bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ping, Jean
Authors: Rich Jeremy
Published: March 2020

Jean Ping (born November 24, 1942) was a leading figure in Gabonese politics from the late 1980s well into the 21st century. His mother belonged to the Nkomi ethnic group and his father was a rare Chinese resident of Gabon. Like most other young Gabonese intellectuals, he studied abroad in France and then became a supporter of the ruling Parti Démocratique Gabonais (PDG) party. After working as the Gabonese representative to UNESCO, Ping returned to Gabon in 1984. He became a close associate of dictator Omar Bongo, had two children with Bongo’s daughter Pascaline, and held a series of top ministerial posts from 1990 to 2014. Ping became Gabon’s most prominent diplomat. African Union delegates voted for Ping to become the president of the African Union in 2008. He held this position until 2012. Perhaps his greatest disappointment was the failure of the African Union to successfully mediate between Libyan president Muammar Qaddafi, Libyan rebels, and Western countries who chose military intervention to overthrow Qaddafi.

Although Ping had become a member of Omar Bongo’s inner circle, he pulled away from the PDG party after Omar’s son Ali Bongo Ondimba won the 2009 presidential elections. Ping quit the PDG in 2014 and ran for president in the 2016 elections. Many Gabonese and outside observers believed Ping triumphed in this contest. The official results that proclaimed Ali Bongo as the winner stated Bongo had won 95% of the vote in Haut-Ogooué province, where supposedly 99% of all eligible voters actually cast their ballot. Ping rejected the findings and declared he was the true president of Gabon. Ping’s career, starting as a young Gabonese intellectual and becoming a member of the PDG elite and finally the leader of the Gabonese opposition, is a crucial part of the political history of Gabon after the end of French colonization.
Shared Prosperity: Concepts, Data, and Some Policy Examples
Authors: Ferreira Francisco H. G. , Galasso Emanuela , Negre Mario
Published: March 2020

“Shared prosperity” is a common phrase in current development policy discourse. Its most widely used operational definition—the growth rate in the average income of the poorest 40% of a country’s population—is a truncated measure of change in social welfare. A related concept, the shared prosperity premium—the difference between the growth rate of the mean for the bottom 40% and the growth rate in the overall mean—is similarly analogous to a measure of change in inequality. This article reviews the relationship between these concepts and the more established ideas of social welfare, poverty, inequality, and mobility.

Household survey data can be used to shed light on recent progress in terms of this indicator globally. During 2008–2013, mean incomes for the poorest 40% rose in 60 of the 83 countries for which we have data. In 49 of them, accounting for 65% of the sampled population, it rose faster than overall average incomes, thus narrowing the income gap.

In the policy space, there are examples both of “pre-distribution” policies (which promote human capital investment among the poor) and “re-distribution” policies (such as targeted safety nets), which when well-designed have a sound empirical track record of both raising productivity and improving well-being among the poor.
The Formation of the Martian Moons
Authors: Rosenblatt Pascal , Hyodo Ryuki , Pignatale Francesco , Trinh Antony , Charnoz Sebastien , Dunseath Kevin , Dunseath-Terao Mariko , Genda Hidenori
Published: March 2020

The origin of the natural satellites or moons of the solar system is as challenging to unravel as the formation of the planets. Before the start of the space probe exploration era, this topic of planetary science was restricted to telescopic observations, which limited the possibility of testing different formation scenarios. This era has considerably boosted this topic of research, particularly after the Apollo missions returned samples from the Moon’s surface to Earth. Observations from subsequent deep space missions such as Viking 1 and 2 Orbiters, Voyager 1 and 2, Phobos-2, Galileo, Cassini-Huygens, and the most recent Mars orbiters such as Mars Express, as well as from the Hubble space telescope, have served to intensify research in this area.

Each moon system has its own specificities, with different origins and histories. It is widely accepted that the Earth’s Moon formed after a giant collision between the proto-Earth and a body similar in size to Mars. The Galilean moons of Jupiter, on the other hand, appear to have formed by accretion in a circum-Jovian disk, while smaller, irregularly shaped satellites were probably captured by the giant planet. The small and medium-sized Saturnian moons may have formed from the rings encircling the planet. Among the terrestrial planets, Mercury and Venus have no moons, the Earth has a single large moon, and Mars has two very small satellites. This raises some challenging questions: What processes can lead to moon formation around terrestrial planets and what parameters determine the possible outcomes, such as the number and size of moons? The answer to such fundamental questions necessarily entails a thorough understanding of the formation of the Martian system and may have relevance to the possible existence of (exo)moons orbiting exoplanets. The formation of such exomoons is of great importance as they could influence conditions for habitability or for maintaining life over long periods of time on the surface of Earth-like exoplanets, for example by limiting the variations of the orientation of the planet’s rotation axis and thus preventing frequent changes of its climate.

Our current knowledge concerning the origin of Phobos and Deimos has been acquired from observational data as well as theoretical work. Early observations led to the idea that the two satellites were captured asteroids but this created difficulties in reconciling the current orbits of Phobos and Deimos with those of captured bodies, hence suggesting the need for an alternative theory. A giant-impact scenario provides a description of how moons similar to Phobos and Deimos can be formed in orbits similar to those observed today. This scenario also restricts the range of possible composition of the two moons, providing a motivation for future missions that aim for the first time to bring material from the Martian system back to Earth.
Solar Flares
Authors: Longcope Dana
Published: March 2020

A solar flare is a transient increase in solar brightness powered by the release of magnetic energy stored in the Sun’s corona. Flares are observed in all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The released magnetic energy heats coronal plasma to temperatures exceeding ten million Kelvins, leading to a significant increase in solar brightness at X-ray and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. The Sun’s overall brightness is normally low at these wavelengths, and a flare can increase it by two or more an orders of magnitude. The size of a given flare is traditionally characterized by its peak brightness in a soft X-ray wavelength. Flares occur with frequency inversely related to this measure of size, with those of greatest size occuring less than once per year. Images and light curves from different parts of the spectrum from many different flares have led to an accepted model framework for explaining the typical solar flare. According to this model, a sheet of electric current (a current sheet) is first formed in the corona, perhaps by a coronal mass ejection. Magnetic reconnection at this current sheet allows stored magnetic energy to be converted into bulk flow energy, heat, radiation, and a population of non-thermal electrons and ions. Some of this energy is transmitted downward to cooler layers, which are then evaporated (or ablated) upward to fill the coronal with hot dense plasma. Much of the flares bright emission comes from this newly heated plasma. Theoretical models have been proposed to describe each step in this process.
The Evolution of Public Funding of Science in the United States From World War II to the Present
Authors: Koizumi Kei
Published: March 2020

Large-scale U.S. government support of scientific research began in World War II with physics, and rapidly expanded in the postwar era to contribute strongly to the United States’ emergence as the world’s leading scientific and economic superpower in the latter half of the 20th century. Vannevar Bush, who directed President Franklin Roosevelt’s World War II science efforts, in the closing days of the War advocated forcefully for U.S. government funding of scientific research to continue even in peacetime to support three important government missions of national security, health, and the economy. He also argued forcefully for the importance of basic research supported by the federal government but steered and guided by the scientific community. This vision guided an expanding role for the U.S. government in supporting research not only at government laboratories but also in non-government institutions, especially universities.

Although internationally comparable data are difficult to obtain, the U.S. government appears to be the single largest national funder of physics research. The U.S. government support of physics research comes from many different federal departments and agencies. Federal agencies also invest in experimental development based on research discoveries of physics. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is by far the dominant supporter of physics research in the United States, and DOE’s national laboratories are the dominant performers of U.S. government-supported physics research. Since the 1970s, U.S. government support of physics research has been stagnant with the greatest growth in U.S. government research support having shifted since the 1990s to the life sciences and computer sciences.
US-Italian Relations
Authors: Nuti Leopoldo , Fiorentino Daniele
Published: March 2020

Relations between Italy and the United States have gone through different stages, from the early process of nation-building during the 18th and the 19th centuries, to the close diplomatic and political alignment of the Cold War and the first two decades of the 21st century. Throughout these two and a half centuries, relations between the two states occasionally experienced some difficult moments—from the tensions connected to the mass immigration of Italians to the United States at the end of the 19th century, to the diplomatic clash at the Versailles Peace Conference at the end of World War I, culminating with the declaration of war by the Fascist government in December 1941. By and large, however, Italy and the United States have mostly enjoyed a strong relationship based on close cultural, economic, and political ties.
Southeast Asian Refugees in North America
Authors: Bankston Carl L.
Published: March 2020

Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have historically been nations with large Buddhist populations. While Mahāyāna Buddhism predominates in Vietnam, most people in Cambodia and Laos have been dedicated to Theravāda Buddhism. In 1975, these three countries came under the domination of Communist governments, which had earlier been in conflict with factions militarily supported by the United States. This led to the beginnings of the massive movement of refugees from Southeast Asia to North America. An especially radical regime had taken power in Cambodia, and after war broke out between Cambodia and Vietnam the flow of refugees became a flood.

All of the new governments of these countries were hostile to independent religious organizations and practices. The Khmer Rouge in power in Cambodia took its antagonism to religion to an extreme, attempting to violently eradicate traditional Buddhist practices and institutions. As refugees settled in ever-greater numbers in North America and other locations, they established Buddhist temples and other organizations in the new homelands. In consequence, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao communities in the United States and Canada have also become sites for the rapid growth of North American Buddhism.

Southeast Asian Buddhism has become a part of a pluralistic religious environment, adding new rites, celebrations, and cultural activities to American society. Buddhism has also played a central part in maintaining ethnic identity among refugee populations and their descendants, as well as in helping Buddhists adapt to life under changing circumstances.
Theos Bernard, the “White Lama”
Authors: Hackett Paul G.
Published: March 2020

Theos Bernard was an early pioneer of yoga in the United States and only the third American to reach the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, but the first to do so as a religious pilgrim. Although born in Los Angeles, California, Bernard was raised and educated in Tombstone, Arizona. In the late 1930s, Bernard embarked upon a journey to India and Tibet and, while there, explored the yogic traditions of India and participated in some of the highest religious rituals in Tibet, all while documenting his experiences on paper, in photographs, and on film.

Upon returning to New York in 1937, Bernard wrote and published several books purporting to chronicle his experiences in India and Tibet and setting forth the fundamental principles of Indian and Tibetan philosophies as he understood them. During the years that followed, Bernard attempted to establish a Tibetan research center in Santa Barbara, California, together with the Tibetan monk and scholar Gendün Chöpel. His efforts having been thwarted by the events of World War II, in 1942, Bernard instead entered Columbia University to pursue a PhD in philosophy. Completed less than a year later, his dissertation, “Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience,” was an ethnographic report of his studies in India that was subsequently published, and which served to introduce the practices of yoga to a new American generation. Bernard went on to found the short-lived Tibetan Text Society in Santa Barbara, California, prior to returning to the Indian subcontinent in 1946 in search of additional resources. Finding his entry to Tibet blocked by the British government in India, he bided his time until Indian independence. In August 1947, he launched a different expedition into the western Himalayas—to Spiti, Lahoul, and Ladakh—five days after the Partition of India. He was never seen again.
Central America Under Liberal Rule, 1870–1929
Authors: López Bernal Carlos Gregorio
Published: March 2020

In 1871, a wave of “liberal revolutions” began in Central America. Important changes were made to strengthen national states, promote the growth of the economy, and secularize society. The speed and intensity of the reforms varied across the region, as did the results. However, in every case, there were significant advances shown through exports, public works, and architecture in major cities.

The benefits of the reforms were also unevenly distributed. Coffee growers, businessmen, and bureaucrats saw their incomes and living standards improve while peasants, indigenous people, and workers received little, and in some cases saw their living conditions deteriorate significantly. The global crisis of capitalism in 1929 demonstrated the vulnerability of the liberal model, producing an authoritarian turn in the region.
Digital Resources: The Study of Brazilian History
Authors: Nascimento Álvaro Pereira do
Published: March 2020

At least four major periods help to understand Brazilian history from pre-contact until modern times: the era of indigenous societies prior to 1500; the Portuguese colonial period (1500–1808); the experience of the Monarchy (1808–1889); and the Republic (1889–2019). Although the expanding and varied repositories offering digital resources do not necessarily cover these four highlighted periods thoroughly, researchers should still know them before navigating through the documents and images such repositories are making freely available to the public.

Historical Brazilian digital holdings can be grouped into nine broad areas: (1) documents produced by national, state, and municipal governments; (2) records relating to specific historical moments; (3) sources for immigrant, indigenous, and African and Afro-Brazilian studies; (4) collections helpful for examining labor, industry, and plantations; (5) sources relevant for sex and gender studies; (6) materials for the history of science; (7) personal and private collections; (8) periodicals (newspapers and magazines); (9) and sources related to artistic, patrimonial, and cultural production. Researchers will find abundant sources about Brazilian society, political changes, the economy, education, commercial relations, wars and revolts, urban reforms, companies, violence, customs, and values, among many other topics and issues. Scholars and students can access interviews, photographs, newspapers, magazines, books, civil and parish records, laws and reports from government institutions, correspondence, music, movies, documentaries, maps, and much more.
Alberto Santos-Dumont and Brazilian Aviation
Authors: Cruz Felipe Fernandes
Published: March 2020

Aviation has played a unique role in the history of Brazil, beginning with the life of Alberto Santos-Dumont. Most Brazilians consider him to be the true inventor of the airplane over the North American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. Born in the province of Minas Gerais in 1873, he became a global celebrity in the early 1900s when he designed, built, and piloted several of his dirigibles and airplanes in Paris. He won major prizes for his aeronautical feats, such as the Deutsch de La Meurthe prize for an aerial circumnavigation of the Eiffel Tower. Santos-Dumont is a beloved national hero in Brazil. The potent symbolism of his life was often invoked in calls for the development of Brazilian aviation.

Throughout the 20th century, aviation was hailed as a technological panacea for Brazil’s problems. Many Brazilians thought its development could boost homegrown industry and technology, and that aviation would in turn enable Brazil to conquer its frontiers by air. The potential to connect vast and often inaccessible territories by air was very attractive to a state with a weak grip on its frontiers. The dictatorial government of Getúlio Vargas, for instance, used propaganda and cultural programs to engender great excitement among Brazilians for the mass development of national aviation.

This notion of frontier conquest by air played a major role in the development of aeronautical technology in Brazil, creating a unique history of frontier expansion and interaction with indigenous peoples. Starting in 1969, Brazil also became a major exporter of airplanes. Originally a state-owned company, the now privatized EMBRAER is one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, selling military, airline and private jet aircraft around the world.
Carmen Miranda: Race, Gender, and Camp Culture
Authors: Bishop-Sanchez Kathryn
Published: March 2020

Carmen Miranda (b. 1909–d. 1955) was a Brazilian singer and actress who made her debut on the radio in the late 1920s and soon became one of the most popular voices in Brazil. She recorded close to 250 singles, many of which were major hits, starred in five films (four with the Cinédia studio and one with Sonofilms), and gave innumerous performances on the most elite stages of Rio de Janeiro, such as the Urca and Copacabana casinos. Her signature look was a stylized version of the typical Bahian woman’s outfit, known as the baiana, complete with an abundance of bracelets and necklaces, platform shoes, and a whimsical turban that served as a base for all kinds of adornments. In 1939, she was invited by the Broadway impresario Lee Shubert to perform in his musical review The Streets of Paris and moved to New York with her band Bando da Lua to bring authentic Brazilian music to North America. A success overnight, Miranda would then be invited to star in her first US film, Down Argentine Way (1940), with 20th Century Fox, and would be cast in thirteen subsequent films. Carmen Miranda’s iconic look was immediately recognizable and became prime material for imitations by both male and female impersonators in theater, film, and cartoon media. Her excessive femininity, imbued with style, exaggeration, and playful deception, and her inclusion in musicals governed by theatricality and artifice, made her a productive site for camp interpretations that have remained in vogue to this day.
diaspora, Jewish, 332 BCE–c. 600 CE
Authors: Schwartz Seth
Published: March 2020

For some ancient Jews, “diaspora” (together with its cognates) was an actor’s and not an observer’s term. But its import was primarily theological: God punished the Jews for their sins by dispersing them from their native land of Israel. Yet “diaspora” retains analytic utility for historians, if taken to refer to the geographically and temporally varied modes of Jewish life outside Palestine. It is not known to what extent diaspora Jews were emigrants from Palestine and their descendants; nor do we know how numerous they were. But we can follow the evidence where it exists. The main lesson is that the onset of Roman rule created crises around the integration of the Jews into their host societies. Intentionally or not, in the cities of the east (and the big villages of Egypt) the Romans fomented discord between different elements of the population. In Egypt, this led at once to the ultimately lethal—for the Jews, anyhow—three-way competition between Jews, Greeks, and Egyptians. Even in Asia Minor, normally understood as the best-case scenario for Jews under Roman rule, the evidence indicates that Jewish life in the Roman imperial period was more fragile, constrained, fraught, and impermanent than is often supposed.
hagiography
Authors: Gray Christa
Published: March 2020

Hagiography is a problematic yet widely used term with varying connotations; it resists narrow definition. Outside the hagiographa of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., the books other than the Law and the Prophets), the concept is based on a core of Christian Greek and Latin works, from the 2nd to 5th century ce, which range from martyr accounts to monastic and episcopal biographies. A significant factor motivating their composition and reception is the cult of saints. Biblical heroes, especially Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself are the primary models, but non-Christian literary traditions, especially biographical and novelistic, are also important influences.
Morphology in Quechuan Languages
Authors: Adelaar Willem F. H.
Published: March 2020

Quechuan is a family of closely related indigenous languages spoken in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, in the central part of the Andean cordilleras, in what used to be the Empire of the Incas and adjacent areas. It is divided into two main branches, commonly denominated Quechua I and II, and comprises 15 or more spoken varieties and several extinct ones that can be considered separate languages, although an exact number cannot easily be established. Quechuan shares a long and intense contact history with the neighboring Aymaran languages, but a genealogical relationship between the two families has never been demonstrated, nor a relationship with any other language family in the area. Quechuan languages are mainly agglutinative. All grammatical categories are indicated by suffixes with very few exceptions. The order in which these suffixes occur within a word form is governed by rules and combinatory restrictions that can be rigid but not always explicable on a basis of scope and function. Portmanteau suffixes play a role in verbal inflection and in mutually interrelated domains of aspect and number in the Quechua I branch.

In Quechuan verbal derivation affixes may be semantically polyvalent, depending on the combinations in which they occur, pragmatic considerations, the nature of the root to which they are attached, their position in the affix order, and so on. Verbal derivational affixes often combine with specific verbal roots to denote meanings that are not fully predictable on the basis of the meaning of the components. Other verbal affixes never occur in such combinations. Verbal morphology and nominal morphology tend to overlap in the domain of personal reference, where subject and possessor markers are largely similar. Otherwise, the two morphological domains are almost completely separate. Not only the morphological inventories but also the formal constraints underlying the structure of verbs and nouns differ. Nominal expressions feature an elaborate but relatively instable system of case markers, some of which appear to be of recent formation. Transposition from one class to another, nominalization in particular, is indicated morphologically and occupies a central place in Quechuan grammar, particularly in interaction with case. Finally, there is a class of Independent suffixes that can be attached to members of all word classes, including adverbial elements that cannot be classified as verbs or nominals. These suffixes play a role at the organizational level of larger syntactic units, such as clauses, nominal phrases, and sentences.
Paradigms in Morphology
Authors: Milin Petar , Blevins James P.
Published: March 2020

Studies of the structure and function of paradigms are as old as the Western grammatical tradition. The central role accorded to paradigms in traditional approaches largely reflects the fact that paradigms exhibit systematic patterns of interdependence that facilitate processes of analogical generalization. The recent resurgence of interest in word-based models of morphological processing and morphological structure more generally has provoked a renewed interest in paradigmatic dimensions of linguistic structure. Current methods for operationalizing paradigmatic relations and determining the behavioral correlates of these relations extend paradigmatic models beyond their traditional boundaries. The integrated perspective that emerges from this work is one in which variation at the level of individual words is not meaningful in isolation, but rather guides the association of words to paradigmatic contexts that play a role in their interpretation.
Numerals in Morphology
Authors: Veselinova Ljuba N.
Published: March 2020

This article provides an overview of approaches to numerals within the field of morphology. As is well known, any strict separation between morphology, semantics and syntax is hardly feasible. However, to the extent possible, this study is focused on reviewing approaches to the structural properties of numerals much more than on studies of their uses or integration with other language units. A survey of the pertinent literature shows that there is an imbalance in the study of different kinds of numerals: cardinals have been studied in greater detail than any other kinds of numerals. The morpho-syntactic aspects of cardinal numerals have been discussed in a number of works but corresponding analyses remain in demand for most numeral derivatives, other than ordinals and distributives.

Cardinal numerals have been shown to share features with some open word classes, most often with adjectives for the lower members of the set and with nouns for the higher members of the set. However, it has also been pointed out that cardinal numerals remain distinct from other word classes, and this distinction is best described in semantic terms. The use of cardinal numerals as sole or redundant markers of plurality is often related to semantic factors such as animacy and individuation, in some cases also to focus and referentiality. There are different views on whether cardinals in a phrase such as numeral noun should be regarded as heads or not.

Among numeral derivatives, complex cardinals, distributive and ordinal numerals have been studied most. There is hardly any comparative work on other known numeral derivations such as multiplicatives, frequentatives, group numerals, approximatives. Currently ongoing projects highlight the cross-linguistic frequency of ordinals and distributives compared to other numerals as well as the need to discuss the basic-derived relation for all numeral derivatives and finally, the relation between numeral derivations and classifier systems on other numeral derivations.

Other topics pertinent to the wider topics of numerals in morphology concern the analysis of more derivational patterns and way(s) numerals can be included there as well as operations of conversion whereby numerals are used for the expression of approximate quantities or non-numerical concepts.
Classical Generative Morphology
Authors: ten Hacken Pius
Published: March 2020

The scope of classical generative morphology is not clearly determined. All three components need clarification. The boundaries of what counts as generative linguistics are not unambiguously set, but it can be assumed that all generative work in linguistics is inspired by the work of Noam Chomsky. Morphology was a much more prominent component of linguistic theory in earlier approaches, but of course the subject field had to be accounted for also in generative linguistics. The label classical can be seen as restricting the scope both to the more mainstream approaches and to a period that ends before the present. Here, the early 1990s will be taken as the time when classical theorizing gave way to contemporary generative morphology.

In the earliest presentations of generative linguistics, there was no lexicon. The introduction of the lexicon made many of the ideas formulated before obsolete. Chomsky’s Lexicalist Hypothesis provided the basis for a new start of research in morphology. Two contrasting elaborations appeared in the early 1970s. Halle proposed a model based on the combination of morphemes, Jackendoff one based on the representation and analysis of full words.

Against this background, a number of characteristic issues were discussed in the 1970s and 1980s. One such issue was the form of rules. Here there was a shift from transformations to rewrite rules. This shift can be seen particularly well in the discussion of verbal compounds, e.g., truck driver. The question whether and how morphology should be distinguished from syntax generated a lot of discussion. Another broad question was the degree to which rules of morphology should be thought of as operating in separate components. This can be observed in the issue of the distinction of inflection and derivation and in level ordering. The latter was a proposal to divide affixes into classes with different phonological and other effects on the base they attach to. A side effect of level ordering was the appearance of bracketing paradoxes, where, for instance, generative grammarian has a phonological constituent grammarian but a semantic constituent generative grammar. Another aspect of rule application which can be constructed as a difference between morphology and syntax is productivity. In general, syntactic rules are more productive and morphological rules display blocking effects, where, for instance, unpossible is blocked by the existence of impossible.

Being classical, much of the discussions in this period serves as a shared background for the emergence and discussion of current generative approaches in morphology. The transition to these theories started in the 1990s, although some of them appeared only in the early 2000s.
Social Work Ethnography
Authors: Haight Wendy L.
Published: March 2020

Ethnography is an approach to the study of culture with an extensive history in the social sciences and professions. Within social work, there has been a long-standing interest in ethnography. It affords social workers a powerful and unique vehicle for obtaining an in-depth, contextualized understanding of clients’ perspectives and experiences necessary for effective, culturally sensitive social work practice and advocacy. It provides an opportunity to understand how very different cultural communities perceive and respond to the common human challenges confronted by social workers and their clients every day.
Cognitive and Motor Norms for Huntington’s Disease
Authors: Mills James A , Long Jeffrey D , Mohan Amrita , Ware Jennifer J , Sampaio Cristina
Published: March 2020

Background

The progression of Huntington’s disease (HD) for gene-expanded carriers is well-studied. Natural aging effects, however, are not often considered in the evaluation of HD progression.

Objective

To examine the effects of natural aging for healthy controls and to develop normative curves by age, sex, and education from the distribution of observed scores for the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Stroop Word Reading Test, Stroop Color Naming Test, Stroop Interference Test, Total Motor Score, and Total Functional Capacity (TFC) from the Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) along with a composite score.

Methods

After combining longitudinal REGISTRY and Enroll-HD data, we used quantile regression and natural cubic splines for age to fit models for healthy controls (N = 3,394; N observations = 8,619). Normative curves were estimated for the 0.05, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.95 quantiles. Two types of reference curves were considered: unconditional curves were dependent on age alone, whereas conditional curves were dependent on age and other covariates, namely sex and education.

Results

Conditioning on education was necessary for the Symbol Digit, Stroop Word, Stroop Color, Stroop Interference, and composite UHDRS. Unconditional curves were sufficient for the Total Motor Score. TFC was unique in that the curve was constant over age with its intercept at the maximum score (TFC = 13). For all measures, sex effects were minimal, so conditioning on sex was unwarranted.

Conclusions

Extreme quantile estimates for each measure can be considered as boundaries for natural aging and scores falling beyond these thresholds are likely the result of disease progression. Normative curves and tables are developed and can serve as references for clinical characterization in HD.
An invasive amphibian drives antipredator responses in two prey at different trophic positions
Authors: Secondi Jean , Raux Fanny
Published: March 2020

Generalist invasive predators consume prey at different trophic levels and generate drastic changes in local communities. However, the long-term effects of predation may be reduced by eco-evolutionary responses of native populations. The capacity of prey species distributed across the trophic network to develop antipredator responses may determine the ecosystem potential to buffer against the invader. The African clawed frog is a major invader on several continents. Because of its large size, generalist diet, and aquatic lifestyle, we predicted the development of antipredator responses in prey species at different trophic levels. We tested for behavioral shifts between populations within and outside the invasive range in the herbivorous snail Physella acuta and the predatory heteropteran, the backswimmer Notonecta glauca. We detected antipredator responses in both prey species. In sympatry, P. acuta stayed higher in the water column, while N. glauca spent more time swimming underwater and less time surfacing when the predator cues were present. In allopatry, P. acuta dived deeper and N. glauca spent more time surfacing and stayed longer still underwater. In both species, sympatric populations showed evidence of olfactory recognition of the frog. Our results show that the introduction of a top predator like Xenopus laevis in the pond ecosystem drives behavioral antipredator responses in species across the trophic network. Eco-evolutionary processes may allow some degree of long-term resilience of pond communities to the invasion of X. laevis.
Ownership diversity and the risk-taking channel of monetary policy transmission
Authors: Caselli Giorgio , Figueira Catarina , Nellis Joseph G
Published: March 2020

This paper joins a rapidly growing body of literature that aims to uncover the link between monetary policy and bank risk taking. We investigate the hypothesis that the ownership composition of the banking system moderates monetary policy transmission via the risk-taking channel. Borrowing measures used in ecology to quantify diversity of species within an ecosystem and first applied to the field of finance by Michie, J. and Oughton, C. 2013. ‘Measuring Diversity in Financial Services Markets: A Diversity Index’, Centre for Financial and Management Studies Discussion Papers no. 113, this paper shows that the impact of exogenous monetary policy shocks on banks’ probability of default is reduced in countries with greater ownership diversity. We also find that—ceteris paribus—shareholder- and stakeholder-oriented banks located in more ownership-diverse systems tend to have a lower appetite for risk than their counterparts operating in less diverse markets. These results are robust across several econometric specifications and emphasise the stabilising role played by ownership diversity in modern financial systems. At the same time, our evidence suggests that a more interdisciplinary approach, firmly grounded in the applied, empirical research methodology, can provide novel and useful insights into the implications of monetary policy for financial and economic outcomes.
Scope of health problems managed by general practitioners in Mali and France: awaiting practice transition in sub-Saharan Africa?
Authors: Naville Raphaël , Subtil Fabien , Sy Mansour , Marquis Michel , Costes Pierre , Letrilliart Laurent
Published: March 2020

Background

Minimal data are available on the clinical activity of general practitioners (GPs) in Africa.

Objective

To describe the health problems managed by GPs in Mali as compared with France where epidemiological transition is already advanced.

Methods

A retrospective, multicenter study, conducted in five Malian Community Health Centers. We compared their consultation data to those of the ECOGEN (Eléments de la COnsultation en médecine GENérale) study conducted in 128 French general practices, after data standardization for age and sex.

Results

Malian and French databases included 19 068 and 19 341 consultations, respectively. Patients had an average of 1.2 health problems managed per consultation in Mali, versus 2.2 in France. They were dominated by infections (51.3%) in Mali, including malaria (24.9%), pneumonia (9.0%) and gastrointestinal infections (5.0%). In comparison with French GPs, Malian GPs more frequently managed cardiovascular (20.2% versus 13.5%), respiratory (15.0% versus 12.4%) and digestive (13.3% versus 7.8%) problems, and less frequently musculoskeletal (3.1% versus 12.6%), endocrine/metabolic (1.5% versus 10.7%) and psychological (0.2% versus 8.2%) problems. The main activity performed by French GPs was prevention (11.0%), which was nominal in Mali. Apart from hypertension, which accounted for 18.9% of the health problems managed in Mali, chronic conditions were less often managed by Malian GPs than by French GPs (12.3% versus 39.6%).

Conclusions

Africa is currently at the crossroads where chronic conditions carried with the epidemiological transition are progressing, while the burden of communicable diseases is still overwhelming. Along with the enhancing medicalization of primary care in Mali, the transition of practices is just emerging.
General practitioners’ perceptions on the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a risk prediction checklist to support their end-of-life discussions in routine care: a qualitative study
Authors: Lewis Ebony T , Mahimbo Abela , Linhart Christine , Williamson Margaret , Morgan Mark , Hammill Kathrine , Hall John , Cardona Magnolia
Published: March 2020

Background

General practitioners’ (GPs) play a central role in facilitating end-of-life discussions with older patients nearing the end-of-life. However, prognostic uncertainty of time to death is one important barrier to initiation of these discussions.

Objective

To explore GPs’ perceptions of the feasibility and acceptability of a risk prediction checklist to identify older patients in their last 12 months of life and describe perceived barriers and facilitators for implementing end-of-life planning.

Methods

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 GPs practising in metropolitan locations in New South Wales and Queensland between May and June 2019. Data were analysed thematically.

Results

Eight themes emerged: accessibility and implementation of the checklist, uncertainty around checklist’s accuracy and usefulness, time of the checklist, checklist as a potential prompt for end-of-life conversations, end-of-life conversations not an easy topic, end-of-life conversation requires time and effort, uncertainty in identifying end-of-life patients and limited community literacy on end-of-life. Most participants welcomed a risk prediction checklist in routine practice if assured of its accuracy in identifying which patients were nearing end-of-life.

Conclusions

Most participating GPs saw the value in risk assessment and end-of-life planning. Many emphasized the need for appropriate support, tools and funding for prognostic screening and end-of-life planning for this to become routine in general practice. Well validated risk prediction tools are needed to increase clinician confidence in identifying risk of death to support end-of-life care planning.
Sensitivity maps for time-reverse imaging: an accuracy study for the Los Humeros Geothermal Field (Mexico)
Authors: Finger C , Saenger E H
Published: March 2020

The estimation of the source–location accuracy of microseismic events in reservoirs is of significant importance. Time-reverse imaging (TRI) provides a highly accurate localization scheme to locate events by time-reversing the recorded full wavefield and back propagating it through a velocity model. So far, the influence of the station geometry and the velocity model on the source–location accuracy is not well known. Therefore, sensitivity maps are developed using the geothermal site of Los Humeros in Mexico to evaluate the spatial variability of the source–location accuracy. Sensitivity maps are created with an assumed gradient velocity model with a constant vp–vs ratio and with a realistic velocity model for the region of Los Humeros. The positions of 27 stations deployed in Los Humeros from September 2017 to September 2018 are used as surface receivers. An automatic localization scheme is proposed that does not rely on any a priori information about the sources and thus negates any user bias in the source locations. The sensitivity maps are created by simulating numerous uniformly distributed sources simultaneously and locating these sources using TRI. The found source locations are compared to the initial source locations to estimate the achieved accuracy. The resulting sensitivity maps show that the station geometry introduces complex patterns in the spatial variation of accuracy. Furthermore, the influence of the station geometry on the source–location accuracy is larger than the influence of the velocity model. Finally, a microearthquake recorded at the geothermal site of Los Humeros is located to demonstrate the usability of the derived sensitivity maps. This study stresses the importance of optimizing station networks to enhance the accuracy when locating seismic events using TRI.
DUX4 expressing immortalized FSHD lymphoblastoid cells express genes elevated in FSHD muscle biopsies, correlating with the early stages of inflammation
Authors: Banerji Christopher R S , Panamarova Maryna , Zammit Peter S
Published: March 2020

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an incurable disorder linked to ectopic expression of DUX4. However, DUX4 is notoriously difficult to detect in FSHD muscle cells, while DUX4 target gene expression is an inconsistent biomarker for FSHD skeletal muscle biopsies, displaying efficacy only on pathologically inflamed samples. Immune gene misregulation occurs in FSHD muscle, with DUX4 target genes enriched for those associated with inflammatory processes. However, there lacks an assessment of the FSHD immune cell transcriptome, and its contribution to gene expression in FSHD muscle biopsies. Here, we show that EBV-immortalized FSHD lymphoblastoid cell lines express DUX4 and both early and late DUX4 target genes. Moreover, a biomarker of 237 up-regulated genes derived from FSHD lymphoblastoid cell lines is elevated in FSHD muscle biopsies compared to controls. The FSHD Lymphoblast score is unaltered between FSHD myoblasts/myotubes and their controls however, implying a non-myogenic cell source in muscle biopsies. Indeed, the FSHD Lymphoblast score correlates with the early stages of muscle inflammation identified by histological analysis on muscle biopsies, while our two late DUX4 target gene expression biomarkers associate with macroscopic inflammation detectable via MRI. Thus, FSHD lymphoblastoid cell lines express DUX4 and early and late DUX4 target genes, therefore, muscle-infiltrated immune cells may contribute the molecular landscape of FSHD muscle biopsies.
Molecular basis of impaired extraocular muscle function in a mouse model of congenital myopathy due to compound heterozygous Ryr1 mutations
Authors: Eckhardt Jan , Bachmann Christoph , Benucci Sofia , Elbaz Moran , Ruiz Alexis , Zorzato Francesco , Treves Susan
Published: March 2020

Mutations in the RYR1 gene are the most common cause of human congenital myopathies, and patients with recessive mutations are severely affected and often display ptosis and/or ophthalmoplegia. In order to gain insight into the mechanism leading to extraocular muscle (EOM) involvement, we investigated the biochemical, structural and physiological properties of eye muscles from mouse models we created knocked-in for Ryr1 mutations. Ex vivo force production in EOMs from compound heterozygous RyR1p.Q1970fsX16+p.A4329D mutant mice was significantly reduced compared with that observed in wild-type, single heterozygous mutant carriers or homozygous RyR1p.A4329D mice. The decrease in muscle force was also accompanied by approximately a 40% reduction in RyR1 protein content, a decrease in electrically evoked calcium transients, disorganization of the muscle ultrastructure and a decrease in the number of calcium release units. Unexpectedly, the superfast and ocular-muscle-specific myosin heavy chain-EO isoform was almost undetectable in RyR1p.Q1970fsX16+p.A4329D mutant mice.

The results of this study show for the first time that the EOM phenotype caused by the RyR1p.Q1970fsX16+p.A4329D compound heterozygous Ryr1 mutations is complex and due to a combination of modifications including a direct effect on the macromolecular complex involved in calcium release and indirect effects on the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms.
Drone imagery in Islamic State propaganda: flying like a state
Authors: Archambault Emil , Veilleux-Lepage Yannick
Published: March 2020

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the Islamic State's use of images taken by drones, drawing on a dataset of ISIS propaganda images from October 2016 to December 2018. Analysing the three principal uses of drone imagery by ISIS—images of drone strikes, images of other attacks and observation—we argue that ISIS's use of drones distinguishes itself from other state and non-state uses of drones primarily by its communicative and symbolic value. While ISIS’ use of drone strikes takes place in a tactical rather than strategic setting, its employment of drones to film VBIED attacks allows them to achieve a strategic effect. After outlining ISIS’ use of drones for combat air support and to film ground (particularly VBIED) attacks, we argue, drawing on political geography, that ISIS employs drones in propaganda to stake and reinforce a claim to sovereign control of territory, performed through the flying of aircraft. The use of drone imagery, we argue, taps into long-standing visual and discursive strategies which associate vertical hierarchy and flying with mastery and control, allowing ISIS to display attributes of aerial sovereignty. This article, through an analysis of ISIS drone propaganda, provides a rare insight into non-state actors’ perception of drones and the communicative value of drone images, in addition to suggesting further avenues for the incorporation of political–geographical studies of verticality into the study of political violence and rhetoric.