bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Localizing Responses to Gender-Based Violence: The Case of Women-Led
Community-Based Organizations in Jordan
Authors: Toukan Dima M.
Published: June 2023

While the rationale for localizing humanitarian health response is well established at the level of policy rhetoric, the operationalization of the concept and its mainstreaming into concrete practice still require clearer intentionality. With COVID-19 pushing more people further into vulnerability, placing local communities at the heart of humanitarian and development health efforts has never been more urgent. Focusing on Jordan, this essay brings attention to the significant toll of violence against women and girls in conflict-affected communities and the importance of empowering local actors with community knowledge and resources to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. The essay follows on from the research conducted for CARE Jordan's She Is a Humanitarian report (2022) and draws on interviews I conducted with the heads of women's organizations in the summer of 2022. The essay explores the role of local women humanitarian actors as frontline responders, the challenges that hinder their role, and the advantages such actors enjoy, which, if harnessed, can achieve gains in accountability, health service quality, and gender equality.
Intracranial Entrainment Reveals Statistical Learning across Levels of Abstraction
Authors: Sherman Brynn E. , Aljishi Ayman , Graves Kathryn N. , Quraishi Imran H. , Sivaraju Adithya , Damisah Eyiyemisi C. , Turk-Browne Nicholas B.
Published: June 2023

We encounter the same people, places, and objects in predictable sequences and configurations. Humans efficiently learn these regularities via statistical learning. Importantly, statistical learning creates knowledge not only of specific regularities but also of regularities that apply more generally across related experiences (i.e., across members of a category). Prior evidence for different levels of learning comes from post-exposure behavioral tests, leaving open the question of whether more abstract regularities are detected online during initial exposure. We address this question by measuring neural entrainment in intracranial recordings. Neurosurgical patients viewed a stream of photographs with regularities at one of two levels: In the exemplar-level structured condition, the same photographs appeared repeatedly in pairs. In the category-level structured condition, the photographs were trial-unique but their categories were paired across repetitions. In a baseline random condition, the same photographs repeated but in a scrambled order. We measured entrainment at the frequency of individual photographs, which was expected in all conditions, but critically also at half that frequency—the rate at which to-be-learned pairs appeared in the two structured (but not random) conditions. Entrainment to both exemplar and category pairs emerged within minutes throughout visual cortex and in frontal and temporal regions. Many electrode contacts were sensitive to only one level of structure, but a significant number encoded both levels. These findings suggest that the brain spontaneously uncovers category-level regularities during statistical learning, providing insight into the brain's unsupervised mechanisms for building flexible and robust knowledge that generalizes across input variation and conceptual hierarchies.
Word Familiarity Modulates the Interference Effects of Mind Wandering on Semantic and Reafferent Information Processing
Authors: Long Zhengkun , Fu Qiufang , Fu Xiaolan
Published: June 2023

It has been found that mind wandering interferes with the sensory and cognitive processing of widespread stimuli. However, it remains unclear what factors can modulate the magnitude of the interference effects of mind wandering. Here, we investigate whether and how word familiarity modulates the interference effects of mind wandering on semantic and reafferent information processing. High- and low-frequency words were used as stimuli to induce high- and low-familiarity contexts in a sustained attention to response task, in which participants were required to respond to Chinese nonanimal words (nontarget) and withhold responses to Chinese animal words (target) as well as to intermittently report whether their state was “on task” or “off task.” Behavioral results revealed lower reaction stability for both high- and low-frequency nontarget words preceding “off-task” reports than those preceding “on-task” reports. However, ERP results revealed that low-frequency rather than high-frequency words elicited more negative N400, attenuated late positive complex, and attenuated reafferent potential for “off-task” reports than for “on-task” reports. The results suggest that mind wandering makes semantic extraction and integration more difficult for unfamiliar but not familiar two-character Chinese words and attenuates the reafferent feedback of the motor response. These findings are consistent with the decoupling hypothesis of mind wandering and provide the first neural evidence for how familiarity with external stimuli modulates the interference effects of mind wandering.
Five-Year Impacts of Group-Based Financial Education and Savings Promotion for Ugandan Youth
Authors: Horn Samantha , Jamison Julian C. , Karlan Dean , Zinman Jonathan
Published: June 2023

We experimentally evaluate group-based financial education, savings account access, or both for members of Ugandan youth groups. We measure both short- and long-run impacts with one- and five- year endline household surveys. Education, but not account access, increases measured financial knowledge and trust at one-year. At five-years, knowledge effects essentially disappear, and trust effects weaken. However, savings and income increase for each treatment at both endlines, which is noteworthy given the interventions' low cost and the long time horizon of our second endline. Exploring potential mechanisms, we find evidence consistent with multiple pathways to behavior change and outcome improvement.
Macroeconomic Policies and Foreign Capital Inflows in Nigeria
Authors: Obikaeze Chibuike Victor , Iwuoha Victor Chidubem , Odionye Joseph Chukwudi , Umo-Udo Ndifreke S.
Published: June 2023

The growth of manufacturing sector output in Nigeria is currently sluggish, if not stagnant, despite massive inflows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as macroeconomic policies initiated by successive Nigerian governments. The study investigated how macroeconomic policies and FDI inflows have impacted on the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test was adopted to determine the stationary properties of the data, and the order of integration of the variables was tested using the Johansen cointegration test. The impact and interactions of macroeconomic policies on the manufacturing sector are less understood and shallow in the extant literature. The government’s macroeconomic policies encourage FDI in the communications and oil sector with a negative impact on the manufacturing sector. This is implicated in inadequate capital investments and technological diffusion. Nonetheless, the study shifts the paradigm in popular arguments that FDI is imperialistic, hence universally exploitative, to a new hypothesis that the failure of the manufacturing sector to tap into FDI and yield desirable growth output is linked to less viable globally competitive macroeconomic policy frameworks in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that the Nigerian government should review its macroeconomic policies, particularly the monetary and exchange rate, and draw up proactive human capital development plans that can directly contribute to the development of the productive capacity of the country’s population.
Man-made infrastructures as accidental traps for herpetofauna in eastern Spain: incidence and modelling
Authors: Gálvez Ángel , Alonso Miguel , Bisbal-Chinesta Josep F. , Burgos Javier , Candel David , Gil Berto , Gómez-Mercader Antonio , Mondéjar Álex , Ortega Carlos , Sánchez Rubén , Real Marcos , Rosillo Emilio , Vicent-Castelló Pablo , Albero Luis
Published: June 2023

Water supplies in arid regions have traditionally been assured by cisterns, channels, wells, among other man-made structures with smooth vertical walls that can be deadly traps for several animals, including amphibians and reptiles. In this study, we investigate the incidence of such “trap structures” on the herpetofauna of the eastern Iberian Peninsula. We explored which features of these structures and which biological traits are associated with higher incidence of falling into these traps. We studied 205 trap structures and found 1224 amphibians or reptiles representing 25 different species, including endangered and protected ones. Broad-scale macroclimate and landscape variables were not associated with the incidence of traps. Instead, trap impact was influenced mainly by trap morphology and season of the year, which suggests that construction design and species phenology are the main factors to affect the incidence of a trap. Biological traits (subterranean or aquatic habits, diet, nocturnal activity or emission of reproductive calls) in some species were related to the probability of falling into these traps. Some species of snakes, lizards, and toads were more prone to fall in trap structures than other species. We conclude that trap structures can strongly impact amphibian and reptile survival, especially in arid or semi-arid regions where wells and water cisterns are widespread.
Value, Exchange, and Heinrich’s ‘New Reading of Marx’: Remarks on Marx’s Value-Theory, 1867–72
Authors: Lietz Barbara , Schwarz Winfried
Published: June 2023

The exclusive emergence of value and abstract human labour through exchange of mere products is a fundamental principle within the ‘New Reading of Marx’, especially that of Michael Heinrich. He invokes both Capital and the manuscript Additions and Changes, where Marx revised his value-form analysis for the second edition of Capital. However, this manuscript does not support Heinrich’s view. In the same handwritten manuscript, Marx drafted the subsection on the fetishism of the commodity with two passages that Heinrich claims as evidence for his interpretation. Against this, we elaborate Marx’s understanding of abstract human labour as the specific social character of private labour; it does not result from exchange but rather is its prerequisite. Heinrich’s attempt fails to include demand in the magnitude of value. Finally, he does not explain the value-formation by circulation and production. Rather, his one-sided view of exchange means, by way of its logical implications, that the capitalist production process is no longer the unity of the labour process and the valorisation process, but mere production of use-values.
Entretien avec Sophie Bessis
Authors: Alba Sonia
Published: June 2023

Sophie Bessis est une écrivaine et historienne tuniso-française spécialiste du Maghreb. Dans cet entretien, l’auteure répond à des questions portant sur son écriture et sur des questions sociales, politiques et économiques spécifiques à la société tunisienne pré et post révolutionnaire. La question des droits et du militantisme des femmes en Tunisie y est également abordée. Cet entretien a été réalisé en 2014 et il a été revu par Sophie Bessis avant sa publication en 2021.
An Outline of a Plagiarism Controversy from the Abbasid Era: Al-Sarī l-Raffāʾ vs. the Khālidī Brothers
Authors: Naaman Erez
Published: June 2023

One of the bitterest plagiarism controversies recorded in the medieval Arabic sources concerned the poet al-Sarī l-Raffāʾ and the two poets known as the Khālidī brothers. Based on the surviving evidence, this article examines closely the dispute between both parties in Iraq and Syria of the fourth/tenth century and the various ways in which it engaged others, including very prominent figures of the Abbasid era. Attention is paid to the development of the dispute and to the steps taken by each side to prevail over the other. The present article shows how the victory of the Khālidī brothers was structurally facilitated by the absence of formal legal mechanisms and procedures to address plagiarism allegations in the Abbasid period.
Narrative in Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ
Authors: Almutawa Shatha
Published: June 2023

This article examines the narratives that appear in the encyclopedic Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). Written in the tenth century, this multi-layered Neoplatonic work contains over 40 narratives—parables, allegories, fables, animal tales, and dialogues. These narratives serve multiple purposes, including the elucidation and illustration of ethical, philosophical, religious, mathematical, and scientific concepts. Together they encapsulate the philosophy of the secret society that produced them. With the exception of the famous animal fable, The Case of the Animals vs. Man in the Court of the King of the Jinn, these narratives have received little scholarly attention. Those narratives that have been studied have been considered in isolation rather than with the other narratives of the corpus. This article identifies the narratives in each epistle that utilizes them, shows their distribution, examines their types, and provides examples of the shorter narratives.
ʿ⁠Abdullāh al-ʿ⁠Arwī’s ʾAwrāq: sīrat Idrīs al-dhihniyyah and the Aesthetics-Politics Dialectic
Authors: El Younssi Anouar
Published: June 2023

This article discusses the politics of form in ʿ⁠Abdullāh al-ʿ⁠Arwī’s 1989 ʾAwrāq: sīrat Idrīs al-dhihniyyah (Papers: Idrīs’s Intellectual Biography), an important contribution to Moroccan experimental literature in the postcolonial era. Together with Muḥammad Barrādah’s 1987 novel Luʿbat al-nisyān (The Game of Forgetting, 1996), Awrāq consolidated the experimental turn in the Moroccan literary scene, aiding thereby its ascent to the mainstream. ʾAwrāq is a two-layered text, presenting the reader with, first, a stack of papers of various sorts belonging to the diseased protagonist Idrīs, and second, the commentaries on this archive by the narrator and Shuʿ⁠ayb. The book constantly oscillates between these two layers, attempting in the process to shake the dominant realist form and its underlying European point of reference. ʾAwrāq’s search for its best form parallels Idrīs’s quest to restore, or be reconciled to, his identity in the context of France and Europe’s colonial project and its legacy. The text’s experimentalism is thus strategically harnessed to wrestle, within the diegesis, with various political and sociocultural challenges facing Morocco, and the Arab/Arabo-Amazigh world more broadly, in the postcolonial era—including the colossal task of reconciling the Islamic heritage (al-turāth) with hegemonic Western discourses of modernity.
Whose Pathways are They? The Top-Down/Bottom-Up Conundrum of Complementary Pathways for Refugees
Authors: van Selm Joanne
Published: June 2023

With so many actors and varying motivations involved, one aspect of the ongoing development of complementary pathways that requires greater attention is the question of whether the pathways are best seen as a top-down or a bottom-up endeavour. Linked to this is the issue of the roles of various actors (i.e., communities, national authorities, the national protection regime and the refugees themselves) in practically creating pathways, and embedding them in an overall refugee protection regime, and how to keep a balance of inputs and expectations among all these different players. The key enquiry of this article is thus whether the bottom-up aspect of complementary pathways lend them any greater chance of success? Can community action be inspired, even requested ‘from above’ by governments or the international organizations? Or does it have to be organic, and start from below? And if complementary pathways are for refugees, how are refugees included?
In the Rubble of War, A Little Flower: How Thérèse Conquered the Oriental Heart of John C. H. Wu
Authors: Stout Huili S.
Published: June 2023

This paper narrates the conversion story of the Chinese statesman and scholar John C. H. Wu at the beginning of the Second World War in Asia. Wu’s conversion to Catholicism was the culmination of a public intellectual’s struggle for peace and harmony in the violent and disturbing decades of the new Republic. Wu represented a Chinese humanist school of thought that desired some form of meaningful synthesis and integration between Chinese culture and western modernity for the salvation and reconstruction of their country. Though his political hopes were shattered by the war, he found inspiration through an encounter with Thérèse of Lisieux, who showed him the possibility of peace and reconciliation between East and West, between tradition and modernity, and between Chinese and Christian religions.
Conventionalism about Property and the Outsider Challenge
Authors: Salomon Aaron
Published: June 2023

Conventionalism about property is the view that all moral duties correlative to property rights depend essentially either on the existence of a convention that assigns conventional ownership of objects, or on the existence of a body of positive law that confers legal property rights. It has been objected that, if Conventionalism about property is true, then it is impossible for someone to have her property right violated by someone who is not a member of the community in which her conventional property right is assigned. But it is possible. When Christopher Columbus sailed up to the island of Hispaniola in 1492, he and his sailors wronged the inhabitants by forcing them off their land. So, Conventionalism is false. This is the Outsider Challenge for Conventionalism. The Outsider Challenge (and its first premise, in particular) receives support from the Benefit Condition, according to which one can be morally obligated to comply with a conventional rule only if one benefits or has one’s interests protected by the convention of which it is a part. Despite its provenance and plausibility, however, I think that the Benefit Condition should be rejected. Doing so in a principled way allows us to square Conventionalism with our moral intuitions and, thus, address the Outsider Challenge. My main aim in this essay is to reject the Benefit Condition in one such principled way by providing a Contractualist answer to the question of when, and why, someone is morally required to respect another’s conventional property right. One is morally required to respect the conventional property rights of another when and because failing to do so would run afoul of the Principle of Established Practices (pep) – a principle for which I give a Contractualist justification. Roughly, the pep requires us to comply with sufficiently just social practices in the absence of special justification, and the fact that one’s interests are not protected by a property convention is not always a sufficiently strong reason for one to violate the duties assigned by that convention. Since the fact that one’s interests are not protected by a property convention is not necessarily a special justification for violating the pep, the pep gives us reason to reject the Benefit Condition and, thus, the Outsider Challenge, too.
A Theological Critique of the Commodification of Religious Substances in Ghanaian Pentecostal–Charismatic Christianity
Authors: Benyah Francis Ethelbert Kwabena
Published: June 2023

This article presents an empirical case study of the commodification of religious substances in a Ghanaian Pentecostal/charismatic church. The author argues that the primal goal of religion and the penchant for success and good health among Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians help in the easy commodification of religious substances by pastor-prophets. However, the commodification of religion or religious substances, the article argues, eschews godly values, beliefs, and practices that have implications for the faith and commitment of believers, their religious lives, and their commitment to the church and society.
Introduction to the issue: “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis: Lessons from the Past Decade”
Authors: Steuer Clément
Published: June 2023

At the beginning of the 2010s, several Arab countries seemed about to follow the model of Turkey, with an electoral victory of Islamist parties in a context of democratization. A decade later, Turkish akp has turned authoritarian, and the Moroccan and Tunisian Islamist parties have lost both access to governmental office and a large part of their electoral appeal. In this context, lessons can be learned from the early failed democratic experience in Algeria (1989–1992), and from the evolution of its Islamist movements since then.

From these four case studies, the contributors of this issue investigate the notions of moderation and inclusion, and their interrelations. Their articles build on the current trends within literature by taking into account the variety of Islamist movements, and their incorporation within different national trajectories. These articles contribute to the academic discussion by bringing new facts and ideas regarding this topic of inclusion-moderation.
A Green-Gold Scarab
Authors: Mather Mathew
Published: June 2023

The example of a scarab beetle synchronicity is recounted by Jung in his 1951 lecture ‘On Synchronicity’ and then the following year, in 1952, it appears in his book Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle. It is also recounted in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, appears in a number of the biographies on Jung, and has had journal articles written about it. It is no understatement to say that his scarab beetle synchronicity has become iconic in Jungian studies, and even beyond. In this article I offer a fresh perspective by locating the incident, together with Jung’s broader engagement with the scarab, within his esoteric worldview oriented around alchemy, astrology and magic. I also gesture to the value of such symbols for our time, by reference to ecopsychology.
The Global Commons: Deep Sea, Outer Space and Beyond
Authors: Natarajan Usha
Published: June 2023

Mining of the global commons in the deep seabed and outer space is grow-ing in technological and economic feasibility. Concurrently, we have in-creasing scientific knowledge of the environmental and social risks in-volved. Is the concept of the global commons and the related international law principle of the common heritage of humankind useful for negotiating such risks? Can this principle overcome its disciplinary legacy of strong mercantilist values and make an evolutionary turn towards greater ecologi-cal and social consciousness? To answer these questions, this reflection examines the role of the commons, corporations, and European empire in the creation of international law as well as environmental crises. It con-cludes that to overcome disciplinary legacies of imperialism and corporate greed, it would be helpful to conceive of international law as itself a global commons. Rather than Eurocentric values writ large, an international law where all cultures could participate on their own terms makes space for more sustainable and equitable legal traditions to reshape the global order.
The Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment and the Triple Planetary Crisis: Reflections for Ocean Governance
Authors: Seck Sara L.
Published: June 2023

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the world is fac-ing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution and waste, with grave implications for human well-being. While the triple plan-etary crisis affects both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, understanding of human rights in the ocean governance context is less well developed than that of human rights on land. This is slowly changing, even as the relation-ship between human rights and the environment more generally is being clarified in international law. On July 28, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment with 161 States voting in favor and none against. This reflection will contemplate the implications of this recent development in international human rights law for ocean govern-ance at a time of triple planetary crisis. Might UNGA recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment contribute necessary tools to overcome the challenges of triple planetary crisis and ultimately help restore planetary, including ocean, health?
AUKUS: The Regulation of the Ocean and the Legal Dangers of Working Together
Authors: McKenzie Simon , Massingham Eve
Published: June 2023

On 16 September 2021, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), announced the AUKUS arrangement, a security agreement which provides a framework for nuclear-powered submarine technology to be shared by the US and the UK with Australia, as well as other forms of new military technology. This article explores the legal im-plications of this alliance and the increase in technological sharing and maritime cooperation it promises. It first provides an overview of the AUKUS arrangement, situating it within the long history of cooperation be-tween these three countries. It then considers how international law regu-lates the sharing of maritime military technology, contrasting the significant constraints on sharing nuclear technology with the minimal restrictions on sharing non-nuclear technology. Lastly, the legal implications of States working closely together on the ocean are addressed. While there might be military and strategic advantages to this close collaboration, when and how States might be complicit in the international wrongs of partner States and the challenge that can be posed by legal interoperability are explored.
Sharing is Caring: Prominent Issues and Considerations Regarding the Equitable Distribution of Deep-sea Mining Proceeds
Authors: Willaert Klaas
Published: June 2023

The status of the Area and its mineral resources as the common heritage of mankind constitutes the guiding principle of the international deep seabed regime. Although its implications and objectives are wide-ranging, one of the crucial components of this abstract concept consists of a general prem-ise to carry out activities in the Area for the benefit of mankind as a whole. This ambition can be pursued through various mechanisms, and one of the most direct ways is to share the proceeds of deep-sea mining among all States on an equitable basis. In accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is tasked with developing a suitable payment and distribution system, which takes the needs and interests of developing States into particular consideration. This article analyses the overarching rules and principles, discusses prominent issues and evaluates the available options, offering an insightful look at a complex process that will shape some of the most important aspects of the international deep seabed regime. It is clear that several problematic as-pects remain fairly underexposed and the ISA should be careful not to overlook the essential principles upon which the international regime gov-erning the Area is built.
Safer Ships and Cleaner Seas: Reducing Vessel Risks through Targeted Inspections and Recognized Organization Oversight
Authors: Brooks Mary R.
Published: June 2023

This article explores the lessons that might be learned from port State con-trol (PSC) inspections for flag States, examining the scholarly literature on vessel risk targeting. It begins by identifying the major classification socie-ties (and recognized organizations or ROs) before discussing the obligations and responsibilities of governments in achieving a global ‘safer ships and cleaner seas’ objective. It then presents a framework for thinking about the relationship between owner/operators, ship classification societies, flag State authorities and PSC parties in order to improve safety, discussing where gaps remain in the execution of the objective. The author draws con-clusions about where the future focus by flag States might achieve addi-tional improvements in their oversight of classification societies when they act as ROs, carrying out ship survey and certification functions on behalf of flag States. Identified challenges include improving the quality of data used in vessel risk targeting, expanding the transparency of that data for RO oversight, and focusing efforts on those flag States and ROs who do not meet their obligations.
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 and the ILO Decent Work Agenda: A Work in Progress
Authors: Piñeiro Laura Carballo
Published: June 2023

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 came to light to “secure the right of all seafarers to decent employment” as stated in Article I thereof. In line with the ILO Decent Work Agenda, the Convention is meant to contribute to four objectives: employment creation, respect for rights at work, social pro-tection and social dialogue. However, after reviewing each objective, this article contends the Convention’s success is limited because decent work deficits still remain on board ships. The governance model set out in the Convention reinforces public capacity by allocating responsibilities to flag, port and labor supplying States, involving other stakeholders in supporting public governance to ensure compliance and enforcement. However, this research shows that the problem might not be in enforcement, but in the Convention’s standards where there is much room for improvement. To this end, social dialogue is of the essence. While local collective bargaining is impaired by global competition in labor matters, the social dialogue mecha-nisms embedded in the MLC, 2006 itself still provide a way forward as long as the ILO maintains its ability to bring States, capital and labor together in order to promote decent employment in shipping.
The Status and Use of Hospital Ships in Times of Peace and War: Law of the Sea, Maritime Law and the Law of Naval Warfare
Authors: von Heinegg Wolff Heintschel
Published: June 2023

Hospital ships are vessels that are designed or equipped and primarily used to provide medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or in-jured people at sea. Under the law of the sea and maritime law, such ves-sels are not dealt with separately. Therefore, their status and the respective rules applicable to them depend on the entities operating them. If operated by the armed forces of a State for exclusively government non-commercial purposes they qualify as warships or, if they are under the command of a civilian master, other State ships (“auxiliaries”) that enjoy sovereign im-munity in all sea areas, including the internal waters of another State. If operated by private entities or individuals, they qualify as merchant vessels. The law of naval warfare distinguishes between military hospital ships op-erated by the parties to the conflict and private hospital ships. The latter may be operated by national Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, officially recognized relief societies, or private persons either of the parties to an in-ternational armed conflict or of a neutral State. The protection of all hospital ships under the 1949 Geneva Convention II is subject to comparatively strict conditions, some of which may have become obsolete in light of contempo-rary technologies and novel threats.
The Right to Food: Trends and Comparative Analysis of Legal Frameworks in Italy, Brazil and the United States
Authors: Cicchiello Gianluca
Published: June 2023

This article performs a comparative assessment of the right to food (RtF) as a living right that must be continuously implemented in the constitutions, in legislative acts and in all the acts that derive from them. In particular, I applied, to the present study, the comparative methodology of constitutional law of the “most different cases” to select the comparable cases. The recognition of the RtF is present in numerous national constitutions. There are three possible categories: a) explicit recognition, as a human right in itself or as part of another, broader human right; b) recognition as a directive principle of state policy; and c) implicit recognition, through broad interpretation of other human rights. It was carried out a comparative analysis of the Italian legislation with the U.S. and Brazil legal framework at international, constitutional and national level to see the different methodology, with an explicit or implicit reference in Constitution which it represents a first step to realize the RtF in the countries, but it does not represent an exhaustive and definitive solution.
Systematics and biogeography of Anoura cultrata (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae): a morphometric, niche modeling, and genetic perspective, with a taxonomic reappraisal of the genus
Authors: MOLINARI JESÚS , GUTIÉRREZ ELIÉCER E. , LIM BURTON K.
Published: June 2023

The nectar-feeding bats of the genus Anoura are widely distributed in the Neotropics, but are most speciose in the Andes. Anoura cultrata is a rare mid-elevation bat occurring in South and Central America. It is thought to be one of the few bat species exemplifying a latitudinal cline in body size. We address three systematic and biogeographic questions: 1) is the geographic variation in A. cultrata continuous, as argued to justify its current monotypic status? 2) do ecogeographic barriers to dispersal affect such variation? and 3) how do the genetic divergence and biogeography of the species compare to those of other members of the genus? To answer these questions, we used morphometric analyses, ecological niche modeling, and DNA barcoding. We divided the samples of A. cultrata into six geographic groups, delimited by topographic depressions separating mountain systems. We did not find significant correlations between body size and the geographic coordinates within five groups. Therefore, we conclude that ecogeographic barriers to dispersal between the regions occupied by such groups influenced morphometric variation in A. cultrata, and that despite its general north to south reduction in body size, the species does not show continuous clinal variation. A recent phylogenetic study of the genus Anoura concluded that it contains seven valid species. Our DNA barcoding analysis and morphological examination indicated that at least 10 species should be recognized, including A. peruana distinct from A. geoffroyi, and A. aequatoris and A. luismanueli distinct from A. caudifer. Moreover, we show that Central and South American populations of A. cultrata differ from each other at least at the subspecific level, thus we respectively refer to them as A. cultrata cultrata and as A. c. brevirostrum. Similarly, we refer to Central American and Mexican populations of ‘A. geoffroyi’ as A. peruana lasiopyga, and to their South American counterparts as A. p. peruana. The range of the latter subspecies reaches northeastern Venezuela. The Andes from southern Colombia to northern Peru appear to be the ancestral range of the genus.
Pseudolaguvia permaris, a new catfish from the Eastern Ghats of India (Teleostei: Sisoridae)
Authors: VIJAYAKRISHNAN BALAJI , PRAVEENRAJ JAYASIMHAN , MISHRA ABHISEK
Published: June 2023

Pseudolaguvia permaris, a new sisorid catfish is described from the Mahanadi River basin in Odisha, India. The new species can be distinguished from congeners in having the following combination of characters: serrated anterior margin of dorsal-fin spine, thoracic adhesive apparatus not extending beyond base of last pectoral-fin ray, caudal peduncle depth 8.6–10.2% SL, body depth at anus 15.3–20.2% SL, adipose-fin base length 13.6–18.1% SL, dorsal to adipose distance 11.4–14.4% SL, length of pectoral-fin spine 19.3–28.0% SL, length of dorsal-fin spine 16.5–20.4% SL, head width 21.6–25.9% SL and indistinct, creamish bands on the body.
A new species and a new record of the amphipod genus Cymadusa Savigny, 1816 (Senticaudata, Ampithoidae) from India
Authors: THACKER DIMPLE , MYERS ALAN , TRIVEDI JIGNESHKUMAR
Published: June 2023

The present study recorded Cymadusa filosa Savigny 1816 for the first time from India along with the description of a new species Cymadusa kaureshi n. sp. The newly described species C. kaureshi n. sp. can be differentiated from its closely related congeners C. setosa (Haswell, 1879) and C. tattersalli Peart, 2004 in having 3 articulated accessory flagellum of antenna 1 and male gnathopod 2 palm with small proximal knob-like process. The record of Cymadusa filosa Savigny, 1816 by Rabindranath (1972) from Tamil Nadu does not match with the description and illustrations of C. filosa sensu stricto in having mid palmar tooth on male gnathopod 2; antenna 1 with 3 articulated accessory flagellum and gnathopod 1 significantly longer and slender than gnathopod 2. Since the record of Rabindranath (1972) significantly differs from C. filosa sensu stricto, we assume that the Tamil Nadu specimen could be an undescribed species. Moreover, all the previous reports from India of C. filosa are erroneous, and here in this study we report the first confirmed record of C. filosa from India.
Fabrication and characterization of bioactive composite: A pilot study
Authors: Al-Samaray Manar E , Fatalla Abdalbseet A
Published: June 2023

The increasing requirement and use of dental implant treatments has rendered dental implantology indispensable in dentistry. The aim of this study is to determine the optimum concentration of calcium silicate to be incorporated into a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) matrix used as an implant material to enhance the bioactivity and mechanical properties of the composite compared with unmodified PEKK. In this study, different weight percentage (wt%) of micro-calcium silicate (m-CS) is incorporated into PEKK with ethanol as a binder. Subsequently, the mixture is dried in a forced convection oven at 120°C and poured into customized molds to fabricate a bioactive composite via compression molding (310°C, 15 MPa, and 20 min holding time) ( n = 5). The mechanical properties and in vitro apatite-forming ability of the composites are investigated. Although an apatite layer is formed on all composites after immersion in simulated body fluid for 7 days, the flexural strength and elastic modulus of the composite increased after the filler load is increased to 15 wt%, whereas it decreased in groups with filler loadings exceeding 15 wt%. The results of this study indicate that the incorporation of 15 wt% m-CS into the PEKK polymeric matrix can improve the bioactivity and mechanical properties of this bioactive composite.
The Impact of the Ethiopian War on Italian Immigrants in Scotland
Authors: Petrocelli Remigio
Published: June 2023

While Fascist Italy was fighting its colonial war in Ethiopia in 1935–6, a ‘parallel war’ was fought by Italian fascist branches abroad to retain the allegiance of the Italian immigrant communities and win their support. Drawing extensively on original Italian archival documents and the contemporary press, this article analyses how the invasion of Ethiopia affected the small Italian diaspora in Scotland. The propaganda used by Fascist Italy to justify the war and counteract British diplomatic hostility, as well as the central role of Italian fascists in Scotland, contributed to consolidating the national identity of a large number of Italian immigrants and links with their country of origin. This article will also explore how the Abyssinian war paved the way for the portrayal of the members of local fascist branches (and those who were not) as ‘enemies within’ by the British government and many sectors of the host society.
What we got Here, is a Failure to Coordinate: Implicit and Explicit Coordination in Air Combat
Authors: Mansikka Heikki , Virtanen Kai , Harris Don
Published: June 2023

Air combat is the ultimate test for teamwork, as teams of fighter pilot (or flights), must coordinate their actions in a highly complex, hostile, dynamic and time critical environment. Flights can coordinate their actions using communication, that is, explicitly, or by relying on team situation awareness (SA), that is, implicitly. This paper examines how these two forms of coordination are associated with performance when prosecuting or evading an attack in simulated air combat. This was done by investigating the flights’ team SA, number of SA-related communication acts and performance in these two types of critical events during air combat. The results exhibit a quadratic dependence between team SA and communication. The rate of change of SA-related communication frequency with respect to change of team SA was negative: communication was needed to build team SA, but once an appropriate level of team SA was established, fewer communications were required. If, however, team SA deteriorated the number of SA communication acts increased. However, during time critical events, the flights did not always have enough time to coordinate their actions verbally. If the flights’ team SA in such situations was low, the flights’ explicit coordination attempts were not sufficient to avoid poor performance.
An interpretable artificial neural network model for predicting hypoxemia via an online tool in adult (18–64) patients during esophagogastroduodenoscopy
Authors: Xiong Weigen , Zou Daizun , Fang Zhaojing , Zhao Xiuxiu , Chen Chen , Zou Jianjun , Si Yanna
Published: June 2023

Background

The hypoxemia risk in adult (18–64) patients treated with esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) under sedation often poses a dilemma for anesthesiologists. We aimed to establish an artificial neural network (ANN) model to solve this problem, and introduce the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) algorithm to further improve the interpretability.

Methods

The relevant data of patients underwent routine anesthesia-assisted EGD were collected. Elastic network was used to filter the optimal features. Airway-ANN and Basic-ANN models were established based on all collected indicators and remaining variables excluding airway assessment indicators, respectively. The performance of Basic-ANN, Airway-ANN and STOP-BANG was evaluated by the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC) on temporal validation set. The SHAP was used for revealing the predictive behavior of our best model.

Results

999 patients were eventually included. The AUPRC value of Airway-ANN model was significantly higher than Basic-ANN model in the temporal validation set (0.532 vs 0.429, P < 0.05). And the performance of both two ANN models was significantly better than that of STOP-BANG score (both P < 0.05). The Airway-ANN model was deployed to the cloud ( http://njfh-yxb.com.cn:2022/airway_ann ).

Conclusion

Our online interpretable Airway-ANN model achieved satisfying ability in identifying the hypoxemia risk in adult (18–64) patients undergoing EGD.
In silico secretome analyses of the polyphagous root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica: a resource for studying M. javanica secreted proteins
Authors: Macharia Teresia Nyambura , Duong Tuan A. , Moleleki Lucy Novungayo
Published: June 2023

Background

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) that cause most damage include root-knot nematodes (RKNs) which are a major impediment to crop production. Root-knot nematodes, like other parasites, secrete proteins which are required for parasite proliferation and survival within the host during the infection process.

Results

Here, we used various computational tools to predict and identify classically and non-classically secreted proteins encoded in the Meloidogyne javanica genome. Furthermore, functional annotation analysis was performed using various integrated bioinformatic tools to determine the biological significance of the predicted secretome. In total, 7,458 proteins were identified as secreted ones. A large percentage of this secretome is comprised of small proteins of ≤ 300 aa sequence length. Functional analyses showed that M. javanica secretome comprises cell wall degrading enzymes for facilitating nematode invasion, and migration by disintegrating the complex plant cell wall components. In addition, peptidases and peptidase inhibitors are an important category of M. javanica secretome involved in compatible host-nematode interactions.

Conclusion

This study identifies the putative secretome encoded in the M. javanica genome. Future experimental validation analyses can greatly benefit from this global analysis of M. javanica secretome. Equally, our analyses will advance knowledge of the interaction between plants and nematodes.
Genetic determinants of Biofilm formation of Helicobacter pylori using whole-genome sequencing
Authors: Fauzia Kartika Afrida , Aftab Hafeza , Miftahussurur Muhammad , Waskito Langgeng Agung , Tuan Vo Phuoc , Alfaray Ricky Indra , Matsumoto Takashi , Yurugi Michiyuki , Subsomwong Phawinee , Kabamba Evariste Tshibangu , Akada Junko , Yamaoka Yoshio
Published: June 2023

Background

Infection with Helicobacter pylori as the cause of gastric cancer is a global public health concern. In addition to protecting germs from antibiotics, biofilms reduce the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapy. The nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related with the biofilm forming phenotype of Helicobacter pylori were studied.

Results

Fifty-six H. pylori isolate from Bangladeshi patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Crystal violet assay was used to quantify biofilm amount, and the strains were classified into high- and low-biofilm formers As a result, strains were classified as 19.6% high- and 81.4% low-biofilm formers. These phenotypes were not related to specific clades in the phylogenetic analysis. The accessories genes associated with biofilm from whole-genome sequences were extracted and analysed, and SNPs among the previously reported biofilm-related genes were analysed. Biofilm formation was significantly associated with SNPs of alpA, alpB, cagE, cgt, csd4, csd5, futB, gluP, homD, and murF (P < 0.05). Among the SNPs reported in alpB, strains encoding the N156K, G160S, and A223V mutations were high-biofilm formers.

Conclusions

This study revealed the potential role of SNPs in biofilm formation and proposed a method to detect mutation in biofilm from whole-genome sequences.