bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Serum CA199 in Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Treated with CRT Followed by TME with Normal Pretreatment Carcinoembryonic Antigen Levels
Authors: Huang Daxin , Lin Qingliang , Song Jianyuan , Xu Benhua
Published: November 2020

Background: Elevated pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels are related to poor prognosis in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) treated with neo-CRT followed by TME. In patients with normal pretreatment CEA levels, the prognostic significance of carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) is controversial. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic value of pretreatment serum CA199 in patients with LARC who had normal pretreatment CEA levels treated with neo-CRT followed by curative surgery. Methods: A retrospective study of 456 patients with LARC treated with neo-CRT followed by TME between January 2006 and May 2017 was performed. We employed the maximal χ2 method to determine the CA199 threshold of 9.1 U/mL based on the difference in survival and divided patients into 2 groups. Group 1: patients with pretreatment s-CEA < 5 ng/mL and CA199 ≥ 9.1 U/mL. Group 2: patients with pretreatment s-CEA < 5 ng/mL and CA199 < 9.1 U/mL. Overall survival (OS) across CA199 was assessed using Cox proportional hazard regression models (PS:CEA ≥ 5 ng/mL was seen as elevated). Results: Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the following factors were significantly related to OS in patients with LARC with normal pretreatment CEA levels: ypT (odds ratio [OR] 1.863, p = 0.030), ypN (OR 1.622, p = 0.026), and pretreatment CA199 levels (OR 1.886, p = 0.048). Conclusion: Pretreatment CA199 is an independent factor for OS in patients with LARC with normal pretreatment CEA levels, which may reach the clinic to guide individualized decision-making.
The Introduction of Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: Can It Improve Hospital Economics?
Authors: Maassen van den Brink Martijn , Tweed Thaís T.T. , de Hoogt Patrick A. , Hoofwijk A.G.M. , Hulsewé Karel W.E. , Sosef Meindert N. , Stoot Jan H.M.B.
Published: November 2020

Introduction: Clinical benefits of laparoscopic surgery are well established, but evidence for financial benefits is limited. This study aimed to compare the financial impact of the introduction of laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Methods: This study included patients who underwent colorectal surgery between January 2010 and 2015. We collected a range of financial data and divided the patients into 2 groups. Primary outcome was total cost defined by surgical-related costs. Results: A total of 1,246 patients were included, of which 440 surgeries were performed laparoscopically. The total median cost of laparoscopy was higher compared to open surgery (EUR 4,665 vs. EUR 4,268, p = 0.001). Laparoscopy was associated with higher equipment costs (EUR 857 vs. EUR 232, p < 0.001), longer operating time (3.2 vs. 2.5 hours, p < 0.001), and more readmissions (10.9 vs. 8.5%, p < 0.001). However, after adjusting for heterogeneity, no difference was found in total cost. Surgical-related costs were counterbalanced by lower costs associated with shorter median hospital stay (6 vs. 9 days, p < 0.001), less morbidity (37.3 vs. 55.1%, p < 0.001), and less mortality (1.8 vs. 5.6%, p = 0.013) for laparoscopy. Conclusion: During the introduction of laparoscopy for colorectal surgery, no significant differences were found in total cost between laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery. However, favorable postoperative outcomes were achieved with laparoscopic surgery.
Lysyl Oxidase Mechanisms to Mediate Gastrointestinal Cancer Progression
Authors: Farhat Ahmadshah , Ferns Gordon A. , Ashrafi Korosh , Arjmand Mohammad-Hassan
Published: November 2020

Background: Malignancy is a complex process resulting from different changes such as extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and stiffness. One of the important enzymes that contribute to ECM remodeling is lysyl oxidase (Lox) that is overexpressed in different types of human cancers. Because of the high prevalence and poor survival of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies in this review, we discuss the association between Lox activity and the progression of GI cancers. Lox proteins are a group of extracellular enzymes that catalyzed the cross-linking of collagen and elastin, so they have important roles in the control of structure and homeostasis of ECM. Abnormal activation and expression of the Lox family of proteins lead to changes in the ECM toward increased rigidity and fibrosis. Stiffness of ECM can contribute to the pathogenesis of cancers. Summary: Dysregulation of Lox expression is a factor in both fibrotic diseases and cancer. ECM stiffness by Lox overactivity creates a physical barrier against intratumoral concentration of chemotherapeutic drugs and facilitates cancer inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Key Message: Because of the roles of Lox in GI cancers, development targeting Lox protein isotypes may be an appropriate strategy for treatment of GI cancers and improvement in survival of patients.
Association of Proteinuria and Hematuria with Acute Kidney Injury and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
Authors: Chaudhri Imran , Moffitt Richard , Taub Erin , Annadi Raji R. , Hoai Minh , Bolotova Olena , Yoo Jeanwoo , Dhaliwal Simrat , Sahib Haseena , Daccueil Farah , Hajagos Janos , Saltz Mary , Saltz Joel , Mallipattu Sandeep K. , Koraishy Farrukh M.
Published: November 2020

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is strongly associated with poor outcomes in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but data on the association of proteinuria and hematuria are limited to non-US populations. In addition, admission and in-hospital measures for kidney abnormalities have not been studied separately. Methods: This retrospective cohort study aimed to analyze these associations in 321 patients sequentially admitted between March 7, 2020 and April 1, 2020 at Stony Brook University Medical Center, New York. We investigated the association of proteinuria, hematuria, and AKI with outcomes of inflammation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and in-hospital death. We used ANOVA, t test, χ2 test, and Fisher’s exact test for bivariate analyses and logistic regression for multivariable analysis. Results: Three hundred patients met the inclusion criteria for the study cohort. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that admission proteinuria was significantly associated with risk of in-hospital AKI (OR 4.71, 95% CI 1.28–17.38), while admission hematuria was associated with ICU admission (OR 4.56, 95% CI 1.12–18.64), IMV (OR 8.79, 95% CI 2.08–37.00), and death (OR 18.03, 95% CI 2.84–114.57). During hospitalization, de novo proteinuria was significantly associated with increased risk of death (OR 8.94, 95% CI 1.19–114.4, p = 0.04). In-hospital AKI increased (OR 27.14, 95% CI 4.44–240.17) while recovery from in-hospital AKI decreased the risk of death (OR 0.001, 95% CI 0.001–0.06). Conclusion: Proteinuria and hematuria both at the time of admission and during hospitalization are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
One-Month Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents in High-Bleeding-Risk Patients
Authors: Kandzari David E. , Kirtane Ajay J. , Windecker Stephan , Latib Azeem , Kedhi Elvin , Mehran Roxana , Price Matthew J. , Abizaid Alexandre , Simon Daniel I. , Worthley Stephen G. , Zaman Azfar , Choi James W. , Caputo Ronald , Kanitkar Mihir , McLaurin Brent , Potluri Srinivasa , Smith Timothy , Spriggs Douglas , Tolleson Thaddeus , Nazif Tamim , Parke Maria , Lee Lilian C. , Lung Te-Hsin , Stone Gregg W. ,   for the Onyx ONE US/Japan Investigators
Published: November 2020

Background:

Despite treatment guidance endorsing shortened dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration in high bleeding risk (HBR) patients after drug-eluting stents, limited evidence exists to support these recommendations. The present study was designed to examine the safety and effectiveness of 1-month DAPT duration following percutaneous coronary intervention with zotarolimus-eluting stents in HBR patients.

Methods:

Onyx ONE Clear was a prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of 1-month DAPT followed by single antiplatelet therapy in HBR patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with Resolute Onyx drug-eluting stents. The primary analysis of cardiac death or myocardial infarction between 1 month and 1 year was performed in the prespecified one-month clear population of patients pooled from the Onyx ONE US/Japan study and Onyx ONE randomized controlled trial. One-month clear was defined as DAPT adherence and without major adverse events during the first month following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Results:

Among patients enrolled in Onyx ONE US/Japan (n=752) and Onyx ONE randomized controlled trial (n=1018), 1506 patients fulfilled one-month clear criteria. Mean HBR characteristics per patient was 1.6 with 44.7% having multiple risks. By 2 months and 1 year, respectively, 96.9% and 89.3% of patients were taking single antiplatelet therapy. Between 1 month and 1 year, the rate of the primary end point was 7.0%. The 1-sided upper 97.5% CI was 8.4%, less than the performance goal of 9.7% (
P
<0.001).

Conclusions:

Among HBR patients who were event free before DAPT discontinuation at 1 month, favorable safety and effectiveness through 1 year support treatment with Resolute Onyx drug-eluting stents as part of an individualized strategy for shortened DAPT duration following percutaneous coronary intervention.

Registration:

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier NCT03647475.
Incorporating Latent Variables Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorization Improves Risk Stratification in Brugada Syndrome
Authors: Tse Gary , Zhou Jiandong , Lee Sharen , Liu Tong , Bazoukis George , Mililis Panagiotis , Wong Ian C. K. , Chen Cheng , Xia Yunlong , Kamakura Tsukasa , Aiba Takeshi , Kusano Kengo , Zhang Qingpeng , Letsas Konstantinos P.
Published: November 2020

Background

A combination of clinical and electrocardiographic risk factors is used for risk stratification in Brugada syndrome. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the incorporation of latent variables between variables using nonnegative matrix factorization can improve risk stratification compared with logistic regression.

Methods and Results

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients presented with Brugada electrocardiographic patterns between 2000 and 2016 from Hong Kong, China. The primary outcome was spontaneous ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. The external validation cohort included patients from 3 countries. A total of 149 patients with Brugada syndrome (84% males, median age of presentation 50 [38–61] years) were included. Compared with the nonarrhythmic group (n=117, 79%), the spontaneous ventricular tachycardia/ ventricular fibrillation group (n=32, 21%) were more likely to suffer from syncope (69% versus 37%,
P
=0.001) and atrial fibrillation (16% versus 4%,
P
=0.023) as well as displayed longer QTc intervals (424 [399–449] versus 408 [386–425];
P
=0.020). No difference in QRS interval was observed (108 [98–114] versus 102 [95–110],
P
=0.104). Logistic regression found that syncope (odds ratio, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.64–8.74;
P
=0.002), atrial fibrillation (odds ratio, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.12–15.36;
P
=0.033), QRS duration (odds ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.002–1.06;
P
=0.037) and QTc interval (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03;
P
=0.009) were significant predictors of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. Increasing the number of latent variables of these electrocardiographic indices incorporated from n=0 (logistic regression) to n=6 by nonnegative matrix factorization improved the area under the curve of the receiving operating characteristics curve from 0.71 to 0.80. The model improves area under the curve of external validation cohort (n=227) from 0.64 to 0.71.

Conclusions

Nonnegative matrix factorization improves the predictive performance of arrhythmic outcomes by extracting latent features between different variables.
Shared Decisions: A Qualitative Study on Clinician and Patient Perspectives on Statin Therapy and Statin‐Associated Side Effects
Authors: Ahmed Sarah T. , Akeroyd Julia M. , Mahtta Dhruv , Street Richard , Slagle Jason , Navar Ann Marie , Stone Neil J. , Ballantyne Christie M. , Petersen Laura A. , Virani Salim S.
Published: November 2020

Background

Despite guideline recommendations and clinical trial data suggesting benefit, statin therapy use in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains suboptimal. The aim of this study was to understand clinician and patient views on statin therapy, statin‐associated side effects (SASEs), SASE management, and communication around statin risks and benefits.

Methods and Results

We conducted qualitative interviews of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who had SASEs (n=17) and clinicians who regularly prescribe statins (n=20). We used directed content analysis, facilitated by Atlas.ti software, to develop and revise codebooks for clinician and patient interviews. The most relevant codes were “pile sorted” into 5 main topic domains: (1) SASEs vary in severity, duration, and time of onset; (2) communication practices by clinicians around statins and SASEs are variable and impacted by clinician time limitations and patient preconceived notions of SASEs; (3) although a “trial and error” approach to managing SASEs may be effective in allowing clinicians to keep patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on a statin, it can be frustrating for patients; (4) outside sources, such as the media, internet, social networks, and social circles, influence patients' perceptions and often impact the risk benefit discussion; and (5) a decision aid would be beneficial in facilitating clinician decision‐making around SASEs and discussion of SASEs with the patients.

Conclusions

Statin use among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains suboptimal because of various patient‐ and clinician‐related factors. The development of a decision aid to facilitate discussion of SASEs, clinician decision‐making, and SASE management may improve statin use in this high‐risk population.
Impact of Smoking Status on Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Mortality in Patients With Suspected or Known Coronary Artery Disease: The ANOX Study
Authors: Wada Hiromichi , Suzuki Masahiro , Matsuda Morihiro , Ajiro Yoichi , Shinozaki Tsuyoshi , Sakagami Satoru , Yonezawa Kazuya , Shimizu Masatoshi , Funada Junichi , Takenaka Takashi , Morita Yukiko , Nakamura Toshihiro , Fujimoto Kazuteru , Matsubara Hiromi , Kato Toru , Unoki Takashi , Takagi Daisuke , Wada Kyohma , Wada Miyaka , Iguchi Moritake , Masunaga Nobutoyo , Ishii Mitsuru , Yamakage Hajime , Kusakabe Toru , Yasoda Akihiro , Shimatsu Akira , Kotani Kazuhiko , Satoh‐Asahara Noriko , Abe Mitsuru , Akao Masaharu , Hasegawa Koji ,   for the ANOX Study Investigators
Published: November 2020

Background

Whether circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF‐15) levels differ according to smoking status and whether smoking modifies the relationship between GDF‐15 and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease are unclear.

Methods and Results

Using data from a multicenter, prospective cohort of 2418 patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease, we assessed the association between smoking status and GDF‐15 and the impact of smoking status on the association between GDF‐15 and all‐cause death. GDF‐15 was measured in 955 never smokers, 1035 former smokers, and 428 current smokers enrolled in the ANOX Study (Development of Novel Biomarkers Related to Angiogenesis or Oxidative Stress to Predict Cardiovascular Events). Patients were followed up during 3 years. The age of the patients ranged from 19 to 94 years; 67.2% were men. Never smokers exhibited significantly lower levels of GDF‐15 compared with former smokers and current smokers. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the log‐transformed GDF‐15 level was independently associated with both current smoking and former smoking. In the entire patient cohort, the GDF‐15 level was significantly associated with all‐cause death after adjusting for potential clinical confounders. This association was still significant in never smokers, former smokers, and current smokers. However, GDF‐15 provided incremental prognostic information to the model with potential clinical confounders and the established cardiovascular biomarkers in never smokers, but not in current smokers or in former smokers.

Conclusions

Not only current, but also former smoking was independently associated with higher levels of GDF‐15. The prognostic value of GDF‐15 on mortality was most pronounced in never smokers among patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease.
Diet, ontogenetic changes and rhythm of feeding activities in Macrobrachium macrobrachion (Herklots, 1851) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) in the waterbodies and rivers of Benin, West Africa
Authors: Koussovi G. , Niass F. , Allozounhoue C. J. , Dahouda M. , Bonou C. A. , Montchowui E.
Published: November 2020

Knowledge of the diet of Macrobrachium macrobrachion (Herklots, 1851) in its natural environment is a key factor facilitating its successful breeding. We have analysed the stomach content of 452 specimens collected from the Ouémé River Delta (ORD) (338 stomachs) and from the Mono River/Grand-Popo Lagoon complex (MGLC) (114 stomachs), from February to October 2016. The analysis enables to calculate the coefficient of vacuity for the ORD (3.50%) and for the MGLC (3.50%). The results show that M. macrobrachion has a detritivore-omnivore type of diet, feeding mainly on phytoplankton (diatoms and cyanophytes) and detritus. However, the diet of the young shrimps, composed mostly of insect larvae, differs from that of adult. In the adult M. macrobrachion, the pace of feeding activities is greatest in the morning (6.00 to 9.00 am), low in middle of the day (10.00 am to 13.00 pm), and there is a slight trophic activity between 17.00 and 22.00 pm. Outside of the above periods, i.e., from 14.00 to 16.00 pm and 23.00 pm to 5.00 am, the species is at rest. Juveniles feed at dawn. In the nighttime and at dusk, groups of shrimps of varying sizes do feed. The findings of this study suggest that live prey is the best feed for the larvae of M. macrobrachion in captivity and should be distributed preferably early in the morning.
Stygofauna of Oman, 8. The Thermosbaenacea collected during the biological groundwater survey of Oman of 1996
Authors: Wagner H. P.
Published: November 2020

Four species of the thermosbaenacean genus Tethysbaena Wagner, 1994 are described from Oman as T. barbatula n. sp., T. tristani n. sp., T. cryptofallax n. sp. and T. spec. from four isolated groundwater aquifers north and south of the Hajar Mountains in the north and two small isolated aquifers near Salalah and Marbat in the south. It is suggested that the speciation into these separate species is due to regressions of the Tethys Sea. The rising of dry land (mountain ridges) some time at the Oligocene-Miocene boundary would have constituted major barriers for isolated populations of the ancestral species. Not only morphological differences support the specific division into species, also the results of a DNA analysis from an earlier study by Cánovas et al. (2016) clearly support the present division into two localized, isolated species in the southern part of Oman.
The EU Response to Criminal Misuse of Cryptocurrencies: The Young, already Outdated 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive
Authors: Covolo Valentina
Published: November 2020

Combatting criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies was at the core of the fatf agenda under the US Presidency, culminating in June 2019 with the thorough extension of international standards against money laundering over virtual assets’ markets. This echoed the first legislative measure regulating virtual currencies adopted by the EU a year before. Directive 2018/843, better known as the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, fails however to address key technological breakthroughs and new business models, which continuously make the ever-growing and fast-paced crypto economy evolve. Against this background, the present contribution investigates shortfalls and challenges that lay ahead in the light of the new fatf Recommendations. It ultimately argues that the preventive anti-money laundering measures cannot dispense with the establishment of a cross-border integrated supervisory and enforcement system.
A note on the order of constituents in the Mehri Noun Phrase
Authors: Shlonsky Ur
Published: November 2020

Data elicited from native speakers of Mehri and, to a lesser extent, Jibbali—two extant Modern South Arabian languages—show that within the extended nominal phrase, the noun precedes adjectives and the numerals one and two, but follows numerals from three up. This yields the following order: Num≥3 >> Noun >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective. Demonstratives appear between the noun and the numerals one or two, Noun >> Dem >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective, but when the noun is preceded by numerals from three up, the order is Dem >> Num≥3 >> Noun >> Adjective. Following Cinque (2005), I argue that these orders can be explained by taking the constituent order derived by external merge to be Dem >> Num≥3 >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective >> Noun and having the noun (more precisely, the minimal noun phrase) move step-by-step to a position immediately above, and therefore to the left of Num=1,2. The noun cannot move above Num≥3 and since it cannot skip it, it also remains below Dem.
The preservation of proto-Japanese tone class 2.5 in the Izumo region explained
Authors: DE BOER Elisabeth M. , LOUKAREAS Petros
Published: November 2020

In 1981, Okumura Mitsuo reported that the dialect of Izumo Taisha in western Japan had preserved remnants of the separate tone class 2.5, which until then had only been found in dialects in central Japan. His discovery proved that this tone class had formed part of proto-Japanese, but the phonetic realization in Izumo and in central Japan was totally different. The article offers a reconstruction of the proto-system of the Izumo region, as well as an explanation of how class 2.5 came to be (partly) preserved in Izumo. It is argued that this was through a series of rightward shifts of the /H/ tone. These shifts radiated out from the northwestern part of the region. In the period, when the shifts were active, a contour tone on the second syllable of class 2.5 blocked rightward /H/ tone shift in this class. In this way, the contour tone, although later lost, left a trace in the modern dialects.
Minority in Politics: The Javanese Christian Church and Post-Ahok Politics
Authors: Wardoyo Broto
Published: November 2020

This study focuses on Christian minorities and their response to the rise of Islamic politics in Indonesia following Ahok’s trial for alleged blasphemy. It will be suggested that the case brought against Ahok has changed the attitude of preachers of the Javanese Christian Church or Gereja Kristen Jawa (gkj) towards politics. After Ahok was prosecuted, some gkj preachers have delivered political sermons focusing on calming the churchgoers to prevent them from reacting overtly to the rise of Islamic politics in Indonesia. This indicates that preachers have become more melek politik or politically aware. While the gkj remains distant from the practice of politics, it conducts political education for members of the clergy and the politicians affiliated with the church. Through informal interviews with several gkj preachers and qualitative research, this study has avoided making generalizations. Specifically, differences in the Sunday sermons of the gkj attended by the author as well as other gkj and non-gkj churches that the author visited in 2017–2019 will be analyzed.
Media Reforms and Politics in Malaysia
Authors: Venkiteswaran Gayathry
Published: November 2020

This paper focuses on the political changes that have taken place in Malaysia leading to and resulting from the 14th general elections in May 2018. The political change offered an opportunity for changes and reforms in the media sector, especially in light of the promises made by the new government to free up the laws and rules on censorship and access to information. To date, the implementation of reforms has met hurdles, U-turns and the realities of structural and political barriers that see continuity of policies, rather than outright transformation. Reflecting on the experiences of media reforms and assistance, this paper argues that initiatives focused at media work and laws are expected to have limited results given the partisan and conservative nature of the mainstream media. It will also be difficult for Malaysia’s news media to regain public confidence after years of declining trust, especially as the media community has yet to come together reclaim and defend its rights.
The Word ‘Orangutan’
Authors: Sastrawan Wayan Jarrah
Published: November 2020

Orangutans are a type of great ape found in the wild in Sumatra and Borneo. The word ‘orangutan’ in European languages originates from a Malay expression meaning ‘forest person’, but many scholars have argued that it was not in genuine usage among the indigenous peoples of the archipelago. Instead, it is widely believed that the word ‘orangutan’, as a term for the ape, resulted from either an invention or a misunderstanding on the part of European visitors in the seventeenth century CE. I argue against this view, using data from Old Javanese texts and historical-linguistic analysis to show that orangutans have been referred to by this term since the first millennium CE. My findings indicate that the modern use of the word ‘orangutan’ has much older roots in Malay than has been recognized previously.
Exchanges with the Dead
Authors: Laugrand Frédéric , Laugrand Antoine , Tamang Jazil , Magapin Gliseria
Published: November 2020

The Ibaloy, an indigenous group of the Cordillera Central in the Philippines, perform complex burial rites. Often when someone falls ill, they also exhume human remains, a practice that has not received the attention it deserves in a cosmology where animism and analogism are intertwined. Here, we describe a variant of the késheng ja waray batbat ritual observed in 2017, the timeline of its sequences, and the many objects and acts it involves. This ritual is key to the exchanges that the living make with the dead. In it, pigs act more as ‘connectors’ than as sacrificial offerings, and their flesh, blood, and karashowa (soul) are used and shared. This three-day ritual questions death as the end of life, and sheds light on the extent to which Hertz’s ‘second funeral’ concept is useful in understanding the relationships between the living and the dead. It also illuminates how the dead need continuous help from the living and vice versa. Both groups strive to reach a state of diteng (well-being, healthiness) which can be reached only after the dead themselves experience it, thanks to the efforts of the living who take care of their remains and make offerings to them. Then, luck and prosperity can be expected from the dead. These exchanges appear to be necessary to live a good life, and they must be repeated and maintained at all cost.
The Domestication of Protection
Authors: Dewanto Pamungkas A.
Published: November 2020

This article seeks to address some of the issues surrounding Indonesia’s overseas labour protection programme. Despite the fundamental reform of the programme since 2004, observers have assessed that this programme has faced a considerable implementation deficiency. While many studies have identified that this programme was not successful, in this article I aim to explain why. I argue that the government and civil society organizations have helped define, frame, and impose the term ‘protection’ in the process of policy production. In that process, the two stakeholders have demonstrated ‘the domestication of protection’, or an attitude in which the stakeholders of migration view the problems that appear in overseas labour settings as being ones originating in the migrant-sending countries. Therefore, protection is limited to taking action directed at the migration process within the jurisdiction of the sending country. In my research on this topic, I mainly employed open-ended interviews and field observations between 2013 and 2019 in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Colloquium 3 Questioning Aristotle’s Radical Account of Σωφροσύνη
Authors: Moore Christopher
Published: November 2020

This paper investigates Aristotle’s canonical analysis of σωφροσύνη in Nicomachean Ethics 3.10–12 against the background of earlier and subsequent uses, and analyses of the virtue term. It argues that Aristotle’s is an outlier, brilliant but factitious, created to fit a theoretical scheme rather than reflect Greek understanding. Aristotle obscures the creativity of his account, presenting it as an ordinary language conceptual clarification that it is not. Many contemporary readers accept Aristotle’s narrow theory—that σωφροσύνη is moderation with respect to those pleasures of touch related to nutrition and reproduction—as true, which may indicate that they are insufficiently familiar with fifth- and fourth-century literary, intellectual, and philosophical uses of the term. An important problem with this acceptance is that it prevents readers from recognizing the equal plausibility of non-Aristotelian accounts of σωφροσύνη, for example those found in Plato’s Charmides and other dialogues.
Thurstonian Scaling and the Perception of Painterly Translucency
Authors: Wijntjes M. W. A. , Spoiala C. , de Ridder H.
Published: November 2020

Visual material perception is often studied with physically well-defined stimuli that lack ecological variety. Yet, even the visual variety found in our natural environment is limited when compared to artistic depiction. A similar object can be depicted in numerous different ways that all make visual sense. We studied the perception of translucency using 38 paintings of sea waves as experimental stimuli. It has previously been shown that translucency depends on the shape of the translucent object and on the light conditions. Both shape and light appear in many variations in depictions of seas. In the first experiment we explored the use of Thurstonian scaling and introduce the concept of Number of Distinguishable Levels (NDL). We found that the NDL ranged between 1.5 in a set with small waves to 4 in a set with large waves. While Experiment 1 took place in the lab, Experiment 2 was performed online and replicated the data from Experiment 1 qualitatively, although the NDL was lower in the online experiment. Furthermore, in this experiment we conducted Thurstonian scaling on a number of other attributes that possibly contribute to translucency perception, such as wavetip shading, surface reflections and realism. We found that many of these correlated significantly with translucency. In sum, this study advocates and demonstrates the use of uncontrolled stimuli, in our case paintings, to explore the wide variety of input the human visual system can process.
Aesthetic Labeling and Scale Shifting in Cultural Production and Circulation
Authors: Santana-Acuña Álvaro
Published: November 2020

Scholarship on production of cultural goods highlights translation of literary works as a key mechanism of cultural circulation. This article rethinks circulation beyond translation. It argues that changes in aesthetic labels applied to cultural goods can prompt a scale shifting that favors the diffusion of these goods beyond their vernacular space of circulation. This article studies the transnational success of the label literatura latinoamericana, which from the 1960s onward gained acceptance in Spanish, English, French, and other languages as the label that best captured the region’s literary uniqueness. This change in aesthetic labeling made it possible for literatura latinoamericana to enter world literature and for literary works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude to circulate at an unprecedented scale, as international bestsellers and classics. The article finds that aesthetic labeling – a “cultural kind” in the arts – is a far-reaching and understudied mechanism in cultural production and circulation.
Inter / national / ization
Authors: Leperlier Tristan
Published: November 2020

Using the case of Algeria, this article shows that the national and the international—also nationalization and internationalization—in peripheral literary fields do not happen in opposition to each other but are two sides of the same coin. I argue that we should think of this as a transnational literary field. Even though they compete with one another, writers within these fields are always connected. Furthermore, the characteristics of the two poles, in terms of their relative autonomy from political and economic constraints, are not as systematically opposed to one another as Pascale Casanova suggests. Nationalization and internationalization are also frequently intertwined: the material internationalization of texts and writers can reinforce the symbolic nationalization of a literature (e.g. its identification in the international world as “Algerian literature”). Recognizing this also calls into question assertions by scholars such as Homi Bhabha who assert that internationalization of literature goes hand in hand with its hybridization.
Satire as Activism in Contemporary Turkey: Trajectories, Achievements, Current Challenges
Authors: Marcella Valentina
Published: November 2020

The Gezi Park protests that sparked in Turkey in summer 2013 were characterized by a strong presence of satire. Not only did satirical magazines extensively cover the mobilization, the satirical element was also on the foreground in the physical and virtual spaces of the protests, produced and circulated by protestors themselves. Such practice contributed significantly to the expression ‘extraordinary intelligence’ (orantısız zeka) through which protestors came to be defined. Drawing on the concept of laughtivism, that refers to the large-scale use of the satirical element in the tactics of recent non-violent protests, the present work discusses satire’s contribution to political dissent in the Gezi Park protests and assesses its legacy in their aftermath. This study argues that during the protests, satire asserted itself not only as a form of communication and cultural expression but actually as a form of activism, able to foster cultural change and produce transformation in society. It also argues that satire has the potential to perform such a role at less exceptional political times, too, but certain conditions are necessary to make a difference in these contexts. Overall, this work sheds light on the dynamics that make satire a successful form of activism, as well as on its limits.
Major Policy Challenges in Trade and Finance in the Asia-Pacific Region
Authors: Kim Kihwan
Published: November 2020

By every measure, the Asia-Pacific region is extremely important not only for the world economy, but for Korea as well. Given this importance, the paper identifies two major policy issues to be addressed by countries in this region. In trade, the recent proliferation of regional trading arrangements poses a serious threat to the continuation of economic growth in the region. In finance, the lack of capaciry of the financial system in East Asia in particular has given rise to an unhealthy portfolio of financial assets held by East Asian countries. The policy suggestions by the author include the strengthening of the WfO discipline on regional trading arrangements and closer financial cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific.
China's Political Reform as the Key to US-China Relations
Authors: Li Shaomin
Published: November 2020

Many people believe that economic development will naturally lead to democratization in Otina. History, however, shows otherwise. Rising economic powers of Japan and Germany in the 1930s led them to fascism and war. The current U.S.-Otina-Taiwan relations resemble the U.S.-Japan-Otina relations before World War II in the sense that the rurrent Otinese regime eagerly wants be a full-fledged member of the international community and to build a closer relationship with the U.S. while threatening to overtake Taiwan by force. The U.S. should uphold its nonnegotiable principles and make it clear to the Otinese leaders that without initiating democratization, any cordial relationship is impossible. The real progress in Otina is not the change ofleaderships in the communist party; it is the much-needed constitutional reform.
How Technology and Innovation Drive Two Emerging Giants: China and India?
Authors: Zeng Douglas Zhihua
Published: November 2020

Being the two most populous, and rapidly catching up developing countries, China and India's emergence is briskly changing the global growth dynamism and economic structure, and has been receiving great global attention all over the world. This paper is intended to examine these two countries' successes from a knowledge and innovation perspective, and to highlight some policy measures for ensuring long-term success. According to the author, the success of these two countries can be mainly attributed to: 1) successful economic reforms backed with clear visions and strategies from the top leadership in the face of crises; 2) tapping into the global knowledge and technologies through FDI foreign direct investment (mainly China) or Diaspora (especially India); 3) the creation of critical mass of innovation and human capital capabilities through a large pool of scientists and engineers and skilled labors; and 4) catching newly emerging knowledge-intensive industries such as information and communications technology (ICTs) and software. To maintain the current dynamisms and ensure continued success, both China and India need to take some effective measures to strengthen their long-term institutional, innovative, and human capacities. These mainly include improving the governance and the overall investment climate; spurring science and technology (S&T) and innovation activities, especially those of the private sector, and strengthening technology diffusion; enhancing R&D efficiency through better linkage with the production sector; further tapping into the global knowledge and technology stock; further leveraging the innovation clusters; improving the quality of education, especially that of the higher education, and establishing a lifelong learning system through a solid accreditation, certification, and qualification system, and extensive use of modern technologies.
Regulating the Sovereign Wealth Funds
Authors: Pak Bliss Burdett
Published: November 2020

This paper examines the new policy issues surrounding the rise of the “sovereign wealth funds” in global capital markets. A profound and newly significant incidence of globalization, the role of foreign governments as capital providers in nominally capitalistic, free-market economies is disrupting basic principals and assumptions regarding the role of private and public markets and their regulators. This paper examines the potential for appropriate regulatory schemes co channel these wealth pools in economically productive and apolitically-motivated directions, with the goal of permitting them to perform the functions for which they were established: the preservation and prudential investment of the vase wealth of nations. This regulatory analysis proceeds along three lines: (i) first, a model for corporate governance of a "typical" sovereign fund is proposed, based on the established models of private sector investment fund schemes; (ii) second, a review of host state models and current proposals for foreign investment regulation is undertaken, focusing on the special scrutiny given or proposed co be made available for investments by state-owned funds; and (iii) finally, an assessment is offered regarding international organizations' potential role as venues for cooperation and coordination of the newest and largest players in global capital markets. Though the sovereign wealth funds have made significant gains in establishing their credibility as welcome and responsible providers of global capital through their voluntary and independent actions, this paper concludes chat both state-level regulatory accommodation and international cooperation through established economic organizations such as the OECD and IMF offer significant potential benefits to both the funds and the national markets (and target companies therein) if appropriately designed. At a minimum, national and international treatment of the special nature of the sovereign wealth funds may enable capital markets to remain relatively open by specifically addressing the sources of market participants’ (and politicians’) fears of abuse, thereby strengthening the structures chat support the global free movement of capital and channel it co its highest and best use.
Development Cooperation as a Foundation of Japan's Foreign Policy
Authors: Takamine Tsukasa
Published: November 2020

This paper addresses the question of what do Japanese foreign policymakers exactly mean when they repeatedly state that development cooperation has been, and still is, a foundation of postwar Japanese foreign policy, through a case study of Japan's official development assistance (ODA) towards China. More particularly, it investigates the complex policy objectives of Japanese ODA and the broader interests behind it, in order to clarify roles and significance of development assistance within Japan's overall foreign policy. My research demonstrates that despite its inherently economic nature, Japan's ODA provision to recipient countries has in application been more politico-strategic than commercial. Thus, it supports the point that development cooperation has undoubtedly been a foundation of postwar Japanese foreign policy.
Technology Policy in Developing Countries: Indigenous Programs and Political Econorny Theory
Authors: Campbell Joel R.
Published: November 2020

The nature of the state and whether it is able to create a national innovation system have been the primary variables determining the direction of technology policy. This article considers five major cases: Taiwan and Korea, India. China, and Tanzania. Two of the cases, Taiwan and Korea, represent Newly lndustrializing Economies, while India and China represent emerging concinencal economies. All four have been, to varying degrees, Successful instances. Taiwan and Korea were able to link industrial development with applied technology development. while China and India had mixed successes and took much longer to realize technology policy goals. Tanzania illustrates the difficulties encountered by developing countries in creating a science and technology infrastructure. The article also presents theoretical implications of these cases, and assesses shortcomings in technology policy literature.
China Joins the Game: Beijing’s Foreign-Economic Policy Strategies in the Globalization Era
Authors: Keum Hieyeon , Campbell Joel R.
Published: November 2020

Post-Maoist China has experienced a major reorientation of both economic and foreign policy. Foreign policy has been largely determined by the needs of China’s economic reforms, and is intimately linked to the political economy and concomitant efforts to use globalization as a tool to attain high growth, trade, and investment. Economics determines China’s foreign policy, along with its approach to the world. China has made major efforts to join international organizations and economic and political forums, and employs its new resources to remold its military forces. In this article, we examine patterns of Chinese foreign policy, the state’s responses to globalization, and the potential future directions for China’s emerging political economy.
CSO-State Partnerships and Social Finance: Smart Social Capital and Shared Incentives towards Public-Private Partnership Efficiency Using Social Impact Bonds
Authors: Kim Jasper , Kang Sunghye
Published: November 2020

This paper aims to answer two research questions: First, what are the sources of weaknesses found in current CSO-government relationships? Second, how could these weaknesses be remedied to bring better efficiency in social development assistance programs? Applying the Complexity Science framework and Brinkerhoff’s related theoretical model to the field of social finance for the first time to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this article argues that the implementation of social finance, generally, and social impact bonds (SIBs), specifically, can combine to create “smart social capital”—a new model in which trust is furthered and arguably maximized between relevant public and/or private sector networks in the form of stakeholders, through the efficient combination of shared interests in the form of financial as well as societal beneficial gains by related stakeholders and the community at large.
Environmental Policy Performance and Political Development: Do Democracies Outperform Authoritarian Regimes?
Authors: Kelleher David S. , Kim Geum-Soo
Published: November 2020

The pursuit of sustainable development initially centered on understanding how economic development and environmental quality are related. More recently, many have focused on how political development and environmental quality are related. Researchers have examined a variety of environmental problems using a variety of political measures. While there is support for the idea that democracies outperform more authoritarian regimes on various environmental issues, the results are somewhat mixed and ambiguous, not least because the individual studies lack comparability and generalizability. To take stock and address this problem we use a comprehensive dataset of environmental performance outcomes and political variables to systematically address whether democracies do indeed outperform authoritarian regimes across a range of environmental issues. Our results suggest that for environmental issues that are tied to human health, two governance indicators, “voice and accountability” and “control of corruption,” explain international variation in environmental health indicators independently of per capita income, which is also statistically significant. Turning to measures of ecosystem vitality, unlike environmental health indicators, ecosystem measures bear more disparate relations to economic and political measures. Thus, while support for “democratic environmentalism” may only be partial, support for “authoritarian environmentalism” is non-existent.
Regional Integration as Political Strategy? The Case of China’s Economic Offensive against Taiwan
Authors: Liu Tony Tai-Ting
Published: November 2020

This paper analyzes how Beijing attempts to influence other states and achieve its interests through the use of regional integration as an economic instrument. Focusing on the example of China-Taiwan relations (cross-strait relations), this author proposes that China’s economic success over the past decade has encouraged the once reclusive country to actively participate in economic integration and market liberalization efforts in East Asia, which in turn translated into strong economic pressure for Taiwan to come to terms with China at the negotiating table. Such a process essentially tips the balance across the Strait in favor of China.