Fatal Hemorrhage from an Arteriovenous Fistula

In this study, we present two cases of sudden deaths of people with end‐stage kidney with arteriovenous fistulas for long‐term hemodialysis treatment. This procedure is associated with a number of known complications. While stenosis, thrombosis, and infection are well known, lethal hemorrhage from arteriovenous fistula is much less commonly encountered. Inspection of the bodies at the scene of the death by a medical examiner suggested that the deaths were due to exsanguination. Autopsies revealed visible defects on the front wall of the arteriovenous fistulas. Microscopic examination showed wall necrosis with infiltration of various inflammatory cells. Deaths were due to exsanguination from the ulcerated arteriovenous fistulas in patients with chronic renal failure. Further investigation revealed that complications in the area around the arteriovenous fistulas were known and were being treated until a sudden rupture of the vessels and hemorrhage from the arteriovenous fistulas resulted in the deaths.     

The Politics and the Demographics of Veganism: Notes for a Critical Analysis

The present essay aims to offer some reflections concerning the cultural and political aspects of veganism, on the basis of the available surveys and statistics, plus some more gathered by the authors—with the tools of different methodologies, including the semiotic one. After an introduction to veganism as phenomenon and movement, with general reflections and also a number of specific data, the essay proceeds to focus on the more political aspects, with an emphasis on some of the most intriguing and multifaceted data, such as the prevalence of female gender, leftist political inclinations and atheism within the vegan community. While the first connection has already been widely discussed (and to our mind, proved) since the times of Adams (The sexual politics of meat: a feminist-vegetarian critical theory, Continuum, New York, 1990), much less has been said (particularly at academic level) about the significance leftist ideologies and atheism within veganism. Moreover, within the domain of semiotics, this topic is entirely unexplored.     

Navigating collaborative governance in Florida: An analysis of local governments resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates the effectiveness of collaborative governance in the context of state and local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. Our analysis uncovers how local authorities have successfully adapted to implement policies to increase resilience and address the crisis, despite facing challenges, constraints, and limitations. Our findings underscore the significance of considering unique local characteristics when addressing pandemics and shed light on the potential influences of state-level actors on Home Rule. Notably, research examining the interplay between state decisions and Home Rule during a pandemic is scarce. We utilize Florida as a case study to examine local government responses to COVID-19, employing a qualitative analysis of data from webinars hosted by the Florida League of Cities and media reports on local government actions. To substantiate our findings and encourage further research, we apply the collaborative governance framework in the context of local government administrative responsibilities.     

Where Do I Belong? Narratives of Rodina among Russian-speaking Youth in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This essay engages critically with the personal narratives of rodina (home, motherland) among Russian-speaking youth in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. It is argued that the concept of rodina as an important locus of belonging cannot be imbued with a single meaning; instead, it is characterised by internal conflicts and variations. Supported by empirical material, the essay moves beyond the confines of ‘nation’ and ‘nationality’ to illustrate the different ways in which Russian speakers frame their perception of rodina, and how such narratives can influence the construction of self- and community-identification.     

Ethnicity as political cleavage: the political agenda of the Polish national minority in Lithuania

This article examines the role of ethnicity in the formation of political cleavage and is based on the analysis of the political agenda of the Polish national minority in Lithuania after the re-establishment of the independent state in 1990. It analyzes the political performance of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (EAPL), an ethnic-based “niche” political party that tends to keep a monopoly over the representation of interests of the Polish minority in Lithuania and collects a vast majority of the votes of citizens of Polish origin. The article considers how specific in comparison to the titular nation the interests of the Polish national minority are, and how different in comparison to the political agendas of other political parties the political agenda of the EAPL is.     

The Transnational Relations of the Contemporary Russian Extreme Right

This article describes and analyses the transnational relations of Russian extreme right entities. It classifies the Russian extreme right into categories according to their ideological orientation (ethnonationalism and civilisational nationalism) and forms of activity (political parties and interest groups, intellectuals, the autonomous neo-Nazi scene, and paramilitary formations). For each category important contacts are described in terms of the travels abroad of Russian extreme right activists, visits by foreign extremists to Russia, and the establishment of transnational organisation branches in Russia. The article concludes that although so far the Russian extreme right has mostly had ad hoc contacts abroad, it has been involved in the gradual building of stable networks.     

Localized Islam(s): interpreting agents,competing narratives,and experiences of faith

This special issue investigates contemporary transformations of Islam in the post-Communist Balkans. We put forward the concept of localized Islam as an analytical lens that aptly captures the input of various interpreting agents, competing narratives, and choices of faith. By adopting an agent-based approach that is sensitive to relevant actors’ choices and the contexts where they operate, we explore how various groups negotiate and ultimately localize the grand Islamic tradition, depending on where they are situated along the hierarchy of power. Specifically, we outline three sets of actors and narratives related to revival of Islamic faith: (1) political elites, mainstream intellectuals, and religious hierarchies often unite in safeguarding a nation-centric understanding of religion, (2) foreign networks and missionaries make use of open channels of communication to propagate their specific interpretations and agendas, and (3) lay believers tend to choose among different offers and rally around the living dimension of religious practice. Contributions in this issue bring ample evidence of multiple actors’ strategies, related perspectives, and contingent choices of being a Muslim. Case studies include political debates on mosque construction in Athens; political narratives that underpin the construction of the museum of the father of Ataturk in Western Macedonia; politicians’ and imams’ competing interpretations of the Syrian war in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania; the emergence of practice communities that perform Muslim identity in Bulgaria; the particular codes of sharia dating in post-war Sarajevo; and veneration of saints among Muslim Roma in different urban areas in the Balkans.     

Fragmentation of presidential elections and governability crises in Latin America: a curvilinear relationship?

Part of the literature views high numbers of presidential candidates as a threat to political stability in presidential democracies. A contradictory model proposes that an overconcentration of the presidential party system is problematic. Both models are hard to reconcile. We approach this puzzle by arguing that the relationship between the level of presidential election fragmentation and governability crises is curvilinear: both very low and very high effective numbers of presidential candidates increase the risk of governability crisis. We test this theoretical claim with ordered logit models drawing on a sample of 108 presidencies in Latin America between 1978 and 2013 and using an ordinal index of the intensity of crisis as the dependent variable. We explore the operation of the theorized causal mechanisms through case studies and argue that they are different at both extremes, high and low levels of fragmentation. Finally, we formulate implications for the design of presidential electoral rules drawing on the debate contrasting runoff and plurality rules.     

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Relationships between Emotional Separation,Parental Trust,and Identity in Adolescents

Emotional separation and parental trust in parent–adolescent relationships are important factors for adolescent identity formation. However, prior research findings on emotional separation are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a more rigorous examination of the associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis, confusion, and consolidation by applying a bi-factor model to identity, using adolescent samples from Lithuania (N?=?610; 53.9% female; M _age ?=?14.92), Italy (N?=?411; 57.4% female; M _age ?=?15.03), and Japan (N?=?759; 43.7% female; M _age ?=?14.13). Structural equation modeling revealed that emotional separation and parental trust were consistently associated with identity consolidation across the three countries, rather than associated with identity synthesis and identity confusion. Furthermore, the patterns of associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis and identity confusion differed across the three nations. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the role of emotional separation and parental trust in adolescent identity formation by suggesting the importance of the identity consolidation in the association between parent–child relationships and identity formation across three countries.     

A Spatial Analysis of Czech Parliamentary Elections, 2006–2013

This article presents a spatial analysis of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic between 2006 and 2013. Among most political parties with long-term parliamentary representation, right-wing parties had higher support in areas with a high development potential and left-wing parties in areas with a low development potential. However, similar congruence between electoral support and development potential was not found in the case of most new parties. Spatial regression analyses then show that class conflict has ceased to be the unambiguous primary factor of political competition in the Czech Republic. This finding is further supported by the often inconclusive estimates for most new parties, which showed their ability to mobilise voters from different social classes.