How do individuals’ personal experiences with various aspects of political violence affect their attitudes toward hosting conflict refugees? More specifically, how do their personal exposure to ...violence, their own personal experience of being displaced, and their recent contact with refugees influence these attitudes? To explore answers to these questions, we draw upon a recent survey of 2,400 Lebanese residents where we identify individuals who experienced violence during the Lebanese civil war (1975–90), those forced to flee their homes during that conflict, and those who enjoy recent contact with Syrian immigrant and/or displaced populations. We examine whether these distinct experiences affect respondents’ regard for members of the Syrian refugee population. Results demonstrate that historical exposure to violence and experience of displacement have no discernible impact on individual attitudes toward hosting refugees. We find much stronger evidence that attitudes are associated with whether individual respondents have had contact with Syrians in Lebanon; those with such interactions are significantly more likely to support hosting refugees, to consider hiring a refugee, or to allow one of their children to marry a refugee. Our findings suggest exposure to violence by itself does not correlate to positive sentiments toward refugees, especially over time. Further, finding ways to create positive contact between refugees and native populations may be associated with improving attitudes and relations between the two populations.
Terrorist attacks in Brussels (May 2014) and Paris (January and November 2015) highlight the threat related to the arrival of foreign fighters (FFs) from civil wars elsewhere. We develop an argument ...suggesting that terrorism at home is systematically affected by the exit of the so-called FFs out of civil wars abroad. We contend that foreign civil conflicts ending in success for rebel groups can result in a surplus of well-trained FFs, increasing the risk of terrorism at home. By contrast, when rebel groups are defeated in foreign civil conflicts, we anticipate a restriction in the flow of FFs, which reduces the likelihood of terrorism at home. Empirical analyses on most countries for the years 1970 to 2006 support these hypotheses. Our tests also demonstrate that the flow of FFs is associated with the creation of new terrorism campaigns rather than the exacerbation of existing operations.
While the UNHCR promotes voluntary repatriation as the preferred solution to refugee situations, there is little understanding of variation in refugees’ preferences regarding return. We develop a ...theoretical framework suggesting two mechanisms influencing refugees’ preferences. First, refugees’ lived experiences in their country of origin prior to displacement and in their new host country create a trade-off in feelings of being anchored to their origin or host country. Second, firsthand exposure to traumas of war provides some refugees with a sense of competency and self-efficacy, leading them to prefer to return home. We test these relationships with data from a survey among Syrian refugees hosted in Lebanon. We find refugees exposed to violence during the war have a sense of attachment to Syria and are most likely to prefer return. Refugees who have developed a detachment from Syria or an attachment to Lebanon are less likely to prefer return.
Activated protein C (APC) is a multifunctional serine protease with anticoagulant, cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition to the cytoprotective effects of APC on endothelial ...cells, podocytes, and neurons, APC cleaves and detoxifies extracellular histones, a major component of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs promote pathogen clearance but also can lead to thrombosis; the pathways that negatively regulate NETosis are largely unknown. Thus, we studied whether APC is capable of directly inhibiting NETosis via receptor-mediated cell signaling mechanisms. Here, by quantifying extracellular DNA or myeloperoxidase, we demonstrate that APC binds human leukocytes and prevents activated platelet supernatant or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) from inducing NETosis. Of note, APC proteolytic activity was required for inhibiting NETosis. Moreover, antibodies against the neutrophil receptors endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), protease-activated receptor 3 (PAR3), and macrophage-1 antigen (Mac-1) blocked APC inhibition of NETosis. Select mutations in the Gla and protease domains of recombinant APC caused a loss of NETosis. Interestingly, pretreatment of neutrophils with APC prior to induction of NETosis inhibited platelet adhesion to NETs. Lastly, in a nonhuman primate model of Escherichia coli-induced sepsis, pretreatment of animals with APC abrogated release of myeloperoxidase from neutrophils, a marker of neutrophil activation. These findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory function of APC at therapeutic concentrations may include the inhibition of NETosis in an EPCR-, PAR3-, and Mac-1-dependent manner, providing additional mechanistic insight into the diverse functions of neutrophils and APC in disease states including sepsis.
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), caused by mutations in either PKD1 or PKD2 genes, is one of the most common human monogenetic disorders and the leading genetic cause of ...end-stage renal disease. Unfortunately, treatment options for ADPKD are limited. Here we report the discovery and characterization of RGLS4326, a first-in-class, short oligonucleotide inhibitor of microRNA-17 (miR-17), as a potential treatment for ADPKD. RGLS4326 is discovered by screening a chemically diverse and rationally designed library of anti-miR-17 oligonucleotides for optimal pharmaceutical properties. RGLS4326 preferentially distributes to kidney and collecting duct-derived cysts, displaces miR-17 from translationally active polysomes, and de-represses multiple miR-17 mRNA targets including Pkd1 and Pkd2. Importantly, RGLS4326 demonstrates a favorable preclinical safety profile and attenuates cyst growth in human in vitro ADPKD models and multiple PKD mouse models after subcutaneous administration. The preclinical characteristics of RGLS4326 support its clinical development as a disease-modifying treatment for ADPKD.
This article argues that dynamics among rivals can affect how host states respond to refugees. Particularly, refugees from rival states can motivate host countries to promote inclusive action because ...they are exiled from an adversary. By treating refugees well and openly respecting their human rights, host states can, in effect, shame their rival, thereby undermining the adversary's legitimacy and discrediting the opposing government in the eyes of the international community. In the absence of a strategic rivalry, host governments do not have this incentive to support refugee human rights. Using statistical analyses, I find support for these hypotheses. In particular, the arrival of refugees from a neighboring rival state are associated with the strongest increase in respect for human rights within the host country, whereas refugees from a noncontiguous, nonrival state are related to a decrease in respect for human rights.
How do individuals’ experiences with political violence affect their perceptions regarding the risk associated with hosting refugees? This is an important question given that many communities are ...beginning to resent and oppose hosting refugees. To explore answers to the question, we study recent exposure to violence within Lebanon, which is a meaningful context since Lebanon serves as host to more than one million refugees from the Syrian Civil War. We adopt a novel empirical strategy to isolate the effect of exposure to violence upon perceptions of risk associated with hosting refugees. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of violent events linked to refugee populations in Lebanon relative to the timing of responses to our nationally representative survey deployed between June and August 2017. Our empirical strategy compares individuals interviewed before and after violent attacks in Lebanon. The results suggest that recent exposure to violence by Syrian militants increases individuals’ perceptions of risk associated with hosting refugees from conflict zones, while exposure to violence carried out by Lebanese forces reduces perceptions of risk.
A strategy to control the diastereoselectivity of bond formation at a prochiral attached‐ring bridgehead is reported. An unusual stereodivergent Michael reaction relies on basic vs. Lewis acidic ...conditions and non‐covalent interactions to control re‐ vs. si‐ facial selectivity en route to fully substituted attached‐rings. This divergency reflects differential engagement of one rotational isomer of the attached‐ring system. The successful synthesis of an erythro subtarget diastereomer ultimately leads to a short formal synthesis of merrilactone A.
An unusual stereodivergent Michael reaction relies on basic vs. Lewis acidic conditions and non‐covalent interactions to control re‐ vs. si‐ facial selectivity en route to fully substituted attached‐rings. This differential engagement of one rotational isomer of an attached‐ring system leads to a short formal synthesis of merrilactone A.
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