bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preferential Trade Agreements: Recent Theoretical and Empirical Developments
Authors: Lake James , Krishna Pravin
Published: August 2019

In recent decades, there has been a dramatic proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) between countries that, while legal, contradict the non-discrimination principle of the world trade system. This raises various issues, both theoretical and empirical, regarding the evolution of trade policy within the world trade system and the welfare implications for PTA members and non-members. The survey starts with the Kemp-Wan-Ohyama and Panagariya-Krishna analyses in the literature that theoretically show PTAs can always be constructed so that they (weakly) increase the welfare of members and non-members. Considerable attention is then devoted to recent developments on the interaction between PTAs and multilateral trade liberalization, focusing on two key incentives: an “exclusion incentive” of PTA members and a “free riding incentive” of PTA non-members. While the baseline presumption one should have in mind is that these incentives lead PTAs to inhibit the ultimate degree of global trade liberalization, this presumption can be overturned when dynamic considerations are taken into account or when countries can negotiate the degree of multilateral liberalization rather than facing a binary choice over global free trade. Promising areas for pushing this theoretical literature forward include the growing use of quantitative trade models, incorporating rules of origin and global value chains, modeling the issues surrounding “mega-regional” agreements, and modelling the possibility of exit from PTAs. Empirical evidence in the literature is mixed regarding whether PTAs lead to trade diversion or trade creation, whether PTAs have significant adverse effects on non-member terms-of-trade, whether PTAs lead members to lower external tariffs on non-members, and the role of PTAs in facilitating deep integration among members.
The Law and Economics of Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Korsmo Charles R.
Published: August 2019

Law and economics has proved a particularly fruitful scholarly approach in the field of mergers and acquisitions. A huge law and economics literature has developed, providing critical insights into merger activity in general and the proper role of corporate and securities law in regulating this activity.

Early economic research examined the motivations for merger activity and the antitrust implications of mergers. Later scholarship elucidated the important disciplining effects on management from merger activity and the market for corporate control. If management performs poorly, causing a firm to become undervalued relative to a well-managed firm, the firm becomes vulnerable to a takeover where management will be replaced. This prospect provides a powerful incentive for management to perform well.

More recent work has revealed the limitations of market discipline on management actions in the merger context, and the corresponding role of corporate law in protecting stockholders. Because a merger is generally the final interaction between management and the other stakeholders in a firm, the typical constraints and mechanisms of accountability that otherwise constrain managerial opportunism may be rendered ineffective. This work has played a central role in informing modern jurisprudence. It has shaped the application of enhanced judicial scrutiny of management actions in the merger context, as embodied in the landmark Delaware cases Unocal and Revlon. The law and economics literature has also made important contribution to more recent developments in stockholder appraisal. The law and economics tradition has also provided a useful framework for evaluating the dynamics of merger litigation, including stockholder appraisal, and the extent to which such litigation can be made to serve a useful role in corporate governance.
Disability and Economic Development
Authors: Suhrcke Marc
Published: August 2019

While definitional and measurement problems pose a challenge, there is no doubt that disability affects a noticeable share of the population, the vast majority of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The still comparatively scarce empirical data and evidence suggests that disability is closely associated with poverty and other indicators of economic deprivation at both the country and—if with slightly greater nuance—at the individual/household level. There is also a growing body of evidence documenting the sizeable additional costs incurred by persons with disabilities (PwDs) as a direct or indirect consequence of their disability, underlining the increased risk of PwDs (and the households they are part of) falling under the absolute poverty line in any given LMIC.

Looking ahead, there remains considerable scope for more evidence on the causal nature of the link between disability and poverty, as well as on the (cost-)effectiveness of interventions and policies attempting to improve the well-being of PwDs.
Economic Life in Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain, 1085–1815
Authors: Casado Alonso Hilario , Ruiz Teofilo F.
Published: August 2019

The period between 1085 to 1815 witnessed important transformations in Spain’s economic history. The transition from a frontier society to one of the largest empires in the world was soon followed by its subsequent decline. During Spain’s Middle Ages two kinds of economies, societies and political structures, existed side by side: One represented by the various Muslim kingdoms and another by the Christians. Their frontiers shifted constantly between 1035 and 1212 to the detriment of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), concluding with the conquest of Granada in 1492. Economic dynamism resulted in Christian expansion, reflected in demographic, agricultural, livestock, and commercial growth during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries and comparable to that of other medieval kingdoms. Under the stress of the mid-14th-century crisis (plagues, wars, and civil conflicts), economic growth came to a partial halt in the second half of the century. Yet, unlike other areas in Europe, the late medieval crisis had less of an impact in Spain, differently affecting some of the Iberian realms.

After the second third of the 15th century, as it was the case in Portugal, the economy in the Crown of Castile began to grow once more. Castile became the demographic and economic hub of Spain to the detriment of other areas, such as Catalonia, Navarra, or Aragón, which had been more developed in earlier times. The Catholic Monarchs’ rule and their reforms made Spain one of the most prosperous economies in Europe and the center of a sprawling empire. The colonisation of the Americas and the Philippines with their untold wealth further bolstered Spain’s economy. As a result, most researchers agree that Spain reached the height of its economic growth in the mid-16th century, although in a number of regions growth extended into the 1580s. Based mostly in agriculture, the economy also benefitted from the development of crafts and, above all, trade, generating vast tax revenue for the Habsburg monarchy’s expansive policy of war.

After the late 16th century, however, the Spanish economy began to show signs of fatigue, leading to severe crisis that lasted until at least the mid-17th century. This recession heralded a major shift in Spain’s history. Whereas it was the inland areas of Spain that were the most populated and wealthy during the 12th and 13th centuries, these areas were also most affected by the crisis, while the coastal regions would be the first to emerge from the recession. Although Spain failed to reach the heights attained in other countries such as Britain, France, or the Netherlands, an economic revival occurred during the 18th century, moving the Spanish economy beyond what it had been during the final third of the 16th century. Nonetheless, as had occurred in the 17th century, coastal areas developed more intensely than inland, leading to the economic geography of modern-day Spain.
Journalism and US Foreign Relations
Authors: Pach Chester
Published: August 2019

Since the late 19th century, the relationship between journalists and the makers of US foreign policy has been both cooperative and contentious. Reporters depend on government officials for information about policy decisions and their implementation. The White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon use the news media to build support for their policies and, at times, to communicate directly with allies and adversaries. Since World War I, presidential administrations have developed increasingly sophisticated methods to manage the news and influence public understanding of international affairs. Wartime censorship has been one tool of news management. Self-censorship, however, has also affected coverage of international affairs, as journalists have voluntarily refrained from publishing information for fear of impairing national security or undermining support for US wartime or Cold War policies. Allegations of bias and sensationalism became acrimonious during the Vietnam War and have continued to shape the debate about accurate, critical, and legitimate reporting. Arguments over “fake news,” which became commonplace during the presidency of Donald J. Trump, have many precursors, as both journalists and government officials have been responsible for misleading or distorted news coverage of international affairs since the Spanish–American War.
Harry S. Truman and US Foreign Relations
Authors: O'Connell Kaete
Published: August 2019

Sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, Harry S. Truman faced the daunting tasks of winning the war and ensuring future peace and stability. Chided by critics for his lack of foreign policy experience but championed by supporters for his straightforward decision-making, Truman guided the United States from World War to Cold War. The Truman presidency marked a new era in American foreign relations, with the United States emerging from World War II unmatched in economic strength and military power. The country assumed a leadership position in a postwar world primarily shaped by growing antagonism with the Soviet Union. Truman pursued an interventionist foreign policy that took measures to contain Soviet influence in Europe and stem the spread of communism in Asia. Under his leadership, the United States witnessed the dawn of the atomic age, approved billions of dollars in economic aid to rebuild Europe, supported the creation of multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, recognized the state of Israel, and intervened in the Korean peninsula. The challenges Truman confronted and the policies he implemented laid the foundation for 20th-century US foreign relations throughout the Cold War and beyond.
Publishing Houses and the 'Discovery' of Brazil, 1930–1950
Authors: Pellegrino Soares Gabriela
Published: August 2019

The flourishing of the publishing market in Brazil in the first decades of the 20th century is associated with the social, economic, and political transformations that accompanied the advent of the republic and, after 1930, the inflections of the so-called Vargas era. Publishers with growing prestige began to create repertoires that could capture the multiple dimensions of the nation and affirm identarian matrices. Through letters, lively soirées, and political complicities, they constituted solid sociability networks, reflected in the names of the authors in their catalogues.

In the presentation and selection of works, they assimilated the impulses of the modernist and regionalist literary movements, revealing talents from various regions of Brazil. They benefited from the expansion of educational policies, the birth of universities, and the maturing of the human sciences. In addition, they made efforts to educate the reading public using rigorously organized collections under the curatorships of renowned writers and bibliophiles. They were aware of the cultural mission they carried out in a country with a still-precarious cultural and educational structure.

Among the many collections which appeared, involving the translation of classics of literature or foreign popular science books, a central place was given to the '(re)discovery of Brazil.' In austere or finely made editions, the Brasilianas (works about Brazil), literary collections, individual works by Brazilian writers, poets, and essayists from different generations, and also foreign perspectives of Brazil all gained materiality.

Echoing the famous phrase by the Paulista writer Monteiro Lobato, “a country that makes men and book,” the publishers of the period acted in a profound connection—even in positions of confrontation—with the ideas of the nation that appeared on the horizon at that time.
Cancer Control and Prevention in Argentina
Authors: Eraso Yolanda
Published: August 2019

Starting in the 1920s, the first initiatives to organize the control of cancer in Argentina soon revealed the presence of different actors and interests, a specialized cancer institute, a women’s voluntary organization, state authorities, university departments, cancerologists, and gynecologists. Initially concentrated around the activities of the Institute of Experimental Medicine for the Study and Treatment of Cancer in Buenos Aires, cancer interventions expanded in the following decades through university departments and gynecology services, which outlined a decentralized approach for reining in the centralized efforts from the institute. While a therapeutic-based approach with substantial funding for research institutes characterized industrialized countries’ initiatives until the end of World War II, in Argentina it was within the field of cancer diagnosis where specialists sought to create the foundational structures of cancer organization. Early detection of tumors, it was argued, favored a good prognosis with surgical treatment, placing the burden of cancer control on public education, the availability of diagnostic services, and doctors’ knowledge of cancer identification.

From the 1920s to the early 1980s, three distinct periods can be identified: first, an institutional approach, where the first cancer institute attempted to concentrate all the activities related to the control of cancer, that is, lay education, scientific research, diagnosis and treatment, patients’ support, and cancer statistics; second, a state approach, inaugurated by the arrival of Juan Domingo Perón to government, where the centralization of cancer initiatives became a state affair; and third, a long period characterized by the retirement of the state—marked by political unrest and a succession of military governments until the return of democracy in 1983—informed by decentralizing policies, the prominent role of civil society actors, such as voluntary organizations and medical societies, and the relative sway of the Pan American Health Organization. Throughout these three periods, all these actors played a role, and their ambivalent relationship and, often poor, interaction shaped the country’s efforts to control and prevent a disease that, since the 1940s, has steadily occupied the second cause of death. As the early detection strategy prevailed, responsibility for cancer control and prevention was constantly redistributed among the public, doctors, educators, and those who financed cancer services. The national state emerged as a feeble agent in cancer governance and, as discussed in the final section, this legacy is still felt today.
Crop Rotations, Fallowing, and Associated Environmental Benefits
Authors: Nadeem Faisal , Nawaz Ahmad , Farooq Muhammad
Published: August 2019

Planned crop rotation offers a pragmatic option to improve soil fertility, manage insect pests and diseases, and offset the emission of greenhouse gases. The inclusion of legume crops in crop rotations helps to reduce the use of external nitrogen inputs for legumes and other crops because legumes may fix the atmospheric nitrogen. This also helps to reduce the environmental pollution caused by volatilization and leaching of applied nitrogen. The inclusion of allelopathic crops in rotation may be useful to suppress noxious weeds due to release of the allelochemicals in the rhizosphere. The rotation of tap-rooted crops with shallow rooted crops may result in efficient and productive use of nutrient resources and conservation of soil moisture. Continuous monoculture systems may cause the loss of biodiversity. Land fallowing is an efficient agricultural management technique mostly practiced in arid regions to capture rainwater and store it in the soil profile for later use in crop production. During fallowing, tillage operations are practiced to enhance moisture conservation in the soil. Keeping soil fallow for a season or more restores soil fertility through nutrient deposits; increases organic matter, microbial carbon, and soil microbial diversity; and improves the soil’s physical properties, including aggregation stability and reduced soil compaction due to decreased traffic. In addition, fallowing of land provides biological means of pest (weeds and insects) control by disrupting the life cycle of pests and decreasing reliance on pesticides. Land fallowing can help offset the emission of greenhouse gases from agricultural fields by reducing traffic and increasing carbon sequestration within the soil. Summer fallowing may help to preserve moisture in diverse soil types in the rainfed regions of the world, although it may reduce the carbon sequestration potential of soils over the long term. Energy resources are decreasing, and the inclusion of energy crops in crop rotation may be highly beneficial. Many of the processes, factors, and mechanisms involved in crop rotation and land fallowing are poorly understood and require further investigation.
Adaptation and Adaptability: Multiple Authors and Studio Authorship in SoulMate
Authors: Sun Yi
Published: August 2019

This article examines a China-Hong Kong co-produced film adaptation, SoulMate, within sociocultural, industrial, and organizational contexts. It argues that, first, the film adaptation’s authors are not limited to the agents who adapt the source material. The production company explores and exploits a variety of authors, including extrinsic names to the work, as symbolic resources to serve the discourse surrounding the film; and the adaptation status makes a special contribution to that process by multiplying authors and by generating cross-references. Second, film adaptation has a specific and significant bearing on the adaptability of production houses that encounter changing sociocultural and industrial environments. This article hopefully broadens the understanding of film adaptation in alternative historical periods and industrial contexts other than Hollywood with a simultaneous effort to propose new approaches to the study of Chinese-language film adaptation. It also attempts to expand the discourse of authorship in film adaptation studies and in film studies more generally by identifying filmmaking entities, in addition to directors, producers, and writers, as adaptive co-authors and non-conflicting stakeholders in the business of film adaptation.
Sex differences in migratory restlessness behavior in a Nearctic–Neotropical songbird
Authors: Deakin Jessica E , Guglielmo Christopher G , Morbey Yolanda E
Published: August 2019

Most seasonally migrating songbirds exhibit protandry, whereby males arrive to breeding sites in the spring before females. The proximate behavioral mechanisms of protandry are largely unknown for most species, but could include earlier migratory departure from wintering sites by males or overall faster migration by males. Using onset and intensity of migratory restlessness as proxies for departure timing and rate of migration, respectively, we evaluated these 2 hypothesized mechanisms in a Nearctic–Neotropical migrating songbird, the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). Birds were captured during fall migration, held in captivity over winter, and photostimulated in the spring to induce migratory behavior. Video analysis was used to separately quantify stereotypical nocturnal wing whirring and jumping migratory restlessness behaviors. The birds were then radio-tagged and released in mid-May to compare stopover duration between the sexes and validate migratory restlessness in captivity as a proxy for the motivation to migrate in the field. In captivity males initiated migratory restlessness earlier in the spring than females, demonstrating innate differences in the onset of spring migration in this species. Males also displayed higher-intensity wing whirring behavior, suggesting potential sex differences in flight behavior that could influence migration rate. We found no sex differences in stopover duration in the field following release. However, stopover duration was negatively correlated with total migratory restlessness intensity on the last night the birds were held in captivity, which supports migratory restlessness as a proxy for the motivation to migrate at the individual level.
Nonbreeding season movements of a migratory songbird are related to declines in resource availability
Authors: Knight Samantha M , Gow Elizabeth A , Bradley David W , Clark Robert G , Bélisle Marc , Berzins Lisha L , Blake Tricia , Bridge Eli S , Burke Lauren , Dawson Russell D , Dunn Peter O , Garant Dany , Holroyd Geoffrey L , Hussell David J T , Lansdorp Olga , Laughlin Andrew J , Leonard Marty L , Pelletier Fanie , Shutler Dave , Siefferman Lynn , Taylor Caz M , Trefry Helen E , Vleck Carol M , Vleck David , Whittingham Linda A , Winkler David W , Norris D Ryan
Published: August 2019

There have been an increasing number of observations of itinerancy in migratory songbirds, where individuals move among 2 or more widely separated areas during the “stationary” nonbreeding season. Knowledge of such movements and an understanding of what drives them are important for predicting how migratory populations will respond to environmental change. In this study, we investigated nonbreeding movements of the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), an aerial insectivore that breeds across North America and spends the nonbreeding season around the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. With year-round tracking data obtained from 133 light-level geolocators deployed at 12 breeding sites ranging from Alaska to Nova Scotia to North Carolina, we show that 44% of individuals made at least one large-scale movement (range: 301–1,744 km) within the nonbreeding range. The frequency of itinerancy decreased with longitude, such that 75% of individuals made a movement in the western portion of the nonbreeding range compared to only 31% in the east. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for resource availability, we found that when individuals did move, they were more likely to move from sites where resources were deteriorating faster (a more negative change in NDVI prior to departure) than their destination sites. There was also evidence that individuals moved to destination sites with higher NDVI and temperature in the autumn, but not in the winter. Our results suggest movements of Tree Swallows during the nonbreeding season are influenced by resource availability, but because not all individuals used multiple nonbreeding sites, the density of individuals at a site and the level of competition may have also been a factor influencing nonbreeding season movements.
Minimal dispersion approximately balancing weights: asymptotic properties and practical considerations
Authors: Wang Yixin , Zubizarreta Jose R
Published: August 2019

Weighting methods are widely used to adjust for covariates in observational studies, sample surveys, and regression settings. In this paper, we study a class of recently proposed weighting methods, which find the weights of minimum dispersion that approximately balance the covariates. We call these weights ‘minimal weights’ and study them under a common optimization framework. Our key observation is that finding weights which achieve approximate covariate balance is equivalent to performing shrinkage estimation of the inverse propensity score. This connection leads to both theoretical and practical developments. From a theoretical standpoint, we characterize the asymptotic properties of minimal weights and show that, under standard smoothness conditions on the propensity score function, minimal weights are consistent estimates of the true inverse probability weights. In addition, we show that the resulting weighting estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal and semiparametrically efficient. From a practical standpoint, we give a finite-sample oracle inequality that bounds the loss incurred by balancing more functions of the covariates than strictly needed. This inequality shows that minimal weights implicitly bound the number of active covariate balance constraints. Finally, we provide a tuning algorithm for choosing the degree of approximate balance in minimal weights. The paper concludes with an empirical study which suggests that approximate balance is preferable to exact balance, especially when there is limited overlap in covariate distributions. Further studies show that the root mean squared error of the weighting estimator can be reduced by as much as a half with approximate balance.
Cryptic speciation in the herbaceous bamboo genus Piresia (Poaceae, Olyreae)
Authors: de Carvalho Maria L Silveira , de Jesus Izabela S D , da Silva Rilquer M , Leite Kelly R B , Schnadelbach Alessandra S , Clark Lynn G , de Oliveira R Patrícia
Published: August 2019

Piresia, a small genus of herbaceous bamboos, has a geographical disjunction between the Caribbean and northern/western South America and the north-eastern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Piresia leptophylla is reported from western Amazonia (WA) and the north-eastern Atlantic Forest (NAF), but its occurrence in western Amazonia is questionable. Using an integrative approach, we combined traditional morphological analysis, anatomy and niche modelling. The results revealed few macromorphological differences between WA and NAF specimens (only plant height, leaf length, lodicule dimensions, shape and position), contrasting with consistent differences in leaf anatomy (macrohairs and cruciform silica bodies in the costal zone of the adaxial/abaxial leaf surfaces, crenate silica bodies on the abaxial leaf surface, lack of panicoid hairs on the abaxial leaf surface, bicellular microhairs and lobed papillae over the abaxial leaf surface, and sparse but elongated fusoid cells in the mesophyll of WA specimens) and in niche patterns. The anatomical/micromorphological characters suggest environmental adaptations to the Amazonian and ‘restinga’ forests, respectively. We therefore propose the segregation of the WA populations into a new species, Piresia tenella sp. nov. We provide a formal description, photographs, a line illustration, a distribution map and discussion of the conservation status for the new species.
The chaos of hypertension guidelines for chronic kidney disease patients
Authors: Castillo-Rodriguez Esmeralda , Fernandez-Fernandez Beatriz , Alegre-Bellassai Raquel , Kanbay Mehmet , Ortiz Alberto
Published: August 2019

Three major guidelines deal with blood pressure thresholds and targets for antihypertensive drug therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients: the 2012 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Blood Pressure in Chronic Kidney Disease; the 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults; and the 2018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension. However, a careful reading of the three guidelines leaves the practicing physician confused about the definition of CKD, how hypertension and secondary hypertension should be diagnosed in CKD patients and what the blood pressure thresholds, targets and compelling indications of antihypertensive drug therapy should be for this population. Current guidelines refer to different CKD populations and propose different definitions of hypertension, different thresholds to initiate antihypertensive therapy in CKD patients and different BP targets compelling antihypertensive drug use. The different bodies producing guidelines should work together towards a unified definition of CKD, a unified concept of hypertension and unified BP thresholds and targets for hypertensive drug therapy for CKD patients. Otherwise they risk promoting confusion and therapeutic nihilism among physicians and patients.
Treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy in adults: KDIGO 2012, cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine A are out, rituximab is the new normal
Authors: Rojas-Rivera Jorge Enrique , Carriazo Sol , Ortiz Alberto
Published: August 2019

The 2012 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) clinical practice guidelines for glomerulonephritis shed light on the complex world of glomerulonephritis therapy. However, they may no longer apply to idiopathic membranous nephropathy, as recently concluded by the KDIGO 2019 Working Group. This is due to the discovery of autoantibodies such as anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (anti-PLA2R) that allow disease monitoring as well as to results from recent clinical trials, comparative cohort studies and meta-analyses. Perhaps the most disruptive of them is the Membranous Nephropathy Trial of Rituximab (MENTOR) trial comparing rituximab with cyclosporine A, which supports the superiority of rituximab in efficacy and safety. Furthermore, rituximab results compared favourably with the short-term results of classical clinical trials that supported the KDIGO 2012 recommendation of immunosuppressive cyclophosphamide-based regimens as first choice for active treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy. Thus, the KDIGO recommendations for cyclophosphamide-based regimens or calcineurin inhibitors as the first line of active treatment regimens for idiopathic membranous nephropathy with nephrotic syndrome may no longer apply. By contrast, rituximab-based regimens or other B-cell-targeted therapies appear to represent the present and future of membranous nephropathy therapy.
Post-treatment mortality after definitive chemoradiotherapy versus resection for esophageal cancer
Authors: Jiang W , Verma V , Haque W , Moreno A C , Koshy M , Butler E B , Teh B S
Published: August 2019

In efforts to better characterize incidence and predictors of 30- and 90-day mortality following operative versus nonoperative approaches for locally advanced esophageal cancer (EC), we conducted a novel investigation of a large, contemporary US database. The National Cancer Database was queried for newly-diagnosed T1–3N0–1 squamous cell or adenocarcinoma receiving surgical-based therapy (esophagectomy alone or preceded by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) versus definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). Statistics included graphing cumulative incidences of mortality before and following propensity score matching (PSM), based on age-based intervals. Cox regression determined factors independently predictive of 30- and 90-day mortality. Of 15,585 patients, 9,278 (59.5%) received surgical-based therapy and 6,307 (40.5%) underwent dCRT. In the unadjusted population, despite nonsignificant differences at 30 days (3.3% dCRT, 3.6% surgical-based), the dCRT cohort experienced higher 90-day mortality (11.0% vs. 7.5%, P < 0.001). Following PSM, however, dCRT patients experienced significantly lower 30-day mortality (P < 0.001), with nonsignificant differences at 90 days (P = 0.092). Surgical-based management yielded similar (or better) mortality as dCRT in ≤70-year-old patients; however, dCRT was associated with reduced mortality in subjects > 70 years old. In addition to the intervention group, factors predictive for 30- and 90-day mortality included age, gender, insurance status, facility type, comorbidity index, tumor location, histology, and T/N classification. In summary, surgical-based therapy for EC is associated with higher 30-day mortality, which becomes statistically similar to dCRT by 90 days. Differences between surgery and dCRT were most pronounced in patients > 70 years of age. These data may better inform shared decision-making between multidisciplinary providers and patients.
Friend or foe: food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis associated with acute coronary syndrome aggravated by adrenaline and aspirin: a case report
Authors: Toya Takumi , Kagami Kazuki , Adachi Takeshi
Published: August 2019

Background

Although aspirin and adrenaline are the guideline-recommended treatments for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and anaphylaxis, both regimens can contribute to clinical worsening in the setting of concurrent ACS and anaphylaxis which is called allergic angina or Kounis syndrome.

Case summary

A 62-year-old woman with food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis developed ACS after intramuscular injection of adrenaline for the treatment of anaphylaxis, whereas administered aspirin for the treatment of ACS exacerbated anaphylaxis.

Discussion

Our case underlines the importance of tailored treatment based on the underlying pathophysiology of individual patients. Clopidogrel and glucagon might be a better alternative for the treatment of Kounis syndrome.
A minimally invasive all-in-one approach for patients with left anterior descending artery disease and atrial fibrillation
Authors: Maesen Bart , La Meir Mark , Luermans Justin , Segers Patrique
Published: August 2019

The efficacy and safety of thoracoscopic atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation and minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting have been previously reported. Herein, we describe the successful combination of both procedures in a high-risk patient with symptomatic drug-refractory paroxysmal AF and a proximal left main stenosis. This innovative procedure offers patients an all-in-one, truly minimally invasive approach to treat AF and left anterior descending artery disease. Based on our initial experience, the procedure is safe and feasible.
Ticagrelor-based antiplatelet regimens in patients treated with coronary artery bypass grafting: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: von Scheidt Moritz , Bongiovanni Dario , Tebbe Ulrich , Nowak Bernd , Stritzke Jan , Zhao Qiang , Zhu Yunpeng , Kastrati Adnan , Cassese Salvatore , Schunkert Heribert
Published: August 2019

OBJECTIVES

The optimal antiplatelet strategy in patients undergoing CABG remains unclear. This is the first meta-analysis investigating the clinical outcomes associated with ticagrelor-based antiplatelet regimens in patients receiving CABG.

METHODS

Relevant scientific databases were searched for studies investigating antiplatelet regimens after CABG from inception until April 1, 2019. Studies which randomly assigned CABG patients to either ticagrelor-based or control antiplatelet regimens were eligible. The primary outcome of this analysis was all-cause death. The main secondary outcome was MI. Other outcomes of interest were cardiac death, major adverse cardiac events, stroke and bleeding. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42019122192.

RESULTS

Five trials comprising 3996 patients (2002 assigned to ticagrelor-based and 1994 to control antiplatelet regimens) were eligible for quantitative synthesis. The median follow-up was 12 months. Control antiplatelet regimens consisted of either aspirin or clopidogrel or both. As compared to control, ticagrelor-based regimens reduced the risk of all-cause death [0.61 (0.43–0.87); P = 0.007], cardiac death [0.58 (0.39–0.86); P = 0.007] and major adverse cardiac events [0.79 (0.63–0.98); P = 0.03], without difference in the risk of MI [0.76 (0.50–1.18); P = 0.22], stroke [0.99 (0.56–1.78); P = 0.98] or bleeding [1.04 (0.95–1.14); P = 0.41]. There was a treatment effect modification for the primary outcome associated with trials enrolling predominantly patients with acute coronary syndrome (P for interaction = 0.038).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients receiving CABG, ticagrelor-based regimens reduce mortality and major adverse cardiac events without excess bleeding risk as compared with aspirin monotherapy or the combination of aspirin and clopidogrel. The benefit of ticagrelor-based regimens is more relevant in those studies enrolling predominantly patients with acute coronary syndrome. These findings require further confirmation in randomized trials focused on this subset of patients and powered for clinical outcomes.
Populist Governments and International Law: A Reply to Heike Krieger
Authors: Rudolphy Marcela Prieto
Published: August 2019

In this article, I argue that there are two main objections against Heike Krieger’s view on what ‘a populist approach to international law’ entails. First, there are two methodological obstacles that counsel against constructing ‘a populist approach to international law’: populism varies significantly depending on its definition of ‘the people’ and international law is a fragmented regime. Second, the opposition between a ‘law of coordination’ and a ‘law of cooperation’ to which Krieger resorts is misleading, for it obscures the fact that the value of cooperation and coordination lies primarily in the values for which we coordinate and cooperate. As such, I argue that this opposition may make us partially blind to two important dangers that some forms of populism may pose right now: their cooperating to reshape international law and institutions according to (some) of their values and their refusing to cooperate or coordinate in the achievement of urgent goals. Nonetheless, I conclude that the precise shape of these dangers – as well as how to resist them – remains blurry if we do not pay proper attention to the ways in which different forms of populism define ‘the people’.
To what extent should the intestinal be resected proximally after radiotherapy: hint from a pathological view
Authors: Wu Pei-Huang , Zhong Qing-Hua , Ma Teng-Hui , Qin Qi-Yuan , Huang Xiao-Yan , Kuang Ying-Yi , Wang Huai-Ming , Yuan Zi-Xu , Wang Lei , Chen Dai-Ci
Published: August 2019

Background

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is associated with post-operative anastomotic complications in rectal-cancer patients. Anastomosis involving at least one non-irradiated margin reportedly significantly reduces the risk of post-operative anastomotic complications in radiation enteritis. However, the exact scope of radiotherapy on the remaining sigmoid colon remains unknown.

Methods

We evaluated the radiation damage of proximally resected colorectal segments in 44 patients with rectal cancer, who received nCRT followed by conventional resection (nCRT-C, n = 21) or proximally extended resection (nCRT-E, n = 23). The segments from another 13 patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) were used as control. We dissected these samples at a distance of 2 cm between the two adjacent sections. Radiation damage in proximally resected colorectal segments was evaluated using the radiation injury score (RIS) and the concentration and distribution patterns of angiostatin.

Results

Compared to those in the nCT group, the nCRT group showed higher RIS, levels of angiostatin, and proportion of diffuse pattern of angiostatin. With increasing distance from the tumor site, these parameters all gradually decreased; and the differences came to be not significant at the site that is over 20 cm from the tumor. The nCRT-E group showed lower RIS (median: 2 vs 4, P = 0.002) and a greater proportion of non-diffuse angiostatin (87% vs 55%, P = 0.039) at the proximal margins compared with the nCRT-C group.

Conclusions

The severity of the radiation damage of the proximal colon is inversely proportional to the proximal-resection margin length. Little damage was left on the proximal margin that was over 20 cm from the tumor. Removal of an initial length of ≥20 cm from the tumor may be beneficial for rectal-cancer patients after nCRT.
Space-time approximation of parabolic systems with variable growth
Authors: Breit Dominic , Mensah Prince Romeo
Published: August 2019

We study a parabolic system with $p(t,x)$-structure under Dirichlet boundary conditions. In particular, we deduce the optimal convergence rate for the error of the gradient of a finite element-based space-time approximation. The error is measured in the quasi norm and the result holds if the exponent $p(t,x)$ is $(\alpha _t,\alpha _x)$-Hölder continuous.
PINK1 import regulation at a crossroad of mitochondrial fate: the molecular mechanisms of PINK1 import
Authors: Sekine Shiori
Published: August 2019

PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) is a mitochondrial kinase whose activity is tightly regulated by the mitochondrial health status. In response to mitochondrial damage, activated PINK1 can promote mitophagy, an autophagic elimination of damaged mitochondria, by cooperating with Parkin ubiquitin ligase. Loss-of-function of PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy results in the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria, which could be one aetiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Within step-by-step signalling cascades of PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy, mitochondrial damage-dependent PINK1 kinase activation is a critical step to trigger the mitophagy signal. Recent investigation of this process reveals that this stress-dependent PINK1 kinase activation is achieved by its regulated import into different mitochondrial compartments. Thus, PINK1 import regulation stands at an important crossroad to determine the mitochondrial fate—‘keep’ or ‘remove’? In this review, we will summarize how the PINK1 import is regulated in a mitochondrial health status-dependent manner and how this process could be pharmacologically modulated to activate the PINK1/Parkin pathway.
Picturing walls
Authors: Spoor Freya , Lethbridge Robert
Published: August 2019

Émile Zola’s literary oeuvre continues to provide scholars with one of the most comprehensive accounts of nineteenth-century art and culture. Yet the magnitude of this material has resulted in the works of art acquired by Zola over the course of his lifetime being largely overlooked. By focusing on how this ad hoc collection of more than fifty contemporary works was gathered and subsequently dispersed, this article elucidates the influence of close friendships and professional reciprocity on the reputation of artist and critic alike. It offers an unprecedented corrective to the pioneering article by Jean Adhémar (1960) which partly reproduced the procès-verbal from the posthumous auction of Zola’s estate held in 1903. Using the original version of this document, together with available sales catalogues, letters and Zola’s art writing, it provides the most comprehensive inventory of the works owned by Zola and how they relate to his life and work.
Developing Insect Pest Management Systems for Hemp in the United States: A Work in Progress
Authors: Cranshaw Whitney , Schreiner Melissa , Britt Kadie , Kuhar Thomas P , McPartland John , Grant Jerome
Published: August 2019

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is now being grown within the United States over a much broader geographic area and for different uses than during its last period of significant production that ended after World War II. Within the past 3 yr, a large number of arthropod species have been documented to feed on hemp in the United States. Among key pest species, corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has demonstrated greatest potential for crop injury, being particularly damaging to flower buds. Hemp russet mite, Aculops cannibicola (Farkas), and cannabis aphid, Phorodon cannabis Passerini, are the two species observed most damaging among those that suck plant fluids. Eurasian hemp borer, Grapholita delineana Walker, is widely present east of the Rocky Mountains and appears to have potential to significantly damage both flower buds and developing seeds. Numerous species of caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles chew hemp foliage; the severity of these defoliation injuries appears to be minimal, but needs further study. Similarly, numerous seed feeding hemipterans, most notably stink bugs and Lygus bugs, are regularly found in the crop but injury potential remains unclear. Some preliminary efforts have been made to develop integrated pest management strategies for these insects, particularly for corn earworm. Future research can be expected to rapidly resolve many of the data gaps that presently restrict advancing pest management on the crop. However, a major confounding issue involves the use of pesticides on hemp. Federal agencies have not yet provided clear direction on this issue, and regulatory decisions have subsequently devolved to the states.
Floral Traits Predict Frequency of Defecation on Flowers by Foraging Bumble Bees
Authors: Bodden Jonah M , Hazlehurst Jenny A , Wilson Rankin Erin E
Published: August 2019

Flowers may become inoculated with pathogens that can infect bees and other critical pollinators, but the mechanisms of inoculation remain unclear. During foraging, bees may regurgitate or defecate directly onto flower parts, which could inoculate flowers with pollinator pathogens and lead to subsequent disease transmission to floral visitors. We tested if captive eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) defecate on floral surfaces during foraging and if flower shape played a role in the probability of defecation and the quantity of feces deposited on floral surfaces. Captive Bombus impatiens were fed a solution of fluorescent dye and sucrose, then allowed to forage freely on flowers of a variety of shapes in a flight cage. Flowers were then examined under ultraviolet light for fluorescing fecal matter. We found that bumble bees did defecate on floral surfaces during foraging and that composite flowers with a large area of disk flowers were the most likely to have feces on them. Our results point to defecation by bumble bees during foraging as a potential mechanism for inoculation of flowers with pollinator pathogens and suggest that flower shape could play a significant role in inoculation.
The Proportional Internalization Principle in Private Law
Authors: Pelled Omer Y
Published: August 2019

According to common conception, laws should make actors internalize all the costs and benefits of their actions to make them behave efficiently. This article shows that even when only partial internalization is possible, private law can create efficient incentives by ensuring that each actor internalizes an identical proportion of the costs and benefits.

This proportional internalization principle has profound implications. In tort law, it offers a new mechanism for dividing liability between multiple parties. In contract law, it suggests a new default rule for joint ventures. And, in restitution law, it presents an alternative doctrinal formulation for restitution for unrequested benefit.