Abstract: Field research in politically authoritarian contexts poses special problems for the ethnographic project of pursuing intimacy and trust. During my fieldwork in communist Romania, both up to my denial of entry in 1985, and during my subsequent public activities dealing with Romania up to 1989, I was various surveillance by Romanian security organs, who also interrogated and harassed by in

Background: Previous non-randomized studies show similar outcomes in adolescents and adults after bariatric surgery. We describe the study protocol, recruitment, and selected baseline data of patients in a randomized multi-center study, the Adolescent Morbid Obesity Surgery 2 (AMOS2). Methods: Three clinics in Sweden collaborated in designing the study and recruitment of patients from August 1, 20

This Regional Outlook focuses on the obstacles of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and the challenges of rebuilding and reconstructing the area after the war.

This blog explores the opportunities and challenges associated with Muslim philanthropy and Islamic social finance as a source of humanitarian financing.

This paper analyses the role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) during crises, considering their limits and potential.

Background: Refugees and asylum-seekers have an elevated risk of mental health issues, such as depression and posttraumatic stress. Qualitative outcome studies can contribute by offering insight into patients’ experiences of what they find beneficial and how they undergo the process of recovery. This study aligns with the small body of qualitative research focusing on refugees’ perspectives of psy

Medical waste management is a crucial issue due to its potential health risks to humans and harm to the environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises separating medical waste into seven groups based on its type. However, despite the implementation of color-coded bin bags, cases of missegregation still occur frequently, leading to injuries and spreading diseases. Infectious waste such as

Although several food-related fields have yet to fully grasp the speed and breadth of the fourth industrial revolution (also known as Industry 4.0), growing literature from other sectors shows that Industry 5.0 (referring to the fifth industrial revolution) is already underway. Food Industry 4.0 has been characterized by the fusion of physical, digital, and biological advances in food science and

In this work we consider superconductor-semiconductor hybrids containing both trivial and Majorana zero modes and explore their signatures in the Majorana polarization. In particular, we consider trivial zero-energy states due to confinement and disorder, which seem to be very likely experimental scenarios. We show that the Majorana polarization is able to characterize the topological phase transi

This essay delves into the akiya (vacant houses) problem in Japan, using the phenomenon as a lens to discuss the larger issue of depopulation and repopulation of regional Japan. It builds on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Kochi Prefecture from February to April, 2023, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with official workers and local residents of depopulated areas. The study find

Increasing concern regarding climate change and environmental sustainability have driven research regarding the development of innovative solutions for CO₂ mitigation and biomass utilization. This thesis explores the catalytic conversion of CO₂ and lignin into valuable chemicals, as a promising approach to achieving carbon neutrality and enhancing the circular economy. The study focused on two key

Carotid sinus massage (CSM) as integral part of cardiovascular autonomic testing, is indicated in all patients > 40 years with syncope of unknown origin and suspected reflex mechanism. However, large practice variation exists in performing CSM which inevitably affects the positivity rate of the test and may result in an inaccurate diagnosis in patients with unexplained syncope. Even though CSM was

BACKGROUND: Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) has been linked to microvascular endothelial dysfunction as a potential underlying pathomechanism and can manifest even following a mild course of the initial infection. Prevalence of microvascular endothelial dysfunction and circulating natriuretic peptides in such PACS patients remains unknown.METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective, cross-sectional