bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visual Field Defect Before and After Endovascular Treatment of Occipital Arteriovenous Malformations
Authors: Smajda Stanislas , Ciccio Gabriele , Fahed Robert , Robert Thomas , Botta Daniele , Redjem Hocine , Desilles Jean-Philippe , Mazighi Mikael , Zuber Kevin , Escalard Simon , Baharvahdat Humain , Blanc Raphaël , Chauvet Dorian , Philibert Manon , Chokron Sylvie , Piotin Michel
Published: June 2020

BACKGROUND

Occipital arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) carry a high risk of postoperative morbidity because of their anatomic relation to the visual cortex and optic radiations. Data regarding endovascular management of these lesions are scant.

OBJECTIVE

To report our single-center experience with occipital AVMs, most of which were treated endovascularly, with a special interest for postoperative visual impairment.

METHODS

From a prospective database, we assessed the clinical and radiological data of all patients with an occipital AVM managed between 1997 and 2018. The extension of the nidus to the primary visual cortex was assessed and correlated to the pre- and postintervention visual symptomatology. Modified Rankin Scale and visual fields (VFs) were assessed pre- and post-treatment and at the last follow-up.

RESULTS

A total of 83 patients (47 males [56.6%]) with an occipital AVM were included in the study. Mean age at presentation was 33.5 ± 15.0 yr (min-max = 7-76). A total of 34 patients (41%) presented with hemorrhage related to the AVM. A total of 57 patients (68.7%) underwent endovascular treatment (EVT) alone, 20 (24.1%) underwent embolization and surgery, 3 (3.6%) underwent embolization and radiosurgery, and 3 (3.6%) were conservatively managed. A complete obliteration of the AVM was achieved in 53 patients (66.3%). A post-treatment worsening of the VF was found in 24 of the treated patients (30%), 3 patients (9%) for ruptured AVMs, and in 21 patients (46%) for unruptured AVMs. Morbidity rate was 3.7% and mortality rate was 2.5%.

CONCLUSION

EVT of occipital AVM carries a non-negligible rate of complications, especially regarding visual functions.
Cigarette Smoking Is More Prevalent in Patients With Brain Arteriovenous Malformations Compared to General Population: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study
Authors: Pohjola Anni , Lindbohm Joni V , Oulasvirta Elias , Hafez Ahmad , Koroknay-Pál Päivi , Laakso Aki , Niemelä Mika
Published: June 2020

BACKGROUND

Research on the prevalence of smokers in patients with brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) remains nonexistent, even though smoking is a well-known risk factor for intracranial aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the prevalence and smoking habits of AVM patients.

METHODS

Data on smoking habits were collected with a quality-of-life questionnaire mailed in 2016 to all patients in our large AVM database. These smoking data were supplemented with registry data derived from medical records. The prevalence of smokers was compared to that of the general population, derived from statistics of National Institute for Health and Welfare. Logit transformation of proportions and Students t distribution were used to calculate the 95% CIs for prevalence estimates.

RESULTS

Of the 384 patients aged over 18 yr on admission, 277 (72.1%) returned the questionnaires in 2016. When compared to age, sex, and admission year matched general population, the proportion of smokers in AVM patients was 48% (CI = 41%-55%) and 19% (CI = 16%-21%) in the general population. The difference increased in older age groups; in those aged 65 to 77 yr, the percentage of smokers reached 73% (CI = 46%-90%), while the corresponding percentage in the general population was 7% (CI = 5%-9%).

CONCLUSION

We observed considerably higher rates of smoking among AVM patients when compared to age, sex, and admission year matched general population. Our results suggest that in the development of AVMs, the role played by nicotine and other substances in tobacco smoke should be examined. Cigarette smoking could potentially be a common cerebrovascular risk factor.
Remote Methods for Conducting Tobacco-Focused Clinical Trials
Authors: Dahne Jennifer , Tomko Rachel L , McClure Erin A , Obeid Jihad S , Carpenter Matthew J
Published: June 2020

Most tobacco-focused clinical trials are based on locally conducted studies that face significant challenges to implementation and successful execution. These challenges include the need for large, diverse, yet still representative study samples. This often means a protracted, costly, and inefficient recruitment process. Multisite clinical trials can overcome some of these hurdles but incur their own unique challenges. With recent advances in mobile health and digital technologies, there is now a promising alternative: Remote Trials. These trials are led and coordinated by a local investigative team, but are based remotely, within a given community, state, or even nation. The remote approach affords many of the benefits of multisite trials (more efficient recruitment of larger study samples) without the same barriers (cost, multisite management, and regulatory hurdles). The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) global health pandemic has resulted in rapid requirements to shift ongoing clinical trials to remote delivery and assessment platforms, making methods for the conduct of remote trials even more timely. The purpose of the present review is to provide an overview of available methods for the conduct of remote tobacco-focused clinical trials as well as illustrative examples of how these methods have been implemented across recently completed and ongoing tobacco studies. We focus on key aspects of the clinical trial pipeline including remote: (1) study recruitment and screening, (2) informed consent, (3) assessment, (4) biomarker collection, and (5) medication adherence monitoring.

Implications

With recent advances in mobile health and digital technologies, remote trials now offer a promising alternative to traditional in-person clinical trials. Remote trials afford expedient recruitment of large, demographically representative study samples, without undo burden to a research team. The present review provides an overview of available methods for the conduct of remote tobacco-focused clinical trials across key aspects of the clinical trial pipeline.
Diagnostic Value of Chest X-Ray in Patients With Suspected Infection and No Respiratory Signs or Symptoms
Authors: de Stoppelaar Sacha F , Pereverzeva Liza , Hafkamp Bram , Lips Nikki , Tielbeke Floor , Rustenburg Linde , Hoogerheide-Wiegerinck Caroline , de Heer Koen
Published: June 2020

Suspicion of an infection without localizing signs or symptoms is a common problem. A chest x-ray (CXR) is often performed to rule out pneumonia. Our prospective cross-sectional study suggests that a CXR has no diagnostic value in patients without respiratory signs or symptoms, if a reliable medical history can be obtained.
It Is More Than Language
Authors: Toe Dianne , Paatsch Louise , Szarkowski Amy
Published: June 2020

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children who use spoken language face unique challenges when communicating with others who have typical hearing, particularly their peers. In such contexts, the social use of language has been recognized as an area of vulnerability among individuals in this population and has become a focus for research and intervention. The development of pragmatic skills intersects with many aspects of child development, including emotional intelligence and executive function, as well as social and emotional development. While all these areas are important, they are beyond the scope of this chapter, which highlights the impact of pragmatics on the specific area of cognition. Cognitive pragmatics is broadly defined as the study of the mental processes involved in the understanding of meaning in the context of a cooperative interaction. This chapter explores how DHH children and young people construe meaning in the context of conversations and expository interactions with their peers. The chapter aims to examine the role played by the cognitive processes of making inferences and comprehending implicature, within the overall display of pragmatic skills. Further, the authors use this lens in the analysis of interactions between DHH children and their peers in order to shed light on the development of pragmatic skills in children who are DHH.
Deaf Studies in Learning and Cognition
Authors: Marschark Marc , Knoors Harry
Published: June 2020

The intersection of cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and neuroscience with regard to deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals recently has received increasing attention from academic and educational audiences. Research and pedagogy associated with this nexus have focused largely on questions about whether DHH children learn in the same ways as hearing children, how signed languages and spoken languages might affect different aspects of cognition and cognitive development, and ways in which hearing loss influences the way that the brain processes and retains information. Frequently overlooked are interactions among various developmental and cognitive factors, as well as ways in which they are influenced by various individual, family, and environmental factors. This chapter addresses several areas of research on cognition and learning among DHH individuals, identifying gaps in our knowledge, illuminating some faulty assumptions, and pointing out broader implications of similarities and differences in DHH and hearing individuals of theoretical and practical interest.
Investigating Early Pre-implant Predictors of Language and Cognitive Development in Children with Cochlear Implants
Authors: Fagan Mary K. , Eisenberg Laurie S. , Johnson Karen C.
Published: June 2020

Pre-implant predictors of language and cognitive outcomes in children with cochlear implants have been mostly limited to residual hearing and demographic variables. These variables have accounted for a limited portion of variance in outcomes and for the most part only in children who received cochlear implants from 3 to 5 years of age and later. With cochlear implantation now regularly occurring in the first year of life, there is new interest in identifying pre-implant variables with greater predictive value, including pre-implant measures of infant learning and behavior in the first 12 months. The search for pre-implant variables in the first year has been limited by the challenges inherent in assessing preverbal infants with little or no access to signed or spoken language. This review includes research on pre-implant predictors from a longitudinal study, behavioral measures in infants implanted at 12 months of age, and relevant research on early learning in hearing infants.
Foundations of Language Development in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Infants
Authors: Levine Dani , Avelar Daniela , Golinkoff Roberta Michnick , Hirsh-Pasek Kathy , Houston Derek M.
Published: June 2020

Copious evidence indicates that, even in the first year of life, children’s language development is beginning and is impacted by a wide array of cognitive and social processes. The extent to which these processes are dependent on early language input is a critical concern for most deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, who, unlike hearing children, are usually not immersed in a language-rich environment until effective interventions, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, are implemented. Importantly, some cognitive and social processes are not dependent on the early availability of language input and begin to develop before children are fitted for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Interventions involving parent training may be helpful for enhancing social underpinnings of language and for maximizing DHH children’s language learning once effective hearing devices are in place. Similarly, cognitive training for DHH children may also provide benefit to bolster language development.
Bounded Rationality in Political Science and Politics
Authors: Bendor Jonathan
Published: June 2020

Although Herbert Simon and Allen Newell studied problem-solving by experts as well as nonexperts, political scientists generally understand “bounded rationality” to refer primarily to cognitive constraints: how we fall short of completely rational decision-making. This incomplete understanding deprives us of an enormously useful intellectual legacy, built not only by Newell and Simon but also by a wide array of cognitive scientists who have explored how humans have collectively solved very difficult problems such as eliminating smallpox or designing nuclear submarines. This chapter surveys this richer understanding of bounded rationality. Cognitive capacities receive as much attention as cognitive constraints. The chapter reports work on how cultural storehouses of knowledge and certain organizational arrangements amplify our cognitive capacities in both the short and the long run. Finally, it extracts from the literature a set of thematically related propositions that are building blocks for constructing macro-theories of politics out of cognitively realistic micro-premises.
Using Applied Decision Analysis to Understand Foreign Policy Decision-Making
Authors: Chatagnier J. Tyson
Published: June 2020

A leader’s approach to foreign policy decision-making is a critical explanatory factor in understanding why certain decisions are made. While several tools are available to analysts who wish to examine the process by which decision makers settle upon their chosen alternative, one of the most compelling is applied decision analysis (ADA), which allows scholars to uncover the unique “decision DNA” associated with a given leader. This chapter surveys the literature that has used the ADA methodology to examine questions of foreign policy decision-making. It pulls from twenty studies of leaders’ decisions—with more than twenty different leaders, ranging from Winston Churchill to Mao Zedong to Osama bin Laden—which comprise more than one hundred total unique decisions, examining and discussing the findings of each. It draws inferences about which decision rules best explain leaders’ policy choices, concluding that the works in question show overwhelming support for the poliheuristic theory of decision; and it discusses how future scholars can build on the ADA research program and how this information can best be used by policymakers.
Language Development in Down Syndrome
Authors: Abbeduto Leonard , Arias-Trejo Natalia , Thurman Angela John , Ramos-Sanchez Jessica , del Hoyo Soriano Laura
Published: June 2020

This chapter is a review of research on language development in individuals with Down syndrome. The development of various aspects of language is described from infancy to adulthood, with a focus on gestures and prelinguistic communication, speech, vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics. In each area, the profile of relative strengths and weaknesses is described, as well as the trajectory of development, and differences relative to other disorders, and the influence of other aspects of the phenotype of individuals with Down syndrome (e.g., memory impairments). Research is briefly reviewed on possible influences of the social and linguistic environments of individuals with Down syndrome on their language development. The chapter focuses on research on the learning of English as a first language; however, where possible, data from other languages and cultures is considered. Directions for future research are outlined.
Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Authors: Coburn Timothy C.
Published: June 2020

Oil and gas infrastructure is vast and diverse, occupying an integral position in the global economy. Without such infrastructure, the majority of fuel needed to light, heat, and cool homes and businesses and to power transportation and industry cannot be produced and delivered to markets and consumers. In this sense, infrastructure is the lifeblood of the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas infrastructure encompasses a myriad of assets, including pipelines, drilling platforms, refineries, terminals, processing plants, and storage facilities, most of which are massive and expensive industrial complexes found in all corners of the world. Such assets can yield significant economic benefits, but they also present numerous challenges, not the least of which are operational, environmental, and political in nature.
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Conditions: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Robison John Elder
Published: June 2020

There is strong evidence to suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at heightened risk for developing co-occurring psychiatric conditions. However, the reasons behind this increased risk remain unclear. This chapter describes multiple conceptual models of the reasons for comorbidity and appraises the strength for each in relation to currently available evidence. The first section considers the evidence to suggest the reported increase in prevalence can be explained by purely artefactual factors (e.g., issues in sample acquisition or symptom measurement) and concludes this is unlikely as a complete explanation. The second section discusses more theoretical models, and how these could manifest in autistic individuals (e.g., increased prevalence or potency of established risk factors, and the role of ASD-specific risk factors). There is evidence to support multiple mechanisms playing a role in explaining the increased prevalence of psychiatric conditions, and these mechanisms are unlikely to be mutually exclusive. As the current literature is limited, priority areas for future research are suggested, including the need for accurate measurement of predictors and outcomes, more sensitive research designs, and the inclusion of underrepresented groups.
Co-Occurring Mood Problems in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Carter Leno Virginia , Simonoff Emily
Published: June 2020

Recent evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience depression at rates approximately four times greater than the general population. Co-occurring mood problems, including depressive and bipolar disorders, are associated with negative outcomes such as lower quality of life, increased adaptive behavior impairments, and greater service use. This chapter discusses what is known about the presentation of unipolar and bipolar depression in people with ASD and describes challenges to establishing sound prevalence estimates of mood disorders in ASD as they relate to methodological design issues and diagnostic assessment practices. It also provides an overview of potential vulnerability factors in the development of depression in this population; these areas of vulnerability include characteristics such as chronological age, cognitive ability, and ASD symptom severity, as well as those individual differences that may represent more direct mechanisms, for example, maladaptive coping styles, attentional biases, social reward profiles, and predisposition to rumination. The current research on interventions specifically designed to treat mood in people with ASD is very limited. However, promising treatments include adapted cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based approaches. Though most of this chapter focuses on unipolar depression in ASD as the more well-studied mood disorder, the chapter also summarizes the small research base on bipolar disorder in the context of ASD. It ends with a call for improved screening, assessment, and evidence-based treatment options to address this significant public health problem in this special population.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Dyason Katelyn M. , Mathieu Sharna L. , Griffiths Donna L. , Farrell Lara J.
Published: June 2020

This chapter summarizes current scientific knowledge around the prevalence, etiology, and developmental course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adults in the general population, and—based on the limited scientific literature—what is indicated for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Challenges related to differential diagnosis and measurement of PTSD in ASD are considered and illustrated via a case example. The chapter concludes with an overview of evidence-based treatments for PTSD in people without ASD, and their potential applications for those with ASD. Overall, the limited research on PTSD in ASD thus far points to increased rates of adversity and related psychopathology, but few evidence-based approaches to assessment or treatment of PTSD and other trauma-related symptoms in this population. Future investigations should consider not only PTSD in ASD but also a broader range of potential sources and symptoms of trauma in ASD and work quickly to identify empirically supported assessments and treatments.
The Practice of Humanism
Authors: Croft James
Published: June 2020

What does it mean to “practice Humanism”? This chapter argues that Humanism is best understood as a “life stance” constituting six core value-commitments: an “epistemic commitment” representing pursuit of the truth through rational analysis; a “naturalist commitment” representing Humanists’ belief that human beings are part of nature, related to all life on earth; an “ethical commitment,” representing a concern for the dignity of all people; a “self-actualization commitment,” a belief in the development of all human capacities; a “social commitment,” stressing the importance of relationships and responsibilities towards others; and a “justice commitment,” expressing Humanists’ belief in the responsibility of all people to work for a just society. To “practice Humanism” is defined as “self-consciously acting in such a way as to realize one of these six commitments.” Examples of each commitment in practice are given, and through these examples the nature of each commitment is clarified.
African Nationalism, Nonracialism, and Pan-Africanism
Authors: Soske Jon Dylan
Published: June 2020

This chapter outlines the significant trends in African nationalist and left-wing political thought from 1943—the year that witnessed the establishment of the Non-Europe Unity Movement (NEUM), the achievement of full membership rights for women in the African National Congress (ANC), and publication of the ANC’s policy manifesto, African Claims—to the banning of the liberation organizations after the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. These two decades were a period of rapid domestic and international change, the entrenchment of white supremacy by the apartheid regime, and the birth of new forms and philosophies of social struggle. They began with a mood of tremendous optimism among many African intellectuals that the end of World War II and the collapse of the British Empire (represented most immediately by the coming of Indian independence) would result in a new political reality for black South Africans. They ended with a wave of ferocious repression that drove the liberation organizations underground and into exile, destroyed any immediate hope for the peaceful dismantling of white minority rule, and began the transformation of apartheid into one of the most significant global issues of the later twentieth century.
From A Sociology of Latin American Religions to a Latin American Sociology of Religion
Authors: Odgers-Ortiz Olga
Published: June 2020

Recent decades have seen important developments in Latin American writings in the sociology of religion field. Not only has there been exponential growth in the number of publications on religious phenomena in the region, but the field itself has also shifted from sociology about Latin American religion to a Latin American sociology of religion. This field takes contemporary Latin American forms of religiosity as an empirical referent, then goes even further to propose interpretive frameworks and new methodologies that contribute to the understanding of religious phenomena at a global level. This chapter introduces four prominent Latin American sociologists of religion: Roberto Blancarte’s work on laicity; the critical analysis of Cristián Parker on popular religions within multiple modernities; Hugo José Suárez’s conceptualization of “para-ecclesiastical agents,” a key concept for understanding religious collective practice in Latin America; and Eloisa Martin’s proposal of the heuristic potential of analyzing practices of sacralization for understanding popular religion in Latin America.
Four Keys to Understanding Religious Experience in Latin America
Authors: Suárez Hugo José
Published: June 2020

This chapter conceptualizes the basic elements of the Latin American religious experience. It argues that the most important religious expressions are “para-ecclesiastical agents,” sociological figures who administer religious life and the contents of belief, which result from a confrontation between distinctive cosmovisions and must be discussed in terms of—among other concepts—syncretism, mestizaje, and hybridization; the fiesta, seen as a space for creativity and, at the same time, as a logic of religious practice that reproduces rituals; and, finally, practitioners’ relationship to religious images and related elements that represent the sacred.
Social Movements in Latin AmericaMapping the Literature
Authors: Somma Nicolás M.
Published: June 2020

The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin American sociology. This article maps the vast literature on Latin American social movements (LASMs) from the late 1980s to the present. After briefly discussing how scholars have conceptualized LASMs, it presents seven influential approaches: structuralism, political economy, political context, organizational fields, “new social movements,” frames and emotions, and transnational activism. Then it discusses some works that zero in on the specificity of LASMs. It closes with a brief summary of the five coming chapters, each of which is devoted to a specific social movement “family”: labor, women’s, student, indigenous, and anti-globalization.
Historical Construction of the State in Latin America
Authors: Brachet-Márquez Viviane
Published: June 2020

This article divides the history of the scholarship on state formation (SF) in Latin America into four waves, which began in the 1980s with narratives on the structural features of state apparatuses. A second wave, which took off in the 1990s, brings out the national, subnational, and local historical dynamics of SF. A third wave of recent works focuses on the historical roots of the bellic, administrative, and fiscal capacities of states in Latin America as unfavorably compared with those of early modern European states. The last section lays out the latest efforts to critically examine and reinterpret previous debates and findings and to go beyond them while incorporating the valuable information and insights they have accumulated over the years.
Panama
Authors: Donoghue Michael E.
Published: June 2020

Since declaring independence from Spain in 1821, Panama struggled for nearly two centuries to forge a true sovereignty. Free from Madrid’s control, the province found itself subordinated first by Gran Colombia, later New Granada, and after gaining a measure of independence in a 1903 secessionist revolution, by the United States which built a canal and attached zone through which Washington dominated the nation. Domestically, Panama also wrestled with the complexities of a multiracial, class-divided society ruled by a European-descended elite and political infighting among populists and the military that impeded liberal democracy. Gradually, a nationalist movement that sought greater state formation and control over the canal coalesced around mid-century. But the importance of the waterway to Washington imposed constraints on this movement’s success until the 1978 ratification of the Carter-Torrijos treaties which ensured the transfer of the canal to Panama by century’s end. In 1989, concerns over political tyranny, drug trafficking, and the integrity of the upcoming canal transfer compelled the United States to invade Panama and end the military dictatorship (1968–1989) while restoring a form of elite-dominated democracy. After nearly a hundred years of resistance and diplomacy, Panama finally won full independence on December 31, 1999, taking possession of the canal and the remnants of the US-run enclave. Problems of how to reorganize the republic’s economy and political structure, as well as persistent corruption and poverty, complicated the post-US era. Still, with its unique geostrategic position in the world economy, opportunities as well as obstacles confront Panama today finally freed from a century of neocolonialism.
From Kingdom to Republics, 1808–1840
Authors: Pollack Aaron
Published: June 2020

Between 1808 and 1840, the Central American territory lived through a period of political instability, marked initially by the impacts of local revolts and the implementation of the Cádiz Constitution of 1812. With political independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Mexican Empire in 1823, the continued implementation of reformist policies established in the late eighteenth century and under Cádiz liberalism would be undertaken in a context of war. Efforts to create a Central American Federation (1823–1838) failed almost from the start, as conflicts arose among those who favored a very loose confederation and those who sought more centralization of power. Federal, state, and municipal governments acted in a context of pressures from dominant and subaltern groups, the latter empowered by their participation in war. Dominant local actors chose to engage with states to further their interests, and these would be solidified, even as the Federation was largely abandoned.
Deaf Studies in Literacy
Authors: Easterbrooks Susan R. , Dostal Hannah M.
Published: June 2020

Literacy has been and remains a focal point of schooling and a critical outcome of education. Though much has been written about the individual factors that contribute to literacy development in school, including the contribution of access to language, researchers and educators have long lamented the absence of an evidence base to guide the instruction and assessment of literacy for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The past couple of decades, however, have seen an upturn in the effectiveness of research identifying what is necessary for an individual to learn to read and how education professionals can go about making that a reality for learners. This introduction describes the purpose of this handbook and how the individual chapters contribute to the accumulation of knowledge for effective literacy teaching.
What Model of Full Communion?
Authors: Koch Kurt
Published: June 2020

Considering where ecumenism stands today, this chapter recognizes the difficulty caused by disagreement regarding the goal of ecumenism, which itself results from a lack of ecumenical consensus on the nature of the church and its unity. The rapid rise of evangelical and Pentecostal communities is making the ecumenical situation ever more complex. Drawing especially on Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17, the chapter outlines six dimensions of ecumenism: spiritual, somatic, Trinitarian, missionary, martyrological, and eschatological. Ecumenism must be grounded in prayer, directed towards a visible unity in reconciled diversity, focused on mission and the credibility of the church’s witness, inspired by the modern martyrs of many churches, and encouraged by the awareness that unity is ultimately God’s work that will be accomplished when Christ returns. Lessons are drawn from the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus for how Christians should behave on the way to unity.
Vocabulary of the Qur’an
Authors: Shah Mustafa
Published: June 2020

The assumption that the narratives, themes, and exempla of the Qur’an were distilled from traditional and apocryphal biblical sources formed an axial theme in early studies of the Qur’an. Within this context, the extensive attempts to identify the traceable sources of the Qur’an placed the study of its vocabulary at the vanguard of treatments of the text. Although historically much of the foundational scholarship on Arabic and its sources had commenced through the matrix of biblical philology, the materials generated by these efforts provided analogues and terms of reference which were used to analyse the vocabulary of the Qur’an. Encompassing a range of strategies and approaches, the tenor and design of the scholarship have evolved. This chapter reviews some of the key studies in the field, introducing debates, arguments, and discussions which have shaped the study of the vocabulary of the Qur’an.
Politics and the Qur’an
Authors: Wild Stefan
Published: June 2020

‘Politics’ is confined in this chapter to the question of legitimate versus illegitimate Muslim rule. Political questions were addressed when the Prophet Muḥammad shaped his Medinan community in the first/seventh century in the light of numerous Qur’anic revelations. New political problems, however, arose when a successor to the Prophet had to be found after the Prophet’s death. 1,400 years later, the question if and to what degree Qur’anic rules that addressed the socio-political reality of Medina should be binding for later Muslim societies and their political leaders is a core question for Muslim political and religious thought.
Discussions of Qur’anic Inimitability
Authors: El-Desouky Ayman A.
Published: June 2020

The question of iʿjāz al-Qurʾān, or the inimitability of the Qur’an, from the time of the first revelations and to this day, has been central both to the formulation of Islamic theological thought, or kalām, and to the emergence and development of Classical Arabic literary and rhetorical theories. And just as the first attempts at explaining the miraculous nature of the Qur’an had naturally to develop a new language of systematic reflection that is fundamentally linguistic and rhetorical in nature but theological in its thrust, so too did the literary approaches that began to emerge early in the twentieth century. Modern literary approaches have since had to face the same double challenge: literarily, the challenge is how to develop a critical theoretical language with which to approach the singularity of a text (let alone its unique modes of reception), but hermeneutically, the challenge emerges in the struggle to account for the theological dimension of the experience that such an exceptionally matchless text elicits. The chapter’s aim is therefore not so much to rehearse the full history of iʿjāz discussions, already well covered in Qur’anic Studies, as to revisit the discussions from the centralizing challenge of the unique nexus of the theological and the literary in Islamic traditions.
Presenting the Qur’an out of Context
Authors: Haleem Muhammad Abdel
Published: June 2020

The Qur’an is well and truly a text in context, having been revealed over a period of twenty-three years in response to particular situations and questions. Because of this and due to specific features of its language, like polysemy, conciseness, etc. it is easy to miss the context and quote out of context. In some tafsīr writing and in most of the translations of the Qur’an into English, as well as in much of what is written about the Qur’an, insufficient regard to the context seriously mars understanding and misrepresents the Qur’anic message. Thus the study of context (siyāq) has a central place in balāgha (rhetoric) and Qur’anic Studies in Arabic, but it is hardly mentioned in Qur’anic studies written in English. This chapter discusses context in relation to the Qur’an, the types of context, its role in determining the meaning of words and sentences. The discussion includes what linguistic features can cause difficulties in determining meaning and what clues are given in the Qur’an to help identify the context and the proper meanings. Examples are given from translations of the Qur’an, tafsīr, and Qur’anic Studies.
Tafsīr and Science
Authors: Morrison Robert
Published: June 2020

This chapter discusses the role of science in tafsīr, with particular attention to tafsīrs’ attention to science’s epistemological claims. Ṭabarī’s Jāmiʿ al-bayān included discussions of judicial astrology in order to argue for the value of prophecy and revelation. Still, tafsīr as a genre never privileged science; science entered Rāzī’s al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr because Rāzī wanted to write an encyclopedic tafsīr. He privileged neither scientific methods nor scientific questions. Niẓām al-Dīn Nīsābūrī’s Gharāʾib al-Qur’ān drew heavily on Rāzī’s scientific material, but from the point of view of someone who wrote significant works on astronomy. Bayḍāwī, too, paid more attention to scientific material than earlier scholarship had acknowledged. In the modern period, science has served commentators’ apologetic goals but has also served to argue for a less scientistic approach to Islam.
Political Parties and Diaspora: A Case Study of Romanian Parties’ Involvement Abroad
Authors: Borz Gabriela
Published: June 2020

How do parties organise for success in engaging with their diaspora? This study investigates the impact Romanian diaspora has had on national political parties. It develops an argument based on diaspora recognition, engagement and policy as implemented by old and new parties. The analysis shows that recognition of diaspora in party statutes is not a guarantee for engagement. The latter increases with the use of new online communication strategies, provided there is a demand for such communication platforms. New parties with a strong anti-corruption stance mobilise diaspora online. The policy strategy emphasises diaspora support rather than diaspora return as incumbent parties take a gradual approach based on rights and identity promotion, which increases the economic utility of the engagement. The results are based on the analysis of party statutes, governmental documents, party online communication strategies and interviews with party members.
Lateral Perturbation-Induced and Voluntary Stepping in Fallers and Nonfallers After Stroke
Authors: Gray Vicki L , Fujimoto Masahiro , Rogers Mark W
Published: June 2020

Objective

A loss of balance poststroke from externally induced perturbations or during voluntary movements is often recovered by stepping. The purpose of this study was to characterize stepping behavior during lateral induced waist-pull perturbations and voluntary steps in community-dwelling fallers and nonfallers with chronic stroke.

Methods

This study used a cohort design. Thirty participants >6 months poststroke were exposed to 24 externally triggered lateral waist-pull perturbations and 20 voluntary steps. Balance tolerance limit (BTL) (transition from single to multiple steps) and first step type were determined for the waist-pull perturbations. Step parameters of initiation time, velocity, first step length, and clearance were calculated at and above BTL and for the voluntary steps. Hip abductor/adductor torque, foot cutaneous sensation, and self-reported falls that occurred 6 months prior were evaluated.

Results

Twelve participants were classified retrospectively as fallers and 18 as nonfallers. Fallers had a reduced BTL and took more medial first steps than nonfallers. Above BTL, no between-group differences were found in medial steps. At BTL, the nonparetic step clearance was reduced in fallers. Above BTL, fallers took longer to initiate a paretic and nonparetic step and had a reduced nonparetic step length and clearance compared with nonfallers. There was a between-group difference in step initiation time for voluntary stepping with the paretic leg (P < .05). Fallers had a reduced paretic abductor torque and impaired paretic foot cutaneous sensation.

Conclusion

A high fall rate poststroke necessitates effective fall prevention strategies. Given that more differences were found during perturbation-induced stepping between fallers and nonfallers, further research assessing perturbation-induced training on reducing falls is needed.

Impact

Falls assessments should include both externally induced perturbations along with voluntary movements in determining the fall risk.
The Impact of Immigration on Wages, Internal Migration, and Welfare
Authors: Piyapromdee Suphanit
Published: June 2020

This article studies the impact of immigration on wages, internal migration, and welfare. Using U.S. Census data, I estimate a spatial equilibrium model where labour differs by skill level, gender, and nativity. Workers are heterogeneous in city preferences. Cities vary in productivity levels, housing prices, and amenities. I use the estimated model to assess the distributional consequences of several immigration policies. The results show that a skill selective immigration policy leads to welfare gains for low skill workers, but welfare losses for high skill workers. The negative impacts are more substantial among the incumbent high skill immigrants. Internal migration mitigates the initial negative impacts, particularity in cities where housing supplies are inelastic. However, the negative wage impacts on some workers intensify. This is because an out-migration of workers of a given type may raise the local wages for workers of that type, while reducing the local wages of workers with complementary characteristics. Overall, there are substantial variations in the welfare effects of immigration across and within cities. Further, I use the model to assess the welfare effects of the border wall between Mexico and the U.S. The results show that the potential benefits are significantly smaller than the proposed cost of construction.
The Belgian private foundation Anno 2020
Authors: Goyvaerts Gerd D , Maes Caroline
Published: June 2020

The Belgian private foundation has now been in existence for 18 years, but it is still a relatively unknown legal entity. The private foundation is, however, a suitable vehicle for wealth and inheritance planning. The foundation makes it possible to segregate assets in order to achieve a certain goal, usually family-related. The private foundation is also subject to a favourable tax regime. In addition, an important benefit is the flexibility that characterizes the private foundation. In this article, the features and benefits are explained in detail.
The CMR in the practice of Latvian courts
Authors: Fillers Aleksandrs
Published: June 2020

The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) is one of the most successful unifications of private law. However, as more States ratify the Convention, there are more courts with different legal backgrounds and differing levels of preparedness to face the challenge of applying the CMR. Even for the most advanced adjudicators, the application of the CMR is not always a simple task as there remain ambiguities about its content that divide scholars and practitioners. However, some jurisdictions are much less integrated in these debates, and this has obvious effects on their courts and the way the CMR is applied. The purpose of this article is to familiarize readers with the practice of Latvian courts applying the CMR. The CMR has a rather impressive presence in Latvian jurisprudence in terms of quantity. At the same time, courts apply it in an isolated manner, rarely consulting any doctrinal sources and never drawing inspiration from foreign case law. As a result, some of the solutions offered by Latvian courts seem extremely detached from the ‘internationally accepted’ understanding of the CMR. In fact, even simple legal questions often receive unexpected and, unfortunately, incorrect solutions. Nevertheless, some of the issues raised in these decisions are genuinely difficult to resolve and, therefore, could be useful for other jurisdictions.
Genetic evolution and transmission dynamics of clade 2.3.2.1a highly pathogenic avian influenza A/H5N1 viruses in Bangladesh
Authors: Kwon Jung-Hoon , Lee Dong-Hun , Criado Miria Ferreira , Killmaster Lindsay , Ali Md Zulfekar , Giasuddin Mohammad , Samad Mohammed A , Karim Md. Rezaul , Hasan Mahmudul , Brum Eric , Nasrin Tanzinah , Swayne David E
Published: June 2020

Asian lineage A/H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) have been responsible for continuous outbreaks in Bangladesh since 2007. Although clades 2.2.2 and 2.3.4.2 HPAIVs have disappeared since poultry vaccination was introduced in 2012, clade 2.3.2.1a viruses have continued to be detected in Bangladesh. In this study, we identified A/H9N2 (n = 15), A/H5N1 (n = 19), and A/H5N1-A/H9N2 (n = 18) mixed viruses from live bird markets, chicken farms, and wild house crows (Corvus splendens) in Bangladesh from 2016 to 2018. We analyzed the genetic sequences of the H5 HPAIVs, to better understand the evolutionary history of clade 2.3.2.1a viruses in Bangladesh. Although seven HA genetic subgroups (B1–B7) and six genotypes (G1, G1.1, G1.2, G2, G2.1, and G2.2) have been identified in Bangladesh, only subgroup B7 and genotypes G2, G2.1, and G2.2 were detected after 2016. The replacement of G1 genotype by G2 in Bangladesh was possibly due to vaccination and viral competition in duck populations. Initially, genetic diversity decreased after introduction of vaccination in 2012, but in 2015, genetic diversity increased and was associated with the emergence of genotype G2. Our phylodynamic analysis suggests that domestic Anseriformes, including ducks and geese, may have played a major role in persistence, spread, evolution, and genotype replacement of clade 2.3.2.1a HPAIVs in Bangladesh. Thus, improvements in biosecurity and monitoring of domestic Anseriformes are needed for more effective control of HPAI in Bangladesh.
The Two-Component System DcuS-DcuR Is Involved in Virulence and Stress Tolerance in the Poplar Canker Bacterium Lonsdalea populi
Authors: Zheng Zeyang , Deng Chaoying , He Wei , Qian Wei , Li Aining
Published: June 2020

The gram-negative bacterium Lonsdalea populi causes an emerging poplar (Populus × euramericana) canker resulting in severe losses to poplar production in China and Europe. Two-component signal transduction systems play important roles in the regulation of virulence and stress responses in phytopathogenic bacteria. We identified a two-component pair (Lqp2625-Lqp2624) in L. populi, highly homologous to DcuS-DcuR of Escherichia coli. Mutants lacking DcuS or DcuR displayed normal growth while their virulence on poplar twigs was impaired. An inability to produce flagella indicated that DcuS and DcuR are involved in biofilm formation and swimming motility. Moreover, the loss of DcuS or DcuR led to increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and chloramphenicol through downregulation of genes associated with catalases and the multidrug efflux pump, suggesting that the two-component pair contributes to cellular adaptation to oxidative and antibiotic stresses. We identified key domains and putative phosphorylation sites important for virulence and stress responses. Our findings reveal the functions of DcuS-DcuR in virulence and stress responses in L. populi and provide increasing evidence that two-component systems are crucial during the infection process and stress adaptation in bacteria.