bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introduction
Authors: Fisher Axel , Bell Simon , Capresi Vittoria , Maia Maria Helena , Pallini Cristina
Published: April 2019

This short introduction reflects upon the significance of the conference to the research topic and scholarly community. After briefly providing an overview of the collaborative framework within which the event took place, it provides a few figures on the participation to the call for papers and the conference itself, as well as a few explanatory words concerning the different themed sessions and sections of the proceedings. Doing so allows the authors to highlight the relevance of the event to both research on the topic and to the concerned disciplines, but also the under-represented topics and disciplines, as a constructive contribution to the future research agenda.
“Alive and kicking” – Moving through and diving into the Soviet kolkhoz and the East German LPG
Authors: Kuhlmann Friedrich
Published: April 2019

The MODSCAPES project seeks an understanding of how modernist rural landscapes developed over time, in part calling for an understanding of the landscape as a set of intertwining layers assessed by local mapping. In addition, by understanding the spatial grammar of the landscape as well as perceiving it through different media, other aspects can be revealed which are not visible via mapping alone. The East-German and Baltic cases differ from other European examples by the fact that their existence ended nearly 30 years ago and residents and decision-makers from the time are still alive. Thus, we focused on the importance of actions carried out by residents in their everyday lives and ways to connect them with the respective space. If a landscape is understood by layers, then these actions form the “kebab skewers” metaphorically connecting them. Topographic maps from different periods formed the basis for the experiential data collected and interpreted in related steps accompanied by verbal commentaries. Firstly, we “dived” into the area using filming and field recordings simultaneously like a canvas to paint on and in the sense of a journey. Next, 360° surround films were shot at spots to simulate the view of a person turning around, followed by filming of situations representing everyday movement cycles in the area, such as going to work or taking children to school, which evoked an atmosphere of everyday life linking the space and people’s actions. Finally, go-along interviews were used to trigger and stimulate reflections and memories of residents to understand how the space impacted their experiences and perceptions. This process revealed facets of the daily life of the inhabitants, settlers or workers and their social interaction with the landscape, uncovering so far untouched places and unknown spatial relationships.
Historical GIS: application of map-based biography to the Laeva sovkhoz / state farm, Estonia
Authors: Veldi Martti , Bell Simon
Published: April 2019

In the MODSCAPES project the concept of historical GIS is one of the practical research tools to detect, map, and analyse large-scale landscape changes caused by modernist rural development schemes. Historical GIS enables us to synthesise human interactions with their surrounding landscape on temporal and spatial axes. In this paper, historical GIS is applied to create a map-based biography of one of the case study examples, Laeva, which was a collective state farm orsovkhoz in South Estonia between 1975 and 1993. Through combining historical maps and archival data we followed the process of collectivisation in Laeva. The Laeva sovkoz was a result of nearly 30 years of trial and error in collective farming, which in the area started with the establishment of seven small kolkhozes in 1948 and 1949. In the 1950s the small kolkhozes were amalgamated into larger and more effective agricultural units. After several mergers and reorganisation of production, in 1975 the sovkhoz of Laeva was established. In the second half of the 1970s the sovkhoz became an experimental cattle and pig breeding research institute of the Estonian Agricultural Academy. We also compared the land use dynamics of the area before, during, and after the collectivisation. The results showed that during the collectivisation the pressure to cultivate land was intensified, and through extensive melioration wetlands were drained, and forested.
“Forward to the bright future of socialism!”: the role of images and symbols in promoting collectivization in Soviet Ukraine
Authors: Zhukova Oksana
Published: April 2019

In every country, state symbols such as the national flag, emblem, and national anthems represent the independence and sovereignty of the state. In the Soviet Union as well as in other autocratic states symbols also played an important role in propaganda, influencing peoples’ attitudes to the actions of the state at all levels. These symbols could also be found, together with powerful imagery in posters, on buildings, monuments and many other things visible and incorporated in the routine life the people. Ukraine has huge historical heritage of symbolism and propaganda from when the country was a major part of the USSR. After the creation of the USSR a political, socio-economic, cultural and spiritual experiment on the construction of a communist society, which in the case of Ukraine was unprecedented in scale and tragedy, began. The collectivization of the village is one of the most tragic pages in the history of Ukraine. As the most important grain-growing region of the country at the time its production was vital to feed the growing cities and industrialisation. The forced collectivisation led to starvation in the 1930s and millions of people died. In order to counter this most public information showed people another side of collectivization. Propaganda was used, such as posters and slogans, to persuade the peasants to join the collective farms and to promote the real or fictitious results of the workers, and, conversely, to attack people who did not want to believe in the “bright future” of the USSR and to denounce “kulaks” and “saboteurs”. Materials from archives and published sources show many examples of Ukrainian images and symbols of that time which shed a light on the way the collectivisation process was portrayed and promoted.
Comparing the socialist rural architecture of the Baltic States: the past and the future of the administrative-cultural centres of collective farms.
Authors: Ingerpuu Laura
Published: April 2019

Collectivisation of agriculture in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was a drastic change that shaped rural built landscapes of the Baltic countries for five decades. Although Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been independent states, and collective farming has been abolished for almost thirty years now, the physical legacy of collective farms still exists. This paper examines what are the present processes in terms of preservation and valorisation of collective farm architectural heritage in the Baltic States. The focus of the analysis is on the administrativecultural buildings of the collective farms, built between the 1960s and 1990s, which represent the modernist and postmodernist rural architectural gems. I compare the context of the establishment of the administrative-cultural centres in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as developments in reuse and protection of these buildings after the abolishment of collective farming. I also analyse today's situation in terms of acceptance of this socialist legacy as a meaningful part of the history. My study is based on the field work in the relevant countries, available literature and data, and interviews conducted with the heritage conservation experts and researchers in this field.
Re-Location: Urban and architectural analysis of resettlement practices in the brown coal mining area of Welzow-Süd in East Germany
Authors: Ess Julia
Published: April 2019

Since the beginning of the 20th century, more than 370 villages with a total amount of about 120,000 inhabitants have been relocated in Germany due to open-pit lignite mining. The devastation of villages and resettlement of their inhabitants had and still have massive implications on the rural landscape and settlement structure of the region. The planning of the relocations reflects, to a great extent, social, economic, and political change in post-war Germany, as well as development in town planning and architectural concepts. The paper focuses on there settlements that took place due to the surface mine of Welzow-Süd (Lusatia, southern Brandenburg), where the development of the resettlement practices of the GDR since the late 1960s and after reunification up until today can be studied in one single open-pit mine.
Enterokokken mit speziellen Resistenzen – Epidemiologie, Hygiene und Therapie
Authors: Mischnik Alexander , Werner Guido , Bender Jennifer , Mutters Nico
Published: April 2019

Enterococci with special resistance patterns (mainly vancomycin-resistant enterococci) play an important role in everyday clinical practice. Rising resistance rates to linezolid, daptomycin or tigecycline are also increasingly reported. Therapeutically, linezolid and daptomycin are the most important substances mainly in infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Several systematic meta-analyses of bloodstream infections showed discrepant results in the comparison of mortality of linezolid and daptomycin-treated bacteraemias. The containment of enterococci with special resistance patterns is currently receiving great attention. The key hygienic issue in all recommendations for dealing with multidrug-resistant enterococci can be summarized very simply: current scientific evidence is often inconsistent and studies that have clearly tested a single intervention for efficacy are lacking. The present work gives an insight into the current epidemiology and therapeutic strategies. Furthermore, the recently published German KRINKO recommendations are presented.
Synthesis of Perfluoroalkyl-Substituted Oxindoles through Organophotoredox-Catalyzed Perfluoroalkylation of N-arylacrylamides with Perfluoroalkyl Iodides
Authors: Yang Zhiyong , Tang Anjiang
Published: April 2019

An efficient process was developed for the perfluoroalkylation of N-arylacrylamides through an organocatalyzed photoredox/cyclization reaction of N-arylacrylamides with inexpensive perfluoroalkyl iodide reagents. The reaction employs an inexpensive organic dye, eosin Y, as the photoredox catalyst and is run under irradiation by a 26 W LED lightbulb.
Characterizing equation of state and optical properties of dynamically pre-compressed materials
Authors: Guarguaglini M. , Hernandez J.-A. , Benuzzi-Mounaix A. , Bolis R. , Brambrink E. , Vinci T. , Ravasio A.
Published: April 2019

Characterizing materials at pressures of several megabars and temperatures of a few thousand Kelvin is critical for the understanding of the Warm Dense Matter regime and to improve planetary models as these conditions are typical of planets' interiors. The laser-driven shock compression technique is capable of simultaneously achieving conditions of several megabars and several thousand Kelvin, but the explored states are too hot to be representative of planetary interiors. Double-shock compression provides an alternative to probe lower temperatures. Here, we present a method to create well-controlled double-shocked states and measure their thermodynamic state and optical reflectivity using standard optical diagnostics (Doppler velocimetry and optical pyrometry) in a laser-driven shock experiment. This method, which does not require the support of hydrodynamical simulations, is based on the application of generalized Rankine-Hugoniot relations together with a self-impedance mismatch technique. A validation experiment has been performed at the LULI2000 facility (École Polytechnique, France) on a water sample. A temperature 63% lower than along the principal Hugoniot has been obtained at 1.9 Mbar.
A compact low-noise photodiode detection system for chemiluminescence nitric oxide analyzer
Authors: Li Hang , Liu Wenqing , Kan Ruifeng
Published: April 2019

A compact, low noise, and high gain photon detector with the size of 50 mm × 50 mm × 48 mm has been developed for a nitric oxide (NO) chemiluminescence analyzer based on a temperature-stabilized photodiode (PD). A deviation of 0.01 °C was realized based on the design of a highly precise temperature control system to avoid signal fluctuation and baseline drift caused by environmental temperature fluctuation. At an optimized temperature of 23 °C, the noise level of 0.088 mV of the PD detector with a gain of 1011 V/A was obtained. The limit of quantitative detection for NO achieved was 25 ppb (S/N = 10), and the coefficient of determination R2 was 0.999 in the range of 0.1–20 ppm.
Performance improvement of a magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator with a carbon fiber array cathode
Authors: Li Ankun , Fan Yuwei , Qian Baoliang , Wang Xiaoyu , Yu Yuanqiang , Liu Zeyang
Published: April 2019

A carbon fiber array cathode (CFAC) was presented and tested in a magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator (MILO) in earlier papers; however, the performance of this cathode was not as good as the traditional polymer velvet cathode, and the nonuniform fibers’ distribution on the cathode surface was postulated as the culprit for this. In this paper, this CFAC has been carefully reprocessed, and the performance is improved (efficiency increases from ∼12% to ∼16%) and reaches a level that is as good as the velvet cathode, which means that this CFAC provides a promising substitute for the polymer velvet cathode in MILO.
Dispersion truncation affects the phase behavior of bulk and confined fluids: Coexistence, adsorption, and criticality
Authors: Schlaich Alexander , Coasne Benoit
Published: April 2019

We present molecular simulations of bulk and confined Lennard–Jones fluids to assess the effect of dispersion truncation through a simple spherical cutoff. The latter is well corrected on a mean field level for bulk fluids if the cutoff distance is larger than about three molecular diameters. In confinement, however, there is no general analytical treatment, and thus, the truncated and shifted Lennard–Jones potential has to be employed, with drastic consequences on the bulk critical temperature, vapor/liquid coexistence pressure, and surface tension. We show using grand-canonical Monte-Carlo simulations of nitrogen adsorption in amorphous silica nanopores that the choice of the cutoff significantly modifies the pressure at which capillary condensation occurs and compute the capillary critical temperature in terms of a first order transition between an adsorbed film and filled pores.
On the compatibility of porous surfaces with cryogenic vacuum in future high-energy particle accelerators
Authors: Spallino L. , Angelucci M. , Larciprete R. , Cimino R.
Published: April 2019

Recently, pulsed laser processing of Cu samples has been demonstrated to produce rough surfaces whose structuring at the nanoscale ensures an impressive reduction of the secondary electron yield. This feature has an undoubted appealing for applications in future high energy particle accelerators. However, the effective application of such laser treated surfaces in this context requires a rigorous evaluation of their vacuum behavior, especially when used at cryogenic temperatures. To this aim, here, we compare thermal programmed desorption between 20 and 70 K by dosing Ar multilayers of different thicknesses on a laser treated copper substrate and on its flat counterpart. Our results highlight that the spongelike structural features confer to the laser treated sample's non-negligible effects due to the gas-substrate interaction. This results in a much vaster and higher desorption temperature range with respect to what is observed from the flat substrates. This evidence could render it very difficult to find temperature intervals for which detrimental vacuum transients could be avoided in the cryogenic beam pipes. On these bases, although the electron cloud mitigation efficiency has been settled, before definitely including porous surfaces in any cryogenic machine design, all the consequences of having a rough rather than a flat wall should be carefully evaluated.
Cold atmospheric helium plasma jet in humid air environment
Authors: Lin Li , Lyu Yuanwei , Trink Barry , Canady Jerome , Keidar Michael
Published: April 2019

Cold atmospheric plasma jet (CAPJ) is one of the latest and most promising techniques for potential cancer treatment and other biomedical applications. Due to the direct contact of air, the jet is sensitive to the parameters of the local environment such as relative humidity (RH). In a RH controlled chamber, the electron density of a helium CAPJ is measured using the Rayleigh microwave scattering method, and its optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is recorded using a spectrometer. A decreasing electron density along with the increasing RH is thus revealed, while the humidity effect on OES at a high discharge voltage is increased. These trends imply a shift of electron energy distribution function (EEDF) due to extra attachments of electrons as the physics behind such a phenomenon. This hypothesis is supported by a computation of the mean electron temperature and EEDF based on the electron density we measured and a plasma chemistry model. Therefore, this report is a basis of future CAPJ stabilization development, which is a necessity of reliable biomedical applications, such as an active control loop to make CAPJ immune to any accident environmental disturbance during a plasma-based cancer surgery.
Numerical study of tearing mode seeding in tokamak X-point plasma
Authors: Meshcheriakov Dmytro , Hoelzl Matthias , Igochine Valentin , Fietz Sina , Orain Francois , Huijsmans Guido T. A. , Maraschek Marc , Dunne Mike , McDermott Rachael , Zohm Hartmut , Lackner Karl , Günter Sibylle ,   ASDEX Upgrade Team,   EUROfusion MST1 Team
Published: April 2019

A detailed understanding of island seeding is crucial to avoid neoclassical tearing modes and their negative consequences like confinement degradation and disruptions. In the present work, we investigate the growth of 2/1 islands in response to magnetic perturbations. Although we use externally applied perturbations produced by resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) coils for this study, the results are directly transferable to island seeding by other MHD instabilities creating a resonant magnetic field component at the rational surface. Experimental results for 2/1 island penetration from ASDEX Upgrade are presented extending previous studies. Simulations are based on an ASDEX Upgrade L-mode discharge with low collisionality and active RMP coils. Our numerical studies are performed with the 3D, two-fluid, nonlinear MHD code JOREK. All three phases of mode seeding observed in the experiment are also seen in the simulations: first, a weak response phase characterized by large perpendicular electron flow velocities followed by a fast growth of the magnetic island size accompanied by a reduction of the perpendicular electron velocity and finally the saturation to a fully formed island state with perpendicular electron velocity close to zero. Thresholds for mode penetration are observed in the plasma rotation as well as in the RMP coil current. A hysteresis of the island size and electron perpendicular velocity is observed between the ramping up and down of the RMP amplitude consistent with an analytically predicted bifurcation. The transition from dominant kink/bending to tearing parity during the penetration is investigated.
Controllable growth of large-area atomically thin ReS2 films and their thickness-dependent optoelectronic properties
Authors: Guo Zongliang , Wei Aixiang , Zhao Yu , Tao Lili , Yang Yibin , Zheng Zhaoqiang , Luo Dongxiang , Liu Jun , Li Jingbo
Published: April 2019

Rhenium disulfide (ReS2) has drawn much scientific interest as it possesses many distinctive features due to its unusual structure. However, the synthesis of large-area continuous ReS2 films with high crystalline quality is still a challenge to date. Here, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of the substrate-scale continuous ReS2 film with an atomic thickness and spatial uniformity, as well as its thickness-dependent optoelectronic properties, was reported. By using a space-confined CVD configuration, the ReS2 film on mica with the thickness varying from the monolayer to few layers can be accurately tuned via changing the position of the substrate. HRTEM and AFM images revealed that the grain size of the ReS2 film is on the scale of tens of nanometers. Field effect transistors based on the ReS2 thin film exhibited a high photoresponsivity of 278 mA/W under 405 nm illumination. A decrease in bandgap energy from 1.59 eV in the monolayer to 1.50 eV in bulk and the absorption coefficient as large as 105 × cm−1 in the visible range were found for the ReS2 thin film, suggesting great potential of using ReS2 as an absorber material for photovoltaic application.
Ultrafast spectroscopy of shift-current in ferroelectric semiconductor Sn2P2S6
Authors: Sotome M. , Nakamura M. , Fujioka J. , Ogino M. , Kaneko Y. , Morimoto T. , Zhang Y. , Kawasaki M. , Nagaosa N. , Tokura Y. , Ogawa N.
Published: April 2019

We report sub-picosecond photocarrier dynamics observed via emitted terahertz waves in a ferroelectric semiconductor Sn2P2S6. Excitation photon energy, intensity and polarization dependences of the photocarrier dynamics testify that the ultrafast photocurrent originates from the shift-current under interband excitation. The photocurrent excitation spectrum shows a quantitative agreement with that derived from first-principles calculations with the Berry connection integrated, showing the shift-current to be a sensitive feature in ferroelectrics. The terahertz emission spectroscopy is a powerful tool to identify the intricate carrier dynamics under pulsed photoexcitation.
External strain-enhanced cysteine enantiomeric separation ability on alloyed stepped surfaces
Authors: Li Meng , Yang Sha , Chen Chao , Ren Ji-Chang , Fuentes-Cabrera Miguel , Li Shuang , Liu Wei
Published: April 2019

Using density functional theory with an accurate treatment of van der Waals interactions, we investigate the enantioselective recognition and separation of chiral molecules on stepped metal surfaces. Our calculations demonstrate that the separation ability of metal substrates can be significantly enhanced by surface decoration and external strain. For example, applying 2% tensile strain to the Ag-alloyed Au(532) surface leads to a dramatic increase (by 89%) in cysteine enantioselectivity as compared to that of pristine Au(532). Analysis on the computed binding energies shows that the interaction energy is the predominant factor that affects the separation efficiency in strongly bound systems. Our study presents a new strategy to modify the enantioselectivity of stepped metal surfaces and paves the way for exploring high efficiency chiral separation technology in pharmaceutical industry.
Community engagement with refugee-background communities around health: the experience of the Group of 11
Authors: Peterson Paula , Ali Samira , Kenneh Alie , Wakefield Ally
Published: April 2019

There is a growing population of people from refugee backgrounds settling in Australia. They have often been forced to flee from their homes in violent circumstances and may have spent many years in refugee camps with poor health support. There are multiple barriers to their effective access to health services. Community engagement with this community can be tokenistic and difficult to effect. This paper highlights the importance of developing a meaningful strategy for community engagement that is not ‘one-size-fits-all’, which is achieved over time. There is a rich resource available to health practitioners if engagement with refugee-background communities is managed according to the set of trauma-informed and structural principles outlined in this paper.
Tumor‐secreted extracellular vesicles promote the activation of cancer‐associated fibroblasts via the transfer of microRNA‐125b
Authors: Vu Luyen Tien , Peng Boya , Zhang Daniel Xin , Ma Victor , Mathey‐Andrews Camille A. , Lam Chun Kuen , Kiomourtzis Theodoros , Jin Jingmin , McReynolds Larry , Huang Linfeng , Grimson Andrew , Cho William C. , Lieberman Judy , Le Minh Tn
Published: April 2019

Tumour cells release large quantities of extracellular vesicles (EVs) to mediate their interactions with other cells in the tumour microenvironment. To identify host cells that naturally take up EVs from tumour cells, we created breast cancer cell lines secreting fluorescent EVs. These fluorescent EVs are taken up most robustly by fibroblasts within the tumour microenvironment. RNA sequencing indicated that miR‐125b is one of the most abundant microRNAs secreted by mouse triple‐negative breast cancer 4T1 and 4TO7 cells. Treatment with 4T1 EVs leads to an increase in fibroblast activation in isogenic 4TO7 tumours, which is reversed by blocking miR‐125b in 4T1 EVs; hence, miR‐125b delivery by EVs is responsible for fibroblast activation in mouse tumour models. miR‐125b is also secreted by human breast cancer cells and the uptake of EVs from these cells significantly increases cellular levels of miR‐125b and expression of multiple cancer‐associated fibroblast markers in resident fibroblasts. Overexpression of miR‐125b in both mouse and human fibroblasts leads to an activated phenotype similar to the knockdown of established miR‐125b target mRNAs. These data indicate that miR‐125b is transferred through EVs from breast cancer cells to normal fibroblasts within the tumour microenvironment and contributes to their development into cancer‐associated fibroblasts.
Concatenated γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors revisited: Finding order in chaos
Authors: Liao Vivian Wan Yu , Chua Han Chow , Kowal Natalia Magdalena , Chebib Mary , Balle Thomas , Ahring Philip Kiær
Published: April 2019

γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the mammalian central nervous system, are arguably the most challenging member of the pentameric Cys-loop receptors to study due to their heteromeric structure. When two or more subunits are expressed together in heterologous systems, receptors of variable subunit type, ratio, and orientation can form, precluding accurate interpretation of data from functional studies. Subunit concatenation is a technique that involves the linking of individual subunits and in theory allows the precise control of the uniformity of expressed receptors. In reality, the resulting concatemers from widely used constructs are flexible in their orientation and may therefore assemble with themselves or free GABAAR subunits in unexpected ways. In this study, we examine functional responses of receptors from existing concatenated constructs and describe refinements necessary to allow expression of uniform receptor populations. We find that dimers from two commonly used concatenated constructs, β-23-α and α-10-β, assemble readily in both the clockwise and the counterclockwise orientations when coexpressed with free subunits. Furthermore, we show that concatemers formed from new tetrameric α-10-β-α-β and α-10-β-α-γ constructs also assemble in both orientations with free subunits to give canonical αβγ receptors. To restrict linker flexibility, we systematically shorten linker lengths of dimeric and pentameric constructs and find optimized constructs that direct the assembly of GABAARs only in one orientation, thus eliminating the ambiguity associated with previously described concatemers. Based on our data, we revisit some noncanonical GABAAR configurations proposed in recent years and explain how the use of some concatenated constructs may have led to wrong conclusions. Our results help clarify current contradictions in the literature regarding GABAAR subunit stoichiometry and arrangement. The lessons learned from this study may guide future efforts in understanding other related heteromeric receptors.
The impact of environmental protection tax on sectoral and spatial distribution of air pollution emissions in China
Authors: Hu Xiurong , Sun Yinong , Liu Junfeng , Meng Jing , Wang Xuejun , Yang Haozhe , Xu Jiayu , Yi Kan , Xiang Songlin , Li Yun , Yun Xiao , Ma Jianmin , Tao Shu
Published: April 2019

Environmental problems, associated with climate change and air pollution, have become increasingly serious for China in recent years, which have aroused great domestic and international concerns. To mitigate these problems with great efforts, the Chinese government has implemented the Environmental Protection Tax Law in the whole country since the beginning of 2018. Although the new tax law is perceived as an aggressive policy that tends to establish a taxation system for promoting air pollution control, evaluations of its effectiveness are insufficient and urgently needed for China. Using a multiregion multisector Computable General Equilibrium model, we, for the first time, quantify the impacts of this ‘pollution tax’ policy on modulating air pollutants emissions. Our analysis shows that current tax policy is generally able to reduce many short-lived air pollutants emissions (e.g. SO2, NO
X
, TSP, PM10, PM2.5, CO, VOCs, OC, NH3 and BC), but the significant effects only happen in regions with large economic scale (i.e. Guangdong, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces) and in sectors with high emission intensity (i.e. the electric power and nonmetal manufacturing sectors). However, at the national level, the overall effect of the current policy on air pollution mitigation is relatively small, less than 2% compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Large emission reduction potentials exist if the tax increases. Therefore, a more ambitious tax policy is urgently needed in order to achieve China’s air pollution mitigation target of 2020. We also find that in China for implementing any pollution tax policies, the rate of decline in CO2 emissions is much larger than those of short-lived pollutants, which indicates a huge co-benefit on global climate change mitigation.
Platform economy as a new form of capitalism: a Régulationist research programme
Authors: Montalban Matthieu , Frigant Vincent , Jullien Bernard
Published: April 2019

The terms ‘platform economy’ or ‘sharing economy’ have become widespread with the development of digital platforms like Uber. This economy is transforming capitalism and raising important questions about its nature. Is it a new process of embeddedness or is it the next step for deregulation following the crisis of the financialised regime of accumulation (RA)? Is it a possible new Growth Regime? Using the approach of the French Régulation school of thought, we describe the nature and transformations of the form of competition inherent in platforms. Although this may favour some forms of re-embeddedness, we show that it will accelerate some of the trends and characteristics of the institutional forms of the financialised RA and that it is an endogenous product of its crisis. This raises further questions and uncertainties related to the ability of platforms to generate stable long run growth due to the dysfunctionality of the mode of régulation and the conflicts it could generate.
Long-term single-centre large volume experience with transseptal endocardial left ventricular lead implantation
Authors: Gellér László , Salló Zoltán , Molnár Levente , Tahin Tamás , Özcan Emin Evren , Kutyifa Valentina , Osztheimer István , Szilágyi Szabolcs , Szegedi Nándor , Ábrahám Pál , Apor Astrid , Nagy Klaudia Vivien , Kosztin Annamária , Becker Dávid , Herczeg Szilvia , Zima Endre , Merkely Béla
Published: April 2019

Aims

The aim of our study was to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of transseptal endocardial left ventricular lead implantation (TELVLI).

Methods and results

Transseptal endocardial left ventricular lead implantation was performed in 54 patients (44 men, median age 69, New York Heart Association III–IV stage) between 2007 and 2017 in a single centre. In 36 cases, the transseptal puncture (TP) was performed via the femoral vein, and in 18 cases, the TP and also the left ventricular (LV) lead placement were performed via the subclavian vein. An electrophysiological deflectable catheter was used to reach the LV wall through the dilated TP hole. The LV lead implantation was successful in all patients. A total of 54 patients were followed up for a median of 29 months [interquartile range (IQR) 8–40 months], the maximum follow-up time was 94 months. Significant improvement in the LV ejection fraction was observed at the 3-month visit, from the median of 27% (IQR 25–34%) to 33% (IQR 32–44%), P < 0.05. Early lead dislocation was observed in three cases (5%), reposition was performed using the original puncture site in all. The patients were maintained on anticoagulation therapy with a target international normalized ratio between 2.5 and 3.5. Four thromboembolic events were noticed during follow-up. A total of 27 patients died, with a median survival of 15 months (IQR 6–40).

Conclusion

The TELVLI is an effective approach for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) however it is associated with a substantial thromboembolic risk (7%).
Evolutionary Proteomics Reveals Distinct Patterns of Complexity and Divergence between Lepidopteran Sperm Morphs
Authors: Whittington Emma , Karr Timothy L , Mongue Andrew J , Dorus Steve , Walters James R
Published: April 2019

Spermatozoa are one of the most strikingly diverse animal cell types. One poorly understood example of this diversity is sperm heteromorphism, where males produce multiple distinct morphs of sperm in a single ejaculate. Typically, only one morph is capable of fertilization and the function of the nonfertilizing morph, called parasperm, remains to be elucidated. Sperm heteromorphism has multiple independent origins, including Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), where males produce a fertilizing eupyrene sperm and an apyrene parasperm, which lacks a nucleus and nuclear DNA. Here we report a comparative proteomic analysis of eupyrene and apyrene sperm between two distantly related lepidopteran species, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and Carolina sphinx moth (Manduca sexta). In both species, we identified ∼700 sperm proteins, with half present in both morphs and the majority of the remainder observed only in eupyrene sperm. Apyrene sperm thus have a distinctly less complex proteome. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed proteins shared between morphs tend to be associated with canonical sperm cell structures (e.g., flagellum) and metabolism (e.g., ATP production). GO terms for morph-specific proteins broadly reflect known structural differences, but also suggest a role for apyrene sperm in modulating female neurobiology. Comparative analysis indicates that proteins shared between morphs are most conserved between species as components of sperm, whereas morph-specific proteins turn over more quickly, especially in apyrene sperm. The rapid divergence of apyrene sperm content is consistent with a relaxation of selective constraints associated with fertilization and karyogamy. On the other hand, parasperm generally exhibit greater evolutionary lability, and our observations may therefore reflect adaptive responses to shifting regimes of sexual selection.
On New ‘Judicial Animals’: The Curious Case of an African Court with Material Jurisdiction of a Global Scope
Authors: Rachovitsa Adamantia
Published: April 2019

The article aims to think anew about the jurisdiction ratione materiae of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Court, based in Arusha, enjoys a distinctive contentious jurisdiction which extends to the interpretation and application of any other relevant human rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. The Court’s striking features set it apart from human rights bodies and most international courts. Its jurisdiction has been received with scepticism and fear arguing that, if the Court extends its jurisdiction over treaties other than the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, this will lead to jurisprudential chaos and will undermine the formation of the African corpus juris. This article discusses the case law of the Court since 2013, when the Court started functioning, and argues that these concerns are over-emphasized. The analysis underlines the shifting authority of specialized and/or regional courts; the need not to overstress but to appreciate positively instances of divergence; and the consideration of new conceptual and geographical topoi, in which international law is to be found and produced.
The ‘turn’ to Criminal Justice in Human Rights Law: An Analysis in the Context of the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement
Authors: Sedacca Natalie
Published: April 2019

This article discusses the turn to a focus on criminal prosecution and custodial sentencing in international human rights law. Although it shares the concerns of many critics of the ‘turn’, it does not reject the orientation outright, arguing instead for the role of criminal justice to be seen holistically, encompassing proper consideration of the varied aims it can pursue and be geared towards countering inherent discrimination in criminal justice systems. The analysis is situated in the context of the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia and the attitude taken by human rights groups towards its transitional justice provisions, noting that criticisms raised by one prominent human rights group converged with a campaign against the agreement centred on a right-wing politician hostile to human rights, equality and redistribution. In light of the nuanced views of local civil society actors, it questions whether anti-impunity specifically requires custodial punishment for all international crimes, before assessing the benefits and drawbacks of individual accountability through trials. Finally, it discusses obstacles to the prosecution of powerful state agents and the relationship of the anti-impunity drive with state power.
Risk factors of mortality and recoarctation after coarctation repair in infancy
Authors: Lehnert Amélia , Villemain Olivier , Gaudin Régis , Méot Mathilde , Raisky Olivier , Bonnet Damien
Published: April 2019

OBJECTIVES

The main challenge of aortic coarctation (CoA) repair in infants is to obtain durable results without morbidity. We aimed to describe predictors of aortic arch reintervention after aortic CoA repair.

METHODS

Between January 2000 and March 2014, we retrospectively included consecutive infants with isolated CoA or CoA with ventricular septal defect (CoA + VSD) who had surgical repair of the aortic arch before 3 months of age.

RESULTS

Five hundred and thirty patients were included: 308 (58%) patients had isolated CoA and 222 (42%) patients had CoA + VSD. Three hundred and eighty-five patients (72.6%) had CoA repair, 51 patients (9.6%) had CoA repair with closure of VSD and 94 patients (17.8%) had CoA repair with pulmonary artery banding. Mean age at operation was 13 ± 1.6 days, with 294 patients (55.5%) operated on before 2 weeks. Median follow-up was 7.57 years. Sixty-one patients (11.5%) needed reintervention on the aortic arch. Freedom from aortic arch reintervention was 90% at 1 year and 88.5% at 5 years. Proportions of aortic arch reintervention were similar in the different surgical strategy groups (P = 0.80). However, in patients receiving prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), the end-to-end repair was at higher risk of recoarctation compared to the extended end-to-side repair (P = 0.033). The risk factors of aortic arch reintervention were age at repair <15 days (P = 0.034) and the need for PGE1 infusion at surgery (P = 0.0043).

CONCLUSIONS

CoA repair in young infants has an overall good outcome. The use of PGE1 may modify the aortic arch anatomy and mask the boundaries of the resection to be performed. PGE1 treatment should be studied more specifically in another study to improve preoperative management.
Strategic Liquidity Mismatch and Financial Sector Stability
Authors: Silva André F
Published: April 2019

This paper examines whether banks strategically incorporate their competitors’ liquidity mismatch policies when determining their own and the impact of these collective decisions on financial stability. Using a novel identification strategy exploiting the presence of partially overlapping peer groups, I show that banks’ liquidity transformation activity is driven by that of their peers. These correlated decisions are concentrated on the asset side of riskier banks and are asymmetric, with mimicking occurring only when competitors take more risk. Accordingly, this strategic behavior increases banks’ default risk and overall systemic risk, highlighting the importance of regulating liquidity risk from a macroprudential perspective.

ReceivedMay 4, 2016; editorial decision January 1, 2019 by Editor Philip Strahan. Author has furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.
The Opioid Wars—CON
Authors: Anderson Thomas A.
Published: April 2019

The entire field of medicine, not just anesthesiology, has grown comfortable with the risks posed by opioids; but these risks are unacceptably high. It is time for a dramatic paradigm shift. If used at all for acute or chronic pain management, they should be used only after consideration and maximizing the use of nonopioid pharmacologic agents, regional analgesia techniques, and nonpharmacologic methods. Opioids poorly control pain, their intraoperative use may increase the risk of recurrence of some types of cancer, and they have a large number of both minor and serious side effects. Furthermore, there are a myriad of alternative analgesic strategies that provide superior analgesia, decrease recovery time, and have fewer side effects and risks associated with their use. In this article the negative consequences of opioid use for pain, appropriate alternatives to opioids for analgesia, and the available evidence in pediatric populations for both are described.
Opioids in the Management of Acute Pediatric Pain
Authors: Yaster Myron , Reid Ashley L. , Cohen Mindy N. , Monitto Constance L.
Published: April 2019

Management of acute pain in children is fundamental to our practice. Its myriad benefits include reduced suffering, improved patient satisfaction, more rapid recovery, and a reduced risk of developing postsurgical chronic pain. Although a multimodal analgesic approach is now routinely used, informed and judicious use of opioid receptor agonists remains crucial in this treatment paradigm, as long as the benefits and risks are fully understood. Further, an ongoing public health response to the current opioid crisis is required to help prevent new cases of opioid addiction, identify opioid-addicted individuals, and ensure access to effective opioid addiction treatment, while at the same time continuing to safely meet the needs of patients experiencing pain.
Opioid Pharmacology
Authors: Kopecky Ernest A.
Published: April 2019

Aims/Objectives/Background:

Children represent a patient demographic composed of multiple, unique subpopulations differentiated by rapidly changing age-related physiology, which includes the means of metabolizing opioids. Opioids are an important part of the pharmacological treatment of both acute and chronic pain. In both clinical medicine and clinical research, it is necessary to understand the differences in drug handling by age cohort in order to appropriately dose children to effect, and to avoid exacerbating deleterious adverse events with potentially grave sequelae.

Methods:

Topical review using data from a targeted PubMed literature search.

Results:

Protein binding, tissue solubility, weight, size (body mass, surface area), blood flow, drug metabolism, and renal function are key determinants of dosing across the different pediatric age cohorts. Each variable functions to elicit a change in drug exposure and therefore varying clinical effect.

Conclusions:

Understanding how these variables change the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of each opioid is critical to the successful and safe management of pain in children.
Laser-assisted Hair Regrowth: Fractional Laser Modalities for the Treatment of Androgenic Alopecia
Authors: Dabek Robert J. , Austen William G. , Bojovic Branko
Published: April 2019

Background:

A large proportion of the population is at sometime affected by androgenic alopecia. Current therapies consisting of minoxidil or finasteride are often the first choices for treatment. These regimens are limited by their efficacy, side-effect profiles, and often lengthy treatment courses. Low level laser/light has shown to be relatively effective and safe for the treatment of hair loss, and a number of products are currently available to consumers. Recently, fractional lasers have been examined as treatment options for androgenic alopecia. The mechanism of action of these minimally invasive resurfacing procedures is thought to be 2-fold. First, the microscopic injuries created by these treatments may induce a favorable wound healing environment that triggers hair growth. Alternatively, disruption of the stratum corneum allows for improved transdermal passage of well-established therapeutic drugs to the hair roots.

Methods:

A literature review was performed to evaluate the efficacy of these emerging treatments on hair regrowth.

Results:

Nine original studies examining the effect of fractional lasers on hair growth in androgenic alopecia have been reviewed.

Conclusions:

Preliminary evidence suggests that fractional laser therapies have a positive effect on hair regrowth; however, most of the literature is limited to case reports, and small prospective and retrospective series. Further studies, in the form of well-designed randomized controlled trials, are necessary to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and optimal treatment courses.
Epidemiological Link Between Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated From 2 Different Cities in Iran
Authors: Rahimi Fateh , Qasemi Ali
Published: April 2019

Background

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are known as one of the most important multidrug-resistant organisms causing infections in humans and animals. The objectives of this experimental study were to characterize the clonality and antibiotic resistance of MRSA strains isolated from patients in 2 different cities in Iran.

Methods

During 2 years, a total of 536 S. aureus isolates were collected from 2 reference hospitals in Tehran and Isfahan and were identified as MRSA using specific primers. The antibiotic susceptibility and their clonality were determined using the PhenePlate typing system. Furthermore, the presence of different classes of prophages and the structure of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec elements and cassette chromosome recombinases types were characterized.

Results

Of the 536 strains, 129 MRSA were identified using species-specific primers and discriminated into 26 PhenePlate types consisted of 12 common types (CTs) and 14 single types, in which CT2 was the predominant type and 6 CTs were common among MRSA isolated in both cities. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec types III and IV were also detected in 89% and 11% of the strains, and SGF prophage type was the dominant one. Thirty-four antibiotic patterns were detected among the MRSA strains, and none of the isolates showed resistance to linezolid, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and vancomycin.

Conclusions

High prevalence of antibiotic-resistant common clonal groups of MRSA strains in 2 different cities in this study indicated the spread of these clonal types in north and center of Iran and highlighted the common origin of such strains, which are believed to be endemic in various sources.