Making space for the new state capitalism, part II: Relationality, spatiotemporality and uneven development.

The theme issue 'Making Space for the New State Capitalism' brings together insights from critical economic geography and heterodox political economy through a series of papers published in three installments, each accompanied by an introductory essay written by the guest editors. In this, the second of these introductory commentaries, we explore the consequences of embracing relationality, spatiotemporality and uneven development, together with the second group of papers. Introducing a final group of papers, the third installment will address the challenges and opportunities of thinking conjuncturally.

Passive monitoring of avian habitat on working lands.

Intensive agricultural landscapes pose a challenge to wildlife managers, policymakers, and landowners hoping to increase the diversity of desired wildlife species, such as grassland birds, which require urgent conservation action. In intensive agricultural landscapes, like those of the Midwestern United States, most land area is privately owned and operated and managed primarily for production. Thus, conducting ecological research in intensive agricultural landscapes requires collaborative approaches aimed at farm owners and operators. Recent advances in acoustic data collection and high-resolution habitat mapping, including low-cost acoustic recorders and satellite remote sensing, may be well positioned to address this challenge by enabling expanded assessments and monitoring of wildlife populations and habitats across regions. This study examined fine-grained habitat characteristics and their relationship with avian biodiversity in intensive agricultural landscapes at 44 agricultural sites across the state of Iowa. Passive acoustic monitoring and manual identification of bird species allowed for measurement of vocalizing bird richness. High-resolution mapping of noncrop vegetation provided detailed information on small noncrop vegetation habitat complexes within row-crop agriculture. Measures of image texture provided characterizations of compositional heterogeneity within noncrop vegetation. General linear Poisson modeling demonstrated robust associations between noncrop vegetation and vocalizing bird richness, yet variation in grassland bird richness was not well predicted by noncrop vegetation. Noncrop vegetation texture demonstrated potential as a predictor of vocalizing bird richness, though not better than or when combined with noncrop vegetated area, indicating it may not be an independent measure of habitat quality. Passive acoustic monitoring resulted in useful data at 44 out of 60 originally selected sites, with some lost to failed recorders and/or collaboration issues. Challenges remain in detecting habitat characteristics that promote grassland birds in row crop landscapes. Working toward probabilistic research design across privately owned working landscapes and incorporating more detailed management practice information would improve the transferability of this approach to farmland management and policy.

Oxytocin, the panacea for long-COVID? a review.

OBJECTIVES: In this hypothesis paper we explore the underlying mechanisms for long-COVID and how the oxytocinergic neurones could be infected by SARS-CoV-2 leading to a reduction in plasma oxytocin (OXT). Furthermore, we aim to review the relevance of OXT and hypothalamic function in recovery from long-COVID symptoms and pathology, through exploring the pro-health effects of the OXT neuropeptide. METHODS: A review of published literature was surveyed using Google Scholar and PubMed. RESULTS: Numerous experimental data can be shown to correlate with OXT and long-COVID symptoms and conditions, thus providing strong circumstantial evidence to support our hypothesis. It is postulated that the reduction in plasma OXT due to acute and post-viral damage to the hypothalamus and oxytocinergic neurones contributes to the variable multi-system, remitting and relapsing nature of long-COVID. The intranasal route of OXT application was determined to be most appropriate and clinically relevant for the restoration of oxytocinergic function post COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSIONS: We believe it is imperative to further investigate whether OXT alleviates the prolonged suffering of patients with long-COVID. Succinctly, OXT may be the much-needed post-pandemic panacea.

State Capitalism and the New Global D/development Regime.

Official discourses of Development are being redefined. If the key geopolitical contexts shaping the post-war Development project were decolonisation and the Cold War, the defining world-historical transformations shaping the emerging vision of Development are the expansion of state capitalism and the rise of China. The IMF, the World Bank, the OECD, the G20, other multilaterals, and bilateral partners are increasingly taking stock of the rise of state capitalism, and acting as ideational vectors of this emerging regime. However, this new "state capitalist normal" is also portrayed as carrying risks. There is anxiety regarding the direction the political form of global capital accumulation is heading: with the unchecked proliferation of state capitalism possibly blunting competition, politicising economic relations, and intensifying geoeconomic tensions. This anxiety underwrites the current re-articulation of Development, one which embraces the state as promoter, supervisor, and owner of capital; even as it critiques China's use of similar instruments.

Legitimating State Capital: The Global Financial Professions and the Transnationalization of Chinese Sovereign Wealth.

Increasing Chinese investment has raised the spectre of strategic state influence in Europe, yet the transformative potential of state capital as a global phenomenon remains under-explored. This article sheds light on the dual imperatives of transnationalizing state capital wherein the movement of capital entails both profit maximization and the extra-profit interests of the state. State-capitalist entities such as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are both market-facing and politically driven, disrupting ideological norms surrounding the strictly safe-keeper role of the state in private capital accumulation. The authors draw on the case of the China Investment Corporation, China's premier SWF, to argue that the transnationalization of state capital is a process deeply embedded in the liberal international order, and that it signals the metamorphosis of global capitalism in palimpsest-like ways. The global financial professions, namely investment banking, corporate law and management consulting along with other advisory services, have legitimated state capital by normalizing its political origins through technocratic, expert-driven practice to the effect that it is treated as no different from private capital in global capital networks. The article identifies three logics of practice by which professionals legitimate state capital: adoption, alliance and recreation of financial practices that have facilitated the embeddedness of state capital in global markets.

Closed-loop feedback control of microbubble diameter from a flow-focusing microfluidic device.

Real-time observation and control of particle size and production rate in microfluidic devices are important capabilities for a number of applications, including the production, sorting, and manipulation of microbubbles and droplets. The production of microbubbles from flow-focusing microfluidic devices had been investigated in multiple studies, but each lacked an approach for on-chip measurement and control of microbubble diameter in real time. In this work, we implement a closed-loop feedback control system in a flow-focusing microfluidic device with integrated on-chip electrodes. Using our system, we measure and count microbubbles between 13 and 28 µ m in diameter and control their diameter using a proportional-integral controller. We validate our measurements against an optical benchmark with R 2 = 0.98 and achieve a maximum production rate of 1.4 × 10 5 /s. Using the feedback control system, the device enabled control in microbubble diameter over the range of 14-24 µ m.

Feasibility of Spinal Anesthesia Placement Using Automated Interpretation of Lumbar Ultrasound Images: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the efficacy of spinal anesthesia administration by resident physicians when using an ultrasound system with automated neuraxial landmark detection capabilities. METHODS: 150 patients were enrolled in this trial. Anesthesiology residents placed spinals in subjects undergoing scheduled cesarean delivery using one of three techniques to identify neuraxial landmarks: palpation, ultrasound, or combined palpation and ultrasound. Ultrasound was performed using a handheld system that automatically identified neuraxial landmarks (e.g. midline, intervertebral spaces). All residents watched a 10-minute video and received 20 minutes of hands-on training prior to participating in the study. First insertion success rate was the primary end point. RESULTS: Among all patients, use of ultrasound resulted in a 11% greater first-insertion success rate (RR: 1.11 [0.85-1.47], p=0.431), a 15% reduction in needle insertions (RR: 0.85, p=0.052), and a 26% decrease in needle passes (RR: 0.74, p=0.070). In obese patients of BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, use of ultrasound resulted in 26% greater first-insertion success rates (RR: 1.26, p=0.187), a 21% decrease in needle insertions (RR: 0.79, p=0.025), a 38% decrease in needle passes (RR: 0.62, p=0.030), and a 75% decrease in patients reporting neutral or low patient satisfaction with anesthesia administration (RR: 0.25, p=0.004). DISCUSSION: Resident anesthesiologists competently utilized the ultrasound system after receiving minimal training. Technical endpoints and patient satisfaction trended towards improvement when ultrasound was used prior to spinal placement, with stronger trends observed in obese patients. Additional study is required to fully characterize the impact of the ultrasound system on clinical efficacy.

Correction: A flow focusing microfluidic device with an integrated Coulter particle counter for production, counting and size characterization of monodisperse microbubbles.

Correction for 'A flow focusing microfluidic device with an integrated Coulter particle counter for production, counting and size characterization of monodisperse microbubbles' by J. M. Robert Rickel et al., Lab Chip, 2018, 18, 2653-2664.

Efficacy of Sonothrombolysis Using Microbubbles Produced by a Catheter-Based Microfluidic Device in a Rat Model of Ischemic Stroke.

Limitations of existing thrombolytic therapies for acute ischemic stroke have motivated the development of catheter-based approaches that utilize no or low doses of thrombolytic drugs combined with a mechanical action to either dissolve or extract the thrombus. Sonothrombolysis accelerates thrombus dissolution via the application of ultrasound combined with microbubble contrast agents and low doses of thrombolytics to mechanically disrupt the fibrin mesh. In this work, we studied the efficacy of catheter-directed sonothrombolysis in a rat model of ischemic stroke. Microbubbles of 10-20 µm diameter with a nitrogen gas core and a non-crosslinked albumin shell were produced by a flow-focusing microfluidic device in real time. The microbubbles were dispensed from a catheter located in the internal carotid artery for direct delivery to the thrombus-occluded middle cerebral artery, while ultrasound was administered through the skull and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) was infused via a tail vein catheter. The results of this study demonstrate that flow focusing microfluidic devices can be miniaturized to dimensions compatible with human catheterization and that large-diameter microbubbles comprised of high solubility gases can be safely administered intraarterially to deliver a sonothrombolytic therapy. Further, sonothrombolysis using intraarterial delivery of large microbubbles reduced cerebral infarct volumes by approximately 50% vs. no therapy, significantly improved functional neurological outcomes at 24 h, and permitted rtPA dose reduction of 3.3 (95% CI 1.8-3.8) fold when compared to therapy with intravenous rtPA alone.

A flow focusing microfluidic device with an integrated Coulter particle counter for production, counting and size characterization of monodisperse microbubbles.

Flow focusing microfluidic devices (FFMDs) have been investigated for the production of monodisperse populations of microbubbles for chemical, biomedical and mechanical engineering applications. High-speed optical microscopy is commonly used to monitor FFMD microbubble production parameters, such as diameter and production rate, but this limits the scalability and portability of the approach. In this work, a novel FFMD design featuring integrated electronics for measuring microbubble diameters and production rates is presented. A micro Coulter particle counter (µCPC), using electrodes integrated within the expanding nozzle of an FFMD (FFMD-µCPC), was designed, fabricated and tested. Finite element analysis (FEA) of optimal electrode geometry was performed and validated with experimental data. Electrical data was collected for 8-20 µm diameter microbubbles at production rates up to 3.25 × 105 MB s-1 and compared to both high-speed microscopy data and FEA simulations. Within a valid operating regime, Coulter counts of microbubble production rates matched optical reference values. The Coulter method agreed with the optical reference method in evaluating the microbubble diameter to a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.91.

In Vitro Sonothrombolysis Enhancement by Transiently Stable Microbubbles Produced by a Flow-Focusing Microfluidic Device.

Therapeutic approaches that enhance thrombolysis by combining recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA), ultrasound, and/or microbubbles (MBs) are known as sonothrombolysis techniques. To date, sonothrombolysis approaches have primarily utilized commercially available MB formulations (or derivatives thereof) with diameters in the range 1-4 µm and circulation lifetimes between 5 and 15 min. The present study evaluated the in vitro sonothrombolysis efficacy of large diameter MBs (d MB ≥ 10 µm) with much shorter lifetimes that were produced on demand and in close proximity to the blood clot using a flow-focusing microfluidic device. MBs with a N2 gas core and a non-crosslinked bovine serum albumin shell were produced with diameters between 10 and 20 µm at rates between 50 and 950 × 103 per second. Use of these large MBs resulted in approximately 4.0-8.8 fold increases in thrombolysis rates compared to a clinical rtPA dose and approximately 2.1-4.2 fold increases in thrombolysis rates compared to sonothrombolysis techniques using conventional MBs. The results of this study indicate that the large diameter microbubbles with transient stability are capable of significantly enhanced in vitro sonothrombolysis rates when delivered directly to the clot immediately following production by a flow focusing microfluidic device placed essentially in situ adjacent to the clot.

Assessing ecosystem service provision under climate change to support conservation and development planning in Myanmar.

Inclusion of ecosystem services (ES) information into national-scale development and climate adaptation planning has yet to become common practice, despite demand from decision makers. Identifying where ES originate and to whom the benefits flow-under current and future climate conditions-is especially critical in rapidly developing countries, where the risk of ES loss is high. Here, using Myanmar as a case study, we assess where and how ecosystems provide key benefits to the country's people and infrastructure. We model the supply of and demand for sediment retention, dry-season baseflows, flood risk reduction and coastal storm protection from multiple beneficiaries. We find that locations currently providing the greatest amount of services are likely to remain important under the range of climate conditions considered, demonstrating their importance in planning for climate resilience. Overlap between priority areas for ES provision and biodiversity conservation is higher than expected by chance overall, but the areas important for multiple ES are underrepresented in currently designated protected areas and Key Biodiversity Areas. Our results are contributing to development planning in Myanmar, and our approach could be extended to other contexts where there is demand for national-scale natural capital information to shape development plans and policies.

Imaging Performance of a Handheld Ultrasound System With Real-Time Computer-Aided Detection of Lumbar Spine Anatomy: A Feasibility Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the imaging performance of a handheld ultrasound system and the accuracy of an automated lumbar spine computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm in the spines of human subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Virginia. The authors designed a handheld ultrasound system with enhanced bone image quality and fully automated CAD of lumbar spine anatomy. The imaging performance was evaluated by imaging the lumbar spines of 68 volunteers with body mass index between 18.5 and 48 kg/m. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the lumbar spine CAD algorithm were assessed by comparing the algorithm's results to ground-truth segmentations of neuraxial anatomy provided by radiologists. RESULTS: The lumbar spine CAD algorithm detected the epidural space with a sensitivity of 94.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.1%-98.1%) and a specificity of 85.5% (95% CI, 81.7%-88.6%) and measured its depth with an error of approximately ±0.5 cm compared with measurements obtained manually from the 2-dimensional ultrasound images. The spine midline was detected with a sensitivity of 93.9% (95% CI, 85.8%-97.7%) and specificity of 91.3% (95% CI, 83.6%-96.9%), and its lateral position within the ultrasound image was measured with an error of approximately ±0.3 cm. The bone enhancement imaging mode produced images with 5.1- to 10-fold enhanced bone contrast when compared with a comparable handheld ultrasound imaging system. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of CAD for assisting with real-time interpretation of ultrasound images of the lumbar spine at the bedside.

Synthesis and Testing of Modular Dual-Modality Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance and Multispectral Photoacoustic Imaging.

Magnetic resonance (MR) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging are currently being investigated as complementing strategies for applications requiring sensitive detection of cells in vivo. While combined MR/PAI detection of cells requires biocompatible cell labeling probes, water-based synthesis of dual-modality MR/PAI probes presents significant technical challenges. Here we describe facile synthesis and characterization of hybrid modular dextran-stabilized gold/iron oxide (Au-IO) multimetallic nanoparticles (NP) enabling multimodal imaging of cells. The stable association between the IO and gold NP was achieved by priming the surface of dextran-coated IO with silver NP resulting from silver(I) reduction by aldehyde groups, which are naturally present within the dextran coating of IO at the level of 19-23 groups/particle. The Au-IO NP formed in the presence of silver-primed Au-IO were stabilized by using partially thiolated MPEG5-gPLL graft copolymer carrying residual amino groups. This stabilizer served as a carrier of near-infrared fluorophores (e.g., IRDye 800RS) for multispectral PA imaging. Dual modality imaging experiments performed in capillary phantoms of purified Au-IO-800RS NPs showed that these NPs were detectible using 3T MRI at a concentration of 25 µM iron. PA imaging achieved approximately 2.5-times higher detection sensitivity due to strong PA signal emissions at 530 and 770 nm, corresponding to gold plasmons and IRDye integrated into the coating of the hybrid NPs, respectively, with no "bleaching" of PA signal. MDA-MB-231 cells prelabeled with Au-IO-800RS retained plasma membrane integrity and were detectable by using both MR and dual-wavelength PA at 49 ± 3 cells/imaging voxel. We believe that modular assembly of multimetallic NPs shows promise for imaging analysis of engineered cells and tissues with high resolution and sensitivity.

Microbubble-mediated intravascular ultrasound imaging and drug delivery.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) provides radiation-free, real-time imaging and assessment of atherosclerotic disease in terms of anatomical, functional, and molecular composition. The primary clinical applications of IVUS imaging include assessment of luminal plaque volume and real-time image guidance for stent placement. When paired with microbubble contrast agents, IVUS technology may be extended to provide nonlinear imaging, molecular imaging, and therapeutic delivery modes. In this review, we discuss the development of emerging imaging and therapeutic applications that are enabled by the combination of IVUS imaging technology and microbubble contrast agents.

Simultaneous photoacoustic microscopy of microvascular anatomy, oxygen saturation, and blood flow.

Capitalizing on the optical absorption of hemoglobin, photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is uniquely capable of anatomical and functional characterization of the intact microcirculation in vivo. However, PAM of the metabolic rate of oxygen (MRO2) at the microscopic level remains an unmet challenge, mainly due to the inability to simultaneously quantify microvascular diameter, oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (sO2), and blood flow at the same spatial scale. To fill this technical gap, we have developed a multi-parametric PAM platform. By analyzing both the sO2-encoded spectral dependence and the flow-induced temporal decorrelation of photoacoustic signals generated by the raster-scanned mouse ear vasculature, we demonstrated-for the first time-simultaneous wide-field PAM of all three parameters down to the capillary level in vivo.

Oscillatory Dynamics and In Vivo Photoacoustic Imaging Performance of Plasmonic Nanoparticle-Coated Microbubbles.

Microbubbles bearing plasmonic nanoparticles on their surface provide contrast enhancement for both photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging. In this work, the responses of microbubbles with surface-bound gold nanorods-termed AuMBs-to nanosecond pulsed laser excitation are studied using high-speed microscopy, photoacoustic imaging, and numerical modeling. In response to laser fluences below 5 mJ cm(-2) , AuMBs produce weak photoacoustic emissions and exhibit negligible microbubble wall motion. However, in reponse to fluences above 5 mJ cm(-2) , AuMBs undergo dramatically increased thermal expansion and emit nonlinear photoacoustic waves of over 10-fold greater amplitude than would be expected from freely dispersed gold nanorods. Numerical modeling suggests that AuMB photoacoustic responses to low laser fluences result from conductive heat transfer from the surface-bound nanorods to the microbubble gas core, whereas at higher fluences, explosive boiling may occur at the nanorod surface, producing vapor nanobubbles that contribute to rapid AuMB expansion. The results of this study indicate that AuMBs are capable of producing acoustic emissions of significantly higher amplitude than those produced by conventional sources of photoacoustic contrast. In vivo imaging performance of AuMBs in a murine kidney model suggests that AuMBs may be an effective alternative to existing contrast agents for noninvasive photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging applications.

In vivo imaging of microfluidic-produced microbubbles.

Microfluidics-based production of stable microbubbles for ultrasound contrast enhancement or drug/gene delivery allows for precise control over microbubble diameter but at the cost of a low production rate. In situ microfluidic production of microbubbles directly in the vasculature may eliminate the necessity for high microbubble production rates, long stability, or small diameters. Towards this goal, we investigated whether microfluidic-produced microbubbles directly administered into a mouse tail vein could provide sufficient ultrasound contrast. Microbubbles composed of nitrogen gas and stabilized with 3 % bovine serum albumin and 10 % dextrose were injected for 10 seconds into wild type C57BL/6 mice, via a tail-vein catheter. Short-axis images of the right and left ventricle were acquired at 12.5 MHz and image intensity over time was analyzed. Microbubbles were produced on the order of 10(5) microbubbles/s and were observed in both the right and left ventricles. The median rise time, duration, and decay time within the right ventricle were 2.9, 21.3, and 14.3 s, respectively. All mice survived the procedure with no observable respiratory or heart rate distress despite microbubble diameters as large as 19 µm.

Synthesis and characterization of transiently stable albumin-coated microbubbles via a flow-focusing microfluidic device.

We describe a method for synthesizing albumin-shelled, large-diameter (>10 µm), transiently stable microbubbles using a flow-focusing microfluidic device (FFMD). The microfluidic device enables microbubbles to be produced immediately before insonation, thus relaxing the requirements for stability. Both reconstituted fractionated bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fresh bovine blood plasma were investigated as shell stabilizers. Microbubble coalescence was inhibited by the addition of either dextrose or glycerol and propylene glycol. Microbubbles were observed to have an acoustic half-life of approximately 6 s. Microbubbles generated directly within a vessel phantom containing flowing blood produced a 6.5-dB increase in acoustic signal within the lumen. Microbubbles generated in real time upstream of in vitro rat aortic smooth muscle cells under physiologic flow conditions successfully permeabilized 58% of the cells on insonation at a peak negative pressure of 200 kPa. These results indicate that transiently stable microbubbles produced via flow-focusing microfluidic devices are capable of image enhancement and drug delivery. In addition, successful microbubble production with blood plasma suggests the potential to use blood as a stabilizing shell.

Intravascular near-infrared fluorescence catheter with ultrasound guidance and blood attenuation correction.

Intravascular near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging offers a new approach for characterizing atherosclerotic plaque, but random catheter positioning within the vessel lumen results in variable light attenuation and can yield inaccurate measurements. We hypothesized that NIRF measurements could be corrected for variable light attenuation through blood by tracking the location of the NIRF catheter with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). In this study, a combined NIRF-IVUS catheter was designed to acquire coregistered NIRF and IVUS data, an automated image processing algorithm was developed to measure catheter-to-vessel wall distances, and depth-dependent attenuation of the fluorescent signal was corrected by an analytical light propagation model. Performance of the catheter sensing distance correction method was evaluated in coronary artery phantoms and ex vivo arteries. The correction method produced NIRF estimates of fluorophore concentrations, in coronary artery phantoms, with an average root mean square error of 17.5%. In addition, the correction method resulted in a statistically significant improvement in correlation between spatially resolved NIRF measurements and known fluorophore spatial distributions in ex vivo arteries (from r = 0.24 to 0.69, p < 0.01, n = 6). This work demonstrates that catheter-to-vessel wall distances, measured from IVUS images, can be employed to compensate for inaccuracies caused by variable intravascular NIRF sensing distances.