bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Major Causes for Not Performing Endovascular Therapy Following Inter-Hospital Transfer in a Complex Urban Setting
Authors: Morey Jacob R. , Dangayach Neha S. , Shoirah Hazem , Scaggiante Jacopo , Mocco J , Tuhrim Stanley , Fifi Johanna T. , for the Mount Sinai Stroke Investigators
Published: October 2019

Introduction: Endovascular therapy (EVT) has emerged as the standard of care for emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) acute ischemic stroke. An increasing number of patients with suspected ELVO are being transferred to stroke centers with interventional capacity. Not all such inter-hospital transfers result in EVT. Aim: To identify the major causes for not performing EVT following transfer. Methods: An analysis of 222 consecutive patients with suspected ELVO transferred for potential EVT between January 2015 and ­December 2017 within a New York City health system was performed. About 36% (80/222) were deemed EVT ineligible and compared to an EVT cohort. Results: Major causes for not performing EVT were established infarct (34%), no or recanalized ELVO (31%), and mild or clinically improved symptoms (21%). In the established infarct subgroup, 28% (7/27) arrived at a stroke center with interventional capacity within 5 h of last known well, compared to 61% (83/142) in the EVT cohort (p = 0.003). In the no or recanalized ELVO subgroup, 40% (10/25) received computed tomographic angiography at the primary stroke center (PSC), compared to 73% (104/142) in the EVT cohort (p = 0.001). Among patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis, 6% (6/104) improved from a NIHSS of ≥6 to <6 following transfer. Conclusions: Established infarct, no or recanalized ELVO, and mild or clinically improved symptoms were the major causes for not performing EVT for patients transferred for ELVO management. These may be addressed by decreasing stroke onset to treatment times and timely ELVO detection at the PSC and/or pre-hospital triage.
Local Treatment in Addition to Endocrine Therapy in Hormone Receptor-Positive and HER2-Negative Oligometastatic Breast Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Analysis
Authors: Cha Chihwan , Ahn Sung Gwe , Yoo Tae-Kyung , Kim Kun Min , Bae Soong June , Yoon Changik , Park Soeun , Sohn Joohyuk , Jeong Joon
Published: October 2019

Background: Recent trials have provided robust evidence demonstrating that endocrine therapy with/without targeted therapy, such as cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors or mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitors, effectively halts disease progression in hormone receptor (HR)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer. We investigated the survival impact of local treatment of metastases as a first-line treatment after metastasis in HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer patients with a very low metastatic volume. Materials and Methods: From a retrospectively constructed database for three institutes, we identified HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer patients with recurrent distant oligometastatic disease after initially curative treatment. De novo stage 4 patients were excluded, and only those with recurrent metastatic disease were included. Oligometastatic disease was defined as follows: (1) ≤2 metastatic lesions in a single organ, (2) a maximal diameter ≤3 cm, and (3) organ involvement, including the lung, liver, adrenal gland, bone, or distant lymph nodes. Local treatment comprised surgery or radiotherapy. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were investigated. Results: Forty-nine patients were included; 33 underwent local treatment. Of these 33 patients, 5 underwent surgical resection and 27 received radiotherapy. One patient underwent both surgical resection and radiotherapy. Median PFS was significantly longer among the patients with local treatment than among the patients without local treatment (30.0 vs. 18.0 months, p = 0.049). In multivariate analysis, local treatment was shown to prolong PFS. However, median OS after metastasis did not differ with regard to local treatment (72.3 vs. 91.0 months, p = 0.272). Conclusion: We showed that local treatment could positively affect disease progression in HR-positive and HER2-negative oligometastatic breast cancer.
Esophageal Nikolsky’s Sign: A Rare Finding in a Patient with Bullous Pemphigoid
Authors: Ghoneim Sara , Shah Aun , Calderon Amy
Published: October 2019

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a chronic relapsing autoimmune blistering disease that typically affects middle-age and elderly patients. It can manifest with varying degrees of mucosal involvement in addition to characteristic skin findings. However, esophageal involvement is very rare. We report a case of a 57-year-old female with BP who presented with epigastric pain and melena. She underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopy which induced bullae seen only upon withdrawal of the endoscope. This finding is analogous to the dermatological finding of Nikolsky’s sign. Gentle insertion and withdrawal of the endoscope is recommended to reduce the risk of bullae formation and mucosal injury.
Successful Treatment of Multiple Metastatic Melanoma with Nivolumab, Ipilimumab plus Denosumab Combined Therapy
Authors: Yoshida Saaya , Fujimura Taku , Kambayashi Yumi , Amagai Ryo , Hashimoto Akira , Aiba Setsuya
Published: October 2019

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab combined therapy is one of the promising drugs that enhance the anti- immune response in patients with advanced melanoma. Therefore, to increase its response rate is of great interest to dermatologists. Recent reports suggested that, since CD8+ T cells after the administration of ICIs increase the RANKL expression to induce an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in melanoma, denosumab might enhance the anti-tumor effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab. In this report, we present a case of multiple metastatic melanoma with nivolumab, ipilimumab plus denosumab combined therapy.
Imaging of Carotid Plaque Neovascularization by Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Cattaneo Mattia , Sun Jie , Staub Daniel , Xu Dongxiang , Gallino Jeanne Marie , Santini Paolo , Porretta Alessandra P. , Yuan Chun , Balu Niranjan , Arnold Marcel , Froio Alberto , Limoni Costanzo , Wyttenbach Rolf , Gallino Augusto
Published: October 2019

Background: Carotid plaque neovascularization (vasa vasorum [VV]) may be useful for detecting high-risk atherosclerotic plaques. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) are 2 commonly used techniques for imaging VV of the carotid plaque, yet the relationship between their measurements remains unknown. Objectives: We aimed to blindly evaluate the correlation between CEUS and DCE-MRI in measuring carotid plaque VV. Methods: We recruited subjects with asymptomatic carotid stenosis (≥50%). VV was graded by CEUS, based on richness of contrast signal, according to 3 different methods named CEUS_A, CEUS_B and CEUS_C on different point scales (the higher the values, the higher the estimated VV). A 3.0 T MRI scanner was used for VV quantification by DCE-MRI using gadolinium contrast kinetic modelling for computing the fractional plasma volume (vp) and transfer constant (Ktrans). Results: The analysis included 30 patients. A significant correlation between CEUS and DCE-MRI findings was observed when CEUS_C was used for neovessel grading and DCE-MRI was used to determine adventitial (r = 0.460, p = 0.010) and plaque (r = 0.374, p = 0.042) Ktrans values. CEUS_B (r = 0.416, p = 0.022) and CEUS_C (r = 0.443, p = 0.014) grading showed a significant correlation with regard to the maximal Ktrans. Conclusions: We found a positive but weak correlation and a moderate diagnostic agreement between neovessels as visually graded by CEUS and adventitial neovessels assessed by DCE-MRI Ktrans in carotid atherosclerosis. These findings may help in understanding how VV density, flow, and permeability influence in vivo measurements by CEUS and DCE-MRI as well as in selecting the most appropriate variables and imaging method in future research and potentially in clinical settings. Further confirmative studies are necessary to confirm our results.
Predictive Score of Adverse Events After Carotid Endarterectomy: The NSQIP Registry Carotid Endarterectomy Scale
Authors: Dasenbrock Hormuzdiyar H. , Smith Timothy R. , Gormley William B. , Castlen Joseph P. , Patel Nirav J. , Frerichs Kai U. , Aziz‐Sultan M. Ali , Du Rose
Published: October 2019

Background

The goal of this study was to create a comprehensive, integer‐weighted predictive scale of adverse events after carotid endarterectomy (
CEA
), which may augment risk stratification and patient counseling.

Methods and Results

The targeted carotid files from the prospective NSQIP (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) registry (2011–2013) comprised the derivation population. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated predictors of a 30‐day adverse event (stroke, myocardial infarction, or death), the effect estimates of which were used to build a weighted predictive scale that was validated using the 2014 to 2015
NSQIP
registry release. A total of 10 766 and 8002 patients were included in the derivation and the validation populations, in whom 4.0% and 3.7% developed an adverse event, respectively. The
NSQIP
registry
CEA
scale included 14 variables; the highest points were allocated for insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus, high‐risk cardiac physiological characteristics, admission source other than home, an emergent operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists’ classification
IV
to V, modified Rankin Scale score ≥2, and presentation with a stroke.
NSQIP
registry
CEA
score was predictive of an adverse event (concordance=0.67), stroke or death (concordance=0.69), mortality (concordance=0.76), an extended hospitalization (concordance=0.73), and a nonroutine discharge (concordance=0.83) in the validation population, as well as among symptomatic and asymptomatic subgroups (
P
<0.001). In the validation population, patients with an
NSQIP
registry
CEA
scale score >8 and 17 had 30‐day stroke or death rates >3% and 6%, the recommended thresholds for asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, respectively.

Conclusions

The
NSQIP
registry
CEA
scale predicts adverse outcomes after CEA and can risk stratify patients with both symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis using different thresholds for each population.
Prevalence and Impact of Treatment Crossover in Cardiac Surgery Randomized Trials: A Meta‐Epidemiologic Study
Authors: Gaudino Mario , Fremes Stephen E. , Ruel Marc , Di Franco Antonino , Di Mauro Michele , Chikwe Joanna , Frati Giacomo , Girardi Leonard N. , Taggart David P. , Biondi‐Zoccai Giuseppe
Published: October 2019

Background

Crossover dilutes treatment effect and reduces statistical power of intention‐to‐treat analysis. We examined incidence and impact on cardiac surgery randomized controlled trial (
RCT
) outcomes of crossover from experimental to control interventions, or vice versa.

Methods and Results

MEDLINE
,
EMBASE
, and Cochrane Library were searched, and
RCT
s (≥100 patients) comparing ≥2 adult cardiac surgical interventions were included. Crossover from the initial treatment assignment and relative risks (
RRs
) for each trial's primary end point and mortality at longest available follow‐up were extracted. All
RR
s were calculated as >1 favored control group and <1 favored experimental arm. Primary outcome was the effect estimate for primary end point of each
RCT
, and secondary outcome was all‐cause mortality; both were appraised as
RR
at the longest follow‐up available. Sixty articles reporting on 47
RCT
s (25 440 patients) were identified. Median crossover rate from experimental to control group was 7.0% (first quartile, 2.0%; third quartile, 9.7%), whereas from control to experimental group, the rate was 1.3% (first quartile, 0%; third quartile, 3.6%).
RR
s for primary end point and mortality were higher in
RCT
s with higher crossover rate from experimental to control group (
RR
, 1.01 [95%
CI
, 0.94–1.07] versus
RR
, 0.80 [95%
CI
, 0.66–0.97] and
RR
, 1.02 [95%
CI
, 0.95–1.11] versus
RR
, 0.94 [95%
CI
, 0.82–1.07], respectively). Crossover from control to experimental group did not alter effect estimates for primary end point or mortality (
RR
, 0.82 [95%
CI
, 0.63–1.05] versus
RR
, 0.95 [95%
CI
, 0.86–1.04] and
RR
, 0.88 [95%
CI
, 0.73–1.07] versus
RR
, 1.02 [95%
CI
, 0.95–1.09], respectively).

Conclusions

Crossover from experimental to control group is associated with outcomes of cardiac surgery
RCT
s. Crossover should be minimized at designing stage and carefully appraised after study completion.
Preliminary Examination of the Ability of a New Wearable Device to Capture Functional Hand Activity After Stroke
Authors: Simpson Lisa A. , Mow Amanda , Menon Carlo , Eng Janice J.
Published: October 2019

Background and Purpose—

A reliable measure of movement repetitions is required to assist in determining the optimal dose for maximizing upper limb recovery after stroke. This study investigated the ability of a new wearable device to capture reach-to-grasp repetitions in individuals with stroke.

Methods—

Eight individuals with stroke wore an instrumented wrist bracelet while completing 12 upper limb activities. Participants completed 5 and 10 repetitions of each activity on 2 separate sessions (time 1 and time 2) and completed clinical assessments (Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Assessment and Action Research Arm Test). Mean reach-to-grasp counts (ie, hand counts) were compared across activities. Scaling properties were assessed by the ratio of 10 repetitions to 5 repetitions for the activities (ie, expected value of 2). Bland-Altman diagrams were used to examine agreement between time 1 and time 2 counts.

Results—

The wrist bracelet averaged 0 to 0.6 hand counts per repetition for the arm-only and hand-only activities and averaged 1 to 2 counts per repetition of the reach-to-grasp activities. The mean ratio of 10 repetition to 5 repetition counts was ≈2 for all of the reach-to-grasp activities. Mean differences from time 1 to time 2 were <0.3 counts/repetition for all activities except one.

Conclusions—

These preliminary results provide evidence that the wrist bracelet is able to capture hand counts over a variety of tasks in a consistent manner. This wrist bracelet could be further developed as a tool to record dose of upper limb practice for research or clinical practice, as well as providing motivation and accountability to patients participating in treatments requiring upper limb movement repetitions. Currently, there are limitations in interpreting the impact of impairment and common compensatory movements on hand counts, and it would be valuable for future studies to explore these effects.
An Introduction to Dr. Nishimura Masanari’s Research on the Lung Khe Citadel
Authors: Noriko Nishino
Published: October 2019

This paper introduces Nishimura Masanari’s research on the Lung Khe Citadel, which was built in the second century ce and continuously occupied until the end of the fifth or early sixth century. Nishimura explored four main topics. First, based on the large-scale bronze workshop in the citadel, he argued that the casting of the bronze drum there had a political purpose. Second, he proved that the Lung Khe Citadel was Long Bien, not Luy Lau. Third, he discovered several types of artifacts, including a table-shaped stone mortar (pesani) and kendi that show cultural affinity with artifacts found in Tra Kieu and Oc Eo. Hence, the cross-regional Nanhai trade and political power at Lung Khe might have reciprocally stimulated each other. Finally, Nishimura advanced the far-reaching hypothesis that the prosperity of Chinese Buddhism might have stemmed from the Lung Khe area, on the basis of his study of roof tile ends with mask or lotus petal motifs.
Lung Khe and the Cultural Relationship between Northern and Southern Vietnam
Authors: Lê Thi Liên
Published: October 2019

This paper focuses on the area surrounding Lung Khe, which is the local name of an ancient citadel located in Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam. The nearby Nam Giao học tổ (南交學祖) Temple and the Tứ Pháp Buddhist temples, as well as records related to Shi Xie (士燮), the head of the Jiaozhi Commandery (交州太守), indicate that interesting cultural exchanges occurred in this area. Examining archaeological evidence found by the late Dr. Nishimura Masanari and his colleagues, the paper discusses cultural relationships and contacts among ancient peoples in various areas, particularly in present-day northern and southern Vietnam.
Nishimura Masanari’s Study of the Earliest Known Shipwreck Found in Vietnam
Authors: Noriko Nishino , Toru Aoyama , Jun Kimura , Takenori Nogami , Lien Le Thi
Published: October 2019

The Chau Tan shipwreck, probably the earliest shipwreck in Vietnam, was found in the waters off the shore of Binh Son District in Quang Ngai Province in the early 2000s. Dr. Nishimura initiated a study of the shipwreck material, but it was cut short by his sudden demise. A group of Japanese scholars continued the project in co-operation with the Institute of Archaeology (Vietnam). Since remnants of the shipwreck were pillaged and their archaeological contexts were not recorded, this initial study is limited to a comparative assessment of the recovered items, including wooden timbers from the hull and Chinese ceramics. It is also a case study for addressing the ethical issues of raising shipwreck remains in Vietnam for commercial purposes without conducting scientific surveys. The study indicates that the ship timbers came from an eighth-ninth century Southeast Asian ship, and that the Chinese ceramics can be assigned to the Tang Dynasty. A number of inked or inscribed characters on ceramic shards indicate the involvement of Indian Ocean merchants.
The International Ceramics Trade and Social Change in the Red River Delta in the Early Modern Period
Authors: Shinya Ueda , Noriko Nishino
Published: October 2019

Nishimura Masanari argued that the construction of enclosed-type levees caused the water level of the Red River to rise in seventeenth-century northern Vietnam, and he suggested that this phenomenon triggered social changes that brought about the establishment of Vietnamese “traditional society,” represented by the autonomous villages of the Red River Delta. Nishimura’s archaeological discussion of the transition from horseshoe-shaped levees to enclosed-type levees suggests new ways of studying socioeconomic change in early modern Vietnam. This article examines the utilization of the dry riverbed area of the Red River near Hanoi and tracks changes in the position of the levee near the neighboring villages of Bát Tràng and Kim Lan from the seventeenth century onward. The article shows that Nishimura’s argument concerning the levee network makes it possible to locate the establishment of early modern Vietnamese society in the “Age of Commerce.”
Big History, Geological Accumulations, Physical Economics, and Wealth
Authors: Flynn Dennis O.
Published: October 2019

The unconventional model presented herein—Laws of Supplies and Demands— furnishes a view of the discipline of economics as both a social science and a physical science. This essay begins with Big History origins of Earthly mineral foundations upon which the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and today’s Computer Age were based, according to prominent geologist Walter Alvarez. Alvarez argues persuasively that geographical concentrations of specific productive inputs across Earth have been essential prerequisites for existence of all economic ages. This essay complements Alvarez’s focus upon economic inputs by extending consideration to geographical concentrations of economic outputs (goods). Mechanisms that explain concentrations of final goods in specific geographical locations across Earth comprise the core of the Laws of Supplies and Demands model. The flows-only orientation of conventional microeconomics (Laws of Supply and Demand) and conventional macroeconomics—both of which limit attention to time-dimensioned variables such as incomes and expenditures—is broadened to incorporate accumulations: wealth components (point-in-time-snapshots). By definition, services cannot be stocked, whereas goods accumulate as wealth components. The Laws of Supplies and Demands provide theoretical underpinnings for widespread interest today in empirical social science investigations of wealth accumulations and wealth distributions.
Lead or Mercury, haifuki-hō or plata de azogue: the Environmental Dilemma in the History of Silver Refining
Authors: Guerrero Saul
Published: October 2019

In the sixteenth century the Spanish Empire would find itself owner and conqueror of the largest deposits of primary silver and mercury in the world, a geopolitical conjunction which would lead to the use of mercury at an industrial scale in the production of plata de azogue (silver by mercury) from silver sulfide deposits found in the Americas. Thus, two refining processes, the millennia-old two-stage smelting process based on lead and high temperatures, and the upstart based on mercury sine igne (without fire), came to share in nearly equal parts the aggregate global production of silver from the sixteenth to the final decade of the nineteenth century. These processes relied on the extensive use of two of the heavy metals most toxic to humans, and their anthropogenic emissions to the environment have caused impacts lasting over subsequent centuries. However, the successful use of haifuki-hō (smelting-cupellation process) in Japan to produce silver from silver sulfide ores with 0.2 percent silver content demonstrates that the extensive use of mercury by Spanish refiners in the New World was not the consequence of the geochemistry or silver content of the ores.
The Last Copper Century: Southwest China and the Coin Economy (1705–1808)
Authors: Cao Jin
Published: October 2019

Over the last millennium, the priority for imperial China’s parallel bimetallic monetary system shifted from copper cash to silver bullion, a development that gained momentum with the influx of New World silver during the sixteenth century. This trend was altered when the Qing government increased copper production in the Southwest, thus inaugurating China’s last copper century around 1705. This study focuses on those provinces where the wealth of China’s copper economy was created: Yunnan, where copper for the metropolitan mints in Beijing was mined under relatively strict governmental control; and especially Sichuan, which maintained China’s largest provincial mint and favored a more flexible cooperation between state and private structures. In these provinces, the interrelations between mining and minting can be observed most closely, the copper century lasted longer and showed a deeper impact, and the symptoms of its final crisis, like counterfeiting or coin debasement, became most apparent. This study aims to reassess our understanding of Chinese mint-metal mining and copper-coin production in practice and theory. It shows the importance of the internal market in huge land empires like China but also—through its interrelation with silver in the bimetallic system—its deep involvement in an increasingly integrated global economy.
A new genus and species of wasp (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Praeaulacidae) associated with an angiosperm flower in Burmese amber

Authors: POINAR GEORGE
Published: October 2019

A new genus and species of small wasp (body length, 4.3 mm, exclusive of antennae) of the extinct family Praeaulacidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) is described in Burmese amber. Placement in the Praeaulacidae is based on the hind wing venation with RS, cu-a and apparent r-m present and a 10-celled forewing. Special forewing features are a large CuA cell and very narrow 3rm cell that is not aligned with 2r-m. The narrow hind wings have a unique venation with RS, M, Cu and A reaching the lower wing margin. The metasoma is attached to the propodium by a 1-segmented petiole. The ovipositor is long, exceeding the length of the metasoma. An angiosperm flower is adjacent to the wasp and the presence of herbivorous insect larvae on the flower may have attracted the female wasp.
A new species of Luanpingia (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Sinoalidae) from the Middle–Upper Jurassic Daohugou Bed

Authors: FU YANZHE , HUANG DIYING
Published: October 2019

The hemipteran superfamily Cercopoidea Leach, 1815, usually named spittlebugs (for nymphs) or froghoppers (for adults), is the second largest superfamily in Cicadomorpha, comprising over 2600 extant species widely distributed around the world (Dietrich, 2002; Bartlett et al., 2018). Cercopoidea includes five extant and three extinct families reported from the Mesozoic (Cryan & Svenson, 2010; Szwedo, 2018).
An unusual new genus and species of beaded lacewings (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Authors: SHI YIJUAN , ZHANG WEIWEI , WANG BO , LIU XINGYUE
Published: October 2019

A new genus and species of the neuropteran family Berothidae from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, namely Xiaoberotha bipunctata gen. et sp. nov., is described. In addition, an undetermined species of this new genus is also described. This new genus greatly differs from most known berothids by the presence of forewing ScA and the configuration of hind wing Cu that is not approximating posterior wing margin. The new genus superficially resembles Hemerobiidae by having the distinct, posteriorly curved forewing ScA and the two forewing cua-cup crossveins that are shared by many brown lacewing genera. However, no autapomorphy of Hemerobiidae could be confirmed to be present in the new species. Here we tentatively place this new genus in Berothidae by the configuration of the female gonocoxites 8, which is conspicuous and dorsoventrally extended. This unusual beaded lacewing genus highlights the morphological diversity of the extinct Berothidae.
A new fossil snipe fly with long proboscis from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China (Diptera: Rhagionidae)
Authors: HAN YE , CAI YAJING , REN DONG , WANG YONGJIE
Published: October 2019

A new genus and species of rhagionids with a long proboscis, Elliprhagio macrosiphonius gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China, which is considered to be the earliest hematophagous rhagionid described hitherto according to the typically piercing and sucking mouthparts. All previously documented rhagionids from northeastern China are reviewed a key to genera of Rhagionidae from Daohugou is provided for the first time. The genus Daohugorhagio Zhang, 2013 is considered as a new synonym of Trichorhagio Zhang, 2013.
New species of Rhopalomyia and Dasineura (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) associated with Prosopis caldenia Burkart (Fabaceae) in Argentina
Authors: CORNEJO LAURA GABRIELA , MOLAS BÁRBARA MARIANA CORRÓ , KUZMANICH NICOLÁS , MARTÍNEZ JUAN JOSÉ
Published: October 2019

Two new species of cecidomyiids were identified on Prosopis caldenia Burkart (Fabaceae) in Argentina: Rhopalomyia caldeniae Cornejo & Martínez sp. nov., as the inducer of bivalve leaf galls, and the inquiline Dasineura oportunista Cornejo & Martínez sp. nov. These galls are composed of the partial coalescence of two contiguous pinnulae that delimit a single larval chamber, where both species develop. Seven other species were reared from these galls as parasitoids and inquilines.
A new species of the genus Eucyclodes (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Geometrinae) from China
Authors: ZHANG XINYI , WANG WENKAI , HAN HONGXIANG
Published: October 2019

The genus Eucyclodes was originally established by Warren (1894) on the basis of Phorodesma buprestaria Guenée, 1858. Eucyclodes is a large genus, which contains more than 90 species (Scoble 1999; Scoble & Hausmann 2007), mainly distributed in the Indo-Australian tropics, and more than 50% of all species are found in New Guinea. More than 90% of all Eucyclodes species were described before the 1950s. The most recent additions were made by Inoue (1978, 1986), Holloway & Sommerer (1984), Holloway (1996), and Tautel (2016), who each erected one new species per publication. The tribal position of Eucyclodes is still uncertain, for example, Pitkin (1996), Holloway (1996) and Ban et al. (2018) placed it in the tribe Nemoriini (or Nemoriiti), and the most recent research by Murillo-Ramos et al. (2019) found that Eucyclodes is sister to other Nemoriini and the authors did not assign it to any tribe.
Uncertainty Estimates for Sea Surface Temperature and Land Surface Air Temperature in NOAAGlobalTemp Version 5
Authors: Huang Boyin , Menne Matthew J. , Boyer Tim , Freeman Eric , Gleason Byron E. , Lawrimore Jay H. , Liu Chunying , Rennie J. Jared , Schreck Carl J. , Sun Fengying , Vose Russell , Williams Claude N. , Yin Xungang , Zhang Huai-Min
Published: October 2019

This analysis estimates uncertainty in the NOAA global surface temperature (GST) version 5 (NOAAGlobalTemp v5) product, which consists of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Extended Reconstructed SST version 5 (ERSSTv5) and land surface air temperature (LSAT) from the Global Historical Climatology Network monthly version 4 (GHCNm v4). Total uncertainty in SST and LSAT consists of parametric and reconstruction uncertainties. The parametric uncertainty represents the dependence of SST/LSAT reconstructions on selecting 28 (6) internal parameters of SST (LSAT), and is estimated by a 1000-member ensemble from 1854 to 2016. The reconstruction uncertainty represents the residual error of using a limited number of 140 (65) modes for SST (LSAT). Uncertainty is quantified at the global scale as well as the local grid scale. Uncertainties in SST and LSAT at the local grid scale are larger in the earlier period (1880s–1910s) and during the two world wars due to sparse observations, then decrease in the modern period (1950s–2010s) due to increased data coverage. Uncertainties in SST and LSAT at the global scale are much smaller than those at the local grid scale due to error cancellations by averaging. Uncertainties are smaller in SST than in LSAT due to smaller SST variabilities. Comparisons show that GST and its uncertainty in NOAAGlobalTemp v5 are comparable to those in other internationally recognized GST products. The differences between NOAAGlobalTemp v5 and other GST products are within their uncertainties at the 95% confidence level.
Ethnic Quotas and Foreign NGOs in Burundi: Shrinking Civic Space Framed as Affirmative Action
Authors: Vandeginste Stef
Published: October 2019

Since January 2017, foreign non-governmental organisations (ONGEs) active in Burundi are required to respect ethnic quotas (60 per cent Hutu, 40 per cent Tutsi) when employing local staff. The ethnic quota requirement was adopted amidst fears of re-ethnicisation of politics and society, enhanced control on civil society and tense relations between the Burundi government and its aid partners. While authorities justify the measure as a remedy for decades of discrimination along ethnic lines, an analysis of the legal reform shows that a variety of other motivations and dominant party interests account for its adoption and enforcement. While the reform mirrors a wider international trend of shrinking civic space, the Burundi case study also shows how a clever discursive strategy may skillfully divide ONGEs and their funding agencies. Furthermore, the case study reveals the instrumental use of obscurity and ambiguity in terms of the legal wording and enforcement of the ethnic quota requirement.
Regulatory Approach Towards GM Technology in India, USA and EU: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Navneet Asheesh
Published: October 2019

The article mainly deals with the complications involved in the regulation of genetically modified (GM) technology in India by comparing it with the regulatory mechanisms developed in the USA and the European Union (EU). The only GM crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in India is Bt cotton. It has been observed that apart from Bt cotton, whenever the Indian regulatory bodies tried to approve any other GM food crops, protests have erupted from several sections of the Indian civil society. As a result, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has been compelled to take political decision of not to allow GM crops for commercial cultivation. This led to the increase in the political conflict among supporters and detractors of GM crop technology. Both the USA and the EU have explicitly established either product-based or process-based regulatory approaches. But in India, the regulation is still evolving. In that respect, this article highlights some of the existing regulatory loopholes and kinds of confusions that prevail in Indian regulatory system.
Age-Specific Predictive Models of the Upper Quintile of Periodontal Attachment Loss
Authors: Shariff J.A. , Cheng B. , Papapanou P.N.
Published: October 2019

A practical method to identify people who are most affected by periodontitis in their age group is currently unavailable. We focused on individuals with mean clinical attachment loss (CAL) above the 80th percentile within each of 10 age groups (5-y intervals between 30 and 74 y as well as ≥75 y). We developed predictive models using combined data from 2 cohorts (2009 to 2010 and 2011 to 2012) from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; development cohort [DC], n = 6,757), and we carried out external validation using data from a third NHANES cohort (2013 to 2014; validation cohort [VC], n = 3,447). We used 1) age-specific logistic regression models with stepwise selection to identify significant demographic variables, habits, medical conditions, and selected clinical periodontal parameters (proportion of teeth with probing depth ≥4 mm at incisors and molars and with visible [≥2 mm] recession) and to calculate propensity scores (PSs); 2) Youden’s J statistic to select optimum PS cutoffs to maximize diagnostic performance using receiver operating characteristic curves; and 3) bootstrap resampling with 1,000 replicates to validate the age-specific models and adjust the PS and optimal PS cutoffs for overfitting. The bootstrap-adjusted PSs were used as single predictors of mean CAL over the 80th percentile in the VC. The age-specific upper quintiles of mean CAL ranged between 1.63 and 3.24 mm in the DC and between 1.87 and 3.20 mm in the VC. The area under the curve of the models exceeded 0.85 in all age groups in the DC and 0.84 in the VC, indicating well-validated diagnostic performance. In the DC, sensitivity values ranged between 0.75 and 0.97 and exceeded 0.83 in 8 of 10 age groups. Corresponding values in the VC ranged between 0.56 and 0.89 and exceeded 0.68 in 8 of 10 age groups. We conclude that modeling that incorporates readily obtainable variables through a brief patient interview and an abbreviated periodontal examination accurately identifies individuals who are most affected by periodontitis in different ages.
Supporting Dynamic Economic Adjustment
Authors: Martin John
Published: October 2019

Executive Summary

Economic policymaking in the UK has historically focussed more on the demand side than on the supply side of the economy. Yet it is on the supply side – the way in which an economy adapts to change while growing productive capacity on a sustainable basis – that medium- to long-term economic performance largely depends. There is an urgent need now to rebalance policy by focussing, in particular, on measures to enhance labour-force productivity, including radically enhanced support for training and skills development.

This does not involve wholesale structural reform of the economic framework. The UK benefits from having one of the most flexible economies in the OECD, with competitive product markets, relatively low labour costs and historically high employment levels, accompanied by a so-far-successful adoption of an escalating minimum wage. We suggest that in the post-Brexit era politicians would do well to avoid changes in the regulatory regime that would create undue misalignments with EU standards. Nevertheless, the concomitants of the UK's form of flexibility are a dismal performance on productivity and stagnating living standards. Productivity is now actually falling quarter on quarter ten years after the last economic downturn – a position unprecedented in the past 250 years. This problem must be addressed if the UK is to progress towards fulfilling its economic potential.

Central to this are both so-called Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) to provide people who have become unemployed with new skills that help them remain in the workforce, and investments in effective upskilling of mid-career and older workers. ALMPs can help raise average per capita income over time, yet UK spending on this area is well under half the OECD average and a fraction of the sums spent in the more successful Nordic economies, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Australia. The UK's many attempts to develop new training and apprenticeship schemes in recent decades have been dogged by poor quality and a lack of support from employers and labour unions. This needs to change: we propose a concerted effort to raise UK spending on ALMPs to the OECD average, especially for 16–24 year-olds. Improving labour-force mobility – for example by radically improving availability of affordable housing – is also critical. Structural reforms of this kind will require sustained political effort and support.
Developing Trade
Authors: Vines David , Gretton Paul , Williamson Anne
Published: October 2019

Executive Summary

The UK faces no easy options in determining how to develop its approach to international trade post-Brexit. If it finally decides to leave the European Customs Union and Single Market, it faces the possibility either of simply crashing out of the EU without a deal; trying to form market-access agreements and Free Trade Areas (FTAs) with the EU and other countries; or unilaterally reducing tariffs and liberalising trade with all countries. Each course raises significant practical difficulties, and entails major disadvantages compared with staying in the Customs Union and Single Market.

The economic costs of a ‘no-deal’ approach stand to be very large, including inevitable tariffs, obstruction of UK access to EU markets, physical disruption at borders, a damping of investment and the much-discussed problem of the Irish border. Assuming ‘no-deal’ does not happen, negotiating FTAs with other countries would be possible only after a lengthy transition period, as in the Withdrawal Agreement voted down in Parliament, and would depend on the shape of the ultimate post-Brexit trading relationship between the EU and the UK. The process would be difficult, costly, and protracted; would likely be concluded on disadvantageous terms; would be even harder to apply to trade in services; and would yield extremely small gains given the volume of UK non-EU trade that is already covered by FTAs. Finally, unilateral liberalisation, while ameliorating some of the drawbacks of the first two options, faces the same problems of loss of access to European markets and disruption to trade; and would entail severe economic pain with only very gradual gains.

The UK needs to conduct a much more profound and considered debate on these issues before deciding to set aside the large benefits of membership of the Customs Union and Single Market for the significant difficulties and tenuous gains offered by the alternatives. Public debate on the economic effects of trade policy has so far lacked the detailed but necessary analysis of these questions. It seems essential to establish a national policy review institution, modelled on the Australian Productivity Commission, in order to stimulate such a debate.
Improving Infrastructure
Authors: Jones Russell , Llewellyn John
Published: October 2019

Executive Summary

Infrastructure investment can substantially increase a nation's capital stock and thereby boost productive, or supply-side, potential. It can also be useful as a tool in macroeconomic stabilisation, while public spending on quality infrastructure projects has been shown to have significantly greater multiplier effects than tax cuts – so the case for an increasing spend is not undermined by a country's overall debt level.

These arguments are especially apposite for post-Brexit UK. Britain's investment performance in general has been especially poor since the 2016 EU referendum. Fixed capital formation as a proportion of GDP is low by international standards, while the government's share of fixed capital formation, at 2.5 per cent, is also below average. It would make sense to target an increase in public and private infrastructure spend to 3.5 per cent of GDP which is the OECD's recommended level.

While major infrastructure projects continue to generate controversy on grounds of cost overruns and other issues, UK policy-makers have recently taken a more constructive approach to infrastructure development, notably with the creation of an independent National Infrastructure Commission.

But the UK's infrastructure remains unsatisfactory, with significant parts of its energy, water, transport and communications networks in need of renewal or replacement, and infrastructure project delivery remains poor. In summary, much of Britain continues to operate well into the 21st century largely with 20th century, sometimes 19th century, infrastructure assets that are creating bottlenecks, crimping productivity, putting off potential foreign investors, undermining the economy's competitiveness, increasing inequality, and leaving the economy ill-equipped to face future challenges such as Brexit and climate change.

The government needs to be bolder, setting out a more ambitious set of priorities including energy projects, regional spending, and fostering capital recycling and private sector investment. A still more ambitious, but eminently feasible, proposal would be to establish a National Investment Bank to offer project guarantees, recommend user fees, lend to projects with the proceeds of National Investment Bonds and simplify planning among other tasks. In a serious downturn, with monetary policy exhausted, the NIB could also help to co-ordinate and finance a response.
Effective Devolution
Authors: Armstrong Angus
Published: October 2019

Executive Summary

Brexit creates deep challenges for the UK's structure of governance; not least concerning the degree and manner in which powers are devolved within one of the most centralised countries in the world. Departing from the EU is likely to exacerbate regional inequalities and possibly social divide, while at the same time leading to further centralisation of powers, at least in the short term. Most Brexit analysis looks at the reorientation of the UK's external relationships, but the most significant impact may be on its internal constitutional affairs.

While it is generally agreed that the UK needs more devolution, there is little discussion about how and why it sometimes succeeds, but also sometimes falls short of expectations. Ever since Adam Smith it has been known that economic prosperity, justice, and social cooperation are mutually reinforcing. Therefore, policy must be built around community and a sense of belonging, rather than a collection of anonymous individuals. The Core Design Principles set out by Elinor Ostrom provide a framework to transform governance structure at every level from the smallest communities all the way to parliament.

Necessary institutional changes include giving local authorities much greater control over revenue-raising powers and therefore the services they wish to support. National legislatures must have the power to borrow for investment without limit, but with sole responsibility for repayment, to enhance local political accountability. A statutory body should be established, including representatives of the devolved assemblies and English regions, to address regional disparities, and there should be a much stronger regional presence in decision-making by HM Treasury and the Bank of England.
Improving Governance
Authors: Donnelly Martin
Published: October 2019

Executive Summary

Government post-Brexit will face sustained and difficult challenges as the UK adjusts to its new situation. Yet these challenges risk being exacerbated by fundamental changes in UK political debate that are affecting the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of the system and structures of government. These include erosion of the clear distinction entrenched for the last 150 years between political choices by elected representatives and impartial administration by the civil service; the disruption of traditional deliberative processes by digital and social media; and increased centralisation of decision-making in No. 10 Downing Street combined with inadequate scrutiny of that decision-making either by the Cabinet or by Parliament.

The centralisation of executive power reduces its perceived legitimacy across the UK, with devolved government in Scotland and Wales seen as contingent on the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland under control by central government. Fiscally, the UK has become the most centralised democratic country in the world. As government faces up to the challenge of unwinding membership of the legal and regulatory framework developed during 45 years of EU membership, it is vital that the UK's political structures restore their legitimacy and efficiency.

Necessary reforms start with greater transparency about how government really works today. A PM's Department should be created, separate from the Cabinet Office; senior appointments including the Chief of Staff and ‘Advisors’, as well as instructions from No. 10 to departments, should be subject to effective Parliamentary scrutiny. Legally entrenched structures are required to confirm that devolved powers cannot simply be overridden by the Westminster Parliament. Greater fiscal autonomy should be guaranteed to local government.

Finally, politicians should choose either to recommit explicitly to the original system whereby the civil service remains separate from politics and take steps to make it effective; or acknowledge the drift towards greater political control of the civil service and introduce safeguards to minimise political abuse, for example by taking steps to increase scrutiny of appointments and expenditure.
Optimal cooperative control for formation flying spacecraft with collision avoidance
Authors: Lin Xiaohan , Shi Xiaoping , Li Shilun
Published: October 2019

This article investigates optimal cooperative control algorithms for spacecraft formation flying system that can guarantee collision avoidance between spacecrafts. By selecting potential functions to avoid collisions and constructing index cost functions to describe optimal control, the optimal control algorithms based on the state-dependent Riccati equations, which only require local information vectors, are presented that can guarantee the formation spacecraft to track the reference trajectory without collisions and achieve optimal performance states. Finally, the corresponding proof analysis by Lyapunov stability theory shows that the closed-loop system for spacecraft formation flying is asymptotically stable. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimal cooperative control algorithms with desired control objectives, including trajectory tracking, formation optimality, and collision avoidance.