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Macrophage infiltration and accumulation in the atherosclerotic lesion are associated with plaque progression and instability. Depletion of macrophages from the lesion might provide valuable insights into plaque stabilization processes. Therefore, we assessed the effects of systemic and local macrophage depletion on atherogenesis. To deplete monocytes/macrophages we used atherosclerosis‐susceptible Apoe−/− mice, bearing a MaFIA (macrophage‐Fas‐induced‐apoptosis) suicide construct under control of the Csf1r (CD115) promotor, where selective apoptosis of Csf1r‐expressing cells was induced in a controlled manner, by administration of a drug, AP20187. Systemic induction of apoptosis resulted in a decrease in lesion macrophages and smooth‐muscle cells. Plaque size and necrotic core size remained unaffected. Two weeks after the systemic depletion of macrophages, we observed a replenishment of the myeloid compartment. Myelopoiesis was modulated resulting in an expansion of CSF1Rlo myeloid cells in the circulation and a shift from Ly6chi monocytes toward Ly6cint and Ly6clo populations in the spleen. Local apoptosis induction led to a decrease in plaque burden and macrophage content with marginal effects on the circulating myeloid cells. Local, but not systemic depletion of Csf1r+ myeloid cells resulted in decreased plaque burden. Systemic depletion led to CSF1Rlo‐monocyte expansion in blood, possibly explaining the lack of effects on plaque development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organized crime's governance raises questions about mechanisms facilitating the exercise of illegal authority in society. The present research tested the association between masculine honor ideology and the justification of connivance practices facilitating criminal groups' activities. We examined the novel idea that national identification would attenuate and territorial identification would strengthen such a relationship, reflecting different sources of authority at the national and territorial levels. In Studies 1a and b (N = 398 and N = 399), we measured individuals' endorsement of masculine honor, justification of connivance practices, and national and territorial identifications. In Study 2 (N = 390), we experimentally manipulated the salience of these identities. Results supported the hypotheses that the link between masculine honor and justification of connivance was weaker at higher levels of national identification and stronger at higher levels of territorial identification. Implications and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several remedies can be adopted in the fight against organized crime and mafias. One of the most effective is the confiscation of their assets. After confiscation, assets can be used to provide services to citizens, frequently thanks to the support of non-profit organizations. With a focus on Italy, this study investigates the transparency of the confiscation process and the factors that explain why local governments provide (or do not provide) information on confiscated assets. Points for practitioners: To facilitate dialogue with citizens, it is essential to consider the perspective of data users, so as to avoid focusing on the data provider. Such a dialogue can aid the adequate reuse of assets confiscated from the mafia and other criminal organizations, contributing to the 'social' fight against them. This article contributes to the debate on both transparency and studies on mafia organizations, providing a new insight through the consideration of how external pressures can drive public-sector entities to be more transparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network disruption is pivotal in understanding the robustness and vulnerability of complex networks, which is instrumental in devising strategies for infrastructure protection, epidemic control, cybersecurity, and combating crime. In this paper, with a particular focus on disrupting criminal networks, we proposed to impose a within-the-largest-connected-component constraint in a continuous batch removal disruption process. Through a series of experiments on a recently released Sicilian Mafia network, we revealed that the constraint would enhance degree-based methods while weakening betweenness-based approaches. Moreover, based on the findings from the experiments using various disruption strategies, we propose a structurally-filtered greedy disruption strategy that integrates the effectiveness of greedy-like methods with the efficiency of structural-metric-based approaches. The proposed strategy significantly outperforms the longstanding state-of-the-art method of betweenness centrality while maintaining the same time complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organized crime tightens its corrupting influence on politics through violent intimidation. Anti-crime measures that increase the cost of corruption but not of the exercise of violence might, on the one hand, lead mafia-style organizations to retaliate by resorting to violence in lieu of bribery. On the other hand, this kind of anti-crime measure might also induce criminal clans to go inactive, owing to the lower expected payoff from the "business" of influencing politics, which would reduce violence. To determine which of these possible effects is prevalent, we undertake an empirical assessment of the impact of city council dissolution for mafia influence in Italy as prescribed by Decree Law 164/1991 in discouraging violence against politicians in the period 2010–2019. The difference-in-differences analysis shows that in the dissolved municipalities the enforcement of the Law reduces violence and that the effect persists (at least) for seven years after the compulsory administration. The most likely driving channel of this result is the renewed pool of politicians elected after compulsory administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing on ethnographic and historical accounts of migrant smuggling and forgery from the smugglers' perspectives, this essay shifts the focus from a state-centric understanding of smuggling as a criminal activity conducted by 'greedy' individuals and 'mafia rings', to a specific form of practice that operates through a series of concrete material techniques. It argues that smuggling recognises and reworks the material and technological features of borders which are vulnerable to reappropriation. These vulnerabilities inherent to the materialisation of abstract notions such as borders are understood and discussed as 'reproducibility', 'repetition', and 'imitation'. Smuggling not only reconfigures the apparatus of borders to provide support for those who are denied access to mobility, but also can teach us something about a specific mode of critique that I call a material mode of critique. The material mode of critiquing borders goes beyond a discursive mode which mostly locates politicians, academics, and activists as the critics of border politics. This mode can open up new possibilities of thinking about and against borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the long-run economic impact of dismissing city councils infiltrated by organized crime. Applying a matched difference-in-differences design to the universe of Italian social security records, we find that city council dismissals (CCDs) increase employment, the number of firms, and industrial real estate prices. The effects are concentrated in Mafia-dominated sectors and in municipalities where fewer incumbents are reelected. The dismissals generate large economic returns by weakening the Mafia and fostering trust in local institutions. The analysis suggests that CCDs represent an effective intervention for establishing legitimacy and spurring economic activity in areas dominated by organized crime. (JEL D73, H77, K42, R11, R23) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the wide reach of anti-money laundering legislation worldwide and increasing media attention, fostered by journalistic leaks such as Panama Papers, empirical knowledge on how criminals launder their illicit proceeds is still scarce. The few available empirical studies show that money laundering (ML) schemes are often less sophisticated than they are depicted in the political and media debate. To contribute to the empirical knowledge of ML behaviour, and test this hypothesis, the present study analyses the ML activities related to 2818 Italian offenders included in the ML section of the LexisNexis' WorldCompliance database. Through a quantitative content analysis of textual information related to each offender's profile, it highlights the characteristics of the ML offenders, the methods (or 'typologies' in FATF terms) employed, the assets seized, the business sectors involved and the countries in which ML was conducted. The results confirm that criminals tend to employ unsophisticated typologies, as well as prefer Italy or jurisdictions that are close (geographically and culturally) to Italy for laundering their illicit proceeds. Tangible assets (first real estate and registered vehicles) are more frequent than financial assets. Finally, differences exist between the laundering by mafia-related ML offenders and non-mafia ones. The study provides empirical ground to progress in the knowledge of how ML offenders behave, and supports the idea that criminals, when laundering their proceeds, do not act as legitimate entrepreneurs, but may be driven by other constraints and drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the role of civic norms for social change after traumatic events, and how do those norms shape collective resistance? The present study seeks to address this urgent query by examining Sicilians' culture war against the mafia. Based on rigorous ethnographic research over a period of 7 years (2016–2023), an extensive database was created, which included 77 commemorative events, a guided city tour, 54 interviews with antimafia activists, and 89 audio–visual recordings totaling 1768 min. I introduce two analytical concepts, "informative rituals" and "transmissive rituals," that offer a new perspective on how activists leverage the civic norms of social bonds to realize their objectives. I argue that shifting civic norms in a post‐traumatic society is not only driven by collective resistance but also requires significant time in the presence of an oppressive force. This study proposes that, for a socially traumatized community attempting to shift civic norms, prolonged and strenuous endeavors are required in order to thoroughly permeate those norms among the general public. The findings demonstrate that the consolidation of civic norms within post‐traumatic societies is highly contingent upon its temporal context and sustainability, which explains why culture wars frequently necessitate a long‐term communal investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will explore how the current narratives (and corresponding changes) in Dutch organised crime policing relate to ethnic profiling of minorities in the Netherlands. It will do so by developing a theoretically informed narrative understanding of what we would like to conceptualise as ethnic profiling of organised crime (in the Netherlands), digging deeper into the connection between the role of ethnicity in organised crime studies inasmuch as it relates to the history of the mafia concept and, even further, lingering colonialism in law-and-order approaches. By focusing on (assumed) socio-historical connections between Italy, mafia and organised crime and on the social construction of Italian mafia as organised crime, based on narrative criminology, this article discursively and interpretatively understands the dominant and hidden Dutch narratives on (policing) organised crime. The discovered narratives will be critically discussed in light of the juxtaposition between mafias and ethnic organised crime and post-colonial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yarin Eski and Anna Sergi recently published an article in Trends in Organized Crime called 'Ethnic profiling of organised crime? A tendency of mafia‑cation in the Netherlands' Eski and Sergi (Trends Organ Crime, 1?20 2023). In their theoretical contribution, the authors claim that the policing of organised crime in the Netherlands amounts to ethnic profiling of minorities. However, the question of whether Dutch organised crime policies focus on ethnic minorities is in fact an empirical one. While Eski and Sergi claim the existence of an 'ethnicised' focus, the use of the phrase 'theoretical' is a rather ineffective attempt to cover up methodological weaknesses and a lack of empirical substantiation. Court records, records of the Public Prosecution Service, parliamentary documents, and academic research into organised crime provide not a shred of evidence of mafia-cation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal on Criminology is the property of Policy Studies Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The criminal groups of the United States of America in the second half of the 20th century definitely did not create new ideological trends and concepts; they were organized using existing views and ideologies known throughout the world. In the 1980s, there was an ideological “scrapping” in the US prison system, which led to considerable concern among US law enforcement officers. The article examines the period of active opposition of the FBI to one of the largest neo-Nazi prison groups “Aryan Brotherhood” in the second half of the 20th century, and also reveals the history of this organization, its structure, a number of crimes committed by members of this gang, cases of recruiting individual members of the “Brotherhood” as FBI informants, as well as the interaction of various prison groups in the USA among themselves. Despite the activities of the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the US Department of Justice and the prosecutor’s office, gaining control of the situation took a significant time, this organization still exists today, but its activities no longer go beyond the walls of prisons.

This study investigates how farmers develop place-based relations when subject to structural conditions of violence and environmental crime. We particularly focus on environmental crimes perpetrated by the Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia, at the expense of farming communities in the metropolitan areas of Naples and Caserta, in Italy. Farmers located in this area have struggled to mobilize collectively, with only a group of farmers enable to re-act to land exploitation, illegal burning or dumping, and more in general to the waste crisis. Stimulated by this rather puzzling empirical evidence, our research team engaged in a deeper investigation of the waste crisis, exploring how farmers located in the Land of Fires reacted to conditions of violence and environmental crime by developing a differentiated set of place-based narratives and practices. Using the Land of Fires and the waste crisis as an empirical context, in this study we focus particularly on conceptualizing place-based processes emerging in the context of organized violence and environmental crime. In our approach, these are structural conditions produced by the Camorra and the state, to which local agencies, such as farmers, respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reconsiders the nexus between the abundance of resources and the origins of Sicilian mafia by exploiting a new set of historical data at the municipal level on the Sicilian sulphur industry in the late nineteenth century, obtained from official reports of the Royal Corps of Mining Engineers. Our evidence confirms that sulphur favoured the rise of organized crime, as emphasized in the previous studies. However, we show that the impact of local production on mafia was smaller in the areas richest in sulphur. Moreover, mechanization in the extraction process was associated with lower incidence of mafia. Taken together, our findings suggest that larger lodes encouraged better and more orderly working conditions for the miners, possibly reducing physical and psychic strain and, consequently, their inclination to violence. In other words, the quality of working conditions affected the supply of violent individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct RNA sequencing offers the possibility to simultaneously identify canonical bases and epi-transcriptomic modifications in each single RNA molecule. Thus far, the development of computational methods has been hampered by the lack of biologically realistic training data that carries modification labels at molecular resolution. Here, we report on the synthesis of such samples and the development of a bespoke algorithm, mAFiA (m6A Finding Algorithm), that accurately detects single m6A nucleotides in both synthetic RNAs and natural mRNA on single read level. Our approach uncovers distinct modification patterns in single molecules that would appear identical at the ensemble level. Compared to existing methods, mAFiA also demonstrates improved accuracy in measuring site-level m6A stoichiometry in biological samples. Direct RNA-seq offers the possibility to identify RNA modifications on single molecules. Here, the authors report on the synthesis of biologically realistic training data and the development of mAFiA that accurately detects m6A on single read level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer und Recht is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes the effect of anti-corruption measures on female political empowerment. We exploit a measure that prescribes the dissolution of city councils for mafia infiltration, leading to an exogenous decrease in the level of corruption within local government. We find that the percentage of female councilors and aldermen elected after compulsory administrations, as well as the probability of a female mayor, sharply increases relative to the control group; the effect of the measure is decreasing over time. The evidence suggests that the most likely mechanism mediating the result relies on the reduction in the voter bias against women as policymakers rather than the (self-)selection of women (JEL D72, D78, J16, J71, I38). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How have crime, conflict, and violence shaped the social structure of neighbourhoods across diverse spatial and temporal landscapes in marginalised urban communities? To address to this central question, this study examines the socio‐political dynamics of New York City and Palermo, as well as the role of authoritarian actors, by juxtaposing different historical periods and contrasting the influences of political institutions with extra‐legal entities such as gangs and mafias. Utilising visual images, archival documents, and geographical mapping, the study introduces the concept of 'justice‐based power vacuums'. This novel theoretical concept elucidates the mechanisms through which coercive power fosters social environments susceptible to extra‐legal domination, effectively entrapping vulnerable groups, be they ethnic or racial minorities or economically disadvantaged groups. I argue that while crime, conflict, and violence, especially under the auspices of gangs and mafias, often become the focal point, it is the obscured role of political authorities that stands as the genesis of such complex social problems. The present comparative historical social research indicates that recognising and addressing these obscured political influences is essential for a holistic understanding and subsequent mitigation of the structural challenges in urban social life that create deprived neighbourhoods across time and space similarly and perpetuate marginalisation in these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brothers Jorge and Alberto Sanchez-Cabezudo have a very important role in the leap in quality taken by Spanish series in the second decade of the twenty-first century. With referents such as The Sopranos (1999–2007) and The Wire (2002–08), they adapted film language and narrative style to television series with Crematorio (2011) and La Zona (The Zone) (2017–18). In this interview we talk specifically about Crematorio as a social and political critique of contemporary Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asset confiscation regimes are present throughout Europe. The Italian State implements a policy stipulating the confiscation of real estate assets from individuals convicted of mafia-related crimes and the re-allocation of these assets to new uses. The policy of confiscation (confisca) and re-allocation (destinazione) is meant to act as both an anti-mafia measure and a way to compensate local communities by converting real estate assets into public amenities. We evaluate the effects of this programme on local areas by estimating its impact on property values in the proximity of confiscations and re-allocations. The findings reveal a negative effect of confiscations and a positive effect of re-allocations on housing prices, mainly visible in mafia strongholds. Both of these trends can be observed in the time periods that directly follow instances of confiscation and re-allocation and appear to be highly localized. A drop in organized crime activity in the streets where re-allocations have occurred could account for some of the gain in property values caused by re-allocations. These findings have implications for the effectiveness of anti-mafia initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life in areas where criminal activity is more prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a policy that targets criminal infiltration in local governments on the provision of local public goods in Italian municipalities. Building on the theoretical framework proposed by Dal Bò (American Political Science Review 100:41–53, 2006), we use a sufficient statistic approach to describe the dynamic behaviour of local public goods when stricter law enforcement weakens criminal pressure groups. Utilizing data on the local public finances of Italian municipalities spanning from 2004 to 2015, our findings reveal that, after the dismissal of infiltrated governments, the targeted municipalities devote a larger share of resources to public goods, with an estimated increase of approximately 3.9 percentage points. Notably, this effect seems to be driven by an increase in investment of approximately 3 percentage points. Overall, our results suggest that policies targeting the problem of criminal infiltration in local governments can improve socioeconomic conditions and the well-being of local communities, by increasing investments in economically and socially relevant public goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dans cette contribution, qui se penche sur la relation entre les romans Candide de Voltaire et Candido de Sciascia, on commence par montrer les références explicites à Voltaire dans le roman du Sicilien. Ensuite, on aborde l’intérêt général de Sciascia pour Paris et les auteurs français de l’époque des Lumières. Après cela, il est question de l’utopie de la tolérance religieuse dans Candide de Voltaire. Pour préparer l’analyse de Candido de Sciascia, on évoque ensuite l’omertà dans l’histoire de la Sicile et la représentation de cette loi du silence (souvent liée à la mafia) dans les romans précédents de Sciascia. Dans la dernière partie de cet article, on examine en détail la rupture de l’omertà dans Candido de Sciascia, une vision utopique par rapport aux conditions sociales réelles de la Sicile de l’époque.

Aiming to reduce the conceptual ambiguity surrounding the topic of organized crime, this study assesses the extent to which the Sinaloa Cartel, the most prominent Mexican drug syndicate, has the characteristics of a mafia. The study uses Paoli's 2020 mafia framework, which identifies seven typifying characteristics of mafias, such as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra or the Japanese Yakuza. It relies on a broad review of the literature, court transcripts and media sources. The Sinaloa Cartel fully meets none of the seven typifying traits of mafias. It comes closest on the last trait, popular legitimacy and power-sharing, but it is properly characterized as a large drug-selling enterprise. Lastly, the study draws (sombre) policy implications from the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mafias, opening up from their territories of origin, have opened up to profound global transformations, also rethinking their own hierarchies of values, their own purposes and their own rules. In particular, in this paper the author deals with the Chinese mafia and its presence on Italian and European territory. In a transnational dimension, the Chinese underworld operates, with the native and foreign criminal cliques present in the territories, in carrying out illicit business and does this with a "mafia-style" methodology. Triad is the name given in the West to a secret society, founded in China in the 17th century and which has today become a dangerous mafia criminal organisation. It has its bases in Hong Kong and the island of Taiwan, but today it is increasingly widespread not only in the United States of America, but also in Italy and Europe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Maguaré is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Antropologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Indigenous and campesino groups in Guatemala have launched a national strike to challenge the legal pressure being placed on president-elect Bernardo Arévalo and his Movimiento Semilla party. The strike involves blockades on major roads and the participation of various civil society groups, including university students, healthcare workers, and market vendors. The protesters are demanding the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras and special prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who they believe are responsible for preventing Arévalo from assuming office. The strike represents a clash between the communal form of political organization embraced by Indigenous communities and the authoritarian form of the Guatemalan state. [Extracted from the article]

This article looks at the discourses regarding Nigerian confraternities' expansion to Europe. It analyses how networks of individuals working together for solidarity, economic or political objectives became categorized as organised crime or as a mafia. I use original data and police investigations, interviews with members and victims, judges, police officers, and journalists to show how the work of French and Italian institutions led to the emergence and transformation of discourses regarding the "Nigerian mafia" which, in the context of the 2015 migration crisis, came to designate confraternities. The circulation of these categories and frames cannot only be accounted for by the work of state institutions, but needs to be analysed through the sociology of information production and practices, which explains the effects of circular reporting, imposition of frames and narratives coming directly from investigations on criminal issues instead of other approaches to Nigerian migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000, one of Pakistan's largest social movements began: a tenant struggle for land rights on the country's military farms. Though the military tried to subdue the movement, it eventually succeeded insofar as many tenants stopped paying rent. As a result, villagers experienced a generalized (albeit uneven) prosperity. Certain movement leaders, in particular, became especially wealthy, relocating from their mud houses to big bungalows, replacing their motorbikes with SUVs, and transitioning from tenant farming to lucrative businesses in nearby cities. They also started moving around with armed security, allying with urban elites, and entering Pakistan's major political parties. Rumors also began spreading that some leaders were using violence or intimidation to accumulate this political-economic power. In the movement's afterlife, ordinary villagers began to wonder: were their leaders still committed to militantly pursuing villagers' collective interests? Or were they now using the movement for their own private, even criminal, ambitions? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities is the property of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article argues that contemporary fictions of organized crime reinscribe, in many ways, the imaginary of conspiracy in narrative structures rooted in immediate history, while aiming to critique new ramified and diffuse systems of power. Which procedures are used to uncover the secrecy surrounding these organizations? How do these works reformulate concerns about the localization of power in today’s “network society” that has emerged with economic globalization? Using examples from contemporary Italian literature, I will examine the ways in which authors write about mafia practices, accompanying the social sciences’ reclassification of organized crime as a phenomenon of power. I will also ponder the effects generated by these narratives, in which the distancing of conspiracy theories does not exclude certain reformulations of them with other terms.

The study aims to reflect on the educational experience of the Brancaccio neighborhood in Palermo that armed children with the power of speech and thought (Milani, 1957, p. 271). In a social context where school dropout rates remain high, the Pastoral Experiences of the Padre Nostro Center are a 'sign of contradiction' and hope for young people who are victims of mafia violence. These are children at risk whose right to quality education, freedom, and childhood has been violated. School dropout, along with the involvement of minors in mafia crimes, is an important indicator of «youth distress and educational shortcomings in certain family units» (Di Bella; Surace, 2019, p. 157). These girls and boys, these children deprived of a voice, remain invisible. We aim to engage in a dialogue with them, not to merely fill, but to enrich enriching them with the transformative power of education (Milani, 1957, I, p.165). They are the "children without" (Cederna, 2015) whose experiences we seek to explore, inspired by the legacy of Don Lorenzo Milani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]