Across the globe, from mega-cities to isolated resource enclaves, the provision and governance of security takes place within assemblages that are de-territorialized in terms of actors, technologies, ...norms and discourses. They are embedded in a complex transnational architecture, defying conventional distinctions between public and private, global and local. Drawing on theories of globalization and late modernity, along with insights from criminology, political science and sociology, Security Beyond the State maps the emergence of the global private security sector and develops a novel analytical framework for understanding these global security assemblages. Through in-depth examinations of four African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa – it demonstrates how global security assemblages affect the distribution of social power, the dynamics of state stability, and the operations of the international political economy, with significant implications for who gets secured and how in a global era.
With an estimated 2.46 billion social media users globally, the commercial potential for social commerce is clear. Fundamental aspects of social commerce include making and receiving payments with ...users feeling secure when doing so, and ensuring the site is enjoyable and easy to use. As social commerce migrates to the mobile platform, perceptions of these elements within a mobile context have become of paramount importance. Correspondingly, this study extends existing knowledge by employing a context theory contextualization approach to develop two research models to investigate user perceptions of payments, security (in terms of risk and trust), and ease of use within a mobile context. Empirical data were analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling, including multi-group analysis to explore possible differences based on gender, age, and method used to pay for mobile services. Results reveal that perceived innovativeness is a key success factor, followed by perceived usefulness, and convenience. Perception of a secure environment is only of partial influence. No differences were found based upon gender as a moderator, whereas age and method used to pay for mobile services both revealed differences in results. Theoretical and practical contributions are presented, along with acknowledged limitations and suggestions for further work.
•Examines opinions of key aspects of mobile social commerce among potential-users.•Employs a context theory contextualization approach to research model development.•Results suggest perceptions of security less important than innovativeness of user.•Multi-group and slope analysis used to augment investigation approach.•Differences in results apparent according to category of participant.
The aim of this study was to comprehensively review the epidemiology of aortic sclerosis (ASc) and its association with cardiovascular events.
ASc, which is defined as thickening or calcification of ...the aortic valve without significant obstruction of blood flow, is a common finding on cardiac imaging.
We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from inception to April 2013 for studies describing the epidemiology of ASc and performed a meta-analysis of the risk of adverse events using a random effects model.
Twenty-two studies were identified from the systematic review. The prevalence of ASc increased in proportion to the average age of study participants, ranging from 9% in a study in which the mean age was 54 years to 42% in a study in which the mean age was 81 years. In total, 1.8% to 1.9% of participants with ASc had progression to clinical aortic stenosis per year. There was a 68% increased risk of coronary events in subjects with ASc (hazard ratio HR: 1.68; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.31 to 2.15), a 27% increased risk of stroke (HR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.60), a 69% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.32 to 2.15), and a 36% increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.59).
ASc is a common finding that is more prevalent with older age. Despite low rates of progression to ASc, there is an independent increase in morbidity and mortality associated with the condition.
RATIONALE:Lipoprotein(a) Lp(a) is a low-density lipoprotein–like lipoprotein and important cardiovascular risk factor whose cognate receptor and intracellular fate remains unknown.
OBJECTIVE:Our ...study aimed to determine the intracellular trafficking pathway for Lp(a) and the receptor responsible for its uptake in liver cells.
METHODS AND RESULTS:Human hepatoma cells were treated with Lp(a) purified from human plasma and Lp(a) uptake studied using Western blot analysis and intracellular localization of Lp(a) by confocal microscopy. Lp(a) was maximally internalized by 2 hours and was detected by an antiapo(a) antibody to be localized to Rab5-positive early endosomes, the trans-Golgi network, and subsequently Rab11-positive recycling endosomes. In human hepatoma cells, the apo(a) component from the internalized Lp(a) was resecreted back into the cellular media, whereas the low-density lipoprotein component was localized to the lysosomal compartment. Lp(a) internalization was reduced 0.35-fold in HAP1 and 0.33-fold in human hepatoma cells in which the plasminogen receptor (KT) was knocked out. Conversely, Lp(a) internalization was enhanced 2-fold in HAP1 and 1.6-fold in human hepatoma cells in which plasminogen receptor (KT) was overexpressed, showing for the first time the role of a specific plasminogen receptor in Lp(a) uptake.
CONCLUSIONS:The novel findings that Lp(a) is internalized by the plasminogen receptor, plasminogen receptor (KT), and the apo(a) component is recycled may have important implications for the catabolism and function of Lp(a).
Aims/hypothesis
The aim of this study was to investigate whether small doses of intense exercise before each main meal (‘exercise snacks’) would result in better blood glucose control than a single ...bout of prolonged, continuous, moderate-intensity exercise in individuals with insulin resistance.
Methods
Nine individuals completed three exercise interventions in randomised order. Measures were recorded across 3 days with exercise performed on the middle day, as either: (1) traditional continuous exercise (CONT), comprising 30 min moderate-intensity (60% of maximal heart rate HR
max
) incline walking before dinner; (2) exercise snacking (ES), consisting of 6 × 1 min intense (90% HR
max
) incline walking intervals 30 min before each meal; or (3) composite exercise snacking (CES), encompassing 6 × 1 min intervals alternating between walking and resistance-based exercise, 30 min before meals. Meal timing and composition were controlled within participants for exercise interventions.
Results
ES attenuated mean 3 h postprandial glucose concentration following breakfast (by 1.4 ± 1.5 mmol/l,
p
= 0.02) but not lunch (0.4 ± 1.0 mmol/l,
p
= 0.22), and was more effective than CONT following dinner (0.7 ± 1.5 mmol/l below CONT;
p
= 0.04). ES also reduced 24 h mean glucose concentration by 0.7 ± 0.6 mmol/l (
p
= 0.01) and this reduction persisted for the subsequent 24 h (lower by 0.6 ± 0.4 mmol/l vs CONT, relative to their baselines;
p
= 0.01). CES was just as effective as ES (
p
> 0.05 for all glycaemic variables) at improving glycaemic control.
Conclusions/interpretation
Dosing exercise as brief, intense ‘exercise snacks’ before main meals is a time-efficient and effective approach to improve glycaemic control in individuals with insulin resistance.
Based on a critical review of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study first formalized an alternative theoretical model for explaining the acceptance and use of ...information system (IS) and information technology (IT) innovations. The revised theoretical model was then empirically examined using a combination of meta-analysis and structural equation modelling (MASEM) techniques. The meta-analysis was based on 1600 observations on 21 relationships coded from 162 prior studies on IS/IT acceptance and use. The SEM analysis showed that attitude: was central to behavioural intentions and usage behaviours, partially mediated the effects of exogenous constructs on behavioural intentions, and had a direct influence on usage behaviours. A number of implications for theory and practice are derived based on the findings.
Abstract
The impacts of large terrestrial volcanic eruptions are apparent from satellite monitoring and direct observations. However, more than three quarters of all volcanic outputs worldwide lie ...submerged beneath the ocean, and the risks they pose to people, infrastructure, and benthic ecosystems remain poorly understood due to inaccessibility and a lack of detailed observations before and after eruptions. Here, comparing data acquired between 2015 - 2017 and 3 months after the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Volcano, we document the far-reaching and diverse impacts of one of the most explosive volcanic eruptions ever recorded. Almost 10 km
3
of seafloor material was removed during the eruption, most of which we conclude was redeposited within 20 km of the caldera by long run-out seafloor density currents. These powerful currents damaged seafloor cables over a length of >100 km, reshaped the seafloor, and caused mass-mortality of seafloor life. Biological (mega-epifaunal invertebrate) seafloor communities only survived the eruption where local topography provided a physical barrier to density currents (e.g., on nearby seamounts). While the longer-term consequences of such a large eruption for human, ecological and climatic systems are emerging, we expect that these previously-undocumented refugia will play a key role in longer-term ecosystem recovery.
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Deposits of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles of aggregated tau in the brain represent key hallmarks of the neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and form the ...basis of the major hypotheses of AD causality. To date, therapeutics that reduce brain amyloid in AD patients have demonstrated no effect in reversing the associated decline in cognition or function indicating that the amyloid hypothesis is either incorrect or that there is a point when the disease becomes independent of Aβ production or is refractory to any type of therapeutic intervention. The clinical failures of inhibitors of tau aggregation, neurotransmitter modulators and drugs repurposed from AD-associated disease indications tend to support this latter viewpoint. Current understanding of AD causality is thus incomplete, a situation that has been compounded by a debate on whether AD is a singularly distinct form of dementia and by the dogmatic promotion of hypotheses over actual clinical data. The latter has repeatedly led to compounds lacking efficacy in Phase II trials being advanced into Phase III where their lack of efficacy is routinely recapitulated. This Commentary, the first of two, discusses amyloid and tau as putative drug targets for AD in the context of the prevalence and economic and social impact of this insidious neurodegenerative disease.
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