Border Region Research Articles

Study protocol: improving response to malaria in the Amazon through identification of inter-community networks and human mobility in border regions of Ecuador, Peru and Brazil

IntroductionUnderstanding human mobility’s role in malaria transmission is critical to successful control and elimination. However, common approaches to measuring mobility are ill-equipped for remote regions such as the Amazon. This...

A Multi-Stage Constraint-Handling Multi-Objective Optimization Method for Resilient Microgrid Energy Management

In recent years, renewable energy has seen widespread application. However, due to its intermittent nature, there is a need to develop energy management systems for its scheduling and control. This paper introduces a multi-stage constraint-handling multi-objective optimization method tailored for resilient microgrid energy management. The microgrid encompasses diesel generators, energy storage systems, renewable energy sources, and various load types. The intelligent management of generators, batteries, switchable loads, and controllable loads ensures a reliable power supply for the critical loads. Beyond operational costs, our model also considers grid dependency as a key objective, making it particularly suited for energy management in extreme environments such as islands, border regions, and military bases. Managing complex controls of generators, batteries, switchable loads, and controllable loads presents challenging constraints that the management strategy must meet. To tackle this challenge, we propose an multi-objective optimization algorithm with multi-stage constraint-handling strategy to handle the high-dimensional complex constraints of the resilient energy management problem. Our proposed approach demonstrates superior performance compared to nine leading constrained multi-objective optimization algorithms across various test scenarios. Furthermore, the benefits of our method become increasingly evident as the complexity of the problem increases. Compared to the classical NSGA-II, the proposed NSGA-II-MC method achieved a 49.7% improvement in the Hypervolume metric on large-scale problems.

Perceptions of the freezing response of male and female rape victims, and the moderating role of rape myth beliefs

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate whether indicating victims of sexual attacks actively resisted their attacker or froze during their assault affected perceptions of victim blame, perpetrator blame and seriousness of the crime. We also tested whether victim and perpetrator gender or participants’ rape myth endorsement moderated the outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study was a cross-sectional, vignette survey study with a 2 × 2 between-participants experimental design. Participants read a mock police report describing an alleged rape with a female or male victim who either resisted or froze, while perpetrator gender was adjusted heteronormatively. Findings Freezing and male victims were blamed more than resisting and female victims. Perpetrators were blamed more when the victim resisted, but male and female perpetrators were blamed equally. Seriousness of the crime was higher for male perpetrators and when the victim resisted. Female, but not male, rape myth acceptance moderated the relationship between victim behaviour and outcome variables. Originality/value This study highlights the influence of expectations about victim behaviour on perceptions of rape victims and the pervasive influence of rape myths when evaluating female rape victims. The data is drawn from the German border region of the Netherlands, which is an especially valuable population given the evolving legal definitions of rape in both countries.

United States-Mexico Border Disparities in Alcoholic Liver Disease Mortality: A Cross-Sectional Analysis 1999-2020.

US-Mexico (US-MX) border regions are impacted by socioeconomic disadvantages. Alcohol use disorder remains widely prevalent in US-MX border regions, which may increase the risk of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We aimed to characterize ALD mortality trends in border regions compared to non-border regions from 1999 to 2020 in the United States (US). We performed a cross-sectional analysis using the CDC repository. We queried death certificates to find ALD-related deaths from 1999 to 2020, which included demographic information such as gender, race/ethnicity, and area of residence. We estimated age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 100,000 population and compared the AAMRs across border and non-border regions. We also explored yearly mortality shifts using log-linear regression models and calculated the average annual percentage change (AAPC) using the Monte Carlo permutation test. In all, 11,779 ALD-related deaths were identified in border regions (AAMR 7.29) compared with 361,523 in non-border regions (AAMR 5.03). Border male (AAMR 11.21) and female (AAMR 3.77) populations were higher compared with non-border male (AAMR 7.42) and female (2.85) populations, respectively. Border non-Hispanic populations (AAMR 7.53) had higher mortality compared with non-border non-Hispanic populations (4.79), while both populations experienced increasing mortality shifts (AAPC +1.7, P<0.001 and +3.1, P<0.001, respectively). Border metropolitan (AAMR 7.35) and non-metropolitan (AAMR 6.76) regions had higher mortality rates compared with non-border metropolitan (AAMR 4.96) and non-metropolitan (AAMR 5.44) regions. Mortality related to ALD was higher in border regions compared with non-border regions. Border regions face significant health disparities when comparing ALD-related mortality.

Resilience in the Finnish-Russian Border Region and Russia’s War against Ukraine: From the Perspective of Locally Engaged People

Abstract The article deals with people’s resilience in the Finnish-Russian border region. The authors first show how inhabitants of the EU’s longest external border slowly acquired cross-border contacts and co-operation after a long period of war between 1939 and 1945. In the later parts, using a case study, they describe how the Russian war against Ukraine has drastically changed the life of the inhabitants of the Finnish-Russian border region. Nevertheless, a special group of inhabitants of this region practice everyday resilience in many ways: they try to live and maintain their relations as they did before the war.

Combined Contaminant Levels from Local Harvested Food Items in the Norwegian–Finnish–Russian Border Region

This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary study with the aim of assessing the potential combined risk from consuming locally harvested food products in the Euro-Arctic region of Norway, Finland, and Russia. The three important contaminant groups—radioactive substances, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—were measured in food samples such as berries, mushrooms, fish, birds, reindeer, and moose; they were sampled in 2013–2015. To assess the combined pollution levels and investigate the trends, similarities, and variations between different contaminant groups, subsequent multivariate statistical analysis was performed. The results showed that, in general, the levels of radioactive substances, toxic elements, and POPs were below the permitted EU maximum content in food products. However, statistical analysis revealed some correlations, similarities, and peculiarities between the accumulation of different contaminants in various species, which allowed for a better understanding of the mechanisms of accumulation and interaction between different contaminant groups. It also gave a better insight into the possible added risks and helped pinpoint species that could serve as reference markers for the accumulation of different contaminants in food. Mushrooms, fish, and reindeer were found to be important markers in the combined risk assessments for the contents of metals and radioactive substances. Further research, as well as the development of methodologies for combined assessments, are recommended.

Abstract LB139: Disparities in oral precancerous lesion surveillance in the United States upper Midwest

Abstract Objective: To determine whether geographic representation and race of patients in a regional oral cancer surveillance program (University of Minnesota Cancer Active Surveillance Population (UMN CASP)) mirror characteristics in the corresponding National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer center catchment. Introduction: Oral cancer poses a significant public health concern that may be mitigated through lesion surveillance. Representation of patients for clinical trials throughout an NCI cancer center catchment area is a crucial goal to promote improved health outcomes. This study investigates the demographic landscape of patients with preneoplastic oral lesions seen at the CASP. Methods: Through the UMN Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, we queried 30 International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9 and 10 codes corresponding to 120 unique mucosal oral precancerous lesion descriptors of CASP patients. Automated extraction of electronic medical record (EMR) data for 4,496 patients treated by the senior author between 2011 and 2023 identified 1,375 patients with preneoplastic lesions. The proportion of patients residing in three-digit zip code regions of Minnesota were compared to 2021 American Community Survey state population data. Additionally, race data were compared between CASP patients and the UMN Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) patient catchment data. Results: CASP patients were over-represented relative to state population distributions within the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and surrounding suburbs (region 554 p&amp;lt;0.0001 and region 551 p&amp;lt;0.0001). Under-representation of CASP patients was observed in all western and southern border regions (regions 559 p&amp;lt;0.0001, 560 p&amp;lt;0.0001, 561 p&amp;lt;0.0001, 562 p=0.0037, 565 p&amp;lt;0.0001, and 567 p=0.0006) as well as portions of central (563 p&amp;lt;0.0001), northern (566 p=0.0015), and north-eastern (558 p&amp;lt;0.0001) Minnesota. Proportional representation was observed in several regions of central (553 and 564), eastern (550), and north-eastern (557 and 556) Minnesota. Comparisons of CASP race data revealed a higher proportion of black patients (CASP 8.59% [95% CI 7.17-10.27%] vs. MCC 7.16% [95% CI 7.14-7.17%]) and a lower proportion of Asian/Pacific Islander patients (CASP 3.74% [95% CI 2.82-4.94%] vs. MCC 5.32% [95% CI 5.30-5.34%]) relative to MCC catchment patients. White, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and mixed-race groups were proportionally represented in both data sets. Conclusions: These data show that system wide EMR searches can be implemented to identify patients in an NCI cancer center catchment area with precancerous or other at-risk conditions for cancer. Importantly, Native patients were proportionally represented in the screening program while several rural locations were under-represented. This information can instruct the expenditure of additional resources for under-represented groups and permit streamlined enrollment of patients for cancer prevention clinical trials. Citation Format: Alexander J. Dwyer, Lindsey Mortensen, Beverly R. Wuertz, Frank G. Ondrey. Disparities in oral precancerous lesion surveillance in the United States upper Midwest [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr LB139.

A Dynamic Gradient Stiffness Material Platform to Manipulate Cardiac Fibroblasts' Spatio‐Temporal Behavior

AbstractAfter myocardial infarction, there exists a spatiotemporal variation of cardiac tissue stiffness across the infarcted border region outward to remote regions, influencing adverse remodeling and cardiac fibrosis, and this stiffness gradient changes over time. Here, a platform with dynamic, tunable, and reversible gradient stiffness can recapitulate in vitro the time‐dependent stiffness range across the infarction border that occurs as part of the remodeling process is presented. This platform enables the observation of time‐dependent interaction between cardiac fibroblasts and their mechanical microenvironment in a spatiotemporal manner. Specifically, the competition and cooperation of a chemical cue (antifibrotic drug) and mechanical cue (gradient softening) in tandem to attenuate the fibrotic responses of cardiac fibroblasts is examined. Applying a combined intervention showed either additive or antagonistic effects on fibrosis‐related gene regulation compared to separate interventions of drug or softening. This work reveals the spatiotemporal variation of fibrotic response in cardiac fibroblasts as well as the complexity of antifibrotic drug dosing with stiffness changes and their combinatory effect on cardiac fibroblasts. This platform provides a unique in vitro tool to study disease progression mechanisms in a more clinically relevant microenvironment and also serves as a cost‐effective model for potential therapeutic screening.

A new species of the genus Amolops (Amphibia: Ranidae) and the first national record of Amolops vitreus from China

Abstract The torrent frogs of the genus Amolops represent a great anuran diversification in southern China and Southeast Asia. Previous studies have shown that, the diversity of this genus still remains underestimated. During herpetological surveys from 2021 to 2022, several Amolops specimens were collected from the international border regions of southwestern Yunnan Province, China. Herein, we utilized molecular phylogenetic and morphological data to identify these specimens. Our findings indicate the presence of a separate and previously unknown lineage in the A. viridimaculatus group, which we formally describe as a new species. Furthermore, the specimen from Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve clustered with A. vitreus from the paratype, supporting the morphological diagnosis. Therefore, we describe a new species and a new species record for China. Our study contributes to the species richness of the genus Amolops as well as the diversity of amphibians in China. Notably, our discovery brings the total number of Amolops species to 85 and the total number of torrent frog species known to occur in China to 53. In addition, our study further confirmed that Yunnan and Indochina Peninsula have similar faunal composition, implying that more studies are needed to achieve a complete understanding of the species diversity and distribution pattern.

The relationship between ethnocentrism and xenophobia level and predictors: A descriptive and correlational study of nurses working in two cities where refugees live intensively in Turkey.

Determining the ethnocentrism and xenophobia levels of nurses contributes to nurses' awareness regarding their attitudes on the issue and providing quality care. This descriptive and correlational study aimed to determine the relationship between ethnocentrism and xenophobia levels of nurses working in hospitals located in two different border regions where refugees live intensively in Turkey. The study was conducted with 386 nurses who were working in two different hospitals located in two cities in the south of Turkey. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form," "Ethnocentrism Scale," and "Xenophobia Scale." About half of the nurses did not want to care for foreign patients. There was a positive and statistically significant relationship between mean scores of the Ethnocentrism Scale and the Xenophobia Scale (p < 0.05). The regression analysis indicated that the level of ethnocentrism explains the level of xenophobia by 9%. Nurses had a high level of xenophobia and moderate ethnocentric attitudes. The level of xenophobia increased as the ethnocentrism level of nurses increased. It is recommended to conduct further studies to determine different predictors of xenophobia among nurses.

Analysis of characteristics and changes in three-dimensional spatial and temporal distribution of aerosol types in Central Asia

Atmospheric aerosol types and characteristics have regional and seasonal characteristics mainly due spatial and temporal differences in emission sources and diffuse transport conditions. We explored regional three-dimensional spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of aerosol types in Central Asia from daytime to nighttime by using long-term (2007–2021) CALIPSO lidar measurements. The three results are as follows: (1) Average aerosol optical depth (AOD) values during the 14 years were 0.44 and 0.47 during daytime and nighttime, respectively, with an overall decreasing trend, among which the AOD in spring in the southern border region and in winter in the northern border region showed high values, 0.66 and 0.31 during daytime and 0.69 and 0.33 during nighttime, respectively, and nighttime AOD values were higher than those of daytime, possibly due to the lower signal-to-noise ratio of the CALIPSO during the daytime than during the nighttime. (2) The primary representative aerosol type in the Taklamakan Desert region being pure sand and dust, and more apparent winter-polluted sand and dust exist along the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang in winter than in other areas. High-altitude soot mainly existed below 4 km and was primarily concentrated in northern Central Asia, with the highest values (0.016 and 0.003) in summer and winter, respectively, which may be due to different diffusion and transport conditions. (3) Dust aerosols in spring were mainly concentrated in the region of 2–6 km in the Taklamakan Desert area; pure dust particles in summer and fall lifted height diffusion and gradually moved to the northern border region; polluted dust was mainly in northern Xinjiang in fall and winter and spread to northern Central Asia; and the average top height of aerosols in the transmission process reached the top of the troposphere, and transmission height was higher than source area.

Approaching Venezuelan Migration from the Borderland: Dynamics and Identity in La Guajira, Colombia

Abstract Based on an ethnography in the Colombian border state of La Guajira, this article argues that ethnographic research can challenge defaults to methodological nationalism, stark binaries be-tween host and migrant communities, and a framing of Venezuelan migration that flattens the complex realities of individuals in these borderlands who have extensive ties between both Colombia and Venezuela. This article begins by characterizing this border region, describing the relevant history of La Guajira and contemporary dynamics that help situate this specific Venezuelan migration flow. After, I describe the complex identities that form in these borderlands and what exactly “Venezuelan” looks like in this state. Lastly, building on the characterization of the borderland and Venezuelan identity in La Guajira, I offer two examples of how these pieces come together to facilitate certain social interactions and explain migrant experiences.

Investigation of the potential for electrification of remote areas using parabolic solar collectors in southern Algeria

The dish stirling technology holds great promise as a renewable energy solution for remote and off-grid electric regions, particularly in the southern areas of North Africa. In this research, we conducted simulations of a 100 kw Dish Stirling system to evaluate its feasibility in comparison to photovoltaic technology at five distinct locations in southern Algeria: Adrar (Bordj Badji Mokhtar), Illizi (Djanet), Tamanrasset (Ain Mertoutek), Tindouf, and Bechar. Our findings underscore the substantial potential of Dish Stirling Solar Power technology, with the Sahara region standing out as particularly promising. In this region, the Dish Stirling system consistently outperforms a 100 kw photovoltaic system across all selected locations. The Dish Stirling system achieves an average annual electricity generation of 256 mwh while simultaneously mitigating CO2 emissions by 177 tons annually. Among these locations, Djanet Illizi emerges as the most favorable, with the Dish Stirling system producing an impressive 288.43 mwh annually. This capacity is sufficient to meet the annual energy needs of 230 households, all while maintaining a competitive LCOE of 0.0378 USD/kwh. Comparative analysis with previous research illuminates the remarkable cost-effectiveness of Dish Stirling technology in southern Algeria, primarily due to its abundant direct normal irradiance levels. These findings underscore the immense potential of Dish Stirling systems as a clean and highly efficient energy solution, well-suited for demanding to address the energy needs of remote environments, such as those found in the southern border regions of Algeria.

Parallel Computation of Piecewise Linear Morse-Smale Segmentations.

This article presents a well-scaling parallel algorithm for the computation of Morse-Smale (MS) segmentations, including the region separators and region boundaries. The segmentation of the domain into ascending and descending manifolds, solely defined on the vertices, improves the computational time using path compression and fully segments the border region. Region boundaries and region separators are generated using a multi-label marching tetrahedra algorithm. This enables a fast and simple solution to find optimal parameter settings in preliminary exploration steps by generating an MS complex preview. It also poses a rapid option to generate a fast visual representation of the region geometries for immediate utilization. Two experiments demonstrate the performance of our approach with speedups of over an order of magnitude in comparison to two publicly available implementations. The example section shows the similarity to the MS complex, the useability of the approach, and the benefits of this method with respect to the presented datasets. We provide our implementation with the paper.

Curvature mediated source and sink effects on the genesis of premature ventricular complexes in long QT syndrome.

Premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) are spontaneous excitations occurring in the ventricles of the heart, which are associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Under long QT conditions, PVCs can be mediated by repolarization gradient (RG) and early afterdepolarizations (EADs), yet the effects of heterogeneities or geometry of the RG or EAD regions on PVC genesis remain incompletely understood. In this study, we use computer simulation to systematically investigate the effects of the curvature of the RG border region on PVC genesis under long QT conditions. We show that PVCs can be either promoted or suppressed by negative or positive RG border curvature depending on the source and sink conditions. When the origin of oscillation is in the source region and the source is too strong, a positive RG border curvature can promote PVCs by causing the source area to oscillate. When the origin of oscillation is in the sink region, a negative RG border curvature can promote PVCs by causing the sink area to oscillate. Furthermore, EAD-mediated PVCs are also promoted by negative border curvature. We also investigate the effects of wavefront curvature and show that PVCs are promoted by convex but suppressed by concave wavefronts, however, the effect of wavefront curvature is much smaller than that of RG border curvature. In conclusion, besides the increase of RG and occurrence of EADs caused by QT prolongation, the geometry of the RG border plays important roles in PVC genesis, which can greatly increase the risk of arrhythmias in cardiac diseases.

The Urgency of Handling Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in the Indonesian Border Region Perspective: Marine Security in the Makassar Strait

ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) plays a role in maintaining peace, security, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean (Indo-Pacific) region. However, due to common and competing interests, there are still conflicts in the region's implementation. Maritime security cooperation, which includes addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, is one of the most important issues in the ASEAN region. The research intends to examine law enforcement against IUU violations in the ASEAN region, as well as the consequences of IUU violations by ASEAN countries on waters in the Makassar Strait. This is a qualitative study that employs a normative-empirical approach. The first problem is analyzed using the normative aspect, which is based on international and national law on ASEAN agreements on IUU, law enforcement, and other issues. While the empirical aspect is used to analyze the second problem through in-depth interviews about Makassar Strait water supervision and law enforcement. Based on the research findings, IUU law enforcement in the ASEAN Region must be carried out firmly to parties that threaten security and stability in the ASEAN Region, as outlined in each agreement participant's national law. Meanwhile, the legal consequences of IUU violations in the ASEAN Region have an impact on the security and stability of the waters of the Makassar Strait.

Transgraniczny Obszar Funkcjonalny jako instrument organizacyjno-prawny polsko-litewskiej współpracy transgranicznej

The development of cross-border cooperation in the European Union requires the refinement of organisational and legal instruments which support the cooperation of the local and regional authorities in neighbouring border regions. One such instrument may be the Cross-Border Functional Area (CFA). The authors of the article were in charge of the implementation of a pioneering project commissioned by Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (European Commission) to establish the first CFA in Europe in the Polish-Lithuanian border region. It was formed by nine cities and communes (Pol. gmina) from Sejny and Suwałki counties and three Lithuanian local authorities: Lazdijai, Vilkaviškis and Kalvarija. The main objective of the article is to identify the qualities of a CFA as an organisational and legal instrument supporting the development of cross-border cooperation. An additional objective is to identify the key organisational and legal determinants of the development of the CFA in the Polish-Lithuanian border region. The article has a scientific and research character. It characterises CFAs in relation to other forms of institutional cross-border cooperation, discusses the legal basis for the establishment of a CFA, presents the organisational structure and identifies the key stakeholders. The lack of a legal definition of a CFA makes its use difficult, but not impossible. The importance of functional connections in cross-border cooperation in the EU is sufficiently significant to warrant further research on the institutionalisation of cooperation within cross-border functional areas.

A national perspective on cardiovascular diseases in Saudi Arabia

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are common chronic conditions that lead to morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, there are no recent national or regional reports about CVDs in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the national and regional prevalence rates of CVDs among the Saudi population.MethodsThis study used data from an ongoing household health survey conducted by the General Authority for Statistics in 2017. The survey sample comprised 24,012 homes that were determined to be a representative sample of the population and dispersed throughout the 13 administrative areas. A self-reported diagnosis of CVD was collected by asking subjects if they had been diagnosed by a physician.ResultsThe prevalence of CVDs among the Saudi population aged 15 years and older was 1.6% (n = 236,815). The prevalence is higher in males at 1.9% compared to females at 1.4%. Age is a significant factor, with a gradual increase in CVD prevalence until the age of 50, followed by a sharp rise. The prevalence among the age group (≥ 65 years) was the highest, recording 11% (n = 93,971), followed by the age group (60–64 years) which reached 6.5% (n = 31156.71), and the lowest prevalence was found in the age group (< 40 years) as 1.2% (n = 108,226). When considering regional differences, Makkah has the highest prevalence at 1.9% (n = 85,814), followed by Riyadh at 1.7% (n = 79,191). Conversely, Najran has the lowest prevalence at 0.76% (n = 332), with the Northern Border Region having the second lowest rate at 1,46% ( n = 4218) These findings underscore the importance of considering both demographic and regional factors in addressing and managing cardiovascular health in Saudi Arabia.ConclusionThis study provides the most recent estimates of the national and regional prevalence rates of CVDs in Saudi Arabia. The findings suggest that CVDs are more common among older adults, males, and residents of the Makkah region. This information can be used to inform public health policies and interventions to reduce the burden of CVDs in Saudi Arabia.

Evaluation of styloid process elongation: a cross-sectional study

Aims: The styloid process is a cylindrical projection of the temporal bone. When the length of the styloid process exceeds 30 mm, it is considered elongated. The aim of this study was to investigate the length, thickness and morphological pattern of the styloid process of patients using panoramic radiography and to evaluate the relationship with age and gender. &#x0D; Methods: The study is designed retrospective cross-sectional and consisted of 3012 panoramic radiographs from patients routinely referred within the last six months, in which the borders of the styloid process region were clearly visualised on radiographs. Age and gender data of the patients were recorded. Styloid process was evaluated in terms of length, thickness and Langeais classification. &#x0D; Results: The mean age of the patients was 38.32 years. 34.4% (n:1156) were male and 61.6% (n:1856) were female. The mean styloid process length was &gt;30 for 32% of the patients. The thickness of the right styloid process was 2.73±1.56 and that of the left styloid process was 2.69±1.5. The length of the styloid process ranged between 0-79.98 mm with a mean of 26.12±10.78 mm. Most of the patients were in Langeais Type 1 class in right and left styloid process. There was a statistically significant correlation between the length, thickness and Langeais classification of right and left styloid process (p

Polish Sceptics and Czech Optimists: Perception of the Development within Euroregion Beskydy

The openness of space is one of the fundamental ideas behind the existence of the European Union. The benefits arising from this should outweigh the disadvantages associated with it. An advantage of openness is the possibility of integrating border regions of different countries into a consistent functional whole where cross-border cooperation takes place. Resulting mechanisms can lead to endogenously driven development of the territories that are typically on the periphery of their countries. However, reality is much more diverse. This is valid also in case of Central and Eastern European countries, where general socioeconomic processes take different forms in different regions and places. The same holds true also for territorial units, such as Euroregions that represent one of the most remarkable geographical embodiments of European integration. At the same time, they constitute one of the institutionalised forms of cross-border cooperation. Euroregions bear a twofold importance in postcommunist countries that for a long time suffered from pretty limited cross-border interactions and cooperation. Our article delves into the municipalities of Euroregion Beskydy at the Polish-Czech border. The main objective of the paper is to analyse and assess strengths and weaknesses of the development as perceived by Polish and Czech municipalities in the framework of Euroregion Beskydy. The article concentrates primarily on a qualitative dimension of the whole issue. This is partly supplemented by a quantitative perspective. The investigation mirrors the state of municipalities on Czech and Polish sides of Euroregion Beskydy from the perspective of municipal managements. From the methodical perspective, the questionnaire was utilised. This allowed respondents to identify the principal strengths and weaknesses of their municipalities based on their own knowledge and perceptions. The questions had a nominal character, and by aggregating similar responses, broader, consistent categories of strengths and weaknesses were established and analyzed. Respondents could name principal strengths and weaknesses of their municipalities on the basis of their own perception. The purpose was to identify substantial developmental domains or problem characteristics in individual municipalities of the researched Euroregion. At the same, it has been found out to what extent optimistic or pessimistic moods are prevailing in individual municipalities of the Euroregion. The research question posed in the framework of this paper is as follows: what are the most frequently mentioned strengths of municipal development at Polish and Czech side of Euroregion Beskydy? The results brought an interesting difference in the perception of the municipal development within Euroregion Beskydy. Respondents on the Polish side of the Euroregion can be characterised by higher rate of scepticism when compared with their Czech counterparts. On the Czech side of the Euroregion, slightly optimistic view on municipal lives is prevailing.