Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with protean manifestations that predominantly affects young women. Certain ethnic groups are more vulnerable than others to developing SLE ...and experience increased morbidity and mortality. Reports of the global incidence and prevalence of SLE vary widely, owing to inherent variation in population demographics, environmental exposures and socioeconomic factors. Differences in study design and case definitions also contribute to inconsistent reporting. Very little is known about the incidence of SLE in Africa and Australasia. Identifying and remediating such gaps in epidemiology is critical to understanding the global burden of SLE and improving patient outcomes. Mortality from SLE is still two to three times higher than that of the general population. Internationally, the frequent causes of death for patients with SLE include infection and cardiovascular disease. Even without new therapies, mortality can potentially be mitigated with enhanced quality of care. This Review focuses primarily on the past 5 years of global epidemiological studies and discusses the regional incidence and prevalence of SLE and top causes of mortality.
In the former “Eastern Bloc” countries, there have been dramatic changes in forest disturbance and forest recovery rates since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due to the transition to open-market ...economies, and the recent economic crisis. Unfortunately though, Eastern European countries collected their forest statistics inconsistently, and their boundaries have changed, making it difficult to analyze forest dynamics over time. Our goal here was to consistently quantify forest cover change across Eastern Europe since the 1980s based on the Landsat image archive. We developed an algorithm to simultaneously process data from different Landsat platforms and sensors (TM and ETM+) to map annual forest cover loss and decadal forest cover gain. We processed 59,539 Landsat images for 527 footprints across Eastern Europe and European Russia. Our results were highly accurate, with gross forest loss producer's and user's accuracy of >88% and >89%, respectively, and gross forest gain producer's and user's accuracy of >75% and >91%, based on a sample of probability-based validation points. We found substantial changes in the forest cover of Eastern Europe. Net forest cover increased from 1985 to 2012 by 4.7% across the region, but decreased in Estonia and Latvia. Average annual gross forest cover loss was 0.41% of total forest cover area, with a statistically significant increase from 1985 to 2012. Timber harvesting was the main cause of forest loss, accompanied by some insect defoliation and forest conversion, while only 7.4% of the total forest cover loss was due to large-scale wildfires and windstorms. Overall, the countries of Eastern Europe experienced constant levels or declines in forest loss after the collapse of socialism in the late 1980s, but a pronounced increase in loss in the early 2000s. By the late 2000s, however, the global economic crisis coincided with reduced timber harvesting in most countries, except Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltic states. Most forest disturbance did not result in a permanent forest loss during our study period. Indeed, forest generally recovered fast and only 12% of the areas of forest loss prior to 1995 had not yet recovered by 2012. Our results allow national and sub-national level analysis and are available on-line (http://glad.geog.umd.edu/europe/) to serve as a baseline for further analyses of forest dynamics and its drivers.
•Annual quantification of forest dynamics for 27years performed with high accuracy•Results show spatial and temporal variation of forest cover change.•Wall-to-wall forest dynamics maps available at http://glad.geog.umd.edu/europe/•Overall, forest cover increased by 4.7%, but decreased in some regions.•Forest dynamics mirrored the collapse of the USSR and the recent economic crisis.
What is the interrelationship among formal institutions, social networks, and new venture growth? Drawing on the theory of institutional polycentrism and social network theory, we examine this ...question using data on 637 entrepreneurs from four different countries. We find the confluence of weak and inefficient formal institutions to be associated with a larger number of structural holes in entrepreneurial social networks. While the effect of this institutional order on the revenue growth of new ventures is negative, a network's structural holes have a positive effect on revenue growth. Furthermore, the positive effect of structural holes on revenue growth is stronger in an environment with a more adverse institutional order (i.e., weaker and more inefficient institutions). The contributions and implications of these findings are discussed.
Background/objectives: Inadequate HIV care for hard-to-reach populations may result in failing the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goal. Therefore, we aimed to review the HIV continuum of care and hard-to-reach ...populations for each step of the continuum in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe.
Methods: Euro-guidelines in Central and Eastern Europe (ECEE) Network Group were created in February 2016. The aim of the network was to review the standards of HIV care in the countries of the region. Information about each stage of HIV continuum of care and hard-to-reach populations for each stage was collected through on-line surveys. Respondents were ECEE members chosen based on their expertise and involvement in national HIV care. Data sources (year 2016) used by respondents included HIV Clinics electronic databases, Institutes of Public Health, Centres for AIDS Prevention, and HIV Programme Reviews.
Results: The percentage of people living with HIV (PLHIV) linked to HIV care after HIV diagnosis was ranged between 80% and 96% in Central Europe, 51% and 92% in Eastern Europe and 80% and 100% in South-Eastern Europe. The percentage of PLHIV who are on ART was ranged from 80% to 93% in Central Europe, 18% to 92% in Eastern Europe and 80% to 100% in South-Eastern Europe. The percentage of people virologically suppressed while on ART was reported as 70-95%, 12-95% and 62-97% in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, respectively. All three regions reported people who inject drugs (PWID) as hard-to-reach population across all HIV continuum stages. Migrants were the second most reported hard-to-reach population. The proportion of late presenters among newly diagnosed ranged between 20% and 55%, 40% and 55% and 48% and 60% in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, respectively. Four countries reported ARVs' delivery delays resulting in treatment interruptions in 2016: two (25%) in South-Eastern, one (20%) in Central and 1 (16.7%) in Eastern Europe.
Conclusion: Irrespective of the diversity in national HIV epidemics, countries from all three regions reported PWIDs as hard-to-reach population across all HIV continuum stages. Some countries are close to the UNAIDS 2020 goals, others need to strive for progress. However, differences in data sources and variations in definitions limit the utility of continuum of care as a comparative tool.
This paper examines the intersection of international arbitration and money laundering and corruption in jurisdictions where corruption is endemic, such as some Eastern European countries, to provide ...insight into the challenges and risks involved in arbitrating. Few sources have addressed the issue of money laundering and corruption in international arbitration in these jurisdictions. Given this significant research gap, the aim of this paper is to draw attention to areas where investment and international trade relations may be undermined by criminal activity. To this end, the specific methods used by money launderers were explored through a qualitative study involving ten suspected money launderers and eighteen prevention experts. The findings were then tested quantitatively. The results show that, as the number of corruption allegations in arbitration has increased, arbitrators have assumed an important role in reviewing compliance rules related to corruption. As a result, this article seeks to improve current understanding of compliance issues in arbitration in countries where corruption is prevalent and thereby identify a path for future research.
In 2004 the European Union and NATO each added ten new member states, most from the post-communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. In order to prepare for membership, these countries had to ...make many thousands of institutional and legal adjustments. Indeed, they often tried to modernize in just a few years, implementing practices that evolved over many decades in Western Europe. This book emphasizes the way that policy elites in Central and Eastern Europe often 'ordered from the menu' of established Western practices. When did this emulation of Western practices succeed and when did it result in a fiasco? Professor Jacoby examines empirical cases in agriculture, regional policy, consumer protection, health care, civilian control of the military, and military professionalism from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. The book addresses debates in institutionalist theory, including conditionality, Europeanization, and external influences on democratic and market transitions.
The External Incentives Model (EIM) was designed to explain the Europeanization of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) through the EU's accession conditionality. This article asks how ...relevant the model remains beyond its original context. We examine recent data and research on the EU's impact in two additional contexts: post-accession developments in the CEECs and the Southeast European countries currently in the accession process. We find that the model generally accounts well for the variation in Europeanization across domains and countries. More specifically, the credibility of incentives stands out as a crucial condition for the success of EU conditionality. At the same time, we note omissions and limitations of the original model: first, the model works with highly abstract conditions that require contextual specification to render them more meaningful and better testable. Second, the EIM starts from generally favourable, but underspecified, background conditions.
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