sets the stage for analyzing a new manuscript source documenting Ismaili history and thought of this period, Khwāja Qāsim Tushtarī’sRecognizing God(Maʿrifat-i Khudāy taʿālā). After outlining and amending previous scholarship on this author and surveying the text’s extant manuscript and lithographic sources, the article analyzes the historical references, focusing on the figure of Sharaf al-Dīn Muḥammad, and examining the evolution of the Ismaili leadership structure. It argues for a likely date of composition between 525/1131 and 533/1139, making Tushtarī’sRecognizing Godone of the oldest Ismaili texts from Alamūt still in existence.
Al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya d’Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī, élaborateur de la religion nuṣayrite
Authors: Bar-Asher Meir
Published: June 2018

Al-Risāla al-Rāsbāshiyya by Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥamdān al-Khaṣībī (d. 345/957 or 358/969) is believed by Nuṣayrīs to be the most significant doctrinal composition of the Nuṣayrī religion, and its author is regarded as perhaps the most eminent figure in the formative period of this religion.

In this work, dedicated to the Buwayhid ruler ʿIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār, nicknamed rāstbāsh (ruled between 357/967 and 367/978), al-Khaṣībī discusses major tenets of Nuṣayrī doctrine such as the secret of divinity; the plethora of entities emanating from it; the cyclical manifestation of the deity incarnated in human figures throughout history; the tension between the divine nature of ʿAlī, as the ultimate manifestation of God, and its human nature; the attitude towards ʿAlī’s opponents from among the companions of the Prophet MuÎammad; and the doctrine of transmigration of the soul in its variegated forms.

Although mentioned in a number of Nuṣayrī texts, al-Risāla al-Rāstbāshiyya was known to us only partially. It is only with the recent publication of this work that awareness of it has begun to grow. This article is a preliminary step towards exploring its importance for the study of early Nuṣayrī doctrine.
New enigmatic species of the genus Pediobius (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) from Afrotropics, with notes on related genera
Authors: GUMOVSKY ALEX
Published: June 2018

Three new species groups and seven species of the genus Pediobius Walker are described from the Afrotropical realm: the marjoriae group, with P. marjoriae Kerrich (described from Uganda), P. rohombaya Gumovsky sp. n. (from the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, Uganda) and P. orungu Gumovsky sp. n. (from Gabon); the afroteres group with P. afroteres Gumovsky sp. n. (from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, Cameroon) and P. kafroteres Gumovsky sp. n. (from Cameroon); the askari group with P. askari Gumovsky sp. n. (from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Ivory Coast) and P. maleficus Gumovsky sp. n. (from Kenya, DRC, CAR, Cameroon, Gabon); and P. nganga Gumovsky sp. n. (from DRC) (not assigned to any group). All these species are characterized by the relatively wide and robust head with elongate and/or narrowed lower face and the antennae attached near or below the lower eye margins. Morphological features of the species, as well as their habitat distribution, are discussed. The comparison of the new species with similar taxa of Entedoninae suggested the following synonymies: Rhynchentedon Girault and Pediobomyia Girault under Pediobius (syn. n.); Bomyiabius frontus Narendran, Pediobomyia budaicus Narendran and Pediobomyia lankicus Narendran under Pediobomyia darwini Girault (syn. n.). The following new combinations are proposed: Pediobius maximus (Girault), P. achterbergi (Gumovsky), P. narendrani (Gumovsky), P. brevicaulis (Hansson), P. canaliculatus (Hansson) and P. darwini (Girault) (comb. n.). Ant parasitoids P. marjoriae and Myrmokata diparoides Bouček are recorded from DRC for the first time.
Descriptions of the adult male, prepupa and pupa of Xylococcus castanopsis Wu & Huang (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Xylococcidae)
Authors: WU SAN’AN , HUANG SHAOBIN , DONG QINGANG
Published: June 2018

The morphologies of the adult male, prepupa and pupa of Xylococcus castanopsis Wu & Huang (Hemiptera: Xylococcidae) are described and illustrated. These developmental stages were collected at Tianluhu Forest Park, Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province, China, from the same forest stands as the holotype female.
Compounding Inequalities: How Racial Stereotypes and Discrimination Accumulate across the Stages of Housing Exchange
Authors: Korver-Glenn Elizabeth
Published: June 2018

Despite numerous legal interventions intended to mitigate racial discrimination in the United States, racial inequality persists in virtually every domain that matters for human well-being. To better understand the processes enabling this durable inequality, I undertake a case study of the housing market—a domain centrally linked to persistent, systemic disparity. I examine how racial stereotypes permeate the distinct but serially linked stages of the housing exchange process; the conditions under which stereotypes are deployed in each stage; and how such dynamics accumulate to affect ultimate processes of exclusion and inclusion. Drawing on one year of ethnographic fieldwork and more than 100 in-depth interviews in the Houston housing market, my findings demonstrate that widely shared, hierarchical stereotypes about race, supported by conditions such as network-necessitated rapport-building and discretion, compound discrimination across discrete stages of housing exchange. I argue that as this accumulation occurs, inequality between minorities and minority neighborhoods and whites and white neighborhoods is rendered durable.
Antitrust in History
Authors: Hawk Barry E.
Published: June 2018

The antitrust world before 1890 looks barren when compared with today’s global antitrust industry. The most common antitrust laws in pre-modern societies condemned practices that had the perceived tendency to raise prices: forestalling, hoarding and price fixing. Enforcement was focused on retail markets and trade in essential foodstuffs, like grain. Laws intended to ensure fair prices are common throughout history. Rules prohibiting unfair or excessive prices raise the more general question of price controls in pre-industrial societies. The historical evidence is ambiguous. Laws prohibiting monopolistic or abusive conduct are less clearly evident than anti-cartel laws in pre-industrial societies, although a few references exist. Before the 20th century, courts and authorities lacked the tools of modern economic analysis, like mathematics-based theories of harm. This absence of modern economics meant that there was no clear distinction among “economic,” “social,” “moral” and “political” policy objectives. Laws concerning product quality, consumer fraud and misrepresentations are commonly found in pre-modern societies. Although consumer protection rules were based on notions of fair dealing and justice, the rules were consistent with modern economic notions of transaction cost efficiencies, asymmetric market information and imperfect market information.
Institutional anomie and justification of morally dubious behavior and violence cross-nationally: A multilevel examination
Authors: Zito Rena C
Published: June 2018

This study draws on insights from institutional anomie theory to examine justification of morally dubious behavior and violence cross-nationally. Further, it builds on a burgeoning body of multilevel institutional anomie theory and research on crime-relevant attitudes by considering whether and how individual financial hardship intersects with anomic structural and cultural systems at the national level, acknowledging that individual responses to anomie may be contingent upon experiences with such hardships. Results from multilevel modeling using data from 74,930 World Values Survey respondents in 52 nations, the World Bank, and other organizations provide partial support for the hypotheses. Specifically, conditions of “want amid plenty,” (Bjerregaard & Cochran, 2008a, p. 183) weakened family and education institutions, and monetary fetishism predict justifications cross-nationally. Moreover, economic inequality and individualism moderate the effect of financial hardship on justifications of morally dubious actions and violence, consistent with expectations.
How Single-payer Stacks Up: Evaluating Different Models of Universal Health Coverage on Cost, Access, and Quality
Authors: Fox Ashley , Poirier Roland
Published: June 2018

Described as “universal prepayment,” the national health insurance (or single-payer) model of universal health coverage is increasingly promoted by international actors as a means of raising revenue for health care and improving social risk protection in low- and middle-income countries. Likewise, in the United States, the recent failed efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have renewed debate about where to go next with health reform and arguably opened the door for a single-payer, Medicare-for-All plan, an alternative once considered politically infeasible. Policy debates about single-payer or national health insurance in the United States and abroad have relied heavily on Canada’s system as an ideal-typical single-payer system but have not systematically examined health system performance indicators across different universal coverage models. Using available cross-national data, we categorize countries with universal coverage into those best exemplifying national health insurance (single-payer), national health service, and social health insurance models and compare them to the United States in terms of cost, access, and quality. Through this comparison, we find that many critiques of single-payer are based on misconceptions or are factually incorrect, but also that single-payer is not the only option for achieving universal coverage in the United States and internationally.
The (Diverse) Company You Keep: Content and Structure of Immigrants’ Social Networks as a Window Into Intercultural Relations in Catalonia
Authors: Repke Lydia , Benet-Martínez Verónica
Published: June 2018

This research examines how the social networks of immigrants residing in a European bicultural and bilingual context (Catalonia) relate to levels of adjustment (both psychological and sociocultural) and to bicultural identity integration (BII). Moroccan, Pakistani, Ecuadorian, and Romanian immigrants residing in Barcelona nominated 25 individuals (i.e., alters) from their habitual social networks and provided demographic (e.g., ethnicity), relationship type (e.g., family, friend, neighbor), and structural (who knew whom) information for each of these alters. Even after controlling for individual-level demographic and acculturation variables, the content and structure of immigrants’ personal social networks had unique associations with both types of adjustment and with BII. Specifically, the overall degree of cultural diversity in the network and the amount of Catalan (but not Spanish) “weak” ties (i.e., acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors) positively predicted these outcomes. Amount of interconnectedness between local coethnic and Catalan/Spanish alters also predicted sociocultural adjustment and BII positively. Finally, against a “culture and language similarity” hypothesis, Moroccan and Pakistani participants had social networks that were more culturally integrated, relative to Ecuadorians and Romanians. Results from this study attest to the importance of examining actual intercultural relations and going beyond individuals’ reported acculturation preferences to understand immigrants’ overall adaptation and cultural identity dynamics. Furthermore, results highlight the interplay between interculturalism experienced at the intrapersonal, subjective level (i.e., BII), and at the meso-level (i.e., having culturally diverse networks that also include interethnic ties among alters).
Enrichment of Innate Lymphoid Cell Populations in Gingival Tissue
Authors: Brown J.L. , Campbell L. , Malcolm J. , Adrados Planell A. , Butcher J.P. , Culshaw S.
Published: June 2018

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a population of lymphocytes that act as the first line of immunologic defense at mucosal surfaces. The ILC family in the skin, lungs, and gastrointestinal tissues has been investigated, and there are reports of individual subsets of ILCs in the oral tissues. We sought to investigate the whole ILC population (group 1, 2, and 3 subsets) in the murine gingivae and the lymph nodes draining the oral cavity. We show that ILCs made up a greater proportion of the whole CD45+ lymphocyte population in the murine gingivae (0.356% ± 0.039%) as compared with the proportion of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes (0.158% ± 0.005%). Cytokine profiling of the ILC populations demonstrated different proportions of ILC subsets in the murine gingivae versus the regional lymph nodes. The majority of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes expressed IL-5, whereas there were equal proportions of IFN-γ- and IL-5 expressing ILCs in the oral mucosa. The percentage of IL-17+ ILCs was comparable between the murine gingivae and the oral draining lymph nodes. These data suggest an enrichment of ILCs in the murine gingivae, and these ILCs reflect a cytokine profile discrepant to that of the local draining lymph nodes. These studies indicate diversity and enrichment of ILCs at the oral mucosal surface. The function of ILCs in the oral cavity remains to be determined; here, we provide a premise of ILC populations that merits future consideration in investigations of mouse models and human tissues.
Deterministic and stochastic analysis of a predator–prey model with Allee effect and herd behaviour
Authors: Manna Debasis , Maiti Alakes , Samanta G P
Published: June 2018

This paper aims to study the dynamics of a predator–prey model, where both prey and predator show herd behaviour. Due to this behaviour, predator–prey interaction occurs only at the outer edge of herds formed by the populations. Positivity and boundedness of the system are discussed. A criteria for the extinction of prey is established. A steady-state analysis has been performed. Some criteria for Hopf bifurcation are derived. The stochastic version of the model is formulated to take into account the effect of fluctuating environment. A criterion of asymptotic mean square stability of this model is derived. Numerical simulations are carried out to validate our analytical findings. Implications of our analytical and numerical findings are discussed critically.
Timing Is Everything: Late Registration and Stratified Access to School Choice
Authors: Fong Kelley , Faude Sarah
Published: June 2018

School choice policies necessarily impose registration timelines, constraining access to schools of choice for students who register late. Drawing on administrative data, survey data, and interviews with 33 parents in Boston, we find that late registration is common and highly stratified: Nearly half of black kindergarteners miss the first registration deadline, a rate almost three times higher than their white peers, consigning them to the least preferred schools. Contexts of instability and bureaucratic complexity serve as barriers to registering months in advance, and parents describe disengagement from the school system following their late registration. These findings show how despite equal access in theory, bureaucratic structures such as timeline-based lotteries hinder many families, particularly those disadvantaged already, from full participation. Inequality in school choice outcomes and experiences thus results not only from families’ selections, the focus of previous research, but also the misalignment of district bureaucratic processes with family situations.
The Thread of Life
Authors: Amore B.
Published: June 2018

I had a great-grandmother who lived two doors away from us. She and I were constantly together. But one thing I do remember is when we left Italy. A few days before, she and I took a walk to her land and she was very, very sad. She said, “Ah.” She said, “you're going to America now. Someday you will remember me.” But, “she said, “remember when you get there, when you reach the Battery there is a row of fountains there. You have, to see that there is one, find out which one it is, that you cannot drink out of. Because when you drink from that certain fountain you're going to forget all of us that you're leaving here.” So when I arrived at the Battery I was looking for the row of fountains, but I didn't see the row of fountains. So I said I guess since I didn't see them it must be okay. She also wanted me to write and tell her about the Brooklyn Bridge, because she had heard about the Brooklyn Bridge. But she died before I saw the Brooklyn Bridge. Today, when I'm driving along, many, many times I think of her. The words echo in my memory. “You're going to America now. Some day you will remember me.”
The Heat Is On: A Mixed-Method Examination of Eating Behavior and Executive Functions Among Low Income Minority Girls During Summertime
Authors: Egbert Amy Heard , Bohnert Amy M. , Bates Carolyn R. , Loren Dorothy M. , Creber Chloe , Rosania Kimberly A. , Ward Amanda K. , Dugas Lara R. , Silton Rebecca L.
Published: June 2018

Despite evidence that youth gain weight disproportionately over the summer months, few studies examine contributing obesogenic behaviors. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this study examined associations between summertime dietary intake patterns and executive function among 79 low-income urban minority early adolescent girls (ages 9-13 years). Participants were interviewed via the multiple-pass 24-hour dietary recall method and completed individually administered executive function tasks. A subsample of 14 parents completed interviews to gather qualitative information about summertime eating patterns. Results suggested that participants consumed 25% to 35% more daily calories than recommended, and inhibition difficulties were associated with higher calorie and sugar-sweetened soft drink intake. In addition, over one third of participants were classified as nighttime eaters, and these participants had more difficulty with inhibition, even when accounting for sleep influences, and consumed more soft drinks than daytime eaters. Qualitative interviews consistently indicated that summertime changes food consumption as well as the timing and structure of the meals.
Stray Dogs, Post-Humanism and Cosmopolitan Belongingness: Interspecies Hospitality in Times of War
Authors: Leep Matthew
Published: June 2018

International Relations scholars have recently begun exploring the politics of human-animal relations in global affairs. Building on Jacques Derrida’s work on hospitality and animals, this article theorises possibilities of responsibility to animals in war zones, pushing the limits of what it means to be with and for others regardless of their human or animal otherness. Specifically, I develop a critical account of cosmopolitan belongingness to illustrate how our being on earth is always a ‘being-with’ animal others. In thinking through possibilities of post-human belongingness that could emerge in times of war, cosmopolitanism becomes a futural task, an out-of-time and endless confrontation of past and future opportunities for interspecies togetherness. The theoretical significance of this approach is illustrated with a case study on the killing of stray dogs during the Iraq War. This case reveals a cosmopolitanism calibrated to more fully consider possibilities of human-animal belongingness amidst violence.
Sleep positioning systems for children and adults with a neurodisability: A systematic review
Authors: Humphreys Ginny , King Tanya , Jex Jo , Rogers Morwenna , Blake Sharon , Thompson-Coon Jo , Morris Christopher
Published: June 2018

Introduction

Sleep positioning systems are often prescribed as part of a 24-hour postural management programme for children and adults with neurodisabilities. In a search for evidence of effectiveness for children with cerebral palsy a recent Cochrane review found two randomised controlled trials. This review aims to appraise a broader set of studies including any neurological diagnosis and users of all ages to inform therapists about the quality of the evidence underlying practice.

Method

A comprehensive search for all peer-reviewed studies that evaluated the use of sleep positioning systems was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library databases, BNI, HMIC, PEDro, OTSeeker and clinical trials registries. Disability organisations, manufacturers and colleagues worldwide were also contacted. Titles were screened for relevance by two reviewers. Data were extracted into bespoke quantitative or qualitative forms by one reviewer and checked by a second. Findings were analysed into simple themes.

Results

A total of 14 studies were eligible for inclusion; all were small and most were of low quality. Inferences of benefits cannot be made from the literature but also no harm was found.

Conclusions

The body of evidence supporting practice remains small and mostly of low quality. Therapists should remain cautious when presenting the benefits to families.
Conceptualizing curation in the age of abundance: The case of recorded music
Authors: Jansson Johan , Hracs Brian J
Published: June 2018

The contemporary marketplace for cultural products, such as music, fashion and film, features an abundance of goods, services and experiences. While producers struggle to differentiate and monetize their offerings, some consumers are overwhelmed by the amount of choice and information available to them. As a result, many consumers are turning to a range of intermediaries who help them make sense of the marketplace. While intermediation is nothing new, its value is increasing and there has been a shift in relative importance from those who create products to those who curate products. As curation remains a ‘fuzzy concept’ – with definitions and connotations that vary by industry and occupation – this paper aims to contribute to existing conceptualizations by focusing on the case of recorded music. Based on interviews and observation with a subset of curators, including record shops and music writers, the paper provides a typology of curation-related activities and highlights the range of economic and non-economic rewards that motivate different actors to perform curation. It also interrogates the importance and role of space by identifying physical, temporary and virtual spaces where curation is performed and relationships between specific spatial dynamics and curation-related processes.
From dualisms to dualities: On researching creative processes in the arts and sciences
Authors: Sydow Jörg
Published: June 2018

The papers accepted for publication in this themed issue reflect to a large extent the long-needed move toward recognizing the importance of a focus on tensions and contradictions as dualities. In this commentary, I will recap the tensions addressed not only in these papers but also in the commentary by Grabher and inquire into how they address them, for instance by unearthing the concepts these authors mobilize to theorize them. I will conclude that, from an organization theory perspective, economic geography seems to be on a good way to a more balanced and conflict-sensitive, even dialectical process understanding of creativity and organization that could well be pushed a little further in this direction.