“Their Need Was Great”: Émigrés and Anglo-American Intelligence Operations in the Early Cold War

Covert action during the Cold War has been the subject of much historiography. This research, however, is based for the most part on primary sources, specifically on the records declassified in the United States in 2007 as a consequence of the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act. The majority of the historiography on this topic either predates or neglects these records. The study of covert operations inside the Iron Curtain during the early Cold War, sponsored by Western states using émigré agents, usually ends with the conclusion that these operations were a failure, both in operational terms and from the point of view of the intelligence gathered. I will challenge this conclusion, showing that not only the operations gathered a significant amount of intelligence, but also that the intelligence obtained was considered valuable by policymakers and had an impact in the planning and policymaking strategies of the early Cold War. The focus on primary sources also allowed a detailed description of the practical aspects of the operations, leading to a more coherent and solid analysis of their development and consequences. This study focuses on American operations, due to the abundance of records available. British operations have also been considered and assessed in the best way the author found possible. Two case studies have been selected, based on the nationality of the émigré agents used: White Russians and Ukrainians. The intelligence outcome from these operations has been carefully analysed, and their influence on policymaking assessed in the wider context of the Cold War. The conclusion is a complete re-evaluation of the importance and value of Western Human intelligence in the late 1940s and 1950s

A kinematic and computational study of leech crawling: Support for a CPG based on travelling waves of excitation.

Many well characterized central pattern generators (CPGs) underlie behaviors (e.g., swimming, flight, heartbeat) that require regular rhythmicity and strict phase relationships. Here, we examine the organization of a CPG for leech crawling, a behavior whose success depends more on its flexibility than on its precise coordination. We examined the organization of this CPG by first characterizing the kinematics of crawling steps in normal and surgically manipulated animals, then by exploring its features in a simple neuronal model. The behavioral observations revealed the following. (1) Intersegmental coordination varied considerably with step duration, whereas the rates of elongation and contraction within individual segments were relatively constant. (2) Steps were generated in the absence of both head and tail brains, implying that midbody ganglia contain a CPG for step production. (3) Removal of sensory feedback did not affect step coordination or timing. (4) Imposed stretch greatly lengthened transitions between elongation and contraction, indicating that sensory pathways feed back onto the CPG. A simple model reproduced essential features of the observed kinematics. This model consisted of an oscillator that initiates propagating segmental waves of activity in excitatory neuronal chains, along with a parallel descending projection; together, these pathways could produce the observed intersegmental lags, coordination between phases, and step duration. We suggest that the proposed model is well suited to be modified on a step-by-step basis and that crawling may differ substantially from other described CPGs, such as that for swimming in segmented animals, where individual segments produce oscillations that are strongly phase-locked to one another

What use is the media when a country collapses? (guest blog)

What is the role of the media after a state has been through a war or a disaster that leaves all the social and political structures weak and often destroyed? Hennriette Von Klatenborn-Stachau and Shanthi Kalathil, are two consultants for the World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP). They spoke at a Polis meeting on the relationship between the media, the state and civil society in countries that have just experienced serious political upheaval, violent conflict or riots. Polis Intern Alex Cacciatore reports

Universalismo ético y diferencia: a partir de Vico

Este trabajo analiza el método tópico-retórico, definido por Vico y escogido de la tópica jurídica como modelo de razonamiento filosófico, y estudia su carácter de técnica de ensamiento problematista, necesario en la producción de pruebas argumentativas.This paper deals with the topical-rhetorical method, which Vico borrowed from juridical discourse as a model for philosophical reasoning. It studies it as a technic of problematist thought, requested for the production of argumentative proofs

La ingeniosa ratio de Vico entre sabiduría y prudencia

En el discurso viquiano sobre la historicidad del mundo humano se otorga un puesto destacado a los principios que están al origen del proceso de humanización. Entre ellos destacan las funciones de la memoria, la fantasía y el ingenioIn Vico’s discourse about the historicity of human world, the origins of the humanisation process have a relevant place. On this respect, the functions of memory, fantasy and ingenuity accomplish an important role

Seeing and holding baby: Systematic review of clinical management and parental outcomes following stillbirth

Background - In 2009 there were an estimated 2.6 million stillbirths worldwide. In the United States, a 2007 systematic review found little consensus about professional behaviours perceived by parents to be most helpful or most distressing. In the United Kingdom a bereaved parents’ organisation has highlighted discordance between parental views and clinical guidelines that recommend clinicians’ do not encourage parents to see and hold their baby. The objective of this review was to identify and synthesise available research reporting parental outcomes relating to seeing and holding. Method(s) - We undertook a systematic review. We included studies of any design, reporting parental experiences and outcomes. Electronic searches (PubMed, PsychINFO) were conducted in January 2014. Three authors independently screened and assessed the quality of the studies, before abstracting data and undertaking thematic analysis. Results - We reviewed 741 records and included 23 studies (10 quantitative,12 qualitative,1 mixed-method). Twenty-one studies suggested positive outcomes for parents who saw or held their baby. Increased psychological morbidity was associated with current pregnancy, choice not to see their baby, lack of time with their baby and/or insufficient mementos. Three themes were formulated “Positive effects of contact within a traumatic life event”, “Importance of role of health professionals”; and “Impact on Mothers and Fathers: Similarities and differences”. Conclusions - Stillbirth is a risk factor for increased psychological morbidity. Parents’ seeing and holding their stillborn baby can be beneficial to their future wellbeing. Since 2007, there has been a proliferation of studies that challenge clinical guidelines recommending clinicians do not encourage parental contact

My Vicos

Traducción del italiano por María Lida MolloLa pluralidad de Vicos que habitan en Vico no solo se refieren a la multiversalidad del filósofo napolitano, sino, en este caso, a la multidisciplinariedad que caracteriza un «largo habitar» del Autor en las páginas viquianas. Este “habitar” ha estado caracterizado por el empleo de los momentos clave de una filosofía que todavía hoy es capaz de hablar a la contemporaneidad. La razón narrativa del Autor nos conduce historicistamente a través de esos momentos, desvelando las claves de cómo, durante casi medio siglo de «trato con sus páginas», ha llegado el Autor a desentrañar la pluralidad de un Vico en perspectiva.The plurality of Vicos that inhabit Vico does not only refer to the multiversality of the Neapolitan philosopher, but, in this case, to the multidisciplinar character of the «long living» of the Author in the Viquian pages. This “living” has been characterized by the use of the key moments of a philosophy that is still capable of speaking to contemporaneity. The Author's narrative reason leads us through those moments historicistically, revealing the keys of how, during almost half a century of «dealing with its pages», the Author has come to unravel the plurality of a perspectival Vico.La pluralità dei Vico che albergano in Vico si riferisce non solo alla multiversalità del filosofo napoletano bensì, in questo caso, anche alla multidisciplinarietà che caratterizza il «lungo abitare» dell’Autore nelle pagine viquiane. Tale “abitare” è stato caratterizzato dall’uso dei momenti chiave di una filosofia che ancora oggi è capace di parlare alla contemporaneità. La ragione narrativa dell’Autore ci conduce storicisticamente attraverso questi momenti, rivelando le chiavi di come, nel corso di quasi mezzo secolo di «confronto con le sue pagine», l’Autore è giunto a sviscerare la pluralità di un Vico in prospettiva

Usefulness of calcaneal quantitative ultrasound stiffness for the evaluation of bone health in HIV-1-infected subjects: Comparison with dual X-ray absorptiometry

Objectives: With the development of effective treatments and the resulting increase in life expectancy, bone mineral density (BMD) alteration has emerged as an important comorbidity in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals. The potential contributors to the pathogenesis of osteopenia/osteoporosis include a higher prevalence of risk factors, combined antiretroviral therapy (cART)-exposure, HIV-1 itself and chronic immune activation/inflammation. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the “gold standard” technique for assessing bone status in HIV-1 population. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate bone mineral status in a group of 158 HIV-1-infected subjects. The primary endpoint was the feasibility of calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) as a screening tool for BMD. All subjects were receiving stable cART and were virologically suppressed (HIV-RNA <37 copies/mL) from at least 12 months. Calcaneal QUS parameters were analyzed to obtain information on bone mass and microarchitecture. The results were compared with those obtained by DXA. Results: No correlations were found between DXA/QUS parameters and demographic or HIV-1-specific characteristics, also including cART strategies. In the univariate analyses BMD, QUS indexes, and Fracture Risk Assessment Tool scores conversely showed significant associations with one or more demographic or HIV-1-related variables. Moreover, a significant relationship between calcaneal quantitative ultrasound index/stiffness and femoral/lumbar BMD values from DXA was described. The multivariate analysis showed an independent association between calcaneal quantitative ultrasound index/stiffness and body mass index, higher CD4+T-cell numbers and low 25-OH D2/D3 vitamin D levels <10 ng/mL (P-values: 0.004, 0.016, and 0.015, respectively). Conclusion: As an alternative and/or integrative examination to DXA, calcaneal QUS could be proposed as a useful screening in HIV-1-infected patients for assessing bone health impairment. In fact, the results obtained confirm that calcaneal QUS may be useful for monitoring bone status, being a noninvasive and inexpensive technique, especially in those subjects with the classical traditional risk factors for bone damage that were observed earlier in HIV-1 population