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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]

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the strength and significance of global maritime trade in general, and Israeli maritime trade in particular. Furthermore, it seeks to analyze the various disruptions that have affected maritime trade in recent years, including exceptional events such as climate phenomena, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Swords of Iron war, whose ramifications are only beginning to emerge. In particular, this paper discusses the current disruptions in supply chains due to the Iranian and Houthi attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea. These disruptions indicate numerous weak points in the stability and operation of global supply chains, which are crucial for the national economies and security of numerous countries, particularly Israel. Over the past three years, the world has experienced a series of extreme events that have significantly affected various aspects of life, especially the global economy. This paper examines these events and their repercussions on global geo-logistics--the distribution of supply chains according to level and type. Additionally, it includes a description and analysis of Israeli foreign trade, specifically highlighting the import processes and the types of cargo that have been affected by the disruptions during the period in question. Israel's grain imports, which are vital for the country both in normal circumstances as well as during emergencies, are used as a case study. Furthermore, the paper also surveys the operational conditions, including challenges faced in the ports of origin of the various cargoes and recent challenges within this market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to decide how to choose an effective weapon system for the A2/AD (anti-access/area denial) strategy at the Sunda Strait, Indonesia's strategic choke point. The main discussion is limited to selecting the types of weapon systems considered effective in implementing A2/AD at Indonesia's strategic choke points. The next step is to decide which primary, secondary, and alternative criteria are the most important. Each of these will then be put together mathematically by measuring consistency using the Consistency Index (CI), the Consistency Ratio (CR), and the Consistency Hierarchy, which is the ranking as the result of the analysis. This method resulting in a weight for the navigation criteria of 66%, projection of 19%, and operability of 16%. Furthermore, in conclusion, the order of the best weapon systems is RBS15 MK4 with a weight of 66%, Brahmos II at 18%, and Neptune 360ST at 16%. [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]

Global trade is often understood by trade union officials to be an abstract policy-level issue without a direct role for workers or shop floor influence. As the UK establishes an independent trade policy in the wake of Brexit, this article explores the concept of strategic supply chain organizing as the basis for a shop steward-led strategy to counter the industrial impact of trade. Based on interviews with Unite shop stewards and work with the union's Research Department, this article explores efforts within Unite the Union, the largest private and public sector trade union in the UK and Ireland, to advance such a strategy through the union's activist shop stewards and democratic structures. While considering the limitations of existing union approaches to trade issues as well as the challenges of developing such a strategy within the context of a large multisector trade union, the article puts forward a methodology of applied industrial research rooted in the principles of workers' inquiry and supply chain solidarity. Taken together, the article considers the potential for new collaboration between the union's shop stewards within supply chains to more fully realize their latent collective industrial power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern realm of international business has grown to be more and more dependent on the international state of affairs, thus, geopolitics have become an indispensable tool for predicting and evaluating future risks or for identifying opportunities. Because the center of global economic power is slowly but surely shifting from the western countries to Asia, the geopolitical moves of Asian countries on „The Grand Chessboard” need to be studied and analyzed, especially the ones of the leading actor, China. Being the only pretender to overthrow the US from the position of the biggest world economy, China wants to establish new international economic relations, implicitly new trade routes, through which it can secure a supply line for the sale of its products. Thus, China proposes a New Silk Road which is dependent on a series of maritime choke points, amongst which are the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits or better known as the Turkish Straits. This paper studies the future geopolitical and economic implications for this choke point if the New Silk Road comes in existence. The study utilises maritime economic data and geopolitical theory in order to assess the future risks and opportunities that derive from the establishment of the New Silk Road. The analyze results, indicates that the Turkish choke point will change the geopolitics and economics of Eastern Europe. The importance of this is that the countries that are directly linked with the New Silk Road can maximize their advantages in the long run.

The modern realm of international business has grown to be more and more dependent on the international state of affairs, thus, geopolitics have become an indispensable tool for predicting and evaluating future risks or for identifying opportunities. Because the center of global economic power is slowly but surely shifting from the western countries to Asia, the geopolitical moves of Asian countries on „The Grand Chessboard” need to be studied and analyzed, especially the ones of the leading actor, China. Being the only pretender to overthrow the US from the position of the biggest world economy, China wants to establish new international economic relations, implicitly new trade routes, through which it can secure a supply line for the sale of its products. Thus, China proposes a New Silk Road which is dependent on a series of maritime choke points, amongst which are the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits or better known as the Turkish Straits. This paper studies the future geopolitical and economic implications for this choke point if the New Silk Road comes in existence. The study utilises maritime economic data and geopolitical theory in order to assess the future risks and opportunities that derive from the establishment of the New Silk Road. The analyze results, indicates that the Turkish choke point will change the geopolitics and economics of Eastern Europe. The importance of this is that the countries that are directly linked with the New Silk Road can maximize their advantages in the long run. [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]

Choke points and airway wall structure in expiratory central airway collapse are poorly defined. Computed tomography, white light bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound, vibration response imaging, spirometry, impulse oscillometry, negative expiratory pressure, and intraluminal catheter airway pressure measurements were used in a patient with cough, dyspnea, and recurrent pulmonary infections. Computed tomography and white light bronchoscopy identified dynamic collapse of the trachea and mainstem bronchi, consistent with severe crescent tracheobronchomalacia. Spirometry showed severe obstruction. Endobronchial ultrasound revealed collapse of the airway cartilage, and vibration response imaging revealed fluttering at both lung zones. Impulse oscillometry and negative expiratory pressure suggested tidal expiratory flow limitation in the intrathoracic airways. Intraluminal catheter airway pressure measurements identified the choke point in the lower trachea. After Y-stent insertion, the choke point migrated distally. Imaging studies revealed improved airway dynamics, airway patency, and ventilatory function. Novel imaging and physiologic assessments could be used to localize choke points and airway wall structure in tracheobronchomalacia. [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]

Tracheobronchomalacia and excessive dynamic airway collapse are morphologic types of expiratory central airway collapse with specific pathophysiology, cause, and structural changes in airway wall. Physicians caring for symptomatic patients with expiratory central airway collapse must localize the flow-limiting airway segments amenable to bronchoscopic or surgical interventions. Functional bronchoscopy and dynamic radiologic studies are performed for the initial evaluation and to design follow-up strategies. Research is needed to determine noninvasive and reliable physiologic methods for localizing the flow-limiting segments that might guide patient selection for treatment and predict response to interventions., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)