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Background: The Chikungunya virus (CKIKV) is currently present in America. Travel between America and Europe is particularly intense and one of the main vectors of CHIKV, Aedes albopictus, is well established in the Mediterranean basin. We describe a series of imported cases that could originate a European outbreak.Methods: We retrospectively studied cases of CHIKV originating in America and diagnosed in the last year in three Tropical Medicine Units of Barcelona of the International Health Program of the Catalan Health Institute (PROSICS). Clinical, microbiological and epidemiological data were analyzed.Results: Forty-two CHIKV cases who had returned from 11 American countries were included. Fever was the most common symptom at onset (96.1%). Three months after symptom onset 50% continued with arthralgias, 35.3% fatigue and 11.8% arthritis. Three patients were viremic at the time of diagnosis by RT-PCR, and the remaining were diagnosed by serology (CHIKV IgM or IgG). Five (11.9%) patients had positive IgM for both dengue virus and CHIKV.Conclusions: The origin of the cases was diverse, the most frequent being initially the Dominican Republic, followed later by Venezuela and Colombia. Symptoms were not severe but persisted, accompanied by unremitting positive IgM. Diagnosis was mainly based on serology and RT-PCR, with the performance of the rapid immunochromatographic test being low. Phylogenetic studies showed that two viremic cases were caused by a strain of Asian lineage with a lower adaptability to Aedes albopictus. Co-infection with the dengue virus was common, but the clinical course was not affected by coinfection. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were administered to 71.4% and steroids to 21.4%. The number of imported cases of CHIKV in Spain is rising due to introduction of this virus in America, and this could lead to an autochthonous outbreak if Public Health measures are not taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Biological Anthropology studies the variation and evolution of living humans, non‐human primates, and extinct ancestors and for this reason the field should be in an ideal position to attract scientists from a variety of backgrounds who have different views and experiences. However, the origin and history of the discipline, anecdotal observations, self‐reports, and recent surveys suggest the field has significant barriers to attracting scholars of color. For a variety of reasons, including quantitative research that demonstrates that diverse groups do better science, the discipline should strive to achieve a more diverse composition. Here we discuss the background and underpinnings of the current and historical dearth of diversity in Biological Anthropology in the U.S. specifically as it relates to representation of minority and underrepresented minority (URM) (or racialized minority) scholars. We trace this lack of diversity to underlying issues of recruitment and retention in the STEM sciences generally, to the history of Anthropology particularly around questions of race‐science, and to the absence of Anthropology at many minority‐serving institutions, especially HBCUs, a situation that forestalls pathways to the discipline for many minority students. The AAPA Committee on Diversity (COD) was conceived as a means of assessing and improving diversity within the discipline, and we detail the history of the COD since its inception in 2006. Prior to the COD there were no systematic AAPA efforts to consider ethnoracial diversity in our ranks and no programming around questions of diversity and inclusion. Departmental survey data collected by the COD indicate that undergraduate majors in Biological Anthropology are remarkably diverse, but that the discipline loses these scholars between undergraduate and graduate school and systematically up rank. Our analysis of recent membership demographic survey data (2014 and 2017) shows Biological Anthropology to have less ethnoracial diversity than even the affiliated STEM disciplines of Biology and Anatomy; nearly 87% of AAPA members in the United States identify as white and just 7% as URM scholars. These data also suggest that the intersection of race and gender significantly influence scholarly representation. In response to these data, we describe a substantial body of programs that have been developed by the COD to improve diversity in our ranks. Through these programs we identify principal concerns that contribute to the loss of scholars of color from the discipline at different stages in their careers, propose other directions that programming for recruitment should take, and discuss the beginnings of how to develop a more inclusive discipline at all career stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies must ensure their software complies with relevant laws and regulations to avoid the risk of costly penalties, lost reputation, and brand damage resulting from non-compliance. Laws and regulations contain internal cross-references to portions of the same legal text, as well as cross-references to external legal texts. These cross-references introduce ambiguities, exceptions, as well as other challenges to regulatory compliance. Requirements engineers need guidance as to how to address cross-references in order to comply with the requirements of the law. Herein, we analyze each external cross-reference within the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and the GLBA Financial Privacy Rule to determine whether a cross-reference either introduces a conflicting requirement, a conflicting definition, or refines an existing requirement. Herein, we propose a legal cross-reference taxonomy to aid requirements engineers in classifying cross-references as they specify compliance requirements. Analyzing cross-references enables us to address conflicting requirements that may otherwise thwart legal compliance. We identify five sets of conflicting compliance requirements and recommend strategies for resolving these conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses changes to a consent decree for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in Los Angeles, California. The consent decree was established following a lawsuit filed by Chanda Smith, the mother of a student, who alleged the LAUSD had failed to meet legal requirements for the delivery of special education services. An investigation by consultants revealed deficiencies in the district's special education programs, leading to the creation of the consent decree for the implementation of improvement plans. Following changes to the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the district requested modifications to the decree due to costs of compliance.

The U.S. legislation at both the federal and state levels mandates certain organizations to inform customers about information uses and disclosures. Such disclosures are typically accomplished through privacy policies, both online and offline. Unfortunately, the policies are not easy to comprehend, and, as a result, online consumers frequently do not read the policies provided at healthcare Web sites. Because these policies are often required by law, they should be clear so that consumers are likely to read them and to ensure that consumers can comprehend these policies. This, in turn, may increase consumer trust and encourage consumers to feel more comfortable when interacting with online organizations. In this paper, we present results of an empirical study, involving 993 Internet users, which compared various ways to present privacy policy information to online consumers. Our findings suggest that users perceive typical, paragraph-form policies to be more secure than other forms of policy representation, yet user comprehension of such paragraph-form policies is poor as compared to other policy representations. The results of this study can help managers create more trustworthy policies, aid compliance officers in detecting deceptive organizations, and serve legislative bodies by providing tangible evidence as to the ineffectiveness of current privacy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay presents an exploration into the themes of manifest destiny and religious-political fundamentalism within various works by 20th century American playwrights. Multiple themes addressed in response to these driving factors are explored, highlighting the negative social consequences they bring about, such as division. Authors discussed include Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams.

The relationship between supply chain performance and renewable energies has been widely identified as a critical research topic by practitioners, international organizations, and academics. It is essential to explore the articles that have been published by scholars regarding their main concerns, the methodologies used, the renewable energies that have been focused on, and the performance indicators that have been used in the optimization of renewable energies supply chains. This paper delivers a comprehensive bibliometric analysis that provides a better understanding not previously fully evaluated by earlier studies in the field of supply chain performance and renewable energies. The goal of this research is: 1) to recognize the scholarly production; 2) the most productive authors; 3) the most productive journals; 4) the most cited articles; and 5) the most productive countries. The analysis begins by identifying studies published during the period between 2005 and the middle of 2018, which are then reduced in number to those authored by influential investigators. Also discussed are the gaps in knowledge about literature and bibliometric analysis. The findings provide a potential roadmap for researchers who intend to undertake research in this field. • The number of publications in supply chain performance and renewable energies has been increasing, in the last few years. • The topic of supply chain performance and renewable energies has been explored most deeply in the USA, Italy, and the UK. • The most-cited articles are related to the spatial distribution of bioenergy production units and process network. • The renewable energies most focused are bioethanol, biofuels, biomass, bio-oil gasifier. • The Biomass and Bioenergy journal is the most-cited journal in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]