Border Region Research Articles

Probabilistic Refinement of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy Targeting for Parkinson's Disease Tremor.

There remains high variability in clinical outcomes when the same magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy target is used for both essential tremor (ET) and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease (TDPD). Our goal is to refine the MRgFUS thalamotomy target for TDPD versus ET. We retrospectively performed voxel-wise efficacy and structural connectivity mapping using 3-12-month post-procedure hand tremor scores for a multicenter cohort of 32 TDPD patients and a previously published cohort of 79 ET patients, and 24-hour T1-weighted post-MRgFUS brain images. We validated our findings using Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III scores for an independent cohort of nine TDPD patients. The post-MRgFUS clinical improvements were 45.9% ± 35.9%, 55.5% ± 36%, and 46.1% ± 18.6% for ET, multicenter TDPD and validation TDPD cohorts, respectively. The TDPD and ET efficacy maps differed significantly (ppermute < 0.05), with peak TDPD improvement (87%) at x = -13.5; y = -15.0; z = 1.5, ~3.5 mm anterior and 3 mm dorsal to the ET target. Discriminative connectivity projections were to the motor and premotor regions in TDPD, and to the motor and somatosensory regions in ET. The disorder-specific voxel-wise efficacy map could be used to estimate outcome in TDPD patients with high accuracy (R = 0.8; R2 = 0.64; P < 0.0001). The model was validated using the independent cohort of nine TDPD patients (R = 0.73; R2 = 0.53; P = 0.025-voxel analysis). We demonstrated that the most effective MRgFUS thalamotomy target in TDPD is in the ventral intermediate nucleus/ventralis oralis posterior border region. This finding offers new insights into the thalamic regions instrumental in tremor control, with pivotal implications for improving treatment outcomes. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Development Resources of the Border Regions of the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation borders with 18 foreign countries. Seven of them are NATO members as of March 2024. The state border of Russia passes through the territory of almost half of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The shelling of the territory of the Russian Federation by the armed forces of Ukraine radically changes the situation in the sphere of not only of military, but also of socio-economic security, primarily in the border regions of Russia. The issue of their protection, elimination of weaknesses and organization of society’s life in a new, unstable, largely unfavorable external environment is especially acute. The formation of resources necessary for solving these issues largely depends on the current level of economic development of the country and its border regions. The author’s purpose was to illustrate some aspects of the economic situation in the border regions of the Russian Federation, given the current circumstances where Russia’s adversaries are attempting to create areas of tension near the Russian borders, exemplified by Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States. To achieve this goal, the author solved several tasks. They are: selecting the subjects of the Russian Federation to be studied, determining the set of statistical indicators to be analyzed, and determining the length of the dynamic range for each indicator. We also constructed the dynamics of change for these selected indicators. The results of the author’s analysis of seven statistical indicators that reflect the socio-economic situation in 36 selected border regions of the Russian Federation are presented below. The analyzed statistical data are taken for the period from 1995 to 2021. The economic and statistical research was carried out on the basis of data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, most of which are published in statistical collections “Regions of Russia. Socio-economic Indicators”. The article shows that a number of the studied parameters indicate the need to strengthen the economic power of the Russian border regions in modern and possible future conditions. The obtained results can be useful for legislative and executive authorities of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation in the development and implementation of the development policy of regions that have a particularly important strategic importance.

Design and management considerations for the Kenya-Tanzania marine transboundary conservation area.

Although transboundary conservation areas (TCAs) are critical tools for protecting ecosystems and ecological processes that transcend national jurisdictions, they are challenging to create due to the differences in governance contexts and capacity and power dynamics among countries. Marine TCAs are also more difficult to enforce relative to terrestrial TCAs because most nations still treat oceans as open access. Current guidelines for TCA development and implementation also focus mostly on terrestrial TCAs, which are not practical for marine TCAs. Hence, we reviewed the challenges associated with the design and management of marine TCAs and devised analytical and practical approaches to support the application of spatial planning frameworks and adaptive governance mechanisms. We used the lessons from the review to examine the decisions made for the proposed marine TCA in the Kenya-Tanzania border region and created options and considerations to promote effective design and management processes. We found the obstacles to marine TCAs in general are related to issues of fit, particularly differences in environmental research capacity, socioeconomic contexts, and internal institutional arrangements. These included differences in knowledge and capacity for marine ecological research and conservation; ability to adjust and update data; differences in values, interests, and resource uses; conservation costs; jurisdictional differences; engagement of multiple levels of organization; and differences in legal bases and policy development processes. Understanding and reconciling these challenges during the TCA development process can help enhance meaningful discussions in the design of the TCA and cultivate the enabling conditions for collaborative governance across countries and within different levels of organization from national to local actors.

Государственное управление устойчивым развитием: опыт России и Китая

The article examines modern forms of public administration of sustainable development in Russia and China. It has been revealed that national projects predominate in Russia. This framework allows to focus on solving strategic problems and to use project approach technologies for the comprehensive implementation of development priorities. In its turn, China’s strategy is characterized by support of implementation of the sustainable development goals through the adoption of specific regulatory documents for each goal and the identification of funding sources for each goal. The research shows that mutual enrichment with proven management technologies will allow both countries to implement national sustainable development goals in less time, solve common problems in border regions, influence international discourse in a multipolar world, and intensify global cooperation.

Plasmodium falciparum population dynamics in East Africa and genomic surveillance along the Kenya-Uganda border

East African countries accounted for ~ 10% of all malaria prevalence worldwide in 2022, with an estimated 23.8 million cases and > 53,000 deaths. Despite recent increases in malaria incidence, high-resolution genome-wide analyses of Plasmodium parasite populations are sparse in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Kenyan-Ugandan border region is a particular concern, with Uganda confirming the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistant P. falciparum parasites. To establish genomic surveillance along the Kenyan-Ugandan border and analyse P. falciparum population dynamics within East Africa, we generated whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data for 38 parasites from Bungoma, Western Kenya. These sequences were integrated into a genomic analysis of available East African isolate data (n = 599) and revealed parasite subpopulations with distinct genetic structure and diverse ancestral origins. Ancestral admixture analysis of these subpopulations alongside isolates from across Africa (n = 365) suggested potential independent ancestral populations from other major African populations. Within isolates from Western Kenya, the prevalence of biomarkers associated with chloroquine resistance (e.g. Pfcrt K76T) were significantly reduced compared to wider East African populations and a single isolate contained the PfK13 V568I variant, potentially linked to reduced susceptibility to artemisinin. Overall, our work provides baseline WGS data and analysis for future malaria genomic surveillance in the region.

The Impact of E-Marketing on the Preference to Purchase Hybrid Cars by Increasing Awareness: An Empirical Study of Hybrid Car Users in the Northern Border Region, Saudi Arabia

The Impact of E-Marketing on the Preference to Purchase Hybrid Cars by Increasing Awareness: An Empirical Study of Hybrid Car Users in the Northern Border Region, Saudi Arabia

Cross-Border Institutional Trust in Post-Pandemic Times. The Role of EU b-solutions Initiative

ABSTRACT Mutual trust is an important element in starting cross-border processes, and institutional trust is vital to forging sound and effective cross-border cooperation. It is widely debated that the recent covidfencing process in Europe chipped away existing long and medium-term cross-border institutional ties, in most European borders, at least for some time. The fundamental point is that the sudden closing of national borders also revealed how important are effective and well-functioning cross-border institutions to direct the reopening of such borders into functional cross-border areas. To appreciate more in-depth the importance of cross-border institutional trust in post-pandemic times, this article analyses to what extent the EU b-solutions initiative contributes to reinforcing it along European cross-border regions. The analysis concluded that this EU initiative reinforces cross-border institutional trust by enhancing institutional capacity building, institutional knowledge sharing and stability/credibility as well as territorial integration in EU border regions. However, only a few European cross-border regions have benefited the most from this institutional support by b-solutions: the Benelux, plus Germany and France, as well as the Iberian cross-border areas.

Estructura empresarial y sectorial de las manufacturas de México. Un análisis de shift-share

The analytical approach proposed in this article comes from the area of regional econ-omy. The main aim of this paper is to detail the business structure of Mexico in terms of employment in the manufacturing subsectors and at the regional level in the period 1988-2018. The traditional shift-share methodology is used to describe performance by type of company across the large division of manufacturing industry activity, in order to establish the most dynamic subsectors. Additionally, expanded shift-share is incorporated as a methodological proposal to weight the level of contribution of the business structure. The results establish that in msmes the food industry registers the best performance, while for large companies the metal products industry does best. It is corroborated that msmes specialize in traditional activities with a greater presence in the Central, Pacific and Southern regions. Meanwhile, large companies concentrate on modern and highly technical activities with greater growth in the Northern Border and North-Central regions. This makes it necessary to develop sectoral policies to im-prove the performance of each manufacturing division.

SPECIAL BORDER ECONOMIC ZONES BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND THAILAND

The evolving landscape of global trade and economic cooperation has spurred the establishment of Special Border Economic Zones (SBEZs) as a comprehensive strategy to catalyse economic growth and enhance collaboration between neighbouring countries. These zones have developed as a distinctive economic strategy to harness the potential of cross-border collaboration, while addressing the particular socio- economic difficulties of border regions as globalisation continues to change the dynamics of global commerce and investment. However, the main challenge to such an effort is understanding how to fully tap the potential of the SBEZs to facilitate cross-border trade, drive economic development, and advance regional integration while simultaneously minimising potential hazards and unfavourable effects. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between Malaysia and Thailand and the relevance of a SBEZ between the two neighbors. It aims to pursue these objectives: (1) To delve into the historical trajectory of economic progress in the relationship between Malaysia and Thailand, (2) To critically examine the importance of the SBEZs in the Malaysia-Thailand context from various aspects, and (3) To critically evaluate the SBEZs by comparing the economic development of Malaysia and Thailand and by analysing the factors that led to the Thailand-Malaysian SBEZ. Content analysis was used to analyse the secondary data obtained from journals, publications, and official reports. The findings are as follows: 1) There have historically been several economic periods in the relationship between Malaysia and Thailand; 2) In the Malaysia-Thailand region, Special Border Economic Zones are significant in terms of their role in trade facilitation, economic growth, investment, industrialisation, and regional economic balance; and 3)Three factors had an effect on the development of the SBEZs.

Counteracting Everyday Violence at the Border: A View from Peacebuilding and Border Art

This article presents an overview of the potential for integrating specific peacebuilding strategies with the practice of border art as a tool for addressing various forms of violence in border regions. The specific peacebuilding strategies considered are nonviolent intervention, reduction of direct violence, transformation of relationships, and building capacity. It is proposed that the combination of these strategies with border art provides avenues for counteracting specific forms of violence. Artistic expressions denounce negative social conditions and convey a sense of peace, portraying questions of social justice. Border art can re-politicize border spaces by strategically positioning shared values such as peaceful coexistence and hope. The proposed combination of peacebuilding strategies and border art can be a means of counteracting the normalization of violence and social exclusion in social contexts that are not associated with armed conflict but are permanently affected by everyday violence. This work also aims to facilitate a constructive dialogue between the disciplines of peace studies, critical border studies, and border art.

Influence of type of residence on social and psychological features of ethnic identity of residents of border regions

Influence of type of residence on social and psychological features of ethnic identity of residents of border regions

Dangerous winds: Criminal threats and the indigenized security of wind power in Colombia

AbstractGlobal energy companies have regularly depended on state and private security for sustaining their operations, often with deadly consequences for union leaders, environmental defenders, and local communities. This article examines how these security arrangements are mutating amid the rapid expansion of renewable energy in Latin America. It uncovers how wind energy companies in Colombia rely on Indigenous knowledge, social networks, and legal norms to safeguard themselves in La Guajira, a border region reputed by outsiders as haunted by criminality and (il)legal practices. Through long‐term ethnographic research of corporate spaces, I argue that Wayúu lifeways are mobilized by green energy capital to craft a hybrid security apparatus that, though failure‐prone, is crucial for Colombia's low‐carbon future. This case reveals how corporate and Indigenous configurations of protection and risk prevention work in tandem across sites that are being demarcated for the energy transition and climate change mitigation in Latin America.

Safe Injection Self-Efficacy is Associated with HCV and HIV Seropositivity Among People Who Inject Drugs in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region.

Safe injection self-efficacy (SISE) is negatively associated with injection risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID) but has not been examined in differing risk environments. We compared responses to a validated SISE scale between PWID in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico, and examine correlates of SISE among PWID in Tijuana. PWID were recruited via street outreach for a longitudinal cohort study from October 2020-September 2021. We compared SISE scale items by city. Due to low variability in SISE scores among San Diego residents, we restricted analysis of factors associated with SISE to Tijuana residents and identified correlates of SISE score levels (low, medium, high) using ordinal logistic regression. Of 474 participants, most were male (74%), Latinx (78%) and Tijuana residents (73%). Mean age was 44. Mean SISE scores among San Diego residents were high (3.46 of 4 maximum) relative to Tijuana residents (mean: 1.93). Among Tijuana residents, White race and having previously resided in San Diego were associated with higher SISE scores. HCV and HIV seropositivity, homelessness, fentanyl use, polysubstance co-injection, and greater injection frequency were associated with lower SISE scores. We found profound inequalities between Tijuana and San Diego SISE, likely attributable to differential risk environments. Associations with fentanyl and polysubstance co-injection, injection frequency, and both HIV and HCV seropositivity suggest that SISE contribute to blood-borne infection transmission risks in Tijuana. SISE reflects an actionable intervention target to reduce injection risk behaviors, but structural interventions are required to change the risk environment.

Print No Border

As borders gradually open up once again, the consequences of the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic are casting light on the renewed importance of regional and national borders. This is also true of European national borders – which had already been tested by the intensification of migratory flows and populist impulses – now in the process of becoming unwilling symbols of the restrictions ushered in by the pandemic. Closed for months, or at the very least made difficult to get through by health-related restrictions, the internal EU national borders that European peoples were coming to think of as a thing of the past were, quite suddenly, extremely concrete once again. This is a process that has been brought even more dramatically to the fore by the tragedy of the war in Ukraine. From the starting point of these premises, the Print no border project explored the border and frontier concepts via xylographic practice, juxtaposing, stratifying, and comparing the geographical representation of boundaries with images borrowed from nature and the man-made elements that boundaries cut through.

A New Species of the Genus Tropidophorus Duméril, Bibron, 1839 (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) from China-Vietnam Border Region in Southeastern Yunnan Province, China

Based on morphological and genetic data, we describe a new species of Tropidophorus from the tropical karst landscape in southeastern Yunnan Province, China, close to the Vietnam border. Phylogenetically, the new species forms a clade with T. baviensis, T. murphyi, and T. hainanus, with p-distances ranging from 4.7–5.1% for the 16S gene and 3.9–6.8% for 12S gene. Morphologically, the new species shares the karst morphotype of Tropidophorus, particularly similar as T. murphyi and T. baviensis, in which all having a dorsally compressed head and body, smooth dorsal head scales, and distinctively keeled body scales. However, the new species can be distinguished from these similar species by numbers of supralabial scales, ventral scales, scales around the tail at the10th subcaudal, and a larger body size. We emphasize the urgency of conservation for the tropical karst landscape in northern Indochina.

Integrative taxonomy reveals two new species of karst-dwelling Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the border region of Laos and Vietnam

An integrative taxonomic analysis of the gekkonid lizard genus Hemiphyllodactylus was conducted using molecular, morphological, color pattern, and ecological data on a clade of 19 species, including two new species from karst landscapes in northern Laos and Vietnam. Hemiphyllodactylus houaphanensis sp. nov. (Laos) and H. vanhoensis sp. nov. (Vietnam) are karst-dwelling species whose discovery further emphasizes the unrealized herpetological diversity and site-specific endemism in karst ecosystems across Southeast Asia and the need for increased field work to protect these biodiverse landscapes.

Prevalence and genetic diversity of rodent-associated Bartonella in Hulunbuir border regions, China

Bartonella spp. are globally distributed gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria that infect a wide range of hosts. Rodents are natural reservoirs of many Bartonella species, some of which are also pathogenic to humans. The rapid development of transportation and tourism has highlighted the risk of Bartonella transmission to humans. Thus, it is essential to maintain surveillance of Bartonella spp. infections in rodents. In China, Bartonella spp. infections have been monitored in various areas; however, these have not included the Hulunbuir border regions. In the present study, we monitored the prevalence and genetics of rodent-associated Bartonella spp. in the Hulunbuir border regions. Eleven rodent species were captured at five ports. Eight species were confirmed as Bartonella-positive using quantitative PCR assay, with an overall positivity rate of 20.05 %. Lasiopodomys brandtii was the predominant rodent species captured for Bartonella detection. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis (using the maximum likelihood method) revealed the presence of three Bartonella species in these rodents, including two pathogenic to humans, namely, Bartonella alsatica and Bartonella grahamii. B. grahamii was the predominant Bartonella species identified in the rodents. Taken together, these results highlight the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella spp. in rodents in the Hulunbuir border regions, indicating the need for risk assessment of human spillover.

The Impact of Integrated Border Security System on Human Trafficking in Bangladesh: The Mediating Effect of the Use of Advanced Technology

This paper explores the effect of integrated border security and advanced technology on human trafficking in Bangladesh, focusing on the mediating role of advanced technology. Human trafficking remains a critical issue in Bangladesh due to socio-economic challenges and the nature of bordering regions despite substantial technological and policy advancement. Through empirical analysis, this study reveals that advanced technology such as biometric identification, data analytics, and real-time data sharing significantly bolster the effectiveness of the Border Security System in identifying and preventing human trafficking issues. This paper highlights the significance of comprehensive policies, sufficient investment on specialised training, and community engagement in addressing human trafficking. The study offers valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, signifying the need for ongoing adaptation and collaboration to combat human trafficking effectively.

What is a migrant death? An operational definition for a more accurate enumeration of migrant mortality along the US-Mexico border

Over the last forty years an indeterminate number of persons, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands, have died along the US-Mexico border during migration, fleeing poverty, armed conflict, situations of violence, and disasters. An accurate accounting of migrant deaths along the southern US border is the first step toward an understanding of the extent and the contributing factors of these deaths. In this article, we describe a key aspect of our collaborative work aimed at developing a more representative account of migrant mortality along the southwestern US border: the determination of criteria for inclusion of specific forensic cases as “migrant.” Our intention is not to propose a definition of “what is a migrant death” applicable to all contexts and situations but rather one specific to the US-Mexico border region. Our main impetus is to build and launch a web portal to track and map migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border. The criteria we have identified are based on an examination of death data collected by various agencies in the four border states (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) and at the federal level by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). They include a) context of human remains discovery; b) identification media/documentation; c) geographic setting; and d) personal effects. Taken together, these criteria will facilitate our determination, case by case, of the probability that human remains found along the United States side of the border may be from a person in the context of migration.

Drawing on Children’s Mobilisation in the Chinese Soviet Republic, 1933–1934

Abstract After the White Terror of 1927, the Chinese Communist Party relocated from Shanghai to the border region between Jiangxi and Fujian; one of the major challenges that the new Chinese Soviet Republic faced was transition from urban to rural. While political historians explored the ensuing conflicts between Soviet and Chinese influences, the lens of children’s history indicates that children’s organisations—and children themselves—freely adopted Soviet influences for their own local needs. By examining the visual and textual representation of children and by children in two major periodicals, this article suggests that children participated in the creation of a new political culture and imagination with important legacies for wartime propaganda.