bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resistance Bioassays and Allele Characterization Inform Analysis of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Introduction Pathways in Asia and Australia
Authors: Tay W T , Rane R V , James W , Gordon K H J , Downes S , Kim J , Kuniata L , Walsh T K
Published: December 2022

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is present in over 70 countries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Its rapid dispersal since 2016 when it was first reported in western Africa, and associated devastation to agricultural productivity, highlight the challenges posed by this pest. Currently, its management largely relies on insecticide sprays and transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, therefore understanding their responses to these agents and characteristics of any resistance genes enables adaptive strategies. In Australia, S. frugiperda was reported at the end of January 2020 in northern Queensland and by March 2020, also in northern Western Australia. As an urgent first response we undertook bioassays on two Australian populations, one each from these initial points of establishment. To assist with preliminary sensitivity assessment, two endemic noctuid pest species, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner; Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) and Spodoptera litura (Fabricius; Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), were concurrently screened to obtain larval LC50 estimates against various insecticides. We characterized known resistance alleles from the VGSC, ACE-1, RyR, and ABCC2 genes to compare with published allele frequencies and bioassay responses from native and invasive S. frugiperda populations. An approximately 10× LC50 difference for indoxacarb was detected between Australian populations, which was approximately 28× higher than that reported from an Indian population. Characterization of ACE-1 and VGSC alleles provided further evidence of multiple introductions in Asia, and multiple pathways involving genetically distinct individuals in Australia. The preliminary bioassay results and resistance allele patterns from invasive S. frugiperda populations suggest multiple introductions have contributed to the pest’s spread and challenge the axiom of its rapid ‘west-to-east’ spread.
Expanding access to early phase trials: the CATCH-UP.2020 experience
Authors: Baranda Joaquina C , Diaz Francisco J , Rubinstein Larry , Shields Anthony F , Dayyani Farshid , Mehta Amitkumar , Mehnert Janice M , Trent Jonathan , Mabaera Rodwell , Mooney Margaret , Moscow Jeffrey A , Doroshow James , Waters Brittany , Ivy Percy , Gore Steven D , Thomas Alexandra
Published: December 2022

Background

Disparities in cancer outcomes persist for underserved populations; one important aspect of this is limited access to promising early phase clinical trials. To address this, the National Cancer Institute–funded Create Access to Targeted Cancer Therapy for Underserved Populations (CATCH-UP.2020) was created. We report the tools developed and accrual metrics of the initial year of CATCH-UP.2020 with a focus on racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomically underserved populations.

Methods

CATCH-UP.2020 is a P30 supplement awarded to 8 National Cancer Institute–designated cancer centers with existing resources to rapidly open and accrue to Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN) trials with emphasis on engaging patients from underserved populations. Sites used patient-based, community-based, investigator-based, and program-based tools to meet specific program goals.

Results

From September 2020 to August 2021, CATCH-UP.2020 sites opened 45 ETCTN trials. Weighted average trial activation time for the 7 sites reporting this was 107 days. In the initial year, sites enrolled 145 patients in CATCH-UP.2020 with 68 (46.9%) representing racial, ethnic, rural, and socioeconomically underserved populations using the broader definition of underserved encompassed in the grant charge. During the initial year of CATCH-UP.2020, a time impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, 15.8% (66 of 417) and 21.4% (31 of 145) of patients enrolled to ETCTN trials at network and at CATCH-UP sites, respectively, were from racial and ethnic minority groups, a more limited definition of underserved for which comparable data are available.

Conclusion

Targeted funding accelerated activation and accrual of early phase trials and expanded access to this therapeutic option for underserved populations.
Trial Design Considerations to Increase Older Adult Accrual to National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials
Authors: Le-Rademacher Jennifer , Mohile Supriya , Unger Joseph , Hudson Matthew F , Foster Jared , Lichtman Stuart , Perlmutter Jane , Dotan Efrat , Extermann Martine , Dodd Kevin , Tew William , Klepin Heidi , Wildes Tanya M , Sedrak Mina S , Jatoi Aminah , Little Richard F
Published: December 2022

Although adults aged 65 years or older make up a strong majority of cancer patients, their underrepresentation in cancer clinical trials leads to the lack of representative data to guide evidence-based therapeutic decisions in this patient population. The Trial Design Working Group, convened as part of the workshop titled, Engaging Older Adults in the National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Network: Challenges and Opportunities, recommended study designs and design elements that could improve accrual of older adults in National Cancer Institute–funded clinical trials. These include trials that are specifically designed to enroll older adults, trials that include a cohort of older patients (parallel cohort, stratified cohort, or embedded cohort), and trials with pragmatic design elements to facilitate enrollment of older adults. This manuscript provides brief descriptions of the recommended designs, examples of successful trials, and considerations for implementation of these designs.

As with any clinical trial, the scientific questions and trial objectives should drive the study design, the selection of endpoints and intervention, and eligibility criteria. When designing trials that include older adults, the heterogeneity of fitness levels is an important consideration as fitness can influence accrual rates and outcomes. Appropriately incorporating geriatric assessments can help identify the optimal subset of older patients for inclusion and minimize selection bias. Incorporating pragmatic design elements to reduce the burden on trial participants as well as on accruing sites and retaining essential elements to ensure that the main goal of the trial can be accomplished can enhance enrollment without compromising the integrity of trials.
Stylometry analysis of the French presidential election
Authors: Savoy Jacques
Published: December 2022

This study analyzes the style and content of 25,590 tweets sent by eight candidates during the French presidential election (from 1 September 2021 to 24 April 2022). During this campaign, the candidates have used Twitter intensively to motivate their supporters, putting forward some propositions or to announce their presence on a TV show or at a rally. This study demonstrates that all candidates have sent more tweets during this period, particularly during the last 2 months. In their tweets, they have put forward their propositions by including mentions (@ZemmourEric), hashtags (#Elysee2022), and URLs to information sources supporting their views. As main topics, economic concern ranks first (36% of all tweets) followed by security questions (16.4%) and ecology (13.7%) with the intensity varying among runners. The main target of their criticisms was the incumbent president Macron, with only a few attacks on other candidates. Finally, one can observe a more intense use of Twitter by extreme political parties compared to traditional ones.
Sense of self in mind and body: an eLORETA-EEG study
Authors: Bao Zhongjie , Frewen Paul
Published: December 2022

The human brain engages the sense of self through both semantic and somatic self-referential processing (SRP). Alpha and theta oscillations have been found to underlie SRP but have not been compared with respect to semantic and somatic SRP. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from 50 participants during focused internal attention on life roles (e.g. “friend”) and outer body (e.g. “arms”) compared to resting state and an external attention memory task and localized the sources of on-scalp alpha (8–12 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) EEG signals with exact low-resolution tomography. Logarithm of F-ratios was calculated to compare differences in alpha and theta power between SRP conditions, resting state, and external attention. Results indicated that compared to resting state, semantic SRP induced lower theta in the frontal cortex and higher theta in the parietal cortex, whereas somatic SRP induced lower alpha in the frontal and insula cortex and higher alpha in the parietal cortex. Furthermore, results indicated that compared to external attention, both semantic and somatic SRP induced higher alpha in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with lateralized patterns based on task condition. Finally, an analysis directly comparing semantic and somatic SRP indicated frontal–parietal and left–right lateralization of SRP in the brain. Our results suggest the alpha and theta oscillations in the frontal, parietal, and the insula cortex may play crucial roles in semantic and somatic SRP.
Novel INHAT repressor drives glioblastoma growth by promoting ribosomal DNA transcription in glioma stem cells
Authors: Tao Weiwei , Lei Hong , Luo Wenlong , Huang Zhi , Ling Peng , Guo Mengyue , Wan Lihao , Zhai Kui , Huang Qian , Wu Qiulian , Xu Shutong , Zeng Liang , Wang Xiuxing , Dong Zhiqiang , Rich Jeremy N , Bao Shideng
Published: December 2022

Background

Cancer cells including cancer stem cells exhibit a higher rate of ribosome biogenesis than normal cells to support rapid cell proliferation in tumors. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the preferential ribosome biogenesis in glioma stem cells (GSCs) remain unclear. In this work, we show that the novel INHAT repressor (NIR) promotes ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription to support GSC proliferation and glioblastoma (GBM) growth, suggesting that NIR is a potential therapeutic target for GBM.

Methods

Immunoblotting, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent analysis were used to determine NIR expression in GSCs and human GBMs. Using shRNA-mediated knockdown, we assessed the role and functional significance of NIR in GSCs and GSC-derived orthotopic GBM xenografts. We further performed mass spectrometry analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and other biochemical assays to define the molecular mechanisms by which NIR promotes GBM progression.

Results

Our results show that high expression of NIR predicts poor survival in GBM patients. NIR is enriched in the nucleoli of GSCs in human GBMs. Disrupting NIR markedly suppresses GSC proliferation and tumor growth by inhibiting rDNA transcription and pre-ribosomal RNA synthesis. In mechanistic studies, we find that NIR activates rDNA transcription to promote GSC proliferation by cooperating with Nucleolin (NCL) and Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1), 2 important nucleolar transcription factors.

Conclusions

Our study uncovers a critical role of NIR-mediated rDNA transcription in the malignant progression of GBM, indicating that targeting this axis may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for GBM.
Public investment and human capital with segmented labour markets
Authors: Buffie Edward F , Adam Christopher , Zanna Luis-Felipe , Balma Lacina , Tessema Dawit , Kpodar Kangni
Published: December 2022

We develop a dynamic general equilibrium macroeconomic model with segmented labour markets and efficiency wages to examine how labour market structures influence the impact of human capital investment in low-income countries. For plausible calibration values, public investment in education is much more effective than infrastructure investment in promoting long-run economic development, but because investment in education affects labour productivity with a lag, policymakers face an intertemporal trade-off which depends on their social discount rate and the weight of distributional objectives in the social welfare function. We show the distortionary structure of labour markets matters in leveraging welfare gains from public investment and in shifting the optimal public investment programme further in favour of human capital, relative to the case of flex-wage full-employment labour markets.
788. Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections: A Retrospective, Nationwide Cohort Study
Authors: Vo Austin D , Branch-Elliman Westyn , La Jennifer , Ronan Matthew , Brophy Mary , Wu Julie , Do Nhan , Strymish Judith , Fillmore Nathanael , Monach Paul
Published: December 2022

Background

COVID-19 vaccines reduce the incidence of severe clinical outcomes, however, some patients remain at risk of severe disease. The primary aim of this large, nationwide retrospective cohort was to identify risk factors for severe disease despite vaccination.

Methods

Nationwide cohort study of US Veteran patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination. The primary outcome was development of severe COVID-19 disease, defined as a hospitalization within 14 days of a positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test and either SpO2 ≤ 94%, receipt of supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation, or death within 28 days. Exposure variables included demographic and clinical risk factors, receipt of an additional vaccine dose, and calendar months since initial vaccination series. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) are presented.

Results

Among 111,151 breakthrough infections, 110,760 had disease severity assessments and were included. 14,690/110,790 (13.3%) were hospitalized with severe COVID-19 or died. Risk factors for severe disease are presented in Figure 1.

The strongest risk factor for severe disease despite vaccination was age. Immunocompromising conditions, including immunosuppressive medications (Cytokine-blocking, aOR, 1.73, CI, 1.37–2.18; receipt of glucocorticoids, aOR, 2.41, CI, 2.25, 2.58; leukocyte inhibitory, aOR 2.44, CI, 1.98–2.99; lymphocyte-depleting, aOR, 2.12, 1.61–2.79), cytotoxic chemotherapy within 6 months (aOR, 2.69; CI, 2.25, 3.21), and leukemias/lymphomas were also associated with increased risk (aOR, 1.84, CI, 1.59–2.14), as were chronic conditions associated with end-organ disease. Receipt of an additional (booster) dose of vaccine was associated with reduced odds of severe disease, with risk reduction from vaccination and boosting strongest during the months immediately following vaccine doses.

Variables with aOR <1 are associated with reduced odds of severe breakthrough infections and variables with aOR >1 are associated with increased odds of severe breakthrough infections. Referent groups for multicategory variables are listed in bold. Presented with a logarithmic scale.

Conclusion

In this nationwide cohort, we identified risk factors for severe disease despite vaccination. Findings can be used to inform outreach efforts for booster vaccinations and to inform clinical decision making about risk and to identify patients who would benefit from interventions in addition to vaccination, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and antiviral therapy.

Disclosures

Westyn Branch-Elliman, MD, MMSc, DLA Piper,LLC/Medtronic: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead Pharmaceuticals: Grant/Research Support Paul Monach, MD, PhD, Celgene / Bristol-Myers Squibb: Advisor/Consultant|ChemoCentryx: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead: Grant/Research Support|Kiniksa: Advisor/Consultant.
795. Awareness and Interest in PrEP Options Among US Cisgender Women – A National Survey
Authors: Poteat Tonia , Sarkar Supriya , Ragone Leigh , Rawlings Keith , Rinehart Alex R , Hill Jennifer N , Gallington Kyli , Coyne Karin S , Vannappagari Vani
Published: December 2022

Background

Cisgender women continue to have low pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake in the US, despite making up almost 20% of new HIV infections. The gap between the number of women who would benefit from PrEP and those who use PrEP highlights the unmet need for HIV prevention in women. As new prevention options, such as long-acting (LA) injectable PrEP, become available, it is important to understand PrEP awareness and preferences among women to help meet this need. Awareness, willingness, and usage of PrEP as well as HIV prevention preferences were assessed among sexually active women in the US.

Methods

Cisgender women were recruited through a geolocation targeted social media campaign and completed a self-administered, cross-sectional, online survey on demographics, sexual health and behavior, healthcare access, PrEP awareness and history, and PrEP intention and preferences. Eligible participants were cisgender women, 18 years or older, who reported an unknown or HIV-negative status, currently resided in the US, and reported vaginal or anal sex in the past six months. Descriptive statistics were calculated using SAS v9.4.

Results

From November to December 2021, 961 participants completed the survey (median age: 28.0 years; Black non-Hispanic: 34.7%; Black Hispanic: 19.9%; White non-Hispanic: 21.3%; White Hispanic: 12.0%; Another race: 9.1%). A majority had heard of PrEP (70.6%) and LA PrEP (50.1%) as a way to prevent HIV; however, a smaller proportion had spoken to a healthcare provider (HCP) about PrEP (37.8%), had ever used PrEP (19.7%), or were currently on PrEP (9.3%). While PrEP awareness was high across all racial and ethnic groups, PrEP discussions with an HCP and PrEP usage was lowest among Black, non-Hispanic women (Figure 1). Most participants (78.8%) expressed intent to regularly use any HIV prevention method and 66.0% reported likelihood of using LA PrEP if it were available. Condoms were the most favored prevention option (46.7%) followed by HCP administered LA PrEP (24.3%), vaginal ring (9.0%), self-administered LA PrEP (8.8%), and oral PrEP (6.7%).

Conclusion

Although most women demonstrated high PrEP awareness and interest, many had never discussed PrEP with an HCP. The availability of LA PrEP may be an important opportunity for HCPs to discuss a preferred PrEP option with women.

Disclosures

Tonia Poteat, PhD, MPH, PAC, Merck & Co. Inc: Advisor/Consultant|Viiv Healthcare: Advisor/Consultant Supriya Sarkar, PhD, MPH, ViiV Healthcare: Salary|ViiV Healthcare: Stocks/Bonds Leigh Ragone, MS, GlaxoSmithKline: Stocks/Bonds|ViiV Healthcare: Employment Keith Rawlings, MD, ViiV Healthcare: Employee Alex R. Rinehart, PhD, ViiV Healthcare: Stocks/Bonds Vani Vannappagari, MBBS, MPH, PhD, ViiV Healthcare: I am full time employee of ViiV Healthcare and receive GlaxoSmithKline stock as part of my compensation package|ViiV Healthcare: Stocks/Bonds.
LB2305. Long Term Benefits from Early Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation in HIV Infection: Findings from the Extended Follow-up of the START Trial
Authors: Babiker Abdel G , Lundgren Jens , Sharma Shweta , Grund Birgit , Phillips Andrew , Kan Virginia L , Matthews Gail , Klingman Karin L , Neaton James D
Published: December 2022

Background

Deferral of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation until CD4 count < 350 cells/μL in people with CD4 > 500 increases risk of AIDS and serious non-AIDS (SNA) conditions. Evidence from randomized trials is lacking to assess the extent to which ongoing excess risk due to having deferred initiation is reduced once ART is initiated and viral load suppressed.

Methods

START randomized 4684 ART-naïve HIV+ adults with CD4 > 500 cells/μL to start ART immediately (IMM, n=2325) or defer ART until CD4 < 350 cells/μL or AIDS developed (DEF, n= 2359). In 2015 the study demonstrated a 57% reduction in the risk of the primary endpoint (AIDS, SNA or death) for IMM ART; all assigned to DEF were recommended to start ART. Follow up continued to 31Dec2021. To determine whether the benefit of IMM compared to DEF was maintained, increased, or reduced, Cox models were used to estimate and compare hazard ratios (HR, IMM:DEF), for the primary endpoint and its components from randomization through 31Dec2015 (Pre 2016) with the period 1Jan2016 through 31Dec2021 (Post 2016). HRs for all follow-up, randomization through 31Dec2021, were also estimated.

Results

Pre 2016, median CD4 was 648 cells/μL in IMM and 460 cells/μL in DEF at ART initiation, a difference of 188 cells/μL (95% CI: 180-197); at the end of 2015, 98.9% of IMM and 84.8% of DEF were prescribed ART. The percentage of follow-up time spent on ART pre 2016 was 94.5% for IMM and 35.5% for DEF; and the average difference in CD4 count was 199 cells/μL. This contrasts with post 2016 during which the percentage of follow-up time on ART was 99.5% for IMM and 95.6% for DEF; and the average difference in CD4 was 155 cells/mL (Figure 1).

During both time periods, initiation of ART led to rapid declines in HIV RNA to ≤ 200 copies/mL. For the primary endpoint and each component, the benefit of IMM compared to DEF in Post 2016 was reduced compared to Pre 2016 (Figure 2).

Overall follow-up, from randomization to 2021 (median 9.3 years), the HR for the primary endpoint was 0.61 (95%CI: 0.49, 0.76; p< 0.001).

Conclusion

Among people with CD4 > 500, the excess risk of AIDS and SNA conditions associated with delaying ART initiation is substantially diminished soon after ART is initiated, but persistent excess risk remains. The results reinforce the importance of early diagnosis of HIV and prompt initiation of ART.

Disclosures

Gail Matthews, MBChB, PhD, Abbvie Inc: Grant/Research Support|Astra Zeneca: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead Sciences: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead Sciences: Grant/Research Support|Janssen: Advisor/Consultant|Janssen: Grant/Research Support|ViiV Healthcare: Advisor/Consultant|ViiV Healthcare: Grant/Research Support.
Reaching Viral Suppression Among People With HIV With Suspected Treatment Failure who Received Enhanced Adherence Counseling in Southern Nigeria: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Akpan Uduak , Nwanja Esther , Ukpong Kufre-Abasi , Toyo Otoyo , Nwaokoro Pius , Sanwo Olusola , Gana Bala , Badru Titilope , Idemudia Augustine , Pandey Satish Raj , Khamofu Hadiza , Bateganya Moses
Published: December 2022

Background

This study assessed viral load (VL) testing and viral suppression following enhanced adherence counseling (EAC) among people with HIV (PWH) with suspected treatment failure and identified factors associated with persistent viremia.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of electronic medical records of PWH aged 15 years or older who had received antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months as of December 2020 and had a high viral load (HVL; ≥1000 copies/mL) across 22 comprehensive HIV treatment facilities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Patients with HVL were expected to receive 3 EAC sessions delivered in person or virtually and repeat VL testing upon completion of EAC and after documented good adherence. At 6 months post–EAC enrollment, we reviewed the data to determine client uptake of 1 or more EAC sessions, completion of 3 EAC sessions, a repeat viral load (VL) test conducted post-EAC, and persistent viremia with a VL of ≥1000 copies/mL. Selected sociodemographic and clinical variables were analyzed to identify factors associated with persistent viremia using SPSS, version 26.

Results

Of the 3257 unsuppressed PWH, EAC uptake was 94.8% (n = 3088), EAC completion was 81.5% (2517/3088), post-EAC VL testing uptake was 75.9% (2344/3088), and viral resuppression was 73.8% (2280/3088). In multivariable analysis, those on ART for <12 months (P ≤ .001) and those who completed EAC within 3 months (P = .045) were less likely to have persistent viremia.

Conclusions

An HVL resuppression rate of 74% was achieved, but EAC completion was low. Identification of the challenges faced by PWH with a higher risk of persistent viremia is recommended to optimize the potential benefit of EAC.
Ockham's Nominalism
Authors: Panaccio Claude
Published: December 2022

William of Ockham is a towering figure in the history of philosophy and is commonly seen as the most important nominalist thinker of the Middle Ages. His nominalism basically consists of three theses: there are no universals in the external world; no relations either; and no quantities considered as distinct entities. This book provides an introduction to Ockham’s defense of these positions and to what they amount to in metaphysics, semantics, and epistemology. It thus displays the outlines of a rich and carefully crafted nominalist system that is still of great philosophical interest today. In so doing, the book situates Ockham’s thought with respect to several salient contemporary debates in philosophy.
Domination at Work
Authors: Vrousalis Nicholas
Published: December 2022

This book is about how power converts the service of others into servitude. As a matter of logic, servitude presupposes dominion. So what is dominion? What kinds of transactions, in general, does it censure? And what is the character of these transactions under capitalism Chapter 2 offers provisional answers to these questions. It argues that domination is violation of the requirements of rightful individual freedom: subjection of purposiveness to the choices of others. Applied to work, such subjection entails unjust unilateral control over the productive purposiveness of others. The chapter introduces the Non-Servitude Proviso, which grounds the subjected-purposiveness idea on a number of possible justifications: Kantian, republican, and recognitional. Exploitation is what happens when unilateral control over labour capacity translates into unreciprocated labour flow. With the help of a simple economic model, the chapter applies the Proviso to capital and discusses its implications for ‘clean’ capitalist accumulation. Capital, I argue, is monetized title to subsumed labour.
How Exploiters Dominate
Authors: Vrousalis Nicholas
Published: December 2022

This chapter argues that exploitation is a dividend of servitude. It does this by extending, refining, and defending the domination conception of exploitation. The chapter kicks off by arguing that what makes exploitation unjust is that it constitutes domination-induced unilateral service to others. After rebutting John Roemer’s influential critique of surplus labour, it shows that exploitation is necessarily cashed out in terms of labour time or effort. The chapter then criticizes competing contemporary accounts of exploitation, the vulnerability view and the fairness view. It argues that they fail to do justice to the servitude dimension and to account for important counterexamples.
Climate and the Picturesque in the American Tropics
Authors: Boyden Michael
Published: December 2022

Climate and the Picturesque in the American Tropics shows how the writings of American travelers in the Caribbean registered and pushed forward a form of climatic awareness between 1770 and 1860, a pivotal period in modern history fraught with debates over slavery, environmental destruction, and colonialism. Offering novel readings of authors including J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, Leonora Sansay, William Cullen Bryant, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sophia Peabody, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James McCune Smith in light of their engagements with the American tropics, the book shows that these authors drew on a climatic epistemology that fused science and sentiment in ways that citizen science is aspiring to do today. Climate and the Picturesque in the American Tropics thus poses a significant departure from other works in the Environmental Humanities that conceive of climatic enlightenment as a recent development or trace its beginnings back to romantic nature writing. By suggesting a new genealogy of modern climate thinking, Climate and the Picturesque in the American Tropics urges us to reconsider the roots of deeply ingrained ideas of tropicality that continue to inform current debates on climate debt and justice.
Phenomenalism
Authors: Pelczar Michael
Published: December 2022

J.S. Mill famously equates physical things with “permanent possibilities of sensation.” In this view, known as phenomenalism, a rock is a tendency for experiences to occur as they do when people perceive a rock, and similarly for all other physical things. Phenomenalism develops Mill’s theory in detail, defends it against the objections responsible for its current unpopularity, and uses it to shed light on important questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind. Identifying physical things with possibilities of sensation establishes a transparent connection between the world of physics and the world of sense, provides an attractive alternative to currently fashionable structuralist and panpsychist metaphysics, offers a fresh perspective on the problem of consciousness, and yields a satisfying theory of perception, all by taking two things notoriously resistant to reduction---chance and experience---and constructing everything else out of them.
Agreement marking in Croatian Sign Language
Authors: Milković Marina , Wilbur Ronnie
Published: December 2022

We argue that failure to accurately identify sign components led to misconceptions that sign languages (SLs) violate generalizations about spoken-language verb agreement. Because it was assumed that verb phonological path movement (from location A to location B) carried agreement information, it was claimed that (1) only a subset of verbs shows agreement, leading to search for triggers; and (2) object agreement is more common, with subject agreement visible when object is marked. We argue, following Lourenço (2018), that when locations themselves are recognized as marking agreement with arguments (co-localization), the apparent SL anomalies disappear: previously excluded verb signs not containing path movement are now included, as intransitives agreeing with one argument, often subject-only. Instead of searching for agreement triggers, we identify what blocks agreement. Presence of path movement is related to event properties (Wilbur, 2008; 2010). Our analysis supports Lourenço’s model using data from Croatian Sign Language (HZJ).
A multiple-agreement approach to auxiliary clitic drop in Croatian
Authors: Willer-Gold Jana , Peti-Stantić Anita
Published: December 2022

The chapter introduces an under-studied phenomenon of auxiliary clitic drop by presenting the data from the first comprehensive experimental study in mixed-category clitic clusters in Croatian. The study comprised of four experiments pairing acceptability judgement and forced-choice tasks to examine auxiliary clitic drop when preceded by Canonical and Reverse PCC, and when preceded by nominal clitic varying in person and case value. The data capture person effects that show no interaction with categorical factors (double-object vs object-auxiliary clitic clusters), suggesting that auxiliary clitic drop should be considered as an instance of person-ordering constraint. The analysis focuses on an asymmetry in person-gender feature values and applies a multiple-agreement gender-relativized probe to account for the optionality of subject-agreeing auxiliary being dropped when preceded by 1st or 2nd person object accusative clitic.
Agreement in Turkish relative clauses
Authors: Gračanin-Yuksek Martina
Published: December 2022

The suffix that marks the verb of a Turkish relative clause depends on the relativized constituent: if it is the subject, the suffix is -(y)An, if it is a non-subject, the suffix is -DIK. However, sometimes the relativization of non-subjects—e.g. oblique objects in passive constructions—results in the suffix -(y)An. The chapter accounts for these facts in terms of complementizer agreement, arguing that the choice of the suffix depends on how many goals value the uninterpretable Op- and φ-features on C. If C enters (a) successful Agree relation(s) with a single goal, the relative clause is marked by -(y)An. If C enters (a) successful Agree relation(s) with more than one goal, the suffix is -DIK. The analysis derives the difference between subject and non-subject relative clauses; it also extends to cases in which the relativized constituent is not the subject, but the relative clause is nevertheless marked by -(y)An.
Metacommunity concepts, approaches, and directions with Odonata
Authors: Bried Jason T. , Alves-Martins Fernanda , Brasil Leandro S. , McCauley Shannon J.
Published: December 2022

Metacommunity thinking is a rapidly advancing framework for integrated local and regional multispecies ecology. This chapter begins by discussing the background on this thinking. It goes on to focus on the central factors of scale and dispersal. Next, it attempts to justify odonates as model organisms in metacommunity ecology. It then mentions some current themes in the odonate metacommunity literature. The bulk of the chapter explores selected empirical approaches for studying odonate metacommunities. Via these explorations, it offers several directions for metacommunity research and applications using odonates as model organisms and covers mass effects as they relate to bioassessment and spatial prioritization, as well as dispersal limitation and ecological restoration.
ReadingGilgamešin the Zagros Mountains
Authors: Van De Mieroop Marc
Published: December 2022

Cuneiform writing was invented in Babylonia, the southern half of modern-day Iraq, and manuscripts from that region written in the early centuries of the second millennium bc provide the best information on how it was taught. The literature created there is known to us primarily from clay tablets used in the schools of the prominent cities Nippur and Ur, but remains from the small village of Meturan on the fringes of Babylonia in the Zagros Mountains show that exorcists there, too, read it and elaborated on it. The materials from all these places allow us to recognize three literary idioms: Sumerian, Akkadian, and bilingual Sumero-Akkadian, with intricate relationships among them.
Vernaculars That Changed the World
Authors: Van De Mieroop Marc
Published: December 2022

Two languages first attested in writing in the first millennium bc had an enormous impact on the history of writing: Phoenician and Aramaic. The Phoenician alphabet is the basis of almost all alphabetic scripts in later history, while the use of Aramaic over time spread over a vast area of the Near East and beyond. A rich evidentiary base allows for a reconstruction of the early history of the Aramaic language, which shows a gradual expansion of its use in writing both geographically and in the types of materials recorded. The Persian Empire especially contributed to its spread by adopting it as a transnational chancellery language. Although the evidence of literary texts is limited, what exists shows complex interactions with the cosmopolitan tradition still preserved in the heartland of the empires. In contrast, the evidence for Phoenician writings is limited and relatively short-lived. It often appears in bilingual contexts, including with Greek, and funerary inscriptions dominate. No Phoenician literature survives despite Greco-Roman claims of its existence.
From Minority Languages to World Literatures
Authors: Van De Mieroop Marc
Published: December 2022

Hebrew, the language of the states of Israel and Judah, had a relatively short history as a vernacular of daily use, being replaced by Aramaic by the 2nd century bc. As a literary idiom, however, its impact on world literature was enormous, and the Hebrew Bible shows numerous interactions with the Babylonian cosmopolitan tradition. Those have been the subject of many scholarly analyses, with widespread disagreement over how and when Hebrew authors could have encountered cuneiform writings and how their works relate to the Mesopotamian ones. It is argued here that they were familiar with cuneiform literature in all its aspects and that they mimicked and subverted its texts in acts of resistance against the empires that promoted it, producing counter-texts. The history of biblical exegesis, which started when the text was still under development, shows how reasoning shifted away from the Babylonian approach to one focusing on contents rather than form.
Sexual Violence and Restorative Justice
Authors: Keenan Marie , Zinsstag Estelle
Published: December 2022

This book examines the degree to which restorative justice can contribute to a more enhanced justice response than that currently offered by criminal legal approaches alone, to victims, offenders, and their communities in cases of sexual crime. Concerned by the high attrition rates for sexual crime and the secondary victimisation reported in victim accounts, annual reports from court and prosecutor services, and the empirical literature, the book analyses the extent to which restorative justice can address the justice gap that exists in current justice provision. Building on clinical experience and earlier research on sexual crime the researchers engage with the complex dynamics and traumatic impact of sexual violence as a critical starting point for their research and examine whether restorative justice can be appropriate for this crime too. The book presents extensive new data on restorative justice as applied in sexual violence cases across the globe. It engages with feminist concerns regarding the traumatic impact of sexual violence and the potential for re-traumatisation; the power imbalances that characterise these offences and the potential for re-victimisation; the potential for coercion of the victim to participate in the process; the potential for manipulation of restorative justice by the offender; and the potential that restorative justice could lead to the reprivatisation of sexual crime and ultimately to its decriminalisation. Having examined these topics in detail the book concludes there is an important role for restorative justice as a victim centred service in addressing the justice gap that exists after sexual crime and offers guidance on how this can be achieved.
A thematic analysis of policies and practices in five European countries
Authors: Keenan Marie , Zinsstag Estelle
Published: December 2022

The chapter is based on data gathered during study visits the researchers undertook in a number of different European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The data is analysed thematically and compared, in order to understand some of the unique as well as common characteristics, features, and challenges of these practices. These countries were chosen as they all already have instances of practices of restorative justice in cases of sexual violence but with different approaches and varying degrees of development and challenges. The themes explored include service development, pathways, and funding, legislation, reporting duties, timing of practices, interagency work, training of facilitators, and challenges encountered by the practices.
Past and current initiatives
Authors: Keenan Marie , Zinsstag Estelle
Published: December 2022

This chapter presents six profiles of initiatives or organisations that have offered or are currently offering in diverse forms and methodologies restorative justice in cases of sexual violence. They show the diversity of initiatives and possibilities, some are fully restorative and some alternative or quasi-restorative. The types of sexual crimes vary from stranger rape to sibling sexual abuse, sexual abuse committed by priests, and campus sexual violence. The initiatives are located in Europe (AIM in the UK, Moderator in Belgium, and Triptiek in the Netherlands) and North America (Brown University Transformative Justice Initiative and the Green Bay Correctional Institute, both in the USA).
Against War
Authors: Ndlovu-Gatsheni Sabelo J.
Published: December 2022

This chapter articulates the contributions of Olof Palme to the struggles for justice and peace. Its entry point is the broader issue of the constitution of the political in Western political thought predicated on such elements as the paradigm of difference (racism), the will to power, and the paradigm of war (homo polemos/warrior tradition/friend-foe dialectic). The key thesis is how these logics enabled enslavement, conquest, colonialism, imperialism, world wars, arms race, nuclear proliferation, and notions/realities of superpowers with monopoly of weapons of mass destruction as the antithesis of justice and peace. Plame enters the scene in the post-Second World War, which was dominated by the wave of decolonization, struggles for liberation, and global ideological rivalry known as the Cold War. What distinguished Palme’s politics and public diplomacy activism was his advocacy for East-West détente targeting the Cold War and subverting bipolarism, consistent advocacy for nuclear disbarment, strong belief in social democracy and equality, building of North-South dialogue, open support for Third World (Global South) liberation as he considered colonialism and apartheid as threats to world peace, and promotion of Global South solidarity (solidarity of small states).
Clinical trials for accelerating pandemic vaccines
Authors: Więcek Witold
Published: December 2022

We provide a short overview of clinical trials of vaccines, with particular focus on (i) adaptive and platform trials, (ii) human challenge trials, and (iii) vaccine use optimization, especially fractional dosing. We describe their relationship with regulatory approval and review main developments during Covid-19. We review the literature on risk–benefit analyses of alternative testing approaches but find few results, suggesting need for further quantitative research. We conclude by discussing some lessons for the next pandemic, such as the need for pre-pandemic R&D and clear guidelines; improving capability to use new trial approaches; arguments for diversifying research methods; research incentives and disincentives; and the need to use risk–benefit in approving new vaccines and targeting.
Auxin contributes to jasmonate-mediated regulation of abscisic acid signaling during seed germination in Arabidopsis
Authors: Mei Song , Zhang Minghui , Ye Jingwen , Du Jiancan , Jiang Yanjuan , Hu Yanru
Published: December 2022

Abscisic acid (ABA) represses seed germination and postgerminative growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Auxin and jasmonic acid (JA) stimulate ABA function; however, the possible synergistic effects of auxin and JA on ABA signaling and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that exogenous auxin works synergistically with JA to enhance the ABA-induced delay of seed germination. Auxin biosynthesis, perception, and signaling are crucial for JA-promoted ABA responses. The auxin-dependent transcription factors AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR10 (ARF10) and ARF16 interact with JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) repressors of JA signaling. ARF10 and ARF16 positively mediate JA-increased ABA responses, and overaccumulation of ARF16 partially restores the hyposensitive phenotype of JAZ-accumulating plants defective in JA signaling in response to combined ABA and JA treatment. Furthermore, ARF10 and ARF16 physically associate with ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5), a critical regulator of ABA signaling, and the ability of ARF16 to stimulate JA-mediated ABA responses is mainly dependent on ABI5. ARF10 and ARF16 activate the transcriptional function of ABI5, whereas JAZ repressors antagonize their effects. Collectively, our results demonstrate that auxin contributes to the synergetic modulation of JA on ABA signaling, and explain the mechanism by which ARF10/16 coordinate with JAZ and ABI5 to integrate the auxin, JA, and ABA signaling pathways.
From Criticism to Collaboration: Politics of Naturalist Mothering in Turkey
Authors: Tanir Canan
Published: December 2022

Naturalist mothering has become a remarkably influential trend in the last decade, transforming the popular discourse of good motherhood in Turkey, especially among urban, highly educated, middle-class, and mostly upper-middle-class mothers. In this article, I examine the perception and presentation of naturalist mothering as a safe and ideal method of protection from health and environment risks by these affluent mothers. Foregrounding their narratives in the ongoing context of neoliberal conservatization in Turkey, and by bringing together debates on the social determinants of risk, neoliberal governmentality, and feminist political ecology, I argue that invoking naturalism as a safe alternative to perceived environmental threats reinforces the assignment of care labor to women. Despite originating in discontent and critique of the policies and regulations of the current conservative neoliberal government, the propagation of naturalist methods as a safer ideal in fact perpetuates gender inequalities already in play.
The FabA-FabB Pathway Is Not Essential for Unsaturated Fatty Acid Synthesis but Modulates Diffusible Signal Factor Synthesis in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
Authors: Yu Yong-Hong , Chen Cheng , Ma Jian-Rong , Zhang Yuan-Yin , Yan Ming-Feng , Zhang Wen-Bin , Hu Zhe , Wang Hai-Hong , Ma Jin-Cheng
Published: December 2022

Most bacteria use type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS) systems for synthesizing fatty acids, of which the conserved FabA-FabB pathway is considered to be crucial for unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) synthesis in gram-negative bacteria. Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, the phytopathogen of black rot disease in crucifers, produces higher quantities of UFAs under low-temperature conditions for increasing membrane fluidity. The fabA and fabB genes were identified in the X. campestris pv. campestris genome by BLAST analysis; however, the growth of the X. campestris pv. campestris fabA and fabB deletion mutants was comparable to that of the wild-type strain in nutrient and minimal media. The X. campestris pv. campestris Δ fabA and Δ fabB strains produced large quantities of UFAs and, altogether, these results indicated that the FabA-FabB pathway is not essential for growth or UFA synthesis in X. campestris pv. campestris. We also observed that the expression of X. campestris pv. campestris fabA and fabB restored the growth of the temperature-sensitive Escherichia coli fabA and fabB mutants CL104 and CY242, respectively, under non-permissive conditions. The in-vitro assays demonstrated that the FabA and FabB proteins of X. campestris pv. campestris catalyzed FAS. Our study also demonstrated that the production of diffusible signal factor family signals that mediate quorum sensing was higher in the X. campestris pv. campestris Δ fabA and Δ fabB strains and greatly reduced in the complementary strains, which exhibited reduced swimming motility and attenuated host-plant pathogenicity.

[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license .
Whole Genome Sequencing-Based Tracing of a 2022 Introduction and Outbreak of Xanthomonas hortorum pv. pelargonii
Authors: Iruegas-Bocardo Fernanda , Weisberg Alexandra J. , Riutta Elizabeth R. , Kilday Kameron , Bonkowski John C. , Creswell Tom , Daughtrey Margery L. , Rane Karen , Grünwald Niklaus J. , Chang Jeff H. , Putnam Melodie L.
Published: December 2022

Globalization has made agricultural commodities more accessible, available, and affordable. However, their global movement increases the potential for invasion by pathogens and necessitates development and implementation of sensitive, rapid, and scalable surveillance methods. Here, we used 35 strains, isolated by multiple diagnostic laboratories, as a case study for using whole genome sequence data in a plant disease diagnostic setting. Twenty-seven of the strains were isolated in 2022 and identified as Xanthomonas hortorum pv. pelargonii. Eighteen of these strains originated from material sold by a plant breeding company that had notified clients following a release of infected geranium cuttings. Analyses of whole genome sequences revealed epidemiological links among the 27 strains from different growers that confirmed a common source of the outbreak and uncovered likely secondary spread events within facilities that housed plants originating from different plant breeding companies. Whole genome sequencing data were also analyzed to reveal how preparatory and analytical methods can impact conclusions on outbreaks of clonal pathogenic strains. The results demonstrate the potential power of using whole genome sequencing among a network of diagnostic labs and highlight how sharing such data can help shorten response times to mitigate outbreaks more expediently and precisely than standard methods.