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Volume II presents an authoritative overview of the various continuities and changes in migration and globalization from the 1800s to the present day. Despite revolutionary changes in communication technologies, the growing accessibility of long-distance travel, and globalization across major economies, the rise of nation-states empowered immigration regulation and bureaucratic capacities for enforcement that curtailed migration. One major theme worldwide across the post-1800 centuries was the differentiation between 'skilled' and 'unskilled' workers, often considered through a racialized lens; it emerged as the primary divide between greater rights of immigration and citizenship for the former, and confinement to temporary or unauthorized migrant status for the latter. Through thirty-one chapters, this volume further evaluates the long global history of migration; and despite the increased disciplinary systems, the primacy of migration remains and continues to shape political, economic, and social landscapes around the world.
This Element engages with recent attempts by economists and political scientists to rigorously estimate impacts of missionary work in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that, although these efforts contribute to more accurate assessments of the 'true' effects of missionary presence, they also have a tendency to present Christian involvement in the region as a largely apolitical process, that was relatively unaffected by the rapidly evolving geopolitical and socio-cultural contexts of the colonial period. Countering this trend, this Element illustrates aspects of missionary behavior that were inherently more political and context-dependent, such as local struggles for religious hegemony between Protestants and Catholics and interactions between colonial regimes and the church-based provision of goods like education. The Element draws heavily on market-based theories of organized religious behavior. These perspectives are entirely compatible with the analytical language of economists and political scientists. Yet, they played surprisingly limited roles in recent literature on missionary impacts.
Limpets (Patella spp.) are marine gastropods that inhabit rocky shores along the coasts of Europe, the Mediterranean, Macaronesia and the north-west coast of Africa. Being considered key species, limpets have an important role regulating algal assemblages in coastal communities. The goal of this work was to evaluate the influence of sea temperature on the respiration rate of four limpet species occurring in mainland Portugal, in line with predictions from the metabolic theory of ecology. The individuals were collected from rocky shores in Portugal and exposed to sea temperatures ranging from 6–28°C for respiration rate assessments. Following the estimation of the relationship between oxygen consumption and temperature the activation energy was calculated. In parallel, low and high thermal thresholds were determined for three of the species. The results indicated that P. ulyssiponensis oxygen consumption increased linearly with sea temperature and the remaining species presented the same tendency. The values of activation energy ranged between 0.33–0.76 eV. For P. ulyssiponensis, the highest activation energy indicated that this species is more sensitive to temperature variations while for the tested temperatures it presented a higher thermal tolerance limit than the other species. Such findings indicate that P. ulyssiponensis is the most susceptible of these species to climate change, in line with the tolerance–plasticity trade-off hypothesis. This work provides a good starting point for understanding the effect of sea temperature on oxygen consumption in Patella spp. and for comprehending sensitivity of limpets to temperature increases under future climate change scenarios.
Modeling is important for guiding policy during epidemics. The objective of this work was to describe the experience of structuring a multidisciplinary collaborative network in Brazil for modeling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to support decision-making throughout the pandemic.
Methods
Responding to a national call in June 2020 for proposals on COVID-19 mitigation projects, we established a team of investigators from public universities located in various regions throughout Brazil. The team’s main objective was to model severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission dynamics in various demographic and epidemiologic settings in Brazil using different types of models and mitigation interventions. The modeling results aimed to provide information to support policy making. This descriptive study outlines the processes, products, challenges, and lessons learned from this innovative experience.
Results
The network included 18 researchers (epidemiologists, infectious diseases experts, statisticians, and modelers) from various backgrounds, including ecology, geography, physics, and mathematics. The criteria for joining the network were having a communication channel with public health decision-makers and being involved in generating evidence for public policy. During a 24-month period, the following sub-projects were established: (i) development of a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered-like, individual-based meta-population and Markov chain model; (ii) projection of COVID-19 transmission and impact over time with respect to cases, hospitalizations, and deaths; (iii) assessment of the impact of non-pharmacological interventions for COVID-19; (iv) evaluation of the impact of reopening schools; and (v) determining optimal strategies for COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, we mapped existing COVID-19 modeling groups nationwide and conducted a systematic review of relevant published research literature from Brazil.
Conclusions
Infectious disease modeling for guiding public health policy requires interaction between epidemiologists, public health specialists, and modelers. Communicating modeling results in a non-academic format is an additional challenge, so close interaction with policy makers is essential to ensure that the information is useful. Establishing a network of modeling groups will be useful for future disease outbreaks.
Current approaches to voting behavior in clientelist contexts either predict that clients leave their preferences aside for fear of having their benefits cut off or voluntarily support politicians they perceive to be reliable patrons. These two approaches cannot account for clients’ vote choices in the Sertão of Bahia, Brazil, where voters were free to choose among competing candidates but supported patrons they knew were unreliable. This article argues that clients voluntarily voted for bad patrons as a strategy to gain symbolic power in their negotiations with politicians. By explaining clients’ paradoxical choices in the Sertão, this article reveals how clientelism can persist without monitoring mechanisms or positive attitudes toward patrons. In addition, this study shows the importance of incorporating voters’ perspectives and their everyday survival strategies to better account for clients’ political behavior.
Brugada syndrome is an inherited condition, which typically presents in young adults. It can also be diagnosed in children, but data in this group remain scarce. This study aims to describe the clinical features, management, and follow-up of children with personal or family history of Brugada syndrome.
Methods:
Retrospective study of consecutive patients with Brugada history followed up in a tertiary paediatric referral centre between 2009 and 2021. Patients were assessed according to the phenotype: positive (with variable genotype) or negative (with positive genotype).
Results:
Thirty patients were included (mean age at diagnosis 7 ± 6 years, 53% male). Within the positive phenotype (n = 16), 81% were male, and 88% had spontaneous type 1 ECG pattern. A genetic test was performed in 88% and was positive in 57%. Fourteen patients had a negative phenotype–positive genotype, 79% female, all diagnosed during family screening; 43% mentioned family history of sudden cardiac death. Although most of the patients were asymptomatic, the prevalence of rhythm/conduction disturbances was not negligible, particularly if a positive phenotype. No clinically significant events were reported in the negative phenotype patients. Three patients were hospitalised due to an arrhythmic cause, all in patients with a positive phenotype.
Conclusion:
In our study, the documentation of rhythm and conduction disturbances was not infrequent, especially in patients with a positive phenotype. Despite the significant family history, phenotype negative patients had no relevant events during follow-up. Nevertheless, the management of these patients is not clear cut, and a personalised therapeutic strategy with close follow-up is essential.
Variation in water colour is a remarkable characteristic of Amazonian rivers and reflects their limnological properties and the geomorphology of sub-basins. We present here a literature-based study to examine the relationships between fish species turnover and abiotic properties of Amazonian rivers with contrasting water colours. We analysed fish records and water physicochemical properties (pH, colour, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia and suspended solids) of eight Amazonian rivers with white-, black- and clearwaters. Rivers with similar water colour shared more fish species than those that contrasted in colour. Increased differences in abiotic parameters imply an increased dissimilarity in fish species composition. Species composition is also related to distance among rivers with high dissimilarity observed in rivers distant to each other. The fish species turnover could be ultimately driven by the geological history of rivers which provides different opportunities to speciation and biotic interchange. Water types likely influence species turnover by selecting fishes with different limits of physiological tolerance and specialized use of different habitat types. Our findings suggest that river water colours are reliable proxies for historical and ecological mechanisms affected fish species distribution. Antropic disturbances of Amazonian rivers with distinct water colours could threaten unique fish assemblages.
It is now well established that algorithms are transforming our economy, institutions, social relations and ultimately our society. This paper explores the question – what is the role of law in the algorithmic society? We draw on the law-jobs theory of Karl Llewellyn and on William's Twining refinement of Llewellyn's work through the perspective of a thin functionalism to have a better understanding of what law does in this new context. We highlight the emergence of an algorithmic law, as law performs jobs such as the disposition of trouble-cases, the preventive channelling and reorientation of conduct and expectations, and the allocation of authority in the face of algorithmic systems. We conclude that the law-jobs theory remains relevant to understanding the role of law in the algorithmic society, but it is also challenged by how algorithms redefine who does or should do what law-jobs, and how they are done.
Topiramate (TOP) is a psychotropic drug prescribed for the treatment of epilepsy in children older than 2 years of age and for migraine prophylaxis in adolescents. There is evidence that TOP promotes negative effects on the reproductive system of male rats. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate and late treatment effects of TOP during childhood and adolescence on the male rat reproductive system. Two experimental groups received 41 mg/kg of TOP daily, by gavage, from postnatal day (PND) 16 to 28 (TOPc group) or from PND 28 to 50 (TOPa group). Control groups (CTRc group or CTRa group) received water daily. Half of the anim–als were evaluated 24 h after the end of treatment (PND 29 and PND 51, respectively) and the remainder were evaluated in adulthood (PND120). The following parameters were determined: anogenital distance, sperm evaluation, testis’ histomorphometry and plasma testosterone concentration. At PND 120, the volume (CTRc:62.58 ± 2.13; TOPc: 54.54 ± 2.10*%, p = 0.018) and total length (CTRc: 25.48 ± 1.61; TOPc: 18.94 ± 2.41*, p = 0.035) of seminiferous tubules were decreased and the volume of interstitial tissue (CTRc:37.41 ± 2.13; TOPc: 45.45 ± 2.09*%, p = 0.018) and number of Leydig cells/testis (CTRc: 277.00 ± 36.70; TOPc: 400.20 ± 13.23*, p = 0.013) were increased in the TOPc group. The other parameters remained similar between the groups. Therefore, the present study contributes to our understanding that childhood treatment with TOP has an impact on the rat reproductive system in adulthood, suggesting that this period is more sensitive to TOP exposure than adolescence.
Spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) refers to a delivery that occurs between weeks 20 and 37 of pregnancy, due to preterm labor, preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. and short cervical length at mid-trimester. The three most common risk factors for PTB are (1) prior history of preterm delivery, (2) twin pregnancy, and (3) short cervix at mid-trimester ultrasound. Several studies have demonstrated that short cervical length is the most powerful predictor for PTB in the index pregnancy for both singleton and twin pregnancies. A short cervical length means the measured length of the cervix is shorter than expected for the current gestational age, with a cutoff value between 20 and 25 mm. Sexual intercourse by itself has not been demonstrated to be a clear risk factor for PTB. Thus, abstinence after pregnancy has been achieved has no role in strategies for prevention of PTB. Also, most sexual positions and noncoital activities (e.g. oral sex, masturbation) during late pregnancy are not clearly associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. There is no strong evidence that sexual activity affects the risk of PTB or onset of labor in healthy individuals. Pelvic rest may be recommended in selected cases, such as patients with a very short cervix or bulging membranes.
Understanding deviations from typical brain development is a promising approach to comprehend pathophysiology in childhood and adolescence. We investigated if cerebellar volumes different than expected for age and sex could predict psychopathology, executive functions and academic achievement.
Methods
Children and adolescents aged 6–17 years from the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort Study for Mental Conditions had their cerebellar volume estimated using Multiple Automatically Generated Templates from T1-weighted images at baseline (n = 677) and at 3-year follow-up (n = 447). Outcomes were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist and standardized measures of executive functions and school achievement. Models of typically developing cerebellum were based on a subsample not exposed to risk factors and without mental-health conditions (n = 216). Deviations from this model were constructed for the remaining individuals (n = 461) and standardized variation from age and sex trajectory model was used to predict outcomes in cross-sectional, longitudinal and mediation analyses.
Results
Cerebellar volumes higher than expected for age and sex were associated with lower externalizing specific factor and higher executive functions. In a longitudinal analysis, deviations from typical development at baseline predicted inhibitory control at follow-up, and cerebellar deviation changes from baseline to follow-up predicted changes in reading and writing abilities. The association between deviations in cerebellar volume and academic achievement was mediated by inhibitory control.
Conclusions
Deviations in the cerebellar typical development are associated with outcomes in youth that have long-lasting consequences. This study highlights both the potential of typical developing models and the important role of the cerebellum in mental health, cognition and education.
In a seminal contribution, Paul Grice took what he called the ‘total signification of an utterance’ (i.e. the complete content someone communicates by a linguistic signal) and divided it in two, distinguishing between ‘what the speaker says’ versus ‘what the speaker implies’. However, recent developments have served to throw doubt on Grice’s taxonomy, with both sides of his divide coming under fire. I examine these challenges to Grice’s framework, but argue that they do not show that Grice’s notion of implicature is ill-founded, nor that his ’favoured sense’ of what is said is unnecessary. What they do serve to highlight is a peculiar tension in Grice’s original account. For it seems Grice merged two distinct features when defining what the speaker says versus what the speaker implicates: the idea of a content dictated by word meaning and structure alone, on the one hand, and the idea of an asserted or directly expressed proposition on the other. Yet once we resolve this tension it is possible to deliver an account of the total signification of an utterance which is both (fairly) faithful to Grice’s original account and which is able to do a great deal of explanatory work.
The marketisation of disability support driven by individualised funding brings new dilemmas for multi-agency collaboration, in particular how to provide personalised supports while remaining commercially viable. This article explores the challenges, risks and adaptations of organisations to navigate the tensions of personalisation and collaboration. Framed by street-level research and using the context of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this article draws on interviews with twenty-eight organisational managers. Multi-agency challenges are highlighted when several providers are delivering parts of a NDIS participant’s plan, blurring organisational responsibilities and accountabilities. Interviews also revealed the paradox of organisational disconnection and organisational dependence concerning quality support provision and described the collaborative responses organisations implement to ensure their sustainability. There is commitment among organisations to build a trusted ecosystem of providers, but this is largely discretionary and there is a need for further policy mechanisms to enable organisations to negotiate a way through multi-agency dilemmas.
Peer victimization is a developmentally salient stressor that elevates adolescents’ risk for anxiety disorders. However, modifiable mechanisms that explain this link and can be targeted via therapeutic interventions remain poorly understood. Drawing from psychobiological models implicating aberrant threat sensitivity in the development and maintenance of psychopathology, the current study investigated sensitivity to peer-related social threats as a mechanism underlying the association between peer victimization and anxiety. A sample of 197 dyads of early adolescents (Mage = 12.02; 46% female) and parents/guardians (Mage = 41.46; 90% female) completed online surveys assessing peer victimization, sensitivity to potential (i.e., ambiguous) social threats, and anxiety. Controlling for potentially confounding demographic and psychosocial factors, both self- and parent-reported peer victimization were positively associated with adolescent anxiety symptoms. Additionally, there were significant indirect effects from self- and parent-reported peer victimization to anxiety via social threat sensitivity. Supplemental analyses indicated unique effects of covert, but not overt, peer victimization on social threat sensitivity and anxiety. The findings provide initial evidence that peer victimization experiences lower adolescents’ threshold for interpreting threats in ambiguous social situations, which contributes to heightened anxiety. These results implicate social threat sensitivity as a potential therapeutic target for interrupting links from peer victimization to psychological distress.
Our understanding of homogeneous vapour bubble growth is currently restricted to asymptotic descriptions of their limiting behaviour. While attempts have been made to incorporate both the inertial and thermal limits into bubble growth models, the early stages of bubble growth have not been captured. By accounting for both the changing inertial driving force and the thermal restriction to growth, we present an inertio-thermal model of homogeneous vapour bubble growth, capable of accurately capturing the evolution of a bubble from the nano- to the macro-scale. We compare our model predictions with: (a) published experimental and numerical data, and (b) our own molecular simulations, showing significant improvement over previous models. This has potential application in improving the performance of engineering devices, such as ultrasonic cleaning and microprocessor cooling, as well as in understanding of natural phenomena involving vapour bubble growth.
The article aims to identify the factors behind a series of center-left electoral victories in the 2002 and 2006 state elections, which indicate the decay of state political machines in Brazil's poorest regions. It is argued that vertical competition between the federal and state governments in the provision of public policies works as a constraint on state bosses' strategies of political control. The withering of state political machines may be understood as an indirect consequence of the national political shifts represented by the rise of Brazil's most important left-wing organization—the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores)—to the presidency in 2002 and 2006. Social and economic policies implemented by the federal government under PT rule undermined subnational patron-client networks by improving the life conditions of the poorest sections of the electorate. The article explores the interlinking of national and subnational electoral dynamics by developing statistical models for state- and municipal-level data.
Brazil's constitution (1988) granted municipalities the responsibility of providing social services. Many observers anticipated that this newfound authority would produce policy diversity, as local governments would tailor programs to constituents' needs. Instead, many municipalities chose to replicate programs made famous elsewhere. What explains this diffusion of social policies across Brazil? In particular, what motivates policy makers to emulate “innovative” policies? This study compares three approaches that seek to explain political behavior: political self-interest, ideology, and socialized norms. It draws on two policies, Bolsa Escola, an education program, and Programa Saúde da Família, a family health program, in four exemplary cities, to uncover the mechanisms that led to diffusion. Surprisingly, political incentives, such as electoral competition, cannot explain diffusion. Rather, ideology and socialized norms, transmitted through social networks, drive policy emulation. Diffusion occurs when politicians are ideologically compelled to replicate these programs and when policy specialists seek to demonstrate that they follow professional norms.