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• We propose a new metric of supply chain exposure to network concentration risk: the pass-through frequency (PTF). • The PTF measures the frequency that a supply chain engages with the industrial sectors in a particular region of analytical concerns (natural hazards, geopolitical risks). • The PTF as a frequency-based indicator is compared with "trade in value-added" as a volume-based indicator, so that the supply chain exposure is evaluated in two analytical dimensions. • An empirical analysis using multi-country input-output tables shows that the US ICT equipment sector is highly skewed towards frequency-based concentration in China's production system, raising likelihood of getting caught by any contingency in the country. • The analysis of mutual risk positions for the US and China's supply chains reveals a notable asymmetry in the dependence structure between the two countries. In this paper, we present new referential statistics for the degree of supply chain exposure to network concentration risk. The study's contribution rests on the development of a metric that indicates network concentration in terms of the frequency of supply chain engagement with the regions of analytical concern, alongside the traditional approach based on volume measurement of value-added concentration. Japan, a country with a high propensity to encounter natural hazards, and China, under mounting geopolitical tension with the United States, are chosen as the target regions for the assessment of network concentration. In addition, the highly asymmetric structure of mutual economic dependency in the US-China relations is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of logistics have embraced the "choke point" thesis: the notion that a strategically positioned group of workers or insurgents can exercise outsize power by disrupting the circulation of goods through the supply chain. This article examines this proposition through the case of Coco Solo, Panama, an informal community situated at the epicentre of Panama's transit economy but persistently excluded from its benefits. Between 2001 and 2014, as part of a protracted struggle over housing, Coco Solo residents repeatedly blockaded key ports and logistics facilities. Despite their location at a critical node in global capitalist commodity circuits, the community's actions met with limited success. I draw on the case to refine existing theorisations of logistical resistance, emphasising the contingent factors that influence the effectiveness of such tactics, the diverse contexts in which they are mobilised, and the value of going beyond workerist and insurrectionist accounts of supply chain disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to provide an update on methods for palliating symptoms in patients with histologically benign and malignant central airway obstruction. We review the published literature within the past decade on postintubation, posttracheostomy, and TB- and transplant-related airway strictures; tracheobronchomalacia; and malignant airway obstruction. We review terminology, classification systems, and parameters that impact treatment decisions. The focus is on how airway stent insertion fits into the best algorithm of care. Several case series and cohort studies demonstrate that airway stents improve dyspnea, lung function, and quality of life in patients with airway obstruction. Airway stenting, however, is associated with high rates of adverse events and should be used only when curative open surgical interventions are not feasible or are contraindicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) constitute one of the most diverse and ecologically important groups of phytoplankton. They are considered to be particularly important in nutrient-rich coastal ecosystems and at high latitudes, but considerably less so in the oligotrophic open ocean. The Tara Oceans circumnavigation collected samples from a wide range of oceanic regions using a standardized sampling procedure. Here, a total of ~12 million diatom V9-18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) ribotypes, derived from 293 size-fractionated plankton communities collected at 46 sampling sites across the global ocean euphotic zone, have been analyzed to explore diatom global diversity and community composition. We provide a new estimate of diversity of marine planktonic diatoms at 4,748 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Based on the total assigned ribotypes, Chaetoceros was the most abundant and diverse genus, followed by Fragilariopsis, Thalassiosira, and Corethron. We found only a few cosmopolitan ribotypes displaying an even distribution across stations and high abundance, many of which could not be assigned with confidence to any known genus. Three distinct communities from South Pacific, Mediterranean, and Southern Ocean waters were identified that share a substantial percentage of ribotypes within them. Sudden drops in diversity were observed at Cape Agulhas, which separates the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and across the Drake Passage between the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, indicating the importance of these ocean circulation choke points in constraining diatom distribution and diversity. We also observed high diatom diversity in the open ocean, suggesting that diatoms may be more relevant in these oceanic systems than generally considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "passage" has many different meanings. However, from geographical standpoint it is used to indicate water passage or narrow water stretch that connects two larger water areas. Based on its dimensions it can be classified as channel or strait. Its dimensions, or more specifically the length and width, as well as its geographical location represent decisive factors for matters from international character that is important for the world economy and security. This paper provides a detailed description of several water passages that are analysed from geopolitical aspect as important and unavoidable points for energy transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "passage" has many different meanings. However, from geographical standpoint it is used to indicate water passage or narrow water stretch that connects two larger water areas. Based on its dimensions it can be classified as channel or strait. Its dimensions, or more specifically the length and width, as well as its geographical location represent decisive factors for matters from international character that is important for the world economy and security. This paper provides a detailed description of several water passages that are analysed from geopolitical aspect as important and unavoidable points for energy transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the 1960s and the 1970s, the Indian Ocean and its bordering states have been of growing significance in world geopolitics and global geostrategy. It is a region of great diversity and contrasts in terms of politics, population, economy and environment, as well as being a complex geopolitical framework where foreign powers and local states' interests deeply intermingle. Since the end of the Cold War, the region has been in a period of great instability and regional rearrangement that is still ongoing today. Taking into account the significance of its strategic energy resources, the importance of its strategic shipping lanes, the 'rise of India' as a dominant regional player, the turbulences of the Islamic world, the deep and broad involvement of the United States (and its allies) in the region, as well as China's recent entry on the regional chessboard, there is no doubt that the Indian Ocean will remain on the forefront of world geopolitics in the coming decades and most probably for the entire twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]