bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Formation and evolution of protostellar accretion discs – II. From 3D simulation to a simple semi-analytic model of Class 0/I discs
Authors: Xu Wenrui , Kunz Matthew W
Published: September 2021

We use a 3D radiative non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulation to investigate the formation and evolution of a young protostellar disc from a magnetized pre-stellar core. The simulation covers the first ${\sim }10\, {\rm kyr}$ after protostar formation and shows a massive, weakly magnetized disc with radius that initially grows and then saturates at ${\sim }30\, {\rm au}$. The disc is gravitationally unstable with prominent large-amplitude spiral arms. We use our simulation results and a series of physical arguments to construct a predictive and quantitative physical picture of Class 0/I protostellar disc evolution from several aspects, including (i) the angular-momentum redistribution in the disc, self-regulated by gravitational instability to make most of the disc marginally unstable; (ii) the thermal profile of the disc, well-approximated by a balance between radiative cooling and accretion heating; and (iii) the magnetic-field strength and magnetic-braking rate inside the disc, regulated by non-ideal magnetic diffusion. Using these physical insights, we build a simple 1D semi-analytic model of disc evolution. We show that this 1D model, when coupled to a computationally inexpensive simulation for the evolution of the surrounding pseudo-disc, can be used reliably to predict disc evolution in the Class 0/I phase. The predicted long-term evolution of disc size, which saturates at ${\sim }30\, {\rm au}$ and eventually shrinks, is consistent with a recent observational survey of Class 0/I discs. Such hierarchical modelling of disc evolution circumvents the computational difficulty of tracing disc evolution through Class 0/I phase with direct, numerically converged simulations.
CLRM-03. BGB-290 AND TEMOZOLOMIDE IN TREATING ISOCITRATE DEHYDROGENASE (IDH)1/2-MUTANT GRADE I-IV GLIOMAS – A NOVEL MODEL OF AYA TRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT
Authors: Marks Asher , Bindra Ranjit
Published: September 2021

DESCRIPTION

The lack of enrollment of AYA patients on clinical trials is well documented and multivariant. Here we present the basic science, examination of its relevance to the AYA population specifically, and the parallel deployment of two international clinical trials via a pediatric neuro-oncology and adult brain tumor consortium.

DISCUSSION

In February of 2017, the laboratory of Ranjit Bindra, MD, PhD, published a manuscript describing the finding that tumors with IDH1/2 mutations induce a BRCAness state leading to PARP inhibitor (PARPi) sensitivity and synergistic interactions with temozolomide chemotherapy [2]. Despite IDH1/2 mutations being rare in the pediatric high-grade glioma population, three independent groups confirmed that the incidence is significantly increased to ~30% in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population. Upon discovery of a high blood-brain-barrier penetrant, high potency PARPi by BeiGene Pharmaceuticals, an international trial was launched through the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) [3] to test this drug in an AYA specific trial recruiting patients ages 13 to 25, with a concurrent trial being run for patients older than 25 years of age through the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium (ABTC) [4].

While most trials that enroll AYA patients are forced to assess them as a unique cohort in post-analysis, if at all, the PNOC trial mentioned above was designed from the ground up with the AYA population in mind. It has allowed us to base initial dosing, recruitment strategies, psychosocial assessments, and outcomes, specifically on the AYA population. Ultimately, we expect their distinctive biology to yield unique results when compared to the ABTC trial.

We propose that this is a model that could potentially be replicated in other disease processes and early phase drugs with the buy-in of the pharmaceutical industry and early phase consortiums.

Acknowledgements: BeiGene Pharmaceuticals, PNOC, ABTC, CureSearch, Gateway Foundation
CLRM-08. TRIAL WORKING GROUPS FOR PAEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOURS
Authors: Rahman Ruman , Walker David , Campbell Emma , Aquilina Kristian
Published: September 2021

INTRODUCTION

Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer in children and young adults. Several recent developments have the potential to change the outlook for these children, including intra-CSF chemotherapy, ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier disruption, convection enhanced delivery, polymer delivery systems, electric field therapy, and intra-arterial and intra-nasal chemotherapy. To date, there have been very few clinical trials to evaluate these. In addition, custom-built hardware, novel surgical procedures and the testing and licensing of implantable devices add difficulty at the regulatory level.

METHODS

The authors participated in an international workshop funded by the charity Children with Cancer UK in 2016, where different experimental techniques aimed at optimising CNS drug delivery were discussed. Following this and two subsequent workshops run by the CBTDDC (Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium), the CBTDDC and the ITCC (Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer) brain tumour group launched the ‘Clinical Trials Working Group for Central Nervous System Drug Delivery’. This aims to accelerate clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of drug delivery devices for the treatment of paediatric brain tumours.

RESULTS

On 1 March, 2021, CBTDDC and Mr Kristian Aquilina (Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital) hosted the first steering group meeting, comprising 38 leading brain tumour research scientists and clinicians from the UK, EU and US.

CONCLUSION

The ideas generated during the March meeting are driving the agenda for a Clinical Trials Workshop that will be held in the autumn of 2021. In particular, there was agreed consensus that a ‘Roadmap’ document for pre-clinical to clinical translation needs to be created and shared with the paediatric neuro-oncology research community. We present this abstract to the CNS Clinical Trials Meeting to raise awareness of this initiative with the large number of relevant stakeholders who will be attending the event.
IMMU-01. TEM-GBM: AN OPEN-LABEL, PHASE I/IIA DOSE-ESCALATION STUDY EVALUATING THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED TIE-2 EXPRESSING MONOCYTES TO DELIVER IFN-A WITHIN GLIOBLASTOMA TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT
Authors: Finocchiaro Gaetano , Eoli Marica , Gentner Bernhard , Capotondo Alessia , Anghileri Elena , Antonarelli Gabriele , Barcella Matteo , Bruzzone Maria Grazia , Carrabba Matteo , Cuccarini Valeria , D'Alessandris Quintino G , DiMeco Francesco , Farina Francesca , Ferla Valeria , Ferroli Paolo , Gagliardi Filippo , Garramone Mariagrazia , Legnani Federico , Mortini Piero , Naldini Matteo , Olivi Alessandro , Pallini Roberto , Patané Monica , Paterra Rosina , Pollo Bianca , Saini Marco , Snider Silvia , Brambilla Valentina , Magnani Tiziana , Mazzoleni Stefania , Bashir Zahid , Russo Carlo , Naldini Luigi , Ciceri Fabio
Published: September 2021

Temferon is a macrophage-based treatment relying on ex-vivo transduction of autologous HSPCs to express immune-payloads within the TME. Temferon targets the immune-modulatory molecule IFN-a, to a subset of tumor infiltrating macrophages known as Tie-2 expressing macrophages (TEMs) due to the Tie2 promoter and a post-transcriptional regulation layer represented by miRNA-126 target sequences. As of 31st May 2021, 15-patients received Temferon (D+0) with follow-up of 3 – 693 days. After conditioning neutrophil and platelet engraftment occurred at D+13 and D+13.5, respectively. Temferon-derived differentiated cells, as determined be the number of vector copy per genome, were found within 14 days post treatment and persisted albeit at lower levels up to 18-months. Very low concentrations of IFN-a in the plasma (8.7 pg/ml-D+30) and in the CSF (1.6 pg/ml-D+30) were detected, suggesting tight regulation of transgene expression. Five-deaths occurred at D+322, +340, +402, +478 and +646 due to PD, and one at D+60 due to complications following the conditioning regimen. Eight-patients had progressive disease (range: D-11 to +239) as expected for this tumor type. SAEs include GGT elevation (possibly related to Temferon) and infections, venous thromboembolism, brain abscess, hemiparesis, seizures, anemia and general physical condition deterioration, compatible with ASCT, concomitant medications and PD. Four-patients underwent 2ndsurgery. Recurrent tumors had gene-marked cells and increased expression of ISGs compared to first surgery, indicative of local IFNa release by TEMs. In one patient, a stable lesion had a higher proportion of T cells and TEMs within the myeloid infiltrate and an increased ISGs than in the progressing lesion, detected in the same patient. Tumor-associated clones expanded in the periphery. TME characterization by scRNA and TCR-sequencing is ongoing. To date, Temferon is well tolerated, with no DLTs identified. The results provide initial evidence of Temferon potential to activate the immune system of GBM patients, as predicted by preclinical studies.
IMMU-07. A PHASE I STUDY OF MULTIPLE PEPTIDE TUMOR-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN VACCINES IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED GLIOBLASTOMA
Authors: Batich Kristen , Archer Gary , Norberg Pamela , Ashley David , Sampson John , Khasraw Mustafa
Published: September 2021

INTRODUCTION

Targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) via peptide vaccination has been tested against malignant glioma with minimal success. Poor responses are attributed to relatively low antigen level expression of the TAA and insufficient CD8+ T cell responses. Including a universal class II epitope that provides CD4+ T cell help towards CD8+ responses has been tested with the immunogenic tetanus toxoid epitope P30, but P30 has been employed as a separate peptide in this regard. The current study will employ targeting of three major glioma TAAs: EphA2, pp65 from Cytomegalovirus, and survivin. The ability to induce more potent TAA-specific immune responses will be tested using two novel strategies: P30-linked TAA peptides and a combinatorial vaccination of the linked peptides (P30-EPS).

HYPOTHESES

In Evaluation of Tumor Associated P30-Peptide Antigen I (ETAPA-I), P30-EPS is anticipated to have an acceptable toxicity profile. Multi-peptide vaccination is thought to bypass tumor heterogeneity and selection of antigen-negative clones, known as antigen escape. Moreover, the administration of EPS covalently linked to P30 is anticipated to increase the magnitude of antigen-specific immune responses and elicit both CD4- and CD8-mediated immune recognition.

TRIAL DESIGN/OBJECTIVES

A maximum of 24 patients with newly diagnosed, unmethylated WHO grade IV glioma will be treated. Following resection and standard of care chemoradiation, patients will be vaccinated serially during the priming phase (Day 1-22) and booster phase (Day 84 and 140). All P30-EPS vaccines during priming and boosting phases are co-administered with the adjuvant Hiltonol (Oncovir, poly-ICLC), and patients self-administer Hiltonol throughout the booster phase. The primary endpoint will evaluate the safety profile of P30-EPS. Secondary objectives include polyfunctional T-cell responses specific to EphA2, pp65 and survivin, TCR diversity, and survival.

CONCLUSION

We describe a study that employs known TAA targets of malignant glioma with the novel strategy of combinatorial class II-linked peptide vaccination.
NEIM-01. PREDICTION OF RESPONSE TO COMBINATION OF NIVOLUMAB AND BEVACIZUMAB IN PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT GLIOBLASTOMA VIA RADIOMIC ANALYSIS ON CLINICAL MRI SCANS
Authors: Verma Ruchika , Rauf Yasmeen , Yadav Ipsa , Statsevych Volodymyr , Chen Jonathan , Evanoff Wendi , Ahluwalia Manmeet , Tiwari Pallavi
Published: September 2021

PURPOSE

The use of immunotherapy in glioblastoma management is under active investigation. Glioblastomas are “cold” tumors, meaning that they have inactivated or fewer tumor infiltrative lymphocytes in addition to substantial tumor necrosis, attributing to their poor response to immunotherapy. A significant challenge is the apriori identification of Glioblastoma patients who will respond favorably to immunotherapy. In this work, we evaluated the ability of computerized MRI-based quantitative features (radiomics) extracted from the lesion habitat (including enhancing lesion, necrosis, and peritumoral hyperintensities) to predict response and progression-free survival (PFS) in recurrent GBM patients treated with combination of Nivolumab and Bevacizumab.

METHODS

Immunotherapy response assessment in neuro-oncology (iRANO) criteria along with PFS were used to analyze n=50 patients enrolled in a randomized clinical trial where patients received Nivolumab with either standard or low dose Bevacizumab. These patients were assessed to see if they had complete response, partial response, stable disease (i.e. responders, n=31), or disease progression (i.e. non-responders, n=19). Lesion habitat constituting necrotic core, enhancing tumor, and edema were delineated by expert radiologist on Gd-T1w, T2w and FLAIR MRI scans. COLIAGE radiomic features from each of the delineated regions were selected using minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) via cross-validation, to segregate non-responder patients from responders. A multivariable cox proportional hazard model was used to predict survival (PFS).

RESULTS

CoLlAGe correlation, sum average, and sum variance features (capture local heterogeneity) from the lesion habitat, were found to segregate non-responder patients from responders with an accuracy of 86%, followed by 80% using features from peritumoral hyperintensities and 78% from enhancing tumor. In our survival analysis, C-index of 0.688 was obtained using features from the entire lesion habitat, followed by peritumoral hyperintensities (0.675) and enhancing tumor (0.656).

CONCLUSION

Radiomic features from the lesion habitat may predict response to combination of Nivolumab and Bevacizumab in recurrent Glioblastomas.
SCSS-01. ANTICONVULSANT PROPHYLAXIS IN PATIENTS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED BRAIN TUMORS: DOES IT PREVENT FIRST SEIZURES, DOES IT IMPROVE SURVIVAL, AND DO WE BELIEVE THE DATA?
Authors: Brown Timothy , Zoccoli Christina , Mansouri Alireza , Glantz Michael
Published: September 2021

BACKGROUND

Despite an American Academy of Neurology Practice Guideline and ASCO/SNO endorsement against the routine use of anticonvulsant prophylaxis in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors, there remains widespread variation in practice and several unanswered questions.

METHODS

Exhaustive evidence-based literature searches were conducted, and patient-level data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were analyzed to answer three questions: does anticonvulsant prophylaxis reduce the risk of first seizures in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors; does prophylaxis improve one-year overall survival in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors; and what effect have practice guidelines had on practice patterns.

RESULTS

Five RCTs (n=441 patients) addressed anticonvulsant prophylaxis in patients with brain tumors. Overall, anticonvulsant prophylaxis did not reduce the risk of a first seizure in patients with any brain tumor (RR= 0.95 [0.58-1.55], p= 0.85, anticonvulsant prophylaxis vs. placebo), brain metastasis (RR = 0.96 [0.73-1.25], p=0.77, 5 RCTs) or primary brain tumors (RR= 1.03 [0.19-5.72], p=0.97, 4 RCTs). Eleven RCTs of anticonvulsant prophylaxis (n=3767 patients with CNS tumors) provided data for survival analysis and demonstrated a lower RR of death at one year compared to those who did not receive prophylaxis (0.88 [0.81-0.94] p = 0.0006). Physician-reported practice of prescribing anticonvulsant prophylaxis diminished only negligibly after initial guideline publication (54.9% [1 study] vs. 51.6%, [3 studies] p<0.014).

CONCLUSION

Prophylactic anticonvulsants in patients without a history of seizures does not reduce the risk of first seizures in patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors. Despite this, anticonvulsant prophylaxis provides a small survival benefit at one year, although, this finding may be driven by confounded studies. Rates of anticonvulsant prophylaxis prescription have decreased only minimally and remain very high despite strong evidence against this practice and guideline publication. Evidence-based medicine requires additional mechanisms for encouraging practice change.
SYST-08. A phase II trial of concurrent Sunitinib, Temozolomide and Radiation Therapy followed by adjuvant Temozolomide for newly diagnosed Glioblastoma patients with an unmethylated MGMT gene promoter (A01-M121-11A, McG1132)
Authors: Faye Mame Daro , Sabri Siham , De Robles Paula , Agnihotram Raman , Torres-Vasquez Alexander , Easaw Jacob , Abdulkarim Bassam
Published: September 2021

INTRODUCTION

Despite advances in treatment modalities, the overall prognosis of GBM remains dismal, particularly for patients with unmethylated MGMT promoter. Thus, alternative treatment strategies are warranted. Our group has previously shown that addition of Sunitinib (SU11248) to standard therapy significantly improved the response of unmethylated MGMT cells through decreased angiogenicity and tumorigenicity. In this phase II trial, we tested for the first time the combination of Sunitinib with RT and Temozolomide in newly diagnosed MGMT unmethylated GBM patients.

METHODS

Patients with histologically confirmed WHO Grade IV GBM and MS-PCR confirmed unmethylated MGMT promoter, age 18-70, KPS ≥70, life expectancy ≥6 months were eligible. 41 patients treated between 2012 and 2017 were screened, 37 of which were eligible. Patients received 12.5 mg of daily Sunitinib for 7 days, followed by concurrent RT, Temozolomide and 12.5 mg Sunitinib for 6 weeks, then adjuvant Temozolomide x6 cycles. RT and Temozolomide doses were as per standard of care. Primary objective was PFS as assessed by RANO criteria, secondary objectives were OS and safety.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time was 15 months. Median PFS was 7 months (95%CI, 6.7-7.2) and 6-month PFS was 59.3%. Median OS was 13 months (95%CI, 12.62-13.37) and 2-year OS was 17.8%. Two patients had OS >50 months, with one surviving 71 months. Having received >3 cycles of adjuvant Temozolomide, surgery at progression or age ≤65 significantly predicted for better OS, with hazard ratios of 0.184 (p=0.001), 0.402 (p=0.026) and 10.017 (for age >65, p=0.002) respectively. Grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia occurred in 18.9% of patients, grade ≥3 neutropenia in 10.8% and grade ≥3 thromboembolic events in 13.5%. There were no grade 5 evens.

CONCLUSION

Addition of Sunitinib to RT and Temozolomide was well tolerated and survival outcomes compared favorably to the current standard of care for GBM patients with unmethylated MGMT promoter status.
Raised cardiovascular disease mortality after central nervous system tumor diagnosis: analysis of 171,926 patients from UK and USA
Authors: Jin Kai , Brennan Paul M , Poon Michael T C , Sudlow Cathie L M , Figueroa Jonine D
Published: September 2021

Background

Patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors may be at risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined CVD mortality risk in patients with different histological subtypes of CNS tumors.

Methods

We analyzed UK(Wales)-based Secure Anonymized Information Linkage (SAIL) for 8743 CNS tumors patients diagnosed in 2000–2015, and US-based National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) for 163,183 patients in 2005–2015. We calculated age-, sex-, and calendar-year-adjusted standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for CVD comparing CNS tumor patients to Wales and US residents. We used Cox regression models to examine factors associated with CVD mortality among CNS tumor patients.

Results

CVD was the second leading cause of death for CNS tumor patients in SAIL (UK) and SEER (US). Patients with CNS tumors had higher CVD mortality than the general population (SAIL SMR = 2.64, 95% CI = 2.39–2.90, SEER SMR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.35–1.42). Malignant CNS tumor patients had over 2-fold higher mortality risk in US and UK cohorts. SMRs for nonmalignant tumors were almost 2-fold higher in SAIL than in SEER. CVD mortality risk particularly cerebrovascular disease was substantially greater in patients diagnosed at age younger than 50 years, and within the first year after their cancer diagnosis (SAIL SMR = 2.98, 95% CI = 2.39–3.66, SEER SMR = 2.14, 95% CI = 2.03–2.25). Age, sex, race/ethnicity in USA, deprivation in UK and no surgery were associated with CVD mortality.

Conclusions

Patients with CNS tumors had higher risk for CVD mortality, particularly from cerebrovascular disease compared to the general population, supporting further research to improve mortality outcomes.
The Short-term Impact of Standardised Packaging on Smoking and Snus Use in Norway
Authors: Halkjelsvik Torleif , Gasparrini Antonio , Vedøy Tord Finne
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Standardised packaging on tobacco products was required in Norway July 1, 2018. We report pre-registered analyses of the potential impact on daily smoking and on daily snus use among women and men.

Methods

Interrupted time series (segmented regression) on repeated cross-sectional surveys (2012–2019) from two sources: probability samples (Registry Sample, N = 46,957) and market research samples (Market Research Sample, N = 64,465) of Norwegian adults aged 16–79. Self-reported daily smoking and snus use were regressed on a step change impact variable, controlled for trend and demographics (sex, age, region, and education based on national registers in the Registry Sample, and self-reported in the Market Research Sample).

Results

There were tendencies of a decline in smoking (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87, 1.02; lower-tail p-value [Plower] = 0.07), and women’s snus use (OR = 0.89; CI = 0.77, 1.03; Plower = 0.06), but not men’s snus use (OR = 1.01; CI = 0.92, 1.11; Plower = 0.59). Analyses using only the Registry Sample did not detect declines in smoking (OR = 0.99; CI = 0.88, 1.11; Plower = 0.43) or women’s snus use (OR = 0.99; CI = 0.80, 1.24]; Plower = 0.48), and indicated no decline in men’s snus use (OR = 1.18; CI = 1.03, 1.35; Plower = 0.99). Exploratory analyses suggested potential acceleration of the declining trend in smoking (change in trends, OR = 0.97) and of the increasing trend in men’s snus use (OR = 1.03).

Conclusions

The analyses indicate that standardised packaging in Norway did not produce a decline in men’s snus use. Results are inconclusive regarding smoking and women’s snus use. Exploratory analyses indicated a decrease in smoking and an increase in men’s snus use.

Implications

We could not confirm or disconfirm whether standardised packaging is an effective tobacco control measure in a Norwegian context. According to our analyses, standardized packaging may have effects on smoking prevalence and women’s snus use, but is unlikely to reduce men’s snus use. The present results may reflect higher effectiveness of standardised packaging for products with stronger health warnings. As the results varied according to samples and outcomes, the study underlines the importance of pre-registering future analyses on this topic. Future confirmatory research should test models of gradual impact of standardised packaging.
Analyzing Twitter Chatter About Tobacco Use Within Intoxication-related Contexts of Alcohol Use: “Can Someone Tell Me Why Nicotine is So Fire When You’re Drunk?”
Authors: Russell Alex M , Colditz Jason B , Barry Adam E , Davis Robert E , Shields Shelby , Ortega Juanybeth M , Primack Brian
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Alcohol and tobacco are commonly used together. Social influences within online social networking platforms contribute to youth and young adult substance use behaviors. This study used a sample of alcohol- and tobacco-related tweets to evaluate: (1) sentiment toward co-use of alcohol and tobacco, (2) increased susceptibility to tobacco use when consuming alcohol, and (3) the role of alcohol in contributing to a failed attempt to quit tobacco use.

Methods

Data were collected from the Twitter API from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 using tobacco-related keywords (e.g., vape, ecig, smoking, juul*) and alcohol-related filters (e.g., drunk, blackout*). A total of 78,235 tweets were collected, from which a random subsample (n = 1,564) was drawn for coding. Cohen’s Kappa values ranged from 0.66 to 0.99.

Results

Most tweets were pro co-use of alcohol and tobacco (75%). One of every ten tweets reported increased susceptibility to tobacco use when intoxicated. Non-regular tobacco users reported cravings for and tobacco use when consuming alcohol despite disliking tobacco use factors such as the taste, smell, and/or negative health effects. Regular tobacco users reported using markedly higher quantities of tobacco when intoxicated. Individuals discussed the role of alcohol undermining tobacco cessation attempts less often (2.0%), though some who had quit smoking for prolonged periods of time reported reinitiating tobacco use during acute intoxication episodes.

Conclusions

Tobacco cessation interventions may benefit from including alcohol-focused components designed to educate participants about the association between increased susceptibility to tobacco use when consuming alcohol and the role of alcohol in undermining tobacco cessation attempts.

Implications

Sentiment toward co-use of alcohol and tobacco on Twitter is largely positive. Individuals reported regret about using tobacco, or using more than intended, when intoxicated. Those who had quit smoking or vaping for prolonged periods of time reported reinitiating tobacco use when consuming alcohol. While social media-based tobacco cessation interventions like the Truth Initiative’s “Ditch the Juul” campaign demonstrate potential to change tobacco use behaviors, these campaigns may benefit from including alcohol-focused components designed to educate participants about the association between increased susceptibility to tobacco use when consuming alcohol and the role of alcohol in undermining tobacco cessation attempts.
The Value of Genetic Knowledge
Authors: Groll Daniel
Published: September 2021

This chapter vindicates the claim that donor-conceived people’s interest in acquiring genetic knowledge is worthwhile by offering an account of the value of genetic knowledge. The author develops and defends a view called “genetic pluralism” according to which having genetic knowledge can, but need not, play a central role in the task of identity determination. In this way, having genetic knowledge is prudentially optional. The author explains the task of identity determination in terms of answering the question “Who am I?,” which is, in turn, unpacked in terms of three other questions: “How did I come to be?,” “What am I like?,” and “Who am I like?” The author shows how having genetic knowledge can—but need not—play a role in answering each of these questions.
Education
Authors: Freudenberg Nicholas
Published: September 2021

Education contributes powerfully to better health and public education is a foundation for democracy. Recently, however, private capital has viewed education as a profit center that can replace revenues lost to the decline of manufacturing. This chapter analyses the ways that modern capitalism has undermined equitable access to quality early childcare, K-12 education, and college by privatizing public education, creating and mandating expensive and inadequately tested but profitable educational tests, technologies and products, and imposing debt on schools and students. A powerful lobby of wealthy individuals and corporate leaders have used their influence to promote market values within the school system. These changes undercut the health- and equity-enhancing characteristics of public education. The chapter also describes how students, parents, teachers, and communities are resisting corporate penetration of public education, rejecting the ways it reinforces systemic racism, and creating models for education that promote health, democracy, and collective success.
Social Connections
Authors: Freudenberg Nicholas
Published: September 2021

How individuals connect to others, buy wanted products, and work to achieve shared goals determine their opportunities for health and life success. In this century, companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft now decide how people can connect with others. By collecting data on purchases, behavior, and beliefs from their customers’ hardware, digital and cellphone use, Big Tech companies have created surveillance capitalism where personal data is a commodity to buy and sell. By targeting users for digital ads for unhealthy products; giving bullies access to a global audience; using likes and dislike to polarize people into opposing factions; or selling personal information to advertisers and special interests, these companies have compromised health, democracy, and privacy. In response, tech workers, social media users, privacy groups, and anti-monopoly reformers have challenged the domination of Big Tech companies and forged ways to use technology for human well-being instead of corporate profit.
Transitions from Twenty-first-century Capitalism
Authors: Freudenberg Nicholas
Published: September 2021

In modern history, social movements change the living conditions that influence well-being. Successful movements require a shared diagnosis, vision, and strategies for the transition. Today’s capitalism that values profit and corporate well-being over human and planetary health is the problem. A world where the food, education, health care, and other basic necessities are available to all and easier to find than their health-damaging alternatives is the vision, consistent with available human knowledge but not with the current distribution of power and wealth. To forge strategies for the transition, advocates can learn from current social movements — from climate and labor to Black, women’s and global justice — that are moving in this direction. The Green New Deal, worker cooperatives, and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic show how movements can make capitalism the target of change, use health as a unifying theme, and extract strategies for change from current practice.
Augustine on Cogitation and Self-Constitution
Authors: Remes Pauliina
Published: September 2021

Mind’s relationship to its own contents can be explained either in detectivist-observationalist or agential terms. Ancient philosophers often sided with the former view: minds activities and contents pre-exist - or coincide with - the act of thinking or being aware of them. The article argues that in late antiquity vestiges of an agential variant emerge in the works of Plotinus and Augustine. Augustine suggests that the mind’s relationship to its own contents is not one of observation, a predominantly receptive capacity. Rather, it is one of cogitation, sometimes voluntary and reflective introspection, more often a kind of unreflective, incessant weaving together of different contents into new meaningful connections.
The sources of this conception are to be found in Plotinus: in the emergence of the idea of a self capable of inward directed reflection and self-identification. Unlike Augustine, however, Plotinus still operates with mainly obervationalist metaphors of “looking within” and with a detectivist notion of ideal self.
Reflection
Authors: Hanson Alison , Yuste Rafael
Published: September 2021

A prevailing view considers the self a property of only the most evolutionarily advanced animals. We propose that a “protoself’ is already present in simple life forms and may be an inherent aspect of all living systems. A separation of the “self” from the “outside” world allows organisms to model the external environment and to act on it. The appearance of the nervous system in larger organisms, initially necessary for speed, enabled the generation of more sophisticated models of the environment and the organism that could be harnessed for more accurate predictions of the future. Spontaneous neuronal activity, such as the default mode network which is prevalent in humans, may serve as an integrator of the model, physically implementing the self as an emergent property.
Review of Literature on Subnational Government Borrowing
Authors: Martell Christine R. , Moldogaziev Tima T. , Espinosa Salvador
Published: September 2021

Chapter 3 establishes the rationale for subnational government debt, the infrastructure pressures on subnational governments, and the context within which subnational government borrowing occurs. It begins with a review of the fiscal governance task in the face of demands for local infrastructure provision, and the institutional contexts of subnational government borrowing. The chapter then discusses how subnational government infrastructure provision and borrowing fit with a growing perspective of financial governance innovations. It continues with an introduction to capital-financing options, an overview of subnational government borrowing, and potential problems with subnational government borrowing. Then, the chapter explores fundamental dimensions of institutional contexts that affect subnational government borrowing. It ends by explicitly recognizing the role of information and setting a research agenda about efforts to improve information resolution institutions and mechanisms for information certification and monitoring.
Predator-Induced Defenses in Crustacea
Authors: Weiss Linda C. , Tollrian Ralph
Published: September 2021

The capacity of an organism with a given genotype to respond to changing environmental conditions by the expression of an alternative phenotype is a fascinating biological phenomenon. Plasticity enables organisms to cope with environmental challenges by altering their morphology, behavior, physiology, and life history. Especially, predation is a major factor driving plasticity in response to seasonal fluctuations of predator populations. Therefore, many taxa have evolved strategies to adapt to this environmental challenge, including morphological defenses, life history shifts, and behavioral adaptations. The evolution of inducible defenses is dependent on 4 factors: a selective agent, a reliable cue, associated costs, and the resulting benefit. Ecologically, predator-induced defenses are of general importance because they reduce predation rates and hence dampen the dynamics of predator-prey systems to stabilize food webs. We analyze the defensive strategies in many crustacean taxa and describe how they can act in concert to reduce predation risk. Additionally, prey species may perform predation risk assessment and reduce defense expression when conspecifics are dense. With increasing numbers of conspecifics, the individual predation risk is reduced due to prey dilution, predator confusion, and increased handling times. Consequently, the need to develop a strong defense is reduced and costs for the full defenses expression can be saved.
The Roma Context
Authors: Buzea Carmen , Dimitrova Radosveta
Published: September 2021

This chapter presents an overview of the current situation of Roma ethnic minority groups. The authors provide a brief historical outline as well as a summary of major sociodemographic, cultural, and contextual characteristics of Roma. They compare these characteristics across different countries hosting Roma populations and discuss their potential importance for children and youth within broader social and cultural contexts. Drawing on currently available empirical work with these populations, the authors address the question of whether traditional developmental frameworks can apply to oppressed minority settings. They also examine how unique cultural-specific and universal features of Roma can inform the understanding of optimal adaptation in adolescence. The authors conclude by emphasizing the relevance of recognizing that oppressed minority groups such as Roma have potentials and strengths on which we need to build, rather than assume that their communities are only characterized by adversity and deficits.
Positive Youth Development
Authors: Wiium Nora , Uka Fitim
Published: September 2021

Consistent with the positive youth development perspective, the experience of internal and external assets is associated with positive development or thriving among young people. This proposal has been developed and tested mainly in the United States but it also appears to be considerably true for Roma youth living in post-communist countries. This chapter examines Roma youth (N = 354) experience of various developmental assets and how these assets are related to thriving. Study results indicated positive relations between the assets and thriving, in general. In addition, the experience of constructive use of time was quite low among Roma youth relative to internal assets, such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity, and other external assets such as support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations. While this low experience of constructive use of time could be a general trend among young people, it could also reflect the discrimination and social exclusion that Roma youth often face. Because Roma youth across Europe form a significant and growing proportion of the school-age population and consequently the future workforce, policies and programs that promote both internal and external assets necessary for thriving are essential because thriving has been associated with the development of self and society.
Reframing the Narrative
Authors: Johnson Deborah J. , Thelamour Barbara , Sankar Sudha , Dimitrova Radosveta
Published: September 2021

The authors apply a positive youth development (PYD) approach to examine self-descriptors of Roma adolescents in domains of positive self-appraisal, self-knowledge and goals, and positive interpersonal relationships. They first quantitatively explore the relationships among self-esteem, ethnic identity, and self-description domains, then use qualitative content analysis to explore youths’ sense of self across domains including future orientations, relationships, and personal characteristics. Intragroup comparisons of self-esteem revealed more positive, less critical self-references among youth with high self-esteem. Additionally, youth with higher ethnic identity scores invoked more descriptors that involved culture or group differences. Despite experiences of isolation and negative self-evaluation, self-descriptors also depicted a deep sense of family closeness and meaningful friendships with peers. The conclusions of this study underscore the existence of positive self-systems among Roma youth despite complex life challenges.
Associations Between Social Connectedness and Academic Achievement Among Roma Youth in Eastern Europe
Authors: Abubakar Amina , Dimitrova Radosveta , Stefenel Delia , Uka Fitim , Zahaj Skerdi , Murimi Paul , van de Vijver Fons
Published: September 2021

In this chapter, the authors report on a study that examined relations between social connectedness, school engagement, and achievement in minority (Roma) and majority youth in Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Romania. Based on a social connectedness model, they investigated the interplay of two connectedness domains (i.e., school and family) and their relations to school engagement and achievement. Participants were 1,063 adolescents who completed the Social Connectedness Scale on school engagement and average academic achievement. The authors found that social connectedness, especially school connectedness, was associated with school engagement while parental education was associated with school achievement. Implications are discussed in terms of how these findings are relevant to greater insight into the promotion of connectedness and the academic success of minority and majority youth across the countries under investigation.
US Dealings with Iraq, 2001–2003
Authors: Ghalehdar Payam
Published: September 2021

This chapter turns to US dealings with Iraq from 2001 to 2003, arguing that George W. Bush’s turn to regime change in Iraq following the 2001 terrorist attacks of September 11 supports the book’s emotion-based argument. The first section of the chapter describes the shift in Bush’s approach to Iraq from a policy of containment prior to 9/11 to a policy of regime change after 9/11. The chapter then demonstrates how Bush’s expectations toward Iraq turned hegemonic after 9/11, amplifying Iraq’s obstruction with no change in actual Iraqi behavior. The fourth section demonstrates how a lack of negative perceptions facilitated Bush’s pre-9/11 containment policy, while the fifth section demonstrates how full-blown emotional frustration led to regime change following 9/11. The chapter concludes with a critical review of three prominent alternative explanations for Bush’s decision-making.
Introduction
Authors: Franklin M.I.
Published: September 2021

This chapter presents the disciplinary debates and terms of reference informing this exploration of music making in which sampling practices play a fundamental role. It maps out the theoretical and methodological terrain that informs the “close listening” approach to analyzing these works in light of a burgeoning interest from across the spectrum of academic research and music journalism in the interrelationship between music and politics—however these two domains may be defined. Developing earlier work addressing debates about when, and how music and politics may mutually inform one another, this chapter presents the socio-musicological and interdisciplinary approach to examining how this relationship “sounds” in five case studies. The objective is to provide a more refined conceptual lexicon and analytical framework so that reader-listeners can listen to, and so “hear” the respective ‘musicking politics” at stake in each case, and do so in ways that go beyond focusing on lyrical content alone or requiring an advanced level of musical knowledge. This opening chapter and the conclusion (Chapter 7) work together in either direction.
“His Master’s Voice” and (R)evolutionary Signifyin’
Authors: Franklin M.I.
Published: September 2021

Chapter 6 turns to sampling as it is usually understood: integral to Hip-Hop culture. The track in point is “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron, a track that others have sampled, or alluded to, countless times since its release in 1970. The chapter analyses this well-known track for its other, equally formative sonic dimensions. Lyrics do matter here for they are part of African and African American practices of “signifyin’.” Through her “sampling back,” namely, a form of answer rap, Sarah Jones inverts this iconic track thirty years later to launch a blistering critique of sexism in not only the Rap/Hip-Hop business but also the music business in general. The chapter considers the ways in which Jones’s signifyin’ on “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” literally and sonically, illustrates how musico-cultural borrowing and or as sampling are part of a broader repertoire of African American signifyin’ practices, as these are, in turn, understood as Black culture and, thereby, Black American politics.
In Pursuit of English
Authors: Sung-Yul Park Joseph
Published: September 2021

This book presents subjectivity as a theoretical and analytic perspective for studying the intersection of language and political economy. It makes this point by arguing that the way English comes to be valorized as a language of economic opportunity in the context of neoliberalism must be understood with reference to subjectivity—the dimensions of affect, morality, and desire that shape how we, as human beings, understand ourselves as actors in the world. Focusing on South Korea’s ‘English fever’ that took place in the 1990s and 2000s, this book traces how English became an object of heated pursuit amidst the country’s rapid neoliberalization, demonstrating that English gained prominence in this process not because of the language’s supposed economic value, but because of the anxieties, insecurities, and moral desire that neoliberal Korean society inculcated—which led English to be seen as an index of an ideal neoliberal subject who willingly engages in constant self-management and self-development in response to the changing conditions of the global economy. Bringing together ethnographically oriented perspectives on subjectivity, critical analysis of conditions of contemporary capitalism, theories of neoliberal governmentality, and sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological frameworks of metapragmatic analysis, this book suggests an innovative new direction for research on language and political economy, challenging the field to consider the emotionally charged experiences we have as language users as the key for understanding the place of language in neoliberalism.
Language and Subjectivity in Neoliberalism
Authors: Sung-Yul Park Joseph
Published: September 2021

This chapter establishes the theoretical and conceptual basis for the book by first defining neoliberalism, reviewing the various challenges that have emerged in addressing the complex and multifaceted nature of neoliberalism. It then provides an overview of the theoretical frameworks for understanding neoliberalism and how they might be adopted for the study of language and subjectivity. It contrasts Marxist and Foucauldian approaches to neoliberalism, proposing a synthesis in which Foucault’s insights are used to clarify how the neoliberal shaping of subjectivities works to obscure class-based inequalities and to rationalize increasing precarity of life under intensifying capitalism and the global economy. Finally, the chapter considers how such processes of subjectivity might be traced through theoretical and analytic constructs from sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, especially through the analysis of metapragmatic discourse.
English and Neoliberalism in South Korea
Authors: Sung-Yul Park Joseph
Published: September 2021

This chapter provides an in-depth picture of the book’s ethnographic context, presenting a historical account of neoliberalism in South Korea and the role the English fever played within it. Through its review of Korea’s neoliberalization process that began in the 1990s, the chapter focuses on several actors that were critical in this process, including the United States, major Korean conglomerates known as jaebeol, and the state. The chapter then reviews key phenomena that constituted the Korean English fever, clarifying why they should be seen as a manifestation of neoliberalism. Finally, the chapter explains how a range of intense feelings and affects pervaded Koreans’ experience of English throughout the country’s modern history, using it to argue that aspects of subjectivity that characterize the Korean English fever should be understood in terms of the specific historical and political economic conditions of Korean society, rather than a Korean cultural essence.
Language as Pure Potential
Authors: Sung-Yul Park Joseph
Published: September 2021

This chapter outlines how a desire for English provides a particular articulation to neoliberal ideologies of language, serving as a foundation for the Korean English fever. Considering desire not as a primal urge that naturally emerges from our inner psyche but as a socially constituted force, this chapter considers how English was conceptualized as an object of desire through the English fever, and what implications this had for Koreans’ affective positioning in relation to English. It explains how the ideology of language as pure potential—a view of language as a completely neutral tool for conveying messages in an unadulterated way, a pure medium of potentiality that enables a speaker to achieve anything she wishes to—facilitates this process, allowing the desire for English to be mobilized for the neoliberal logic of human capital development in the context of globalization.