Confronting the North’s South: On Race and Violence in the United States

More than any other ‘Northern’ country, the United States is distinctive in the degree to which its social, economic, and cultural development has been entwined with the global South from the beginning: and we cannot adequately understand the state of crime and punishment in the US without taking that uniquely ‘Southern’ history into account. In this paper, I sketch some of the dimensions of one crucial reflection of that Southern legacy: the extraordinary racial disparities in the experience of violent death between African-Americans and Whites. These disparities contribute substantially to radically different patterns of life and death between the races, and constitute a genuine social and public health emergency. But their structural roots remain largely unaddressed; and in some respects, the prospects for seriously confronting these fundamental inequalities may be receding

Electronic Payment Systems Development in a Developing Country: The Role of Institutional Arrangements

This paper examines the institutional arrangements in the development of Nigeria’s electronic payment system (EPS) using a new institutional economics (NIE) perspective. A case study of Nigeria’s EPS was carried out using semi structured interviews to collect data from 18 participating stakeholders; a thematic method was used for the data analysis. The study suggests that a well-functioning set of arrangements, which is lacking in the institutional setup in Nigeria may be required to build necessary institutional capacity suitable for development of safe and efficient electronic payment systems. Although the technological payment infrastructure in Nigeria is modern and of comparable standard, the failure to put in place reliable and relevant market and collaborative agreements has not enabled full exploitation of the available infrastructure. Current governance structures show elements of power struggle and distrust between stakeholders (players and regulators), hampering the creation of an environment that would sustain free market economic activities and effective development of payment systems

Diagnostic accuracy of CT pulmonary angiography in suspected pulmonary hypertension

Objectives Computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography is widely used in patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the diagnostic and prognostic significance remains unclear. The aim of this study was to (a) build a diagnostic CT model and (b) test its prognostic significance. Methods Consecutive patients with suspected PH undergoing routine CT pulmonary angiography and right heart catheterisation (RHC) were identified. Axial and reconstructed images were used to derive CT metrics. Multivariate regression analysis was performed in the derivation cohort to identify a diagnostic CT model to predict mPAP ≥ 25 mmHg (the existing ESC guideline definition of PH) and > 20 mmHg (the new threshold proposed at the 6th World Symposium on PH). In the validation cohort, sensitivity, specificity and compromise CT thresholds were identified with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The prognostic value of the CT model was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results Between 2012 and 2016, 491 patients were identified. In the derivation cohort (n = 247), a CT model was identified including pulmonary artery diameter, right ventricular outflow tract thickness, septal angle and left ventricular area. In the validation cohort (n = 244), the model was diagnostic, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.94/0.91 for mPAP ≥ 25/> 20 mmHg respectively. In the validation cohort, 93 patients died; mean follow-up was 42 months. The diagnostic thresholds for the CT model were prognostic, log rank, all p < 0.01. Discussion In suspected PH, a diagnostic CT model had diagnostic and prognostic utility

Insights into toxic prymnesium parvum blooms:The role of sugars and algal viruses

Prymnesium parvum is a toxin-producing microalga that causes harmful algal blooms globally, which often result in large-scale fish kills that have severe ecological and economic implications. Although many toxins have previously been isolated from P. parvum, ambiguity still surrounds the responsible ichthyotoxins in P. parvum blooms and the biotic and abiotic factors that promote bloom toxicity. A major fish kill attributed to P. parvum occurred in Spring 2015 on the Norfolk Broads, a low-lying set of channels and lakes (Broads) found on the East of England. Here, we discuss how water samples taken during this bloom have led to diverse scientific advances ranging from toxin analysis to discovery of a new lytic virus of P. parvum, P. parvum DNA virus (PpDNAV-BW1). Taking recent literature into account, we propose key roles for sialic acids in this type of viral infection. Finally, we discuss recent practical detection and management strategies for controlling these devastating blooms

CT derived left atrial size identifies left heart disease in suspected pulmonary hypertension: Derivation and validation of predictive thresholds

Background Patients with pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease (PH-LHD) have overlapping clinical features with pulmonary arterial hypertension making diagnosis reliant on right heart catheterization (RHC). This study aimed to investigate computed tomography pulmonary angiography(CTPA) derived cardiopulmonary structural metrics, in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis of left heart disease in patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension. Methods Patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension who underwent CTPA, MRI and RHC were identified. Measurements of the cardiac chambers and vessels were recorded from CTPA and MRI. The diagnostic thresholds of individual measurements to detect elevated pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) were identified in a derivation cohort (n = 235). Individual CT and MRI derived metrics were tested in validation cohort (n = 211). Results 446 patients, of which 88 had left heart disease. Left atrial area was a strong predictor of elevated PAWP>15 mm Hg and PAWP>18 mm Hg, area under curve (AUC) 0.854, and AUC 0.873 respectively. Similar accuracy was also identified for MRI derived LA volume, AUC 0.852 and AUC 0.878 for PAWP > 15 and 18 mm Hg, respectively. Left atrial area of 26.8 cm2 and 30.0 cm2 were optimal specific thresholds for identification of PAWP > 15 and 18 mm Hg, had sensitivity of 60%/53% and specificity 89%/94%, respectively in a validation cohort. Conclusions CTPA and MRI derived left atrial size identifies left heart disease in suspected pulmonary hypertension with high specificity. The proposed diagnostic thresholds for elevated left atrial area on routine CTPA may be a useful to indicate the diagnosis of left heart disease in suspected pulmonary hypertension

Fungal entomopathogens: new insights on their ecology

An important mechanism for insect pest control should be the use of fungal entomopathogens. Even though these organisms have been studied for more than 100 y, their effective use in the field remains elusive. Recently, however, it has been discovered that many of these entomopathogenic fungi play additional roles in nature. They are endophytes, antagonists of plant pathogens, associates with the rhizosphere, and possibly even plant growth promoting agents. These findings indicate that the ecological role of these fungi in the environment is not fully understood and limits our ability to employ them successfully for pest management. In this paper, we review the recently discovered roles played by many entomopathogenic fungi and propose new research strategies focused on alternate uses for these fungi. It seems likely that these agents can be used in multiple roles in protecting plants from pests and diseases and at the same time promoting plant growth

Who is it that would make business schools more critical? Critical reflections on critical management studies

We suggest in this paper that whilst exploring how to make business schools more critical we must also turn a critical and reflexive lens upon ourselves, critical management thinkers. Our endeavour is outlined here as a ‘reflexive journey’ in which we turn upon ourselves, academics who identify as ‘critical’ thinkers, the theories we use to analyse others. Our focus is upon critical management education. We use three vignettes drawn from our previous research. One is of graduands from the postgraduate programmes on which two of us teach, the second an analysis of knowledge transfer programmes in which we have participated, and the third a study of the construction of academic identities. The first study shows the academic teacher may become an internalized, judgemental gaze, the second that what we see as a critical approach may be construed by our students as another ‘truth’ that fails to encompass the complexities of organizations and management, and the third encourages us to ask some questions about our own positions. This causes us to ask some uncomfortable questions about our own positions as critical management scholars and the ways in which we conceptualize business schools and our colleagues who work in them

Teaching Behavioral Pain Management to Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review of Research in Training Programs

Pain is a common and potentially debilitating condition. Whereas there is vast literature on developmentally appropriate behavioral techniques for pain management, results of curriculum evaluations and knowledge surveys reveal a dearth of awareness of these strategies in healthcare professionals. As a result, the development and evaluation of pain management training programs is an important endeavor. Results of studies evaluating such programs are promising and suggest that training may be an effective means of impacting healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, and even patient care. These results must be interpreted with caution however, as the literature contains several conceptual and methodological limitations. These limitations, in combination with the wide diversity in program components, format of delivery, and research methods preclude definitive conclusions on the most practical and effective means to provide training. To address this question, further systematic work on the development and evaluation of pain management training programs is warranted

Clothing, race and identity : sumptuary laws in colonial Spanish America

On holidays and other festive occasions, Andean peoples in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru liked to dress up. According to sixteenth - century documents, wealthy Amerindians in Lima, Quito and other colonial cities enjoyed wearing a combination of European and Andean garments, sometimes made of silk and other expensive, imported fabrics. Their sartorial exuberance annoyed local Spaniards, who issued repeated orders prohibiting Amerindians from wearing a range of garments containing silk, velvet, Holland cloth, lace and other embellishments. The indigenous elite did not accept these prohibitions without protest. In 1593, members of the Amerindian community in Quito wrote to Emperor Philip II to complain that ‘as conquered people it sometimes happens that officials and other people undress them and take their clothing, saying that they can wear only cotton, which causes them much trouble and vexation