bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Post-Disaster Recovery and Social Capital
Authors: Vallance Suzanne , Rudkevitch Ashley
Published: May 2021

Disaster scholarship has resurrected interest in social capital, and it has become well established that strong social ties—bonding capital—can also help individuals and communities to survive in times of crisis, as well as provide substantial and wide-ranging benefits on the long road to recovery. The theoretical tripartite of bonding capital generated in “close ties,” bridging capital developed through “associations,” and linking capital from possibly cool but nonetheless “civil” encounters is also reasonably well established. So too are the currencies of trust and reciprocity. Social capital is noted to be a potent resource capable of facilitating many benefits in terms of health and well-being, and it is considered fundamental to post-disaster attempts to Build Back Better in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Indeed, the idea of social capital has become almost synonymous with resilience.

Nonetheless, it is also acknowledged that there may be disadvantages associated with social capital, such as tribalism, neoptism, and marginalization. Scholarship therefore paints a rather complex picture, and there is still considerable debate about what social capital is: what it does, where it comes from and where it goes, and for what purpose. Without denying the value of a celebratory approach that focuses on the benefits, it is concluded that there is a need for more attention to be given to the broader ideological contexts that may shape the generative and distributional effects of social capital, particularly as these underscore health and well-being outcomes post-disaster.
Water Safety Plans
Authors: Setty Karen , Ferrero Giuliana
Published: May 2021

Water safety plans (WSPs) represent a holistic risk assessment and management approach covering all steps in the water supply process from the catchment to the consumer. Since 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally recommended WSPs as a public health intervention to consistently ensure the safety of drinking water. These risk management programs apply to all water supplies in all countries, including small community supplies and large urban systems in both developed and developing settings. As of 2017, more than 90 countries had adopted various permutations of WSPs at different scales, ranging from limited-scale voluntary pilot programs to nationwide implementation mandated by legislative requirements. Tools to support WSP implementation include primary and supplemental manuals in multiple languages, training resources, assessment tools, and some country-specific guidelines and case studies.

Systems employing the WSP approach seek to incrementally improve water quality and security by reducing risks and increasing resilience over time. To maintain WSP effectiveness, water supply managers periodically update WSPs to integrate knowledge about prior, existing, and potential future risks. Effectively implemented WSPs may translate to positive health and other impacts. Impact evaluation has centered on a logic model developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as WHO-refined indicators that compare water system performance to pre-WSP baseline conditions. Potential benefits of WSPs include improved cost efficiency, water quality, water conservation, regulatory compliance, operational performance, and disease reduction. Available research shows outcomes vary depending on site-specific context, and challenges remain in using WSPs to achieve lasting improvements in water safety. Future directions for WSP development include strengthening and sustaining capacity-building to achieve consistent application and quality, refining evaluation indicators to better reveal linked outcomes (including economic impacts), and incorporating social equity and climate change readiness.
The Latin American Long Peace
Authors: Terradas Nicolás
Published: May 2021

Latin America is often hailed as “the most peaceful region in the world.” In both academic and policy circles, this view has taken root under the common perception of the region as a “zone of peace” where war and interstate armed conflict have largely disappeared and are now unthinkable. The region, however, continues to showcase high levels of intra-state violence despite the absence of war among states. In the IR academic debate of the long peace in Latin America, as well, several areas of discord and intense disagreement among the multiple works continue to challenge any encompassing explanations for this rather paradoxical regional phenomenon. In this context, for those interested in conducting further research in this area, there still is plenty of space for making meaningful contributions to both the theoretical study of regional peace dynamics as well as the unravelling of Latin America’s paradoxical coexistence of intra-state violence amid enduring inter-state peace.
The Politics of Regional Integration in Africa
Authors: Bischoff Paul-Henri
Published: May 2021

On the African continent, a commitment to Pan-African unity and multilateral organization exists next to a postcolonial society whose 54 Westphalian states interpret the commitment to unity and integration to different degrees. The tension between a long-term Pan-African vision for a unified continent that prospers and is economically self-empowered, and the national concerns of governing state-centered elites with immediate domestic security and political and economic interests, lies at the heart of the politics surrounding African integration and affects both the continent and its regions. The politics of integration demand that a patchwork of regionalisms be consolidated; states give up on multiple memberships; and designated regional economic communities (RECs) take the lead on integration or subordinate themselves to the strategy and complement the institutions of the African Union (AU). In the interest of widening the social base of regional organization, politics needs to recognize and give status to informal regional actors engaged in bottom-up regionalism. Of issue in the politics of integration and regionalism are themes of norm adaptation, norm implementation, intergovernmentalism and supra-nationality, democracy, and authoritarianism.
Think Tanks and Foreign Policy
Authors: Bhatnagar Stuti
Published: May 2021

The role of think tanks as policy actors has developed over time and created significant global scholarship. Widely understood as non-state policy actors, think tanks established either with or without the support of government have evolved in various political contexts with varied characteristics. They are avenues for the discussion of new policy ideas as well as used for the consolidation of existing understandings of global and national political issues. As ideational actors think tanks interact with policy frameworks at different levels, either in the framing stage or at the stage of consensus building towards certain policies. Intellectual elites at think tanks allow for the introduction of think tank ideas into the policy frames as well as the creation of public opinion towards foreign policy decisions. Think tank deliberations involve an interaction with policymakers, academic experts, business and social actors, as well as the media to disseminate ideas. Institutionally, think tanks in a wide variety of political contexts play a critical role in the making of foreign policy and bring closer attention to processes of state–society interactions in different political environments.
Heritage Management in East Africa
Authors: Kiriama Herman O.
Published: May 2021

The countries of Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan geographically lie on the eastern part of the African continent and are member states of the East African Community (EAC), a regional economic bloc. These countries, as many other countries in the world, have important heritage places that are significant to their communities. As a result, these countries have developed various methods of managing this heritage. Heritage management should be understood as caring for a heritage site without compromising its significance so that present and future generations can continue enjoying it. Consequently, countries around the world have put in place various legal regimes that enable them to manage and protect their heritage.

Though the East African countries listed belong to the same geographical region and economic bloc, they had differing colonial experiences and, therefore, their legislation regimes, including that governing heritage, may not be exactly the same. Kenya and Uganda, for instance, were British colonies, whereas Tanzania started as a Germany colony but later ended up as a British Protectorate. Rwanda and Burundi also started as Germany colonies but ended up as Belgian colonies. South Sudan, once part of the larger Republic of Sudan, was a British colony. Common to all these countries, however, is the fact that the colonial management system laid more emphasis on the protection of tangible as opposed to intangible heritage, and it also ignored and in most cases destroyed the indigenous management systems that local communities had hitherto used to manage their heritage.

Despite gaining their independence from the colonial governments in the early 1960s, these countries, have however, apart from Rwanda, continued to use the inherited colonial legal systems. It is now widely accepted within heritage management circles that unless indigenous heritage management systems are embraced, the local communities tend to feel alienated from their heritage and thus in most cases tend to disregard, ignore, or in some cases destroy the heritage site as it no longer belongs to them but to the state; the end result is that pressure is put on the heritage as the national government institutions do not have adequate financial and human capacity to manage all the heritage resources in their jurisdiction.
Politics of Identity in Maloti-Drakensberg Rock Art Research
Authors: Skinner Andrew
Published: May 2021

The contexts of hunter-gatherer rock arts of the southern Maloti-Drakensberg are characterized by enduring patterns of cultural acquisition and social transformation, resulting in communities with highly contextual identities and cultural possessions, but with nonlinear relationships between the two. Attempts to mitigate discontinuities between ethnographic source and interpretive subject, however, have left interpretive methodologies to represent authorship in more singular terms, to the exclusion of potential contextual sources who express identities not outwardly San, despite ancestral trajectories overlapping those of the artists. Recognition of the inheritances of the communities of the present Maloti-Drakensberg, and their transformative histories, necessitates their inclusion not only as sources, but as contributors to ethnoarchaeological process.
Mapp v. Ohio, the Exclusionary Rule, and Constitutional Judicial Review
Authors: Cloud Morgan
Published: May 2021

Mapp v. Ohio is the US Supreme Court opinion that imposed the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule on the states. Mapp overruled earlier cases by holding that evidence obtained by unreasonable government searches and seizures was not admissible in state or local criminal prosecutions, just as it had long been inadmissible in federal cases. It is hard to overstate the impact of this decision, which changed the rules and procedures both for policing and for litigation in criminal cases throughout the United States.

But Mapp’s significance extends beyond its specific holding. It adopted an interpretive method, often labeled “selective incorporation,” employed by the Supreme Court in subsequent decisions, that imposed specific provisions contained in the Bill of Rights, the first eight amendments to the Constitution upon the states. These decisions redefined federalism in the United States by establishing federal authority over government actions previously governed by state law.

In the realm of search and seizure law, by requiring states to adhere to the Supreme Court’s search and seizure opinions, Mapp also generated potent political and legal opposition. In subsequent opinions the Supreme Court limited the exclusionary rule’s scope, diluting Mapp’s impact on police practices by reducing the situations in which federal constitutional rules required exclusion of evidence.
Monastic Education in Contemporary Asia
Authors: Borchert Thomas
Published: May 2021

Education is a central component of Buddhism and has been since the start of the religion. The forms of Buddhist education are diverse, including the education and training of monastics and laypeople, men, women, and children from early ages through university and continuing and adult education. The training of monastics is simply one, albeit, important subset of wider systems and practices of Buddhist education. Monastic education exists in multiple forms, including those associated with apprentice or situated forms of learning, and curricular forms in schools, primarily secondary and postsecondary institutions. Contemporary forms of monastic education are entangled with and shaped by discourses and practices of modernization, dynamics of gender in Buddhist societies, and debates about the role of religion within given societies across Asia. These debates become visible in attending to the goals of education, the multiple motivations of monastics for their education, as well as those of other educational stakeholders. Although it may be tempting to see monastic education as a distinct phenomenon, it should be viewed within a wider pedagogical ecosystem within the nation-states of Asia.
Pilgrimage in China
Authors: Bruntz Courtney
Published: May 2021

Pilgrims in China have historically traveled to locations considered to be ling—holding spiritual power. Such locations became known as sites where the sacred becomes manifest. A resident bodhisattva (enlightened being) might appear to travelers, or pilgrims might receive miraculous healing after having visited a mountain. Often through stories of such extraordinary events, sites became popular for their efficacious power, and pilgrims journeyed to them hoping to receive a vision, a healing, and/or a blessing in return. Ling differentiates a site as sacred, and in many Chinese religious traditions, ling is associated with mountains.
Imaging the Buddha in South Asia
Authors: Bautze-Picron Claudine
Published: May 2021

The image of the Buddha appeared in the north of the South Asian subcontinent around the 1st century ce, following a period when no actual representation had been produced. Detailed considerations on how to represent this human being who had reached the highest spiritual plane are clearly illustrated in the highly elaborate portrayal in the literary sources and led to the visual formulation of an image based on strict iconographic rules, texts and art being both sides of the same issue. The texts include lengthy lists of either thirty-two or eighty marks that characterize the body of the Buddha, some being actually seen in the visual depiction, such as the tuft of hair between the eyebrows, the protuberance on the head, and the webbed hands, all of which contribute to the manifestation of a metamorphosed body that can become a powerful source of magic. This image does not stand on its own but is 1ed in a set of motifs—the throne, the nimbus, the aura, the lotusseat—that bring out the supramundane nature of the Buddha; further additions were to be the crown and the necklace, transforming the simple monk into a king. The various gestures that the Buddha displays reflect different aspects of his personality, as protector, as paradigm of generosity, as the ultimate teacher.

Elements such as the monachal robe or hair style showed up in various forms in the early phase; however, the stylistic evolution progressively led to a uniformized figure that appeared in the 4th–5th century and became standardized in South Asia before finding its way to faraway regions. This figure was also used to represent the Buddhas of the past or the Tathāgathas and became the visual element unifying all Buddhist schools.
Dance, Religion, and the Legacy of European Colonialism
Authors: LaMothe Kimerer
Published: May 2021

In the waning days of the Renaissance, the race among Western Europeans to control, convert, and displace Indigenous peoples around the globe precipitated a collision of cultures, unprecedented in scope, between Christians who largely denied dance a constitutive role in religious life and Indigenous traditions from Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas for whom dancing and religion were inseparable. In the economic, political, and cultural conflicts that ensued, the practice of dancing as religion emerged as a contested site—both a nearly universal target of Christian imperial and colonial oppression, and an equally frequent agent of Indigenous resistance, resilience, and creative response.

Focusing on the United States, this article documents how European colonization of Native American people, and European and American enslavement of Africans precipitated cultural shifts in how each of these cultures conceived and practiced “dancing” in relation to “religion.”

Among European and Euro-American colonizers, these collisions fueled some of the most virulent expressions of hostility toward dancing in Christian history—as an activity punishable by death—especially when that dancing appeared in the form of Native American or African American religion. Nevertheless, Native American and African American dancing also inspired Euro-American artists to create techniques and aesthetics of dance that they claimed functioned as religion. Such cases of religious art-dance in turn not only catalyzed the use of dancing in Christian worship, they spurred Western philosophers, scholars of religion, and Christian theologians to reconsider the importance of dancing for the study and practice of religion, Christianity included.

Meanwhile, Native and African peoples, as they navigated the challenges of ongoing racism and oppression, created new forms of their own dance traditions. Some of these forms emerged in explicit dialogue with Christian forms and even in Christian contexts; and others have appeared on secular concert stages, representing ongoing efforts to preserve and perpetuate Native and African identity, spirituality, creativity, and agency. These projects are dismantling the conceptual typologies that Euro-Americans have used to devalue Native and Indigenous dancing, including the assumption that religion and dance are separable dimensions of human life.
Have Mercy on Us: Inca Heritage, Christianity, and Salvation in Colonial Cuzco
Authors: Ferrero Sebastian
Published: May 2021

The coming of the gospel to America with the Spaniard conquistadors meant the launch of the most important salvation of souls campaign ever seen. The knowledge of the written Law and the administration of the sacraments, such as the sacrament of baptism, allowed the “Indians” to be redeemed from original sin and access, at least, Purgatory. While the colonial church promised salvation to the Andeans, it faced the problem of “deciding” the eschatological destiny awaiting the ancestors of the “Indians” (new Christians), especially the Inca rulers. After an inevitable condemnation of the Incas by the early colonial catechisms, new discursive channels appeared suggesting a possible redemption of the Incas, with arguments that evoked the principle of natural law and the acquisition of natural enlightenment.

The redemption and salvation of the monarchs of Tawantinsuyu would reach various discursive spaces. It is found subtly in the field of visual representations, especially in a group of canvases produced during the period commonly called the Inca Renaissance, and in performative acts where the evocation of the Inca past acquires an important eschatological dimension.
Portuguese Monarchs and Their Royal Convents and Monasteries, Early Renaissance-Manueline
Authors: Flor Pedro
Published: May 2021

Following the pattern in vogue during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the religious architecture policy followed by the Portuguese kings was based on the construction of buildings. This approach unsurprisingly sought to respond to the growth of religious orders in the kingdom and simultaneously served as a mirror of magnificence and royal power. In order to make the construction sites of such buildings more successful, working procedures such as the direction of general work, how the tasks were divided, and how workers were paid needed an in-depth but careful adjustment. The royal patronage around the Mendicants (mainly Dominicans and Franciscans) throughout the 15th century appeared to be dominant. At the end of the century, during the reign of King Manuel I, the tendency was to favor and support instead the Hieronymites, a contemplative and intellectual religious order, responsible for spreading the Devotio Moderna and a reformist spirit centered on Erasmus. The Monastery of Batalha, the Monastery of Jesus of Setubal, and the Monastery of Jerónimos are three representative sides of an architectural strategy where power and spirituality mix in the interior and exterior of buildings that fortunately still remain.
Digital Resources: Intellectuals in Brazil
Authors: Dutra Eliana Regina de Freitas , Venancio Renato Pinto
Published: May 2021

The en masse digitalization of sets of documents held by memory institutions in Brazil and the promotion of remote access to them has impacted the writing and the reinterpretation of Brazilian history and historiography in different dominions. In Brazil, at the national and regional levels, there are numerous academies, libraries, foundations, museums, institutions, and centers of documentation which preserve and are progressively making various—and often meaningful—collections available online to scholars and researchers in the area of intellectual history. Taking into account the quantity and diversity of these collections, already available on the Internet, and the impossibility of elaborating an exhaustive inventory, it was decided to present a sample of institutions of diverse natures which hold expressive sets of collections with online access, whether in their totality or significant parts of them.

This option was complemented by the no less important listing of the collection of a foreign university library, as well as the listing of various other digital addresses considered useful for the knowledge of researchers. It is also worth mentioning that the selected sites not only contain significant digitalized sets of documents but also allow free and unrestricted access, through online research instruments.
Panama Hats Are Made in Ecuador
Authors: Henderson Peter V. N.
Published: May 2021

Ecuadorians had fashioned small quantities of hats made from vegetative material since pre-Hispanic times. Between 1850 and 1950, however, Ecuador greatly expanded its output and supplied the world with fashionable summertime headwear that erroneously, because of the place of transshipment, bore the name Panama hats. Woven by artisans from the fronds of the toquilla palm tree that flourished near the coast of Manabí province, Ecuadorian-made Panama hats first found favor with Forty-Niners crossing through the isthmus because their light weight and broad brims protected wearers from the tropical sun. Likewise, European elites and middle-class consumers found the hats ideal as they enjoyed summer vacations at resorts or strolled through city streets.

Panama hats contributed only modestly to Ecuador’s economic growth, primarily by earning tax revenues that helped pay for infrastructure projects such as the Guayaquil & Quito Railroad. But Manabí’s hand-crafted hats did not create high-paying jobs benefiting workers. Later, when the weaving center shifted to Azuay province, only the final stages of production used any type of machinery. Ultimately, only Ecuadorian exporters and foreign retailers made much money; hence, Panama hats were not an engine of development creating prosperity for the nation. Despite their minimal effect on Ecuador’s economy, the hats represented an important element of the national patrimony visible throughout the world of fashion. Politicians, movie stars, and millions of people in the middle class sported Panama hats during the summer months for generations, even though few knew they came from Ecuador. Once men stopped wearing formal hats in the late 1950s, the profitable Panama hat trade shrank.
Economics of Insurance Against Natural Disaster Risks
Authors: Botzen W. J. Wouter
Published: May 2021

Increasing natural disaster losses in the past decades and expectations that this trend will accelerate under climate change motivated the development of a branch of literature on the economics of natural disaster insurance. A starting point for assessing the implications of climate change for insurance and developing risk management strategies is understanding the factors underlying historical loss trends and the way that future risks will develop. Most studies have pointed toward socioeconomic developments as the main cause of historical trends in natural disaster risks. Moreover, evidence reveals that climate change has been a contributing factor, which is expected to grow in importance in the future. Several supply and demand side obstacles may prevent natural disaster insurance from optimally fulfilling its desirable function of offering financial protection at affordable premiums. Climate change is expected to further hamper the insurability of natural disaster risks, unless insurers and governments proactively respond to climate change, for example by linking insurance coverage with risk reduction activities. A branch of literature has developed about how the functioning of insurance should be improved to cope with climate change. This includes industry-level responses, reforms of insurance market structures, such as public–private natural disaster insurance provision, and recommendations for addressing behavioral biases in insurance demand and for stimulating risk reduction. In view of the rising economic losses of natural disasters, this field of study is likely to remain an active one.
Evaluation of Environmental Policy with Q Methodology
Authors: Lovett Jon C. , Takshe Aseel A. , Kamkar Fatma
Published: May 2021

Environmental policy is often characterized by differences of opinion and polarized perceptions. This holds for all groups involved in lobbying, creating, implementing, and researching policy. Q methodology is a technique originally developed by William Stephenson in the 1930s for work in psychology as an alternative to R methodology, which was dominant at the time. R methodology involves gathering scores from subjects being analyzed, such as those generated by intelligence tests, and then correlating the scores with factors such as gender or ethnicity. Obviously, the scores are heavily dependent on the choice of questions set by the researcher in the tests. In contrast, Q methodology commonly uses statements generated by the participants of the study, and it is these that the subjects are asked to score. This helps to avoid the type of bias that might result from a researcher formulating the statements presented to the subjects, though it is important to note that researcher bias is also present in Q methodology through selection of the statements and the type of quantitative analysis used. In studies involving evaluation of environmental policy, Q methodology is typically used to elicit opinions from subjects by scoring participant statements obtained from interviews or statements from secondary sources such as written reports, news articles, or images. These scores are then correlated using factor analysis, and statements that group together are compiled to create discourses about different aspects of the environmental policy under evaluation.
Performance Bonding for Environmental Protection
Authors: Kuusela Olli-Pekka
Published: May 2021

Performance bonds are a widely used enforcement and assurance mechanism in extractive activities and large-scale projects that are associated with clearly defined environmental liabilities. They are especially effective and useful in conditions where the judgment-proof problem is a pervasive challenge. Bonds provide an assurance for the regulator that funds are available to complete the decommissioning activities and the termination of operations under contingencies where the operator fails to follow the contractual obligations or becomes insolvent. Applications of bonding are found in oil and gas drilling, surface mining, renewable energy projects, and timber concessions. However, real bonding systems are not without issues and limitations. Defining a sufficiently high enough bond has been especially challenging in conditions with limited information about costs and environmental risks and where smaller operators may not be able to secure access to required funds or financial services for posting the bond. The use of surety companies, bond pools, and blanket bonds provides a solution to these problems, albeit not without issues of their own. Furthermore, to keep up with the technological developments in extractive industries and with the inescapable uncertainties related to reclamation costs and environmental damages, the regulator should continually review and update bonding instruments based on new available information. Regulatory rules and statistical models that have been developed to adjust the required bonds, based on observable risk factors, provide some encouraging examples for how to design more responsive and effective bonding systems.
Karls, James M.
Authors: Logan Sadye L. M.
Published: May 2021

James M. Karls (1927–2008) had an extensive career as a clinician, administrator, and teacher in social work. He significantly advanced social work theory and practice through his conceptualization of the person in the environment (PIE) assessment system.
Frequent and severe hypoglycaemia detected with continuous glucose monitoring in older institutionalised patients with diabetes
Authors: Bouillet Benjamin , Tscherter Pauline , Vaillard Laurence , Nonciaux Christine , Hourdain Philippe , Ravier Anne , Rouland Alexia , Petit Jean Michel , Vergès Bruno , Quilot Emilienne
Published: May 2021

Background

Little is known about the prevalence of hypoglycaemia in older people with diabetes. However, the HbA1c goal is ≥8% for institutionalised patients with treatments that can cause hypoglycaemia.

Purpose

We aimed to assess the prevalence of hypoglycaemia with continuous glucose monitoring and to evaluate the link with HbA1C in older institutionalised patients with diabetes taking potentially hypoglycaemia-inducing drugs.

Design

Prospective, multicentre study carried out in six geriatric care centres in the Côte d’Or region of France between January 2019 and July 2020.

Settings, subjects and methods

A FreeStyle Libre Pro® (FSLP) was worn for up to 14 days in blinded mode in 42 patients taking at least one potentially hypoglycaemia-inducing antidiabetic drug.

Results

Two hundred and forty-two hypoglycaemic events were detected in 79% (n = 33) of patients wearing the FSLP. One or more hypoglycaemic event was detected in 100% of patients with HbA1C < 7% and in 79% of patients with HbA1C ≥ 8% (P = 0.02). The time spent in hypoglycaemia was higher in patients with HbA1C < 7% than those with HbA1C ≥ 8% (P = 0.015). Time spent <54 mg/dl was detected in 45% of patients.

Conclusions

We report a very high prevalence of hypoglycaemia, with a significant proportion of severe hypoglycaemia, in older institutionalised patients with diabetes taking potentially hypoglycaemia-inducing drugs. Having HbA1C < 7% exposes patients to a higher risk of hypoglycaemia, but this risk remains also high in patients with HbA1C ≥ 8%. In this population, continuous glucose monitoring could be considered an effective tool to detect hypoglycemia, which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, falling, fractures, cognitive impairment and mortality.
Spatioregional assessment of the gut microbiota in experimental necrotizing pancreatitis
Authors: van den Berg F F , Hugenholtz F , Boermeester M A , Zaborina O , Alverdy J C
Published: May 2021

Background

Infectious complications following experimental pancreatitis involve major disruptions in the gut microbiota. The aim of this study was to characterize this disruption by examining the spatioregional distribution in microbial community structure and function following experimental pancreatitis associated with pancreatic infection.

Methods

Mice were subjected to infusion of the pancreatic duct with either taurocholate to induce necrotizing pancreatitis or normal saline (control group). The spatial (lumen versus mucosa) and regional composition and function of the microbiota from the duodenum, ileum, caecum, colon, pancreas and blood were evaluated using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

Results

Mice that developed necrotizing pancreatitis demonstrated a decrease in microbial richness and significantly altered microbiota in distal parts of the gastrointestinal tract, compared with controls. Among the most differentially increased taxa were the mucus-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila, and there was a decrease of butyrate-producing bacteria following pancreatitis. Application of the SourceTracker tool to the generated metadata indicated that the duodenum was the most probable source of bacteria that subsequently infected pancreatic tissue in this model. The functional prediction annotation using pathway analyses indicated a diminished capacity of the caecal microbiota to metabolize carbohydrate, and fatty and amino acids.

Discussion

The distal gut microbiota was significantly impacted in this model of experimental necrotizing pancreatitis. Data suggest that the duodenal microbiota might also play a role in bacterial translation and secondary infections.
An Ex-Ante Assessment of the AGI: Firm-Level Evidence from Belgian Tax Return Data
Authors: Buyl Pieter , Roggeman Annelies , Verleyen Isabelle
Published: May 2021

Using confidential tax return data, we provide a unique research setting in which the Belgian notional interest deduction (NID) is replaced by the Allowance for Growth and Investment (AGI) as it is proposed by the European Commission. Our results show that the AGI would be a more viable option from a budgetary view. From a company view, however, introducing an AGI system would increase the probability of a higher effective tax rate (ETR). Especially large companies would be harmed as they would face a 7.6 percentage point higher probability of an ETR increase compared with SMEs. Furthermore, we find that there is a positive relationship between the equity ratio and the increased ETR, which is stronger for large firms compared to SMEs. This is in line with previous studies stating that large firms adjusted more aggressively to the NID by increasing their equity ratio more heavily than SMEs. However, large firms still face an ETR that is on average 10.4 percentage points lower compared with SMEs, indicating that the AGI is insufficient to undo the unequal level playing field between large and small companies. (JEL codes: H21, G32, H25, K34).
Medical treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the dawn of a new era of personalized treatment?
Authors: Ameri Pietro , Bertero Edoardo , Maack Christoph , Teerlink John R , Rosano Giuseppe , Metra Marco
Published: May 2021

Recent trials have shown the efficacy of new drugs for the medical therapy of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduced hospitalizations for heart failure (HF), HF events, and cardiovascular death in patients with HFrEF or hospitalized for HF. Iron repletion with ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) improved symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life in chronic HFrEF patients, and decreased the risk of subsequent HF hospitalizations in subjects with acutely decompensated HF. New-generation potassium binders may allow initiation and up-titration of renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors (RASis). Lastly, the guanylate cyclase stimulator vericiguat and the myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil reduced the primary endpoint in two major controlled trials. These results open novel pathways for the treatment of HFrEF. This review discusses new opportunities of an individualized approach to HFrEF pharmacotherapy, where new compounds expand a spectrum of drugs that target primarily neuroendocrine activation. SGLT2i can be safely applied once daily at a fixed dose to the vast majority of patients with HFrEF, including those with moderate renal dysfunction and/or systolic blood pressure as low as 95–100 mmHg. Additional medications are suitable for more specific phenotypes, with ivabradine providing benefit in patients with sinus rhythm and heart rates ≥70 b.p.m., FCM in the presence of iron deficiency, and potassium-lowering agents to implement RASi when hyperkalaemia occurs. Vericiguat and omecamtiv mecarbil also have potential for tailored approaches towards the haemodynamic status. Thus, a new era is starting for a more personalized medical treatment of HFrEF.
Outcomes after delayed primary percutaneous coronary intervention vs. pharmaco-invasive strategy in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in Norway
Authors: Jortveit Jarle , Pripp Are Hugo , Halvorsen Sigrun
Published: May 2021

Aims

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) is the preferred reperfusion strategy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) provided it can be performed within 120 min from diagnosis. However, it is unclear whether pPCI or a pharmaco-invasive (P-I) strategy is the best choice in patients who cannot receive timely pPCI. The aim of the present study was to compare outcomes after delayed and late pPCI vs. a P-I strategy in STEMI patients who did not receive timely pPCI.

Methods and results

All patients with STEMI registered in the Norwegian Myocardial Infarction Registry (NORMI) between 2013 and 2019, with ≤12 h from symptom onset to first medical contact and available timelines were included in the study. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and follow-up was through 2019. A total of 21 121 (27% of 78 368) STEMI patients were registered in the NORMI. Among patients who met the inclusion criteria, 7238 (54%) patients underwent timely pPCI, 1537 (11%) delayed pPCI (121–180 min), 1012 (7%) late pPCI (>180 min), and 2338 (17%) patients were treated with a P-I strategy. After a median follow-up time of 2.5 years, mortality was higher in the delayed pPCI [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0–1.5] and in the late pPCI group (adjusted HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.7) compared to the P-I strategy group, but bleeding complications were more frequent after P-I strategy.

Conclusions

In STEMI patients who did not receive timely percutaneous coronary intervention, a P-I strategy seemed to be associated with better long-term survival compared to delayed/late pPCI.
Everything in Modulation: Neuromodulators as Keys to Understanding Communication Dynamics
Authors: Barkan Charlotte L , Leininger Elizabeth C , Zornik Erik
Published: May 2021

Synopsis

Across the animal kingdom, the ability to produce communication signals appropriate to social encounters is essential, but how these behaviors are selected and adjusted in a context-dependent manner are poorly understood. This question can be addressed on many levels, including sensory processing by peripheral organs and the central nervous system, sensorimotor integration in decision-making brain regions, and motor circuit activation and modulation. Because neuromodulator systems act at each of these levels, they are a useful lens through which to explore the mechanisms underlying complex patterns of communication. It has been clear for decades that understanding the logic of input–output decision making by the nervous system requires far more than simply identifying the connections linking sensory organs to motor circuits; this is due in part to the fact that neuromodulators can promote distinct and temporally dynamic responses to similar signals. We focus on the vocal circuit dynamics of Xenopus frogs, and describe complementary examples from diverse vertebrate communication systems. While much remains to be discovered about how neuromodulators direct flexibility in communication behaviors, these examples illustrate that several neuromodulators can act upon the same circuit at multiple levels of control, and that the functional consequence of neuromodulation can depend on species-specific factors as well as dynamic organismal characteristics like internal state.
Schwarz–Pick Lemma for Harmonic Functions
Authors: Liu Congwen
Published: May 2021

Based on the recently proven Khavinson conjecture, we establish an inequality of Schwarz–Pick type for harmonic functions on the unit ball of $\mathbb{R}^n$.
Neonatal and postneonatal tetanus at a referral hospital in Kamsar, Guinea: a retrospective audit of paediatric records (2014–2018)
Authors: Condé Ibrahima , Cherif Mahamoud Sama , Dahal Prabin , Hyjazi Marie Elisabeth , Camara Facely , Diaby Macka , Diallo Abdoul Salam , Aderoba Adeniyi Kolade , Conde Foumba , Diallo Mohamed Lamine , Diallo Fatoumate Binta , Dia Hasmiou , Diallo Mamadou Pathé , Delamou Alexandre , Sy Telly
Published: May 2021

Background

Tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. In 2018, all of Guinea was considered to be at risk of the disease and the country is currently in the elimination phase.

Methods

A 5-y audit (1 January 2014–31 December 2018) of all admissions to the neonatal and general paediatric units of Kamsar Hospital (Western Guinea) was undertaken to identify cases of neonatal tetanus (NNT) and postneonatal tetanus (PNNT).

Results

There were 5670 admissions during the study period, of which 39 (0.7%) were due to tetanus (22 NNT and 17 PNNT). Among NNT patients, the bacterial entry site was the umbilical cord (n=20) or wound following circumcision (n=2). For PNNT, the entry site was surface wound (n=12), limb fracture (n=1) or could not be established (n=4). A majority of the patients (36/39, 92.3%) were born to unvaccinated mothers or those who received suboptimal vaccination during pregnancy. Overall, 21 (53.8%) children died within 7 d of admission with a higher mortality observed among neonates (16/22, 72.7%) compared with postneonates (5/17, 29.4%).

Conclusions

Tetanus was a rare cause of admission at Kamsar Hospital with a very high case fatality rate. The disease primarily occurred among children born to mothers who were unvaccinated/inadequately vaccinated during pregnancy.
The Experience of a Gluten-free Diet in Children with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease
Authors: Kakkar Rohan , Fung Alex , Barker Collin , Foster Alice , Hursh Brenden E
Published: May 2021

Objective

This study examined overall self-reported adherence to gluten-free diet (GFD) in children with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease (T1DCD) compared to children with celiac disease (CD). Secondary objectives included gaining insight into self-reported symptoms, barriers to adherence, and experience of a GFD between groups.

Methods

Children <18 years old who had been seen at BC Children’s Hospital for T1DCD or CD were invited to participate in a web-based questionnaire and medical record review.

Results

A total of 26 children with T1DCD and 46 children with CD participated in the study. The groups’ demographics and symptoms of CD were similar; however, a greater proportion of those with T1DCD were asymptomatic at diagnosis (T1DCD 27%; CD 7%; P = 0.016). Overall adherence to a GFD was high in both groups (T1DCD 92%; CD 100%; P = 0.38) but those with T1DCD reported a significantly less positive effect on their health (P = 0.006) and a significantly greater negative effect on activities from a GFD (P = 0.03). Children with T1DCD reported more significant barriers to eating gluten-free at home and at restaurants, specifically with social pressure, cost and taste compared to those with CD only.

Conclusion

Children with T1DCD face specific barriers in adherence that are more impactful compared with children living with CD. These children are more often asymptomatic at diagnosis, and they go on to experience different impacts of a GFD spanning across home and social settings. Given the complexity of having a dual diagnosis, CD care should be tailored specifically to children living with T1DCD.
Curative intent treatment of late presented extragastrointestinal stromal tumor: two identical case reports with literature review
Authors: Kadel Dhruba , Bhuju Shashinda , Thapa Bikash Raj , Chalise Sanat , Kumar Sah Sandeep
Published: May 2021

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) occurring outside the gastrointestinal tract are known as extragastrointestinal stromal tumors (EGIST). They share some common histopathologic and molecular characteristics. This report describes two female patients who were suspected of having a mesenteric GIST, but opted for surveillance rather than definitive treatment. Upon reassessment, both patients demonstrated increased tumor mass with no evidence of distant metastasis. The intraoperative findings confirmed the conclusion of clinical and imaging studies performed preoperatively and radical excisions were performed. Histopathological examination (spindle cell neoplasm) and immunohistochemistry (CD117) confirmed EGIST. Both patients underwent Imatinib therapy following surgery with no evidence of disease recurrence or metastasis upon follow up. Although sharing histologic features with GIST, EGIST frequently demonstrates distinct characteristics that facilitate the proper diagnosis and management of EGIST. Since it is a rare and aggressive disease with a poor outcome, early detection and curative surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment.
To vote or not to vote? Migrant electoral (dis)engagement in an enlarged Europe
Authors: Szulecki Kacper , Bertelli Davide , Erdal Marta Bivand , Coșciug Anatolie , Kussy Angelina , Mikiewicz Gabriella , Tulbure Corina
Published: May 2021

External voting by nonresident citizens has become an important feature of contemporary democratic politics. However, compared to the average voter in domestic elections, we still know significantly less about migrants’ motivations to vote or not. Whereas analyses of external voting patterns offer insights into the results of external voting compared to origin populations, there is a lacuna of knowledge about why migrants choose to vote, or not, when they have the right to do so. This article seeks to address this gap by building a framework rooted in both the electoral studies literature and on the growing body of knowledge on external voting within migration studies. We consider migrant voters’ desire, mobilization, and ability to vote, and map the locus of all factors—either in the country of residence, country of origin, or within transnational political space. We explore evidence from 80 in-depth interviews, collected January–May 2020, with four groups of intra-European migrants—Romanian and Polish residing in Norway and Spain—to map the determinants of external voting. Our research generates three insights which challenge or nuance extant research on external voting. We show how migrants’ motivations to vote depend not only on residence and origin contexts but also on subjective factors and perceptions of the legitimacy of external voting. This article complements existing macrolevel studies of voting determinants with an in-depth qualitative microperspective and generates hypotheses that can be further tested in large-n as well as cross-regional comparisons.