bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increased Body Adiposity and Serum Leptin Concentrations in Very Long-Term Adult Male Survivors of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Jahnukainen Kirsi , Heikkinen Risto , Henriksson Markus , Andersson Sture , Ivaska Kaisa K. , Puukko-Viertomies Leena-Riitta , Mäkitie Outi
Published: June 2015

Background: We evaluated the body composition and its association with hypogonadism in adult male long-term acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors. Methods: The cohort included 49 long-term male ALL survivors and 55 age-matched healthy controls. Fat and lean mass was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; blood biochemistry was obtained for adipokines and testicular endocrine markers. Results: As compared with controls, the ALL survivors (median age 29 years, range 25-38), assessed 10-28 years after ALL diagnosis, had higher percentages of body (p < 0.05) and trunk fat mass (p < 0.05), and a lower body lean mass (p < 0.001). Survivors had significantly higher levels of leptin and adiponectin and lower levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3. Body fat mass and percent fat mass correlated with serum leptin and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels. Altogether, 15% of the ALL survivors and 9% of age-matched controls were obese (BMI ≥30). Obese survivors more often had hypogonadism, had received testicular irradiation, and needed testosterone replacement therapy compared to nonobese survivors. Conclusion: At young adulthood, long-term male ALL survivors have significantly increased body adiposity despite normal weight and BMI. Potential indicators of increased adiposity included high leptin and low SHBG levels. Serum testicular endocrine markers did not correlate with body adiposity.
Linear IgA Bullous Dermatosis Secondary to Infliximab Therapy in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Hoffmann Jochen , Hadaschik Eva , Enk Alexander , Stremmel Wolfgang , Gauss Annika
Published: June 2015

Linear IgA bullous disease (LABD) is a rare vesiculobullous autoimmune skin disorder whose etiology and pathogenesis are not completely understood. Its occurrence has been related to malignancies, inflammatory diseases and several drugs. This report describes a 49-year-old Caucasian male with a 14-year history of ulcerative colitis who received infliximab to treat the refractory course of his bowel disease. During induction therapy with infliximab, he developed LABD. Treatment with infliximab was discontinued, and the skin lesions were successfully treated with oral steroids and dapsone. Considering the close chronological relation between administration of the tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor and onset of the skin disease, we hypothesize that this is the first reported case of infliximab-induced LABD. Similar to psoriasis, it may represent a ‘paradoxical' autoimmune reaction triggered by anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy.
Comparative Politics of Sub-Federal Cap-and-Trade: Implementing the Western Climate Initiative
Authors: Houle David , Lachapelle Erick , Purdon Mark
Published: June 2015

Why have only two of the eleven original members of the Western Climate Initiative implemented a cap-and-trade system? This article compares the implementation of cap-and-trade in California and Quebec versus in New Mexico and British Columbia. Ideas around the reality of anthropogenic global warming and the legitimacy of cap-and-trade created favorable context in three jurisdictions, although institutions condition the expression of these ideas in the policy-making process. Since parliamentary institutions concentrate power, elite consensus is more important in Canada, while in the United States public opinion plays a more significant role. However, ideational factors shaped by political institutions do not explain differences in cap-and-trade implementation. Growth in shale gas production, welcomed in British Columbia and New Mexico but resisted by Quebec and marginal in California, further explain different outcomes. Ideas, mediated by institutions, are the necessary prerequisites for action, while material factors influence policy instrument choice.
Wind and Solar Power in Brazil and China: Interests, State–Business Relations, and Policy Outcomes
Authors: Hochstetler Kathryn , Kostka Genia
Published: June 2015

This article examines developments in the renewable electricity sector in Brazil and China since 2000. The two countries share many interests with respect to solar and wind power, but institutional differences in state–business relations led to different outcomes. In China, in a context of corporatist state–business relations, state interventions were more far-reaching, with the state coordinating with state-owned banks, offering large financial and investment incentives to state-owned or state-connected enterprises. By contrast, in Brazil’s public–private partnerships, state support to promote renewable energies was shaped by a stronger preference for competitive auctions and stricter financing rules. The differences in state–business relations help explain the observed developmental trajectories in wind and solar power.
Subnational Adaptation Finance Allocation: Comparing Decentralized and Devolved Political Institutions in Kenya
Authors: Barrett Sam
Published: June 2015

Adaptation finance is designed to help vulnerable populations withstand effects of climate variability and change. However, levels of vulnerability seldom determine finance distribution. Political and economic preferences of national and local government decision-makers tend to direct funding streams. This article takes an institutional approach to adaptation finance allocation by comparing decentralized and devolved local governance structures managing adaptation finance in Kenya before and after the Constitution of 2010. Prior to reforms, funding was directed through decentralized mechanisms operating within district councils and local authorities; recently, devolution of political, administrative, and fiscal decision-making to county governments coincided with piloting of new local adaptation funds. Theory suggests that devolution institutionalizes more participative decision-making and fairer allocations. Evidence suggests vulnerable communities are indeed more likely to access, design, and receive allocations of finance in devolved political systems.
Can We Generalize from Case Studies?
Authors: Steinberg Paul F.
Published: June 2015

This article considers the role of generalization in comparative case studies, using as exemplars the contributions to this special issue on climate change politics. As a research practice, generalization is a logical argument for extending one’s claims beyond the data, positing a connection between events that were studied and those that were not. No methodological tradition is exempt from the requirement to demonstrate a compelling logic of generalization. The article presents a taxonomy of the logics of generalization underlying diverse research methodologies, which often go unstated and unexamined. I introduce the concept of resonance groups, which provide a causeway for cross-system generalization from single case studies. Overall the results suggest that in the comparative study of complex political systems, case study research is, ceteris paribus, on par with large-N research with respect to generalizability.
The Role of Money in Plato’s Republic, Book i
Authors: Noutsopoulos Thomas
Published: June 2015

Seaford’s recent work has revived and further substantiated a line of argument that had been developed by Marxist scholars claiming a central role for money in the genesis of philosophical thought. In a nutshell, this line of argument holds that beneath the abstractions in which philosophy breathes and with which philosophy works we can trace the real abstraction of the money form as embodiment of abstract social labour. Following this perspective, I will try to demonstrate the role money plays in Plato’sRepublic, focusing on Booki.
Revolutionary China and Its Late-Capitalist Fate
Authors: Connery Christopher
Published: June 2015

This essay examines several works that contribute to an understanding of the nature of contemporary Chinese capitalism and its historical development. Core issues include the character of the bureaucracy, which has had a distinctive relationship to capital formation, and the character of the working class. The periodisation of Chinese capitalism and the relation between the pre- and post-reform periods are pressing political and analytical concerns. This essay suggests the advantages of a clearer focus on the dynamics of depoliticisation in understanding the transition. The contemporary left-intelligentsia in China has in large part pinned its hopes on achieving some form of ideological hegemony within theccp, maintaining that it still operates within its revolutionary tradition. This represents a questionable strategic gamble. Acknowledging the important contributions made by Au’s book and other recent characterisations of China’s political economy from the left, this essay suggests that there remains much to be done.
Fracchia and Burkett on Tailism and the Dialectic
Authors: Feenberg Andrew
Published: June 2015

This commentary addresses criticism of Lukács’s early book Tailism and the Dialectic: A Defence of History and Class Consciousness. Two critiques published in Historical Materialism are analysed and alternative interpretations of Lukács’s theory developed. The commentary focuses on Lukács’s theories of class consciousness and his ideas on the social construction of nature.
Marxist Theory and Strategy: Getting Somewhere Better
Authors: Panitch Leo , Gindin Sam
Published: June 2015

The first three sections of this lecture address the need for better historical-materialist theorisations of capitalist competition, capitalist classes and capitalist states, and in particular the institutional dimensions of these – which is fundamental for understanding why and how capitalism has survived into the twenty-first century. The fourth section addresses historical materialism’s under-theorisation of the institutional dimensions of working-class formation, and how this figures in explaining why, despite the expectations of the founders of historical materialism, the working classes have not, at least yet, become capitalism’s gravediggers. While recognising that a better historical materialism along these lines will not necessarily provide us with a gps route to a socialist world beyond capitalism, it does suggest a number of guidelines for socialist strategy, with which the lecture concludes. This includes the need for building new institutions capable of defining, mobilising and representing the working class broadly, as well as recognising that the types of parties that can transform working classes into leading agents of social transformation have yet to be invented. A strategic priority must be to start anew at creating the kinds of working-class political institutions which can rekindle the socialist imagination, and develop the socialist capacities to get there.
Imperialism in Context
Authors: Serfati Claude
Published: June 2015

This article examines the political economy of French imperialism from a critical Marxist perspective. It demonstrates how France has maintained a major role on the international scene, especially militarily, despite experiencing a relative decline in world economic power since the 1990s. In this regard, three features have marked the French imperial project: (1) the core role of state institutions and corporate elites in making French capitalism, and the protracted closeness of the state-capital nexus; (2) the strength of militarism in economic, political, and social realms; and (3) the consolidation of rentier interests not only in the corporate power bloc, but also at a political level. Over the past century, these three dynamics have underpinned and reinforced a particular project of empire in France – one that bears relevance to current debates on globalisation and the ‘new imperialism’. By examining these issues, this paper seeks to further develop the Marxist theory of international political economy.
Gramsci in the Era of Posthegemony?
Authors: Freeland Anne
Published: June 2015

This review examines a collection of essays that engage with the thought of Antonio Gramsci in relation to the postcolonial. I argue that some of the chapters display a symptomatic tendency to read into Gramsci’s concepts a moral charge that detracts from their theoretical value, and that on the whole here Gramsci is either read in a post-Marxist key or dismissed as inoperable for the globalised postcolony of the present.
Herrenvolk Capitalism
Authors: Vettese Troy
Published: June 2015

Walter Johnson’s River of Dark Dreams is a book on the political economy of the Mississippi basin in the six decades before the American Civil War. The book’s three aims are to show, firstly, the racial, ecological, gender, and economic contradictions inherent within this society; secondly, the mechanisms of power maintaining a slave-holding oligarchy; and finally, its attempts at imperial expansion in the Gulf of Mexico. This book is exceptional as an example of integrating a wide range of poststructuralist approaches within a Marxist framework. Johnson mixes methods to vividly portray the ‘Cotton Kingdom’ as a vital, imperialist and capitalist polity that was in no way in decline, but rather the centre of the global industrial economy. This book is excellent, but flawed for avoiding theoretical issues and because Johnson is unable to prove broad support for private imperialist adventurers (‘filibusters’).
Axis of Evil or Access to Diesel?
Authors: Bieler Andreas , Morton Adam David
Published: June 2015

This article examines how the Iraq War was a space in the ongoing geographical extension of global capitalism linked tousforeign policy. Was it simply the decision by a unitary, hegemonic actor in the inter-state system overriding concerns from other states? Was it an imperialist move to secure the ‘global oil spigot’? Alternatively, did the use of military force reflect the interests and emergence of a transnational state apparatus? We argue that theusimperium needs to be conceptualised as a specific form of state, within which and through which fractions of national and transnational capital operate. In so doing, the Iraq War is assessed as a moment in the extension of global capitalism in which the interests of a national fraction of capital within theusstate form was dominant, thereby placing processes of class struggle and their relation to wider spaces of imperialism at the centre of analysis.
‘Struggle, Not Destiny’
Authors: Sotiris Panagiotis
Published: June 2015

On the occasion of the publication of the translation of Pierre Raymond’s text on Althusser’s materialism, we attempt an introduction to his theoretical trajectory. We begin with his conception of the conflict between materialism and idealism inLe passage au matérialismein 1973 and his thinking on the question of the history of sciences inL’histoire & les sciences(1975), before turning our attention to his elaboration on the question of a history of mathematics and in particular of the emergence of probabilistic reasoning. Then we examine his confrontation with the question of the relation between materialism and dialectics inMatérialisme dialectique et logique. After that, we proceed to his conception of the need to break with any form of teleology and finalism as the starting point for a new conception of causality (La résistible fatalité de l’histoireof 1982), before looking atDissiper la terreur et les ténèbresof 1992 and his attempt to rethink the question of practical reason. It is in light of the above presentation that we insist on the importance of Raymond’s text on Althusser.
Trafficking and Slavery
Authors: Kyriazi Tenia
Published: June 2015

Although the legal notion of slavery has been defined in article 1 of the 1926 Slavery Convention, it is currently being widely used to encompass various practices of abuse, oppression and exploitation. Trafficking in human beings is one such practice, extensively being referred to as a contemporary form of slavery. This article attempts to establish the legal criteria on the basis of which trafficking in human beings can constitute slavery and to define states’ obligations deriving from it, in the light of the recent relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, and to highlight its impact to the current European anti-trafficking regulatory framework.
Broadening International Criminal Jurisdiction?
Authors: Solomon Solon
Published: June 2015

The interests of justice are embedded in Article 53 (1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute). They give the Prosecutor the right to decline to initiate an investigation or suspend a prosecution. In these cases, the interests of justice act as a basis for the Prosecutor to refrain from any action. This article argues that due to their non-positivist character, the interests of justice could serve as the platform also of prosecutorial action, acting as the legal vehicle for a broad interpretation of the Rome Statute in the name of justice. Nevertheless, such broad, interests of justice-instigated interpretation, cannot but have positivism as its outmost limit. The Rome Statute is an international criminal law instrument and international criminal law is governed by the legality principle, which narrows any hermeneutical endeavors. Along these lines, this article examines the nexus between the expansive interpretational interests of justice function and its limits by referring to cases where the International Criminal Court (icc) was called to endorse or not a broad interpretation of notions included in the Rome Statute. The article examines cases arising from situations referred to the icc by States and by the un Security Council.
Bulbophyllum bidoupense and Schoenorchis hangianae—new species of orchids (Orchidaceae) from southern Vietnam
Authors: Nong Duy Van , Averyanov Leonid V.
Published: June 2015

Bulbophyllum bidoupense (sect. Brachystachyae) and Schoenorchis hangianae (sect. Pumila) are described and illustrated as species new for science. Both species are local endemics of the Bidoup mountain system belonging to the South Annamese floristic province of the Indochinese floristic region within Lam Dong and Khanh Hoa provinces of southern Vietnam. Schoenorchis hangianae and allied S. scolopendria are rather isolated species recognized among their congeners by plagiotropic creeping plant habit.
Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Malvaceae): A newly recorded introduced species in the flora of the United Arab Emirate
Authors: Gairola Sanjay , Mahmoud Tamer , El-Keblawy Ali
Published: June 2015

This article reports the presence of the alien species Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. for the first time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Voucher specimens are deposited in the Her­barium of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and in the herbarium of the Sharjah Seed Bank and Herbarium (SSBH) laboratory, UAE. This report emphasizes the importance of monitoring and regular reporting of emerging threats of introduced species, to avoid any possible negative impacts on native biodiversity in the future. The Arabian Gulf flora, including that of the UAE, has yet to be comprehensively investigated, and the chance of introductions of exotic plants is high, due to the large proportion of agricultural materials being imported from other countries.
Gorgonolaureus bicornutus sp. nov (Crustacea: Thecostraca: Ascothoracida) from off South-East Taiwan with notes on morphology and distribution
Authors: KOLBASOV GREGORY A. , CHAN BENNY K.K. , PETRUNINA ALEXANDRA S.
Published: June 2015

A new ascothoracidan species, Gorgonolaureus bicornutus sp. nov., has been discovered off south-eastern Taiwan at a depth of 227 m. Five females were found in permanent cysts on the branches of a plexaurid octocoralian alcyonacean (former “gorgonian”), Echinogorgia sp. These specimens are assigned to the genus Gorgonolaureus on account of their having an enlarged and inflated carapace with a long, slit-like aperture, long dorsal thoracic horns, no filamentary appendages associated with the first pair of thoracopods, and rudimentary telsonic spines. Gorgonolaureus bicornutus differs from its congeners in having two long, naked dorsal horns on thoracomeres 2 and 3, the number of seminal receptacles in the thoracopods, and the higher number of stout setae on the fifth antennular segment. The characters that unite the genus Gorgonolaureus are redefined as follows: i) the absence of filamentary appendages associated with the first pair of thoracopods; ii) the possession of 1–3 dorsal horns distributed singly among thoracomeres 1–3; iii) the absence of prominent proximal teeth medially on the mandibles; iv) the possession of short or rudimentary telsonic spines; and v) host preference, with most species infecting octocorals of the suborder Halaxonia (mostly of the family Plexauridae) and never the calcaxonian families Chrysogorgiidae and Isididae. The gorgonian-infecting genera Gorgonolaureus and Isidascus are Tethyan relics that have survived only in the Western Pacific and the Eastern Atlantic, respectively, while their relatives in the genera Cardomanica and Thalassomembracis have disjunct Western Atlantic/Western Pacific distributions, thus exemplifying a major pattern of Tethyan reliction.
Characterization of mitochondrial control region in Merlucciidae: sequence variation and molecular phylogeny
Authors: CROUS MARTA , ROLDÁN MARÍA I
Published: June 2015

In order to describe the structure and evolution of Merlucciidae and related Gadiformes mitochondrial control region we analysed 470 bp of 31 taxa belonging to 28 different species. The general structure and conserved sequence blocks observed in Gadiformes mitochondrial control region are similar to those present in other teleost fishes. The length of this segment is variable among related species due to the presence of numerous indels at domain I. Domain II is the most conserved region with a high G content. The GTGGG-box is absent in all Merluccius and seven other Gadidae species. Several methods of phylogenetic analyses has revealed the monophyly of Gadiformes, Gadinae and Merlucciidae. Merlucciidae is most closely related to Gadidae. Within Merlucciidae, American and Euroafrican clades show similar levels of differentiation to those within Gadinae where Trisopterus and Micromesistius are sister taxa. Genetic distance values for Merluccius subspecies pairs are less than half of those between species, comparable to intra specific differentiation levels in marine fish species.
Re-description of Craspodema reflectans (Nematoda, Cyatholaimidae) using confocal laser scanning microscopy
Authors: Semprucci Federica , Burattini Sabrina
Published: June 2015

Craspodema reflectans, erected by Gerlach 1964, is here re-described from some specimens recently found in the Maldivian archipelago and the implication of the new findings for the taxonomy of the Craspodema genus is discussed. Accordingly, an emended diagnosis of Craspodema genus and C. reflectans species are proposed. New data are also provided with the aid of the confocal laser scanning microscopy, using the natural fluorescence of the nematodes. The approach described here lays new foundations for the study of Museum collection material and it may be decisive for capture of new morphological details.
Extending the southern range of four shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidae, Hippolytidae and Alpheidae) in southwestern Atlantic (27o S) and confirming the presence of Mediterranean Stenopus spinosus Risso, 1827 in Brazil
Authors: GIRALDES BRUNO WELTER , FREIRE ANDREA SANTAROSA
Published: June 2015

In subtidal zones, certain shrimp species with cryptic behaviour represent a gap in the biodiversity description in many places in the world. This study extends the southern limit of Stenopus hispidus (Oliver, 1811), Alpheus formosus Gibbes, 1850, Alpheus cf. packardii Kingsley, 1880 and Lysmata ankeri Rhyne & Lin, 2006 to Santa Catarina State—Brazil, 27oS. The results also confirm the new occurrence of Stenopus spinosus Risso, 1827 in Brazilian waters. All specimens were collected by scuba diving from rocky islands between 3 and 25 meters depth. We present for each species certain taxonomic features in colour images that will help to identify these decapods in situ in further monitoring programs.
A new genus and new species of family Antedonidae (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) from southern Japan
Authors: OBUCHI MASAMI , OMORI AKIHITO
Published: June 2015

A new genus and new species of antedonid comatulid is described from southern Japan. Belonometra n. gen. has a unique appearance with ten long arms, numerous cirri, and remarkably long and crowded pinnules. The new genus shares some characters with subfamily Heliometrinae. However, the comparative length of pinnules, which is a diagnostic character to determine subfamily Antedonidae, is different. The subfamily into which the new genus should be placed is unclear.
Revision of the genus Caenota Mosely (Trichoptera: Calocidae), with descriptions of 2 new species and the larva of C. nemorosa Neboiss
Authors: SHACKLETON M.E. , WEBB J.M.
Published: June 2015

The caddisfly genus Caenota Mosely 1953 (in Mosely & Kimmins 1953) currently contains 5 species known from eastern Australia. Caenota is distinguished from other Calocidae genera by having adult males with greatly expanded maxillary palpi and a large membranous process associated with the antennal scape. Of the 5 described species, the larvae of only 1 is known. Here, we describe 2 new species, Caenota cudonis sp. nov. and C. equustagna sp. nov., from adult, larval, and pupal material. Also, we describe for the first time the larva of C. nemorosa Neboiss. These descriptions increase the number of Caenota species to 7 and the number of associated and described larvae to 4. This paper also provides descriptions of features associated with the adult head capsule of all described species of Caenota. Each of the known species is considered, with illustrations and re-descriptions of these features given.
New combinations and changes in the classification of Ceratopogonidae (Diptera, biting midges)
Authors: BORKENT ART
Published: June 2015

This short article contains some necessary taxonomic changes prior to the publication of a chapter on the Ceratopogonidae by the author for the upcoming Manual of Afrotropical Diptera and spearheaded by Ashley Kirk-Spriggs. Some additional placements of three genera to a recently redefined tribe are also included.
Contribution to the knowledge of two endemic species of Anatolian Gomphocerinae Fieber, 1853 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)
Authors: MOL ABBAS , TAYLAN MEHMET SAİT , ŞİRİN DENİZ
Published: June 2015

This study focuses on two endemic Anatolian Gomphocerinae Fieber, 1853 species, which are evaluated in terms of nomenclature and taxonomy using biogeographical, morphological, and acoustical data. The original description of Eremippus zeybekoglui is supplemented by the data on new specimens collected from type locality, and the female of this species is described for the first time in this study. Based on the new specimens of Stenobothrus weidneri (Demirsoy, 1977) comb. nov., which were collected at the type locality, the species is transferred from Eremippus Uvarov, 1926 to Stenobothrus Fischer, 1853. Additionally, male calling songs of both species are described for the first time in this study. Also, the biogeography of these species is presented and discussed.
Revision of the Orasema festiva species group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eucharitidae)
Authors: Burks Roger A. , Mottern Jason , Heraty John M.
Published: June 2015

The Neotropical Orasema festiva species group is revised, retaining O. festiva (Fabricius) and O. delicatula (Walker) as valid species, and describing four new species: O. alvarengai n. sp., O. caesariata n. sp., O. erwini n. sp., and O. reburra n. sp. The festiva-group is characterized by features that are unusual or unique in Orasema, including the presence of 8–11 labral digits, a smooth face, and a lateral petiolar carina. The egg of O. caesariata and the first-instar larva of O. delicatula are newly described and found to be similar to other species of Orasema.
Hyphessobrycon lucenorum (Characiformes: Characidae), a new species from the rio Madeira basin, Rondônia State, Brazil
Authors: OHARA WILLIAN M. , LIMA FLÁVIO. C.T.
Published: June 2015

A new species of characid is described from the upper rio Machado, a tributary of the rio Madeira basin, Rondônia, Brazil. Hyphessobrycon lucenorum can be distinguished from all congeners by the unique combination of the presence of a conspicuous rounded humeral blotch and a broad and diffuse longitudinal stripe. The new species is included within the Hyphessobrycon agulha group. The high number of endemic species of fishes occurring in the headwater tributaries of three river systems (rio Madeira, rio Tapajós, and rio Paraguai) draining the watershed defined by the Chapada dos Parecis is discussed.
Skadisotoma, a new genus of Isotomidae (Collembola) from Australia
Authors: GREENSLADE PENELOPE , FJELLBERG ARNE
Published: June 2015

A new species and genus, Skadisotoma inpericulosa, is described from south-eastern Australia. It possesses some characters that are found in Tomoceridae, such as a long cylindrical dens that is medially bent and a mucro with at least six teeth of different sizes and three setae but in other characters it resembles an isotomid. In this it shows similarities to the Boreal genus Mucronia Fjellberg, but differs from it in the possession of spines on the dens and in some chaetotaxic characters.
Prognostic Residual Mean Flow in an Ocean General Circulation Model and its Relation to Prognostic Eulerian Mean Flow
Authors: Saenz Juan A. , Chen Qingshan , Ringler Todd
Published: June 2015

Recent work has shown that taking the thickness-weighted average (TWA) of the Boussinesq equations in buoyancy coordinates results in exact equations governing the prognostic residual mean flow where eddy–mean flow interactions appear in the horizontal momentum equations as the divergence of the Eliassen–Palm flux tensor (EPFT). It has been proposed that, given the mathematical tractability of the TWA equations, the physical interpretation of the EPFT, and its relation to potential vorticity fluxes, the TWA is an appropriate framework for modeling ocean circulation with parameterized eddies. The authors test the feasibility of this proposition and investigate the connections between the TWA framework and the conventional framework used in models, where Eulerian mean flow prognostic variables are solved for. Using the TWA framework as a starting point, this study explores the well-known connections between vertical transfer of horizontal momentum by eddy form drag and eddy overturning by the bolus velocity, used by Greatbatch and Lamb and Gent and McWilliams to parameterize eddies. After implementing the TWA framework in an ocean general circulation model, the analysis is verified by comparing the flows in an idealized Southern Ocean configuration simulated using the TWA and conventional frameworks with the same mesoscale eddy parameterization.
Forecasting Tropical Cyclones in the Western North Pacific Basin Using the NCEP Operational HWRF: Real-Time Implementation in 2012
Authors: Tallapragada Vijay , Kieu Chanh , Trahan Samuel , Zhang Zhan , Liu Qingfu , Wang Weiguo , Tong Mingjing , Zhang Banglin , Strahl Brian
Published: June 2015

This study documents the recent efforts of the hurricane modeling team at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s (NCEP) Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) in implementing the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting Model (HWRF) for real-time tropical cyclone (TC) forecast guidance in the western North Pacific basin (WPAC) from May to December 2012 in support of the operational forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Evaluation of model performance for the WPAC in 2012 reveals that the model has promising skill with the 3-, 4-, and 5-day track errors being 125, 220, and 290 nautical miles (n mi; 1 n mi = 1.852 km), respectively. Intensity forecasts also show good performance, with the most significant intensity error reduction achieved during the first 24 h. Stratification of the track and intensity forecast errors based on storm initial intensity reveals that HWRF tends to underestimate storm intensity for weak storms and overestimate storm intensity for strong storms. Further analysis of the horizontal distribution of track and intensity forecast errors over the WPAC suggests that HWRF possesses a systematic negative intensity bias, slower movement, and a rightward bias in the lower latitudes. At higher latitudes near the East China Sea, HWRF shows a positive intensity bias and faster storm movement. This appears to be related to underestimation of the dominant large-scale system associated with the western Pacific subtropical high, which renders weaker steering flows in this basin.
A Consensus Forecast for Tropical Cyclone Gale Wind Radii
Authors: Sampson Charles R. , Knaff John A.
Published: June 2015

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has been forecasting gale force wind radii for many years, and more recently (starting in 2004) began routine postanalysis or “best tracking” of the maximum radial extent of gale [34 knots (kt; 1 kt = 0.514 m s−1)] force winds in compass quadrants surrounding the tropical cyclone (wind radii). At approximately the same time, a statistical wind radii forecast, based solely on climatology and persistence, was implemented so that wind radii forecasts could be evaluated for skill. If the best-track gale radii are used as ground truth (even accounting for random errors in the analyses), the skill of the NHC forecasts appears to be improving at 2- and 3-day lead times, suggesting that the guidance has also improved. In this paper several NWP models are evaluated for their skill, an equally weighted average or “consensus” of the model forecasts is constructed, and finally the consensus skill is evaluated. The results are similar to what is found with tropical cyclone track and intensity in that the consensus skill is comparable to or better than that of the individual models. Furthermore, the consensus skill is high enough to be of potential use as forecast guidance or as a proxy for official gale force wind radii forecasts at the longer lead times.
Cigarette Excise Taxes in Context
Authors: Campbell Richard B. , Balbach Edith D.
Published: June 2015

Cigarette excise taxes are an important tool in the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control strategy for reducing global tobacco consumption. However, contemporary tobacco control efforts also coincide with the proliferation of neoliberal economic programs calling for the withdrawal of state activity from the economy to facilitate trade. In this environment, cigarette excise taxes may be seen less as an instrument of tobacco control than a feature of an economic program that is punitive to lower-income people. This article reviews collaboration between progressive organizations in the United States and the tobacco industry in the 1980s and 1990s, documenting potential sources of unanticipated resistance to excise taxes and highlighting the tobacco industry’s capacity to engage in policy issues through third-party surrogates. It is important for those implementing cigarette excise tax increases to distance tobacco control objectives from larger economic policy measures and for tobacco control advocates to build alliances with organizations working for economic fairness in order to address mutual concerns.
Can Growth Be Green?
Authors: Gough Ian
Published: June 2015

This short article, based on a presentation at the London School of Economics, criticizes the common opinion that “green growth” offers a relatively painless – some even say pain-free – transition path for capitalist economies. After a brief summary of the daunting arithmetic entailed in combining fast decarbonization with continuing growth, the article advances 3 propositions. First, market-based carbon mitigation programs, such as carbon trading, cannot be sufficient and must be coupled with other policy pillars that foster transformative investment and widespread regulation. Second, a political economy of climate policy needs to draw on the lessons of comparative social policy research, which emphasizes the role of international pressures, interests, institutions, and ideas. Taking these into account gives a more realistic perspective on climate policy making in today’s neoliberal world. Third, more radical policies on both consumption and production are called for, to ensure that carbon mitigation is not pursued at the expense of equity and social welfare. These include policies to restrain high-carbon luxury consumption and a transition toward shorter paid working time. The conclusion is that a realistic program of green growth will be immensely difficult and entail radical political change.
Beyond the Biomedical Paradigm
Authors: Khoury Peter
Published: June 2015

This article describes the formation and development of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services in Australia, with emphasis on the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service in Sydney. These organizations were established in the 1970s by Indigenous Australians who were excluded from and denied access to mainstream health services. The aim of this research was to explore notions of Indigenous agency against a historical backdrop of dispossession, colonialism, and racism. Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services act as a primary source of healthcare for many Indigenous communities in rural and urban areas. This study examined their philosophy of healthcare, the range of services provided, their problems with state bureaucracies and government funding bodies, and the imposition of managerialist techniques and strategies on their governance. Essentially, these organizations transcend individualistic, biomedical, and bureaucratic paradigms of health services by conceptualizing and responding to Indigenous health needs at a grassroots level and in a broad social and political context. They are based on a social model of health.
Who Is Afraid of Volume 1181 of the New York Academy of Sciences? Under Threat, the Nuclear Establishment Plays Dirty
Authors: Katz Alison Rosamund
Published: June 2015

Following decades of an internationally coordinated cover-up, critical information about the health consequences of the Chernobyl accident, worldwide but particularly in Western and Eastern Europe, was made available through Volume 1181 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. The book also contains unique, valuable data from the 3 most affected counties, and it suggests that consequences of the Chernobyl accident are far more serious than has been acknowledged. Many health problems are worsening, including those resulting from irreversible genetic damage. Given the threat that such information represents to the nuclear establishment, it was predictable that Volume 1181, of far higher scientific quality than the United Nations’ flagship report The Chernobyl Forum, would meet with violent criticism. Since its publication in 2009, it has been misrepresented and discredited by the nuclear establishment and international health establishment – to the extent of making the absurd and false claim that the New York Academy of Sciences has in some way disowned its own publication. The New York Academy of Sciences defends publication of Volume 1181 on the grounds of its commitment to open discussion of scientific material and publication of material of scientific value.
The Effects of Intellectual Property Rights on Access to Medicines and Catastrophic Expenditure
Authors: Jung Youn , Kwon Soonman
Published: June 2015

Since the introduction of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 1995, there has been considerable concern that poor access to essential medicines in developing countries would be exacerbated because strengthening intellectual property rights (IPR) leads to monopoly of pharmaceutical markets and delayed entry of lower-cost generic drugs. However, despite extensive research and disputes regarding this issue, there are few empirical studies on the topic. In this study, we investigated the effect of IPR on access to medicines and catastrophic expenditure for medicines, using data from World Health Surveys 2002–2003. The index of patent rights developed by Ginarte and Park (1997) was used to measure the IPR protection level of each country. Estimates were adjusted for individual and country characteristics. In the results of multilevel logistic regression analyses, higher level of IPR significantly increased the likelihood of nonaccess to prescribed medicines even after controlling for individual socioeconomic status and national characteristics associated with access to medicines. This study’s finding on the negative impact of IPR on access to medicines calls for the implementation of more active policy at the supra-national level to improve access in low- and middle-income countries.
Flu Vaccination
Authors: i Vila Teresa Forcades
Published: June 2015

The research presented in this article exposes a wide gap between evidence and public policy with regard to influenza vaccination in the context of the 2009 pandemic and with regard to yearly seasonal epidemics. It shows that the World Health Organization and health authorities worldwide failed to protect the interests of the most vulnerable during the 2009 flu pandemic and demonstrates a lack of scientific base for seasonal flu vaccination campaigns. Narrowing the gap between scientific evidence and public health policies with regard to influenza is a serious and urgent matter, one that implies confronting the interests of big pharmaceutical corporations and their allies at academic and government levels. The credibility of science and the well-being of many are at stake.
Assessing Market Risk of Indian Index Funds
Authors: Biswas Suparna , Dutta Santanu
Published: June 2015

An index fund is a mutual fund that aims to imitate a benchmark index. In India, there has been significant growth in the number of such funds since 2002. These funds are exposed mainly to market risk. The assessment and comparison of the market risk and the risk-adjusted returns of these funds are topics of interest to both researchers and investors. Value-at-risk and expected shortfall are well-known measures of the market risk. The Sharpe ratio and the Treynor ratio measure risk-adjusted return earned in excess of average market return. For each fund, we estimate these measures. Most of the index funds exhibit similar market risk as the NIFTY or the SENSEX index, which they mimic. Moreover, the market risk of these funds seems to be unaffected by multiple-fund management by the respective fund managers. However, there exist significant differences among the risk-adjusted daily returns, earned in excess of the average daily index return, of the various Indian index funds. Ideally, an index fund is expected to exhibit similar risk and risk-adjusted return as the benchmark index. We identify some such Indian index funds.
Role of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation in Poverty Reduction
Authors: Haider Mohammed Ziaul , Dutta Champa Bati , Siddiqui Ohidul Islam
Published: June 2015

This study investigates the role of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in poverty reduction of Bangladesh. A total of 91 workers are surveyed who work in BSCIC estates and non-BSCIC manufacturing firms in the south-west region of Bangladesh. This study has used both panel and cross-section approaches. The study findings indicate that BSCIC has a significant role in industrial expansion and poverty reduction in Bangladesh. The regression results reveal that BSCIC significantly influences household consumption and poverty reduction. A 1 per cent increase in income from BSCIC will increase the yearly household consumption by 0.73 per cent, whereas it is only 0.36 per cent in case of non-BSCIC income. The impact of income increase on consumption is more than double for the BSCIC group households in comparison with non-BSCIC group households. In cross-section analysis, the purchasing power parity (PPP) at local currency of US$ 1.25 is considered in this study to construct poverty line. The result shows that, for an increase in the income from BSCIC by US$ 1 per month, income over poverty line increases (or the poverty gap decreases) by US$ 0.028 per month per household on average. Therefore, this study suggests for planned expansion of BSCIC for poverty reduction in Bangladesh.
Performance Management System for Local Government: The Indonesian Experience
Authors: Jurnali Teddy , Siti-Nabiha A.K.
Published: June 2015

Good governance and accountability issues have become a serious concern in Indonesia after the economic crisis and subsequent political transition in 1998. Consequently, the Indonesian government has increasingly given attention to the application of performance measurement for the governmental agencies, including local authorities, as part of bureaucratic reform and good governance practices. The purpose of this article is to review the regulations and guidelines while examining issues and consequences of implementing performance measurement system in Indonesian local governments using descriptive and analytical methods based on secondary data. Although a performance measurement system has been implemented in Indonesia for 14 years, the results have been far from satisfactory. The Performance Management System (PMS) regulation is quite comprehensive, except it lacks a punishment and reward system. Some evidence demonstrates implementation issues such as lack of compliance, lack of integration between planning and budgeting, and inaccurate indicators and data reporting.
Determinants of Foreign Institutional Investment in India: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Srinivasan P. , Kalaivani M.
Published: June 2015

The purpose of the study is to explore the determinants of foreign institutional investments (FIIs) in India through the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. Using quarterly time series data, the empirical analysis was carried out for the period January 2004 to December 2011. Our study shows that exchange rate has significant negative impact on FII inflows both in the short run and long run, implying that depreciation of currency adversely affects the FII flows into India. Moreover, the Indian equity market returns has negative short-run and positive long-run effects on FII inflows to India. This confirms the evidence of positive and negative feedback trading hypothesis in the short run and long run, respectively. The US equity market returns have positive and significant influence on FII flows in the long run but positive and insignificant influence on FII flows in the short run. The risks associated with US equity market encourage foreign institutional investors to invest more in the Indian equity markets. Furthermore, domestic inflation exerts negative and positive significant influence on FII flows in the long run and short run, respectively. It can be concluded that FII inflows to India are essentially determined by exchange rate, domestic inflation, domestic equity market returns, returns and risk associated with US equity market.