bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural derivatization strategies of natural phenols by semi-synthesis and total-synthesis
Authors: Lin Ding , Jiang Senze , Zhang Ailian , Wu Tong , Qian Yongchang , Shao Qingsong
Published: March 2022

Structural derivatization of natural products has been a continuing and irreplaceable source of novel drug leads. Natural phenols are a broad category of natural products with wide pharmacological activity and have offered plenty of clinical drugs. However, the structural complexity and wide variety of natural phenols leads to the difficulty of structural derivatization. Skeleton analysis indicated most types of natural phenols can be structured by the combination and extension of three common fragments containing phenol, phenylpropanoid and benzoyl. Based on these fragments, the derivatization strategies of natural phenols were unified and comprehensively analyzed in this review. In addition to classical methods, advanced strategies with high selectivity, efficiency and practicality were emphasized. Total synthesis strategies of typical fragments such as stilbenes, chalcones and flavonoids were also covered and analyzed as the supplementary for supporting the diversity-oriented derivatization of natural phenols.
BLNet: Bidirectional learning network for point clouds
Authors: Han Wenkai , Wu Hai , Wen Chenglu , Wang Cheng , Li Xin
Published: March 2022

The key challenge in processing point clouds lies in the inherent lack of ordering and irregularity of the 3D points. By relying on perpoint multi-layer perceptions (MLPs), most existing point-based approaches only address the first issue yet ignore the second one. Directly convolving kernels with irregular points will result in loss of shape information. This paper introduces a novel point-based bidirectional learning network (BLNet) to analyze irregular 3D points. BLNet optimizes the learning of 3D points through two iterative operations: feature-guided point shifting and feature learning from shifted points, so as to minimise intra-class variances, leading to a more regular distribution. On the other hand, explicitly modeling point positions leads to a new feature encoding with increased structure-awareness. Then, an attention pooling unit selectively combines important features. This bidirectional learning alternately regularizes the point cloud and learns its geometric features, with these two procedures iteratively promoting each other for more effective feature learning. Experiments show that BLNet is able to learn deep point features robustly and efficiently, and outperforms the prior state-of-the-art on multiple challenging tasks.
Hypo-Hydroxymethylation of Nobox is Associated with Ovarian Dysfunction in Rat Offspring Exposed to Prenatal Hypoxia
Authors: Yao Changfang , Lu Likui , Ji Yiting , Zhang Yingying , Li Weisheng , Shi Yajun , Liu Jinliu , Sun Miao , Xia Fei
Published: March 2022

Prenatal hypoxia (PH) is a common feature of a suboptimal intrauterine environment affecting the development of fetuses. Whether PH leads to abnormal ovary development is not yet clear. This study investigated ovarian function in offspring exposed to PH and the potential underlying molecular mechanisms. SD female rats (n = 12 per group) at 9 weeks of age were housed in individual cages (21% O2). After the pregnant rats were exposed to hypoxia (10.5% oxygen) from embryonic day (E) 5 to E21, PH offspring were generated. All animals maintained normoxia during lactation. The number of follicles was counted in female offspring at 3 months under an optical microscope. The expression of Nobox, Gdf9, and Tets was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot. Global DNA hydroxymethylation was measured by dot blot. The hydroxymethylation level of the Nobox gene was evaluated with an NGS-based multiple targeted CpG hydroxymethylation analysis method. Body weight and ovary weight were significantly decreased in the PH group compared with the control group. PH offspring have abnormal estrous cycle, decreased serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), and increased serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and follicular atresia, which are consistent with the clinical manifestations in patients with ovarian dysfunction. In terms of mechanism, the expression of Nobox was significantly decreased in the PH group. Subsequent high-throughput sequencing results showed that the level of hydroxymethylation in the candidate region of the Nobox gene was reduced. Cultured cells treated with hypoxia exhibited lower levels of both 5hmC and Nobox, while vitamin C, a coactivator of Tets, rescued hypo-hydroxymethylation and increased the expression level of Nobox. This study indicated that PH could cause hypo-hydroxymethylation of Nobox through epigenetic regulation and may consequently contribute to ovarian dysfunction in adult rat offspring.
Heritage Making and Migrant Subjects in the Deindustrialising Region of the Latrobe Valley
Authors: Dellios Alexandra
Published: March 2022

This Element argues that community-initiated migrant heritage harbours the potential to challenge and expand state-sanctioned renderings of multiculturalism in liberal nation-states. In this search for alternative readings, community-initiated migrant heritage is positioned as a grassroots challenge to positivist state-multiculturalism. It can do this if we adopt the migrant perspective, a diasporic perspective of 'settlement' that is always unfinished, non-static, and non-essentialist. As mobile subjects, either once or many times over - a subject position arrived at through acts of mobility, sometimes spawned by violence or structural inequality, which can reverberate throughout subsequent generations - the migrant subject position compels us to look both forwards and backwards in time and place.
Sr Isotopes in Seawater
Authors: Ingram B. Lynn , DePaolo Donald J.
Published: March 2022

Studies of Sr isotopic composition of thousands of samples of marine sediments and fossils have yielded a curve of 87Sr/86Sr versus age for seawater Sr that extends back to 1 billion years. The ratio has fluctuated with large amplitude during this time period, and because the ratio is always uniform in the oceans globally at any one time, it is useful as a stratigraphic correlation and age-dating tool. The ratio also appears to reflect major tectonic and climatic events in Earth history and hence provides clues as to the causes, timing, and consequences of those events. The seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio is generally high during periods marked by continent-continent collisions, and lower when continental topography is subdued, and seafloor generation rates are high. There is evidence that major shifts in the seawater ratio can be ascribed to specific orogenic events and correlate with large shifts in global climate.
On the Genealogy of Modality: The Necessity of Origin and the Origin of Necessity
Authors: BALLARIN ROBERTA
Published: March 2022

In this article I contrast two opposing forms of essentialism, definitional and transcendental versus productivist and historical, and trace both forms back to Kripke's Naming and Necessity (1980). Definitional essentialism, as developed by Fine, centers on kind-membership. Historical essentialism, as anticipated by Prior and developed by Almog, puts origin at its center. The article focuses on the fundamentally distinct manners in which these two views handle the necessity of origin thesis. In the final section of the article, inspired by a Nietzschean genealogical methodology, I pursue a naturalization strategy and conclude that rather than origin being necessary, it is essentialist necessity that reduces to origin.
A complete clinico-epidemiological and microbiological profile of candidemia cases in a tertiary-care hospital in Western India
Authors: Rajni Ekadashi , Chaudhary Preeti , Garg Vishnu Kumar , Sharma Rajani , Malik Manisha
Published: March 2022

Objective:

To identify different Candida spp along with antifungal susceptibility pattern and risk factors associated with candidemia.

Design, setting, and patients:

This retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary-care academic hospital in Jaipur, Western India, for 3 years (July 2017–June 2020).

Methods:

Blood cultures were performed according to standard microbiological methods, and only 1 isolate per patient was included in the study. Isolates of Candida spp were identified using a VITEK-2 automated system and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Antifungal susceptibility tests were performed using the broth microdilution assay according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines.

Results:

Of 3,443 blood cultures received from suspected sepsis cases, candidemia was identified in 95 (2.8%). In addition to Candida tropicalis (n = 36; 38%) and Candida parapsilosis (n = 17; 18%), 10 isolates of Candida auris comprised the fourth most common cause of candidemia. Presence of central venous catheter and diabetes were statistically significant risk factors for development of candidemia by NAC. Resistance to fluconazole was 36%, resistance to voriconazole was 20%, resistance to 5-flucytosine was 4%, and resistance to amphotericin-B was 7%. C. auris isolates were more resistant than other NAC spp. We detected no resistance among the echinocandins.

Conclusions:

The emergence of highly resistant isolates like C. auris emphasizes the need for constant monitoring of candidemia cases for species identification and routine antifungal susceptibility so that appropriate measures can be taken to reduce the related morbidity and mortality.
Women's personal networks and recourse to prenatal care in Bamako
Authors: Cisse Siaka , Rossier Clémentine , Sauvain-Dugerdil Claudine
Published: March 2022

This study aims to determine the role played by the personal networks of mothers aged 25–40 in Bamako (Mali) in their recourse to prenatal care. Although education and household's economic situation remain important, our research shows that personal network matters in two ways. Prenatal follow-up is more adequate in small, dense, less centralized networks, a structure known to generating a higher level of bonding social capital and mutual support. Yet, the composition of networks is also important: those comprising the husband and neighbors/friends—without other family members—are associated with better prenatal care. In these more open networks, women are probably less subject to traditional social control. An unexpected outcome is that material support does not play a significative role; this may indicate that more specific measures are needed to identify the type of support useful, or that, in this context, normative aspects are more important.
Virtual coercion and the vulnerable consumer: ‘loot boxes’ as aggressive commercial practices
Authors: Cartwright Peter , Hyde Richard
Published: March 2022

Loot boxes have recently become a game mechanism of concern to policy-makers and regulators. The similarity between loot boxes and gambling is clear, and loot boxes and their regulation are commonly viewed through the lens of gambling. By contrast, very little attention has been given to tackling them as unfair, and in particular aggressive, commercial practices under consumer law. This article argues that by classifying the provision of loot boxes as a potentially aggressive commercial practice we will see that consumer law may protect gamers from some of the significant harms with which such products are associated.
Serum S100B protein after electroconvulsive therapy in patients with depression
Authors: Gbyl Krzysztof , Jørgensen Niklas Rye , Videbech Poul
Published: March 2022

Objective:

S100B is a glial cell protein with bimodal function. In low concentrations, it exerts neurotrophic effects, but higher levels reflect neuronal distress. Recent research suggests that this molecule may be a biomarker of response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We examined the effect of ECT on serum S100B and its utility as 1) a biomarker of a depressive state and 2) a predictor of ECT response. We also wanted to ensure that ECT does not cause a marked serum S100B elevation, indicating neural distress.

Methods:

We measured serum S100B in 22 in-patients treated with ECT due to depression. Depression severity was assessed using 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17). The data were collected before an ECT series, within 1 week after the series (post-ECT), and at a 6-month follow-up. Changes in serum S100B and clinical outcomes were tested using a linear mixed model. A relationship between serum S100B and the clinical outcomes was examined using Spearman’s and partial correlation.

Results:

Serum S100B did not change significantly immediately after an ECT series or 6 months later. The post-ECT serum S100B change was not associated with the clinical effect (rho = 0.14, n = 22, p = 0.54). The baseline serum S100B did not predict the clinical effect when controlling for age (r = 0.02, n = 22, df = 19, p = 0.92).

Conclusion:

The study neither supports serum S100B as a state marker of depression nor a predictor of ECT response. No evidence for ECT-related neural distress was found.
Attribute Agenda Setting on Twitter and theWall Street Journal: The Case of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar
Authors: Alkazemi Mariam , Oladi Ghadikolai Sameneh , Oetjens Marilynn , Boone Edward L.
Published: March 2022

This study examines attributes associated with U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Omar's unique intersectionality of identities as a Black, immigrant, Muslim woman presents a rich case study for an examination of attribute agenda setting. A sample of Tweets, all Wall Street Journal articles referencing the congresswoman, and Google searches were obtained for the hashtags (“IlhanOmar,” “GoBack,” and “WelcomeHome.”) from May 2019 to January 2020. The Tweets and articles were then coded for a variety of dimensions. Analysis of the frequencies of words associated with the coding and the hashtags showed that the majority of the messages were negative despite the hashtag for which they were collected. A cross-correlation time series analysis showed that articles and editorials published by the Wall Street Journal predicted spikes in Google searches and Twitter messages. This article pinpoints underlying sociological phenomena about the representations of gender, race, religion, and immigration status to show the arguments that link attributes of Ilhan Omar together on Twitter.
Middle East Studies Under Occupation: The Case of Washington, D.C.
Authors: Sherman Corey
Published: March 2022

A key component of Middle East Studies methodology is to identify and deconstruct the relationship between knowledge about the region and the power structures that give knowledge meaning. Typically, that methodology is applied to Middle East Studies at the post-secondary level. This paper applies that methodology to public schools in Washington, D.C. Through structural analysis, I will tease out the “epistemological commitments” (Abu El Haj 2001) of what the government of Washington, D.C. calls “social studies learning standards” -- short sentences which “detail the knowledge students are expected to acquire at a particular grade level.” Based on my experience teaching the Middle East in a Washington, D.C. public high school, I also raise questions about the relationship between the content standards and teachers’ work conditions, and whether such conditions support or inhibit the development of a praxis (Freire 2016) which could deconstruct US colonialism inside American public schools. One goal of this paper is to bring Middle East Studies into conversation with American Studies, broadly defined, and in particular ethnographic studies of DC that consider the colonial relationship between the US Government and Washingtonians. I conclude by calling for a deeper engagement with the American public school system by Middle East Studies scholars at both a theoretical and practical level
Studying Turkey through a Graphic Lens
Authors: Singer Amy , Martin Chris
Published: March 2022

In Turkish Kaleidoscope, social anthropologist and novelist Jenny White has expanded her repertoire to the graphic novel format to create an account of the violence and political chaos that pervaded Turkey in the late 1970s.2 White builds here on her academic work and her own student experience at Hacettepe University in Ankara. Artist Ergün Gündüz has created visual interpretations of place, space, events, and emotions that bring the story to life. This review is a collaborative class exercise for “Turkey: From Atatürk to Erdoğan” at Brandeis University in the Spring 2021 semester. It reflects on the novel as a text for Turkish history; the format of the work; the aesthetic choices of artist and author; and the experience of encountering this work in the contemporary historical moment. The review incorporates student comments as direct quotations. It was co-authored by Chris Martin, a student in the course.
Poor performance of predictive equations to estimate resting energy expenditure in patients with Crohn’s disease
Authors: Karachaliou Alexandra , Anastasiou Costas , Bletsa Maria , Mantzaris Gerassimos J. , Archavlis Emmanuel , Karampekos George , Tzouvala Maria , Zacharopoulou Eirini , Veimou Chrysoula , Bamias Giorgos , Kontogianni Meropi
Published: March 2022

Studies exploring the accuracy of equations calculating resting energy expenditure (REE) in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of REE predictive equations against indirect calorimetry in CD patients. REE was measured using indirect calorimetry (mREE) after an overnight fasting. Fourteen predictive equations, with and without body composition analysis parameters, were compared with mREE using different body weight approaches. Body composition analysis was performed using dual X-ray absorptiometry. One hundred and eighty-six CD outpatients (102 males) with mean age 41·3 (sd 14·1) years and 37·6 % with active disease were evaluated. Mean mREE in the total sample was 7255 (sd 1854) kJ/day. All equations underpredicted REE and showed moderate correlations with mREE (Pearson’s r or Spearman’s rho 0·600–0·680 for current weight, all P-values < 0·001). Accuracy was low for all equations at the individual level (28–42 and 25–40 % for current and adjusted body weight, respectively, 19–33 % for equations including body composition parameters). At the group level, accuracy showed wide limits of agreement and proportional biases. Accuracy remained low when sample was studied according to disease activity, sex, BMI and medication use. All predictive equations underestimated REE and showed low accuracy. Indirect calorimetry remains the best method for estimating REE of patients with CD.
Auditing Revival: George Whitefield and Public Accounting in Colonial America
Authors: Beales Kristen
Published: March 2022

This article situates George Whitefield's accounting controversies of the 1740s in the local public accounting cultures of colonial America. It argues that Whitefield developed a novel “commercial theology” and funding strategy for his Georgia orphanage that he believed would allow God to shape every aspect of the institution. While Whitefield's published financial accounts initially provoked little commentary, his critics began to use accounting as an “impartial” tool to disprove the minister's theology. The bold theological claims and lack of institutional oversight embedded in Whitefield's accounts violated the norms of public accounting, and his critics stated that an independent audit was the only way to clear the minister's name. The audit worked, and the combination of Whitefield's experience managing a transatlantic institution and his accounting controversies caused the minister to change his commercial theology. This article uses Whitefield's accounting controversies to make two overarching arguments. First, it argues that religious institutions were key parts of the local public accounting systems that shaped the development of financial ethics in colonial America. Second, it argues that financial accounts both shaped and reflected the religious assumptions of the bookkeepers who produced them.
General
Authors: Petrovic Andrej
Published: March 2022

One of the more salient features of Greek and Roman literature is its archival impulse expressed in the tendency to incorporate lists, enumerations, and catalogues. From Homer's manifold catalogues, via classical historiographers, to Roman poets and beyond, catalogues and lists seem ubiquitous in ancient literature, and ancient authors catalogued all sorts of items: from ships, to war dead, to dog names, to mention but a few. But not only so in literature: in documentary sources with their lists of magistrates, victors, tributes, taxes, and more, we witness the same appetite for creation of order and taxonomy. This is the phenomenon that the edited volume Lists and Catalogues in Ancient Literature and Beyond tackles in sixteen chapters, prefaced by a substantial introduction penned by the editors. As they observe, lists are indeed fashionable in literary studies these days, and the volume aims to provide a theoretically informed overview of the variety of lists and catalogues in ancient literature. The first of the four sections consists of two wide-ranging and inspired papers that provide a theoretical background: Mainberger's piece looks for a site of meaning in a list by analysing, no less, the table of contents of the very volume in which the article is printed, while von Contzen tackles ontological problems and establishes a set of criteria for the assessment and description of a list, before turning to the pragmatics and highlighting the effects that lists may have in the moment of reception: ‘the list is a narrative fascinosum, a literary form that startles and entertains; that attracts and repels at the same time’ (51).
Rights, Lawfare and Reproduction: Reflections on the Polish Constitutional Tribunal's Abortion Decision
Authors: Furgalska Magdalena , de Londras Fiona
Published: March 2022

In 2020 the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland held that the legislation that permitted abortion in cases of ‘fatal foetal anomaly’ was an unconstitutional interference with the right to life of the foetus. This article examines the recent decision, which prohibits abortion on the grounds of foetal anomaly, arguing that this decision is part of a broader scheme of Polish and transnational anti-abortion lawfare. This lawfare seeks both to (re)shape Polish law in an anti-abortion mould, and to take advantage of ‘gaps’ in European and international human rights law standards on abortion in order to claim rights compliance for law and policy that, in reality, restricts access to abortion in a manner that is incompatible with international human rights law.
Migratory behaviour does not alter cophylogenetic congruence between avian hosts and their haemosporidian parasites
Authors: de Angeli Dutra Daniela , Fecchio Alan , Braga Érika Martins , Poulin Robert
Published: March 2022

Parasites display various degrees of host specificity, reflecting different coevolutionary histories with their hosts. Avian hosts follow multiple migration patterns representing short but also long distances. As parasites infecting migratory birds are subjected to multiple environmental and biotic changes through their flyways, migration may disrupt or strengthen cophylogenetic congruence between hosts and parasites. On the one hand, parasites might adapt to a single migratory host, evolving to cope with the specific challenges associated with the multiple habitats occupied by the host. On the other, as migrants can introduce parasites into new habitats, higher rates of host switching could also disrupt cophylogenetic patterns. We analysed whether migratory behaviour shapes avian haemosporidian parasite–host cophylogenetic congruence by testing if contributions of host–parasite links to overall congruence differ among resident and short-, variable- and long-distance migrants globally and within South America only. On both scales, we found significant overall cophylogenetic congruence by testing whether overall congruence differed between haemosporidian lineages and bird species. However, we found no difference in contribution towards congruence among links involving resident vs migratory hosts in both models. Thus, migratory behaviour neither weakens nor strengthens bird–haemosporidian cophylogenetic congruence, suggesting that other avian host traits are more influential in generating phylogenetic congruence in this host–parasite system.
The politics of (non-)knowledge at Europe's borders: Errors, fakes, and subjectivity
Authors: Aradau Claudia , Perret Sarah
Published: March 2022

From statistical calculations to psychological knowledge, from profiling to scenario planning, and from biometric data to predictive algorithms, International Relations scholars have shed light on the multiple forms of knowledge deployed in the governing of populations and their political effects. Recent scholarship in critical border and security studies has drawn attention to ‘the other side of knowledge’ and has developed a vibrant conversation with the emergent interdisciplinary field of ignorance studies. This article proposes to advance these conversations on governing through non-knowledge by nuancing the analysis of power/(non-)knowledge/subjectivity relations. Firstly, we expand the analysis of non-knowledge by attending to the problematisation of errors and fakes in controversies at Europe's borders. Errors have emerged in relation to border actors’ practices and technologies, while migrant practices, documentation, and narratives are deemed to be potentially ‘fake’, ‘fraudulent’, or ‘false’. Secondly, we explore how different subjectivities are produced through regimes of error/truth and fake/authenticity. We argue that there are important epistemic differences between ‘fake’ and ‘error’, that they are entangled with different techniques of power and produce highly differentiated subjectivities. Finally, we attend to how these subjectivities are enacted within racialised hierarchies and ask whether non-knowledge can be mobilised to challenge these hierarchies.
From Many Divides, One? The Polarization and Nationalization of American State Party Platforms, 1918–2017
Authors: Hopkins Daniel J. , Schickler Eric , Azizi David L.
Published: March 2022

Many contend that U.S. state parties are increasingly polarized and nationalized, meaning that they have adopted divergent positions matching their national counterparts’ positions. Such trends reflect a transformation of America's historically decentralized party system. Yet, the precise timing of these related trends—as well as the mechanisms underpinning them—remain unclear. We assess these dynamics using a novel data set of 1,783 state party platforms between 1918 and 2017. Applying tools from automated and manual content analysis, we document a dramatic divergence in the topics emphasized by Democrats and Republicans starting in the mid-1990s, just as congressional speech became polarized. During this period, cross-state differences in each party's agenda decreased and regional/sectoral issues became less prominent, suggesting tight connections between polarization, nationalization, and state agendas. We also find that innovative phrases increasingly debut in state (not national) platforms. Overall, the evidence undercuts claims of top-down polarization emanating from national party leaders in Washington, DC. Polarization at the state and federal levels coincided with the development of an integrated network of activists spanning multiple levels of the polity.
How the ARCH Project Could Contribute to Strengthening ASEAN Regional Capacities on Disaster Health Management (DHM)
Authors: Wuthisuthimethawee Prasit , Satthaphong Supalerk , Phongphuttha Weerasak , Sarathep Prakit , Piyasuwankul Thammapad , Công Sinh N. , Đúc Chính N. , Nhu’ Lâm N. , Văn Nhu’ H. , Feliciano Janice P. , Danac Alfonso C. , Ariani Madelina , Donna Bella , Isturini Ina A. , Saelim Phummarin , Pintatham Kriangsak , Thepmanee Duangpon , Silapunt Phumin , Limpaporn Sansana , Yuddhasaraprasiddhi Kittima , Promkhum Dangfun , Ikeda Shuichi
Published: March 2022

Objective:

The Project for Strengthening the ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management (ARCH Project) developed Regional Collaboration Drills (RCDs) and is proposing an ASEAN Academic Network to strengthen capacity in disaster health management (DHM) in ASEAN Member States (AMS), as well as developing a standard training curriculum in DHM. This study aims to clarify the impacts and sustainability of the ARCH Project.

Methods:

The four previous RCDs and the enhancement of academic activities were reviewed.

Results:

The ARCH Project developed the RCDs with simulation exercises based on possible disaster scenarios in each host country to test and validate the capacity of AMS International Emergency Medical Teams (I-EMTs), the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for I-EMT coordination, and regional tools, as well as the relevant domestic SOPs of the host countries for receiving international assistance. Following the RCD in Thailand, three AMS: Viet Nam, Philippines, and Indonesia, all of which are considered disaster-prone, successfully hosted RCDs with significant improvements. The project also established a sub-working group (SWG) to develop a standard curriculum in DHM. Two curricula developments, the Basic Course on DHM and In-Country Course for Coordination on EMTs, are on-going as part of the project activity. The establishment of the ASEAN Academic Network and the ASEAN Institute for DHM (AIDHM) are currently in the endorsement process of the ASEAN health sector.

Conclusion:

The RCDs are very effective to test and to validate the SOP and regional tools developed, providing opportunities for AMS I-EMT to familiarize the tools, as well as for host countries to assess their coordination capacity for receiving international assistance and identifying the country’s specific challenges, and verifying ASEAN regional coordination mechanism. The development of the standard curriculum can enhance regional capacity both in supporting disaster-affected countries and in receiving international assistance. A sustainable capacity development mechanism in DHM is envisaged through the establishment of the ASEAN Academic Network and AIDHM toward the goal of One ASEAN One Response.
South Africa’s Health Promotion Levy on pricing and acquisition of beverages in small stores and supermarkets
Authors: Ross Alexandra , Swart Elizabeth C , Frank Tamryn , Lowery Caitlin M , Ng Shu Wen
Published: March 2022

Objective:

In response to concern over rising sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, in April 2018, South Africa became the first Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country to implement an SSB tax. We assess changes in pricing and acquisition of beverages from local supermarkets and small stores among 18–39-year-old adults living in one township in the Western Cape, before and after tax implementation. This study is among the first evaluations of an SSB tax on the local food environment in a low-income township.

Design:

Store beverage pricing and participant surveys were cross-sectional, analysed 1 month before and 11 months after implementation of the tax (March 2018 and March 2019).

Setting:

Langa, Western Cape, South Africa

Participants:

Surveyed participants were residents of Langa between 18 and 39 years old (n 2693 in 2018 and n 2520 in 2019)

Results:

Prices of taxed SSB increased significantly among small shops and supermarkets between 2018 and 2019. There were non-significant decreases in prices of untaxed beverages in small shops, but prices of untaxed beverages increased in supermarkets. Across all store types, there was a 9 percentage point decrease in the probability of purchasing regular soda weekly pre/post-implementation. Reductions in purchasing were larger in small shops than supermarkets.

Conclusions:

We found some differential impacts of the levy on pricing and acquisition of beverages by retailer type in one low-income township. As other SSA countries consider similar fiscal policies to curb soda consumption, obesity and related diseases, this work can be used to understand the implications of these policies in the retail setting.
Legal consciousness and migration: towards a research agenda
Authors: Güdük Ayse , Desmet Ellen
Published: March 2022

This paper reviews scholarship regarding migrants’ legal consciousness. After discussing the personal, geographic and methodological scope of the reviewed studies, the conceptualisation of legal consciousness is examined in light of evolutions in general legal consciousness studies. Thereafter, factors emerging as shaping migrants’ legal consciousness are analytically clustered at four levels: individual characteristics, relational factors, cultural dynamics, and public policies and discourse. Future research on legal consciousness could shift its gaze towards understudied migrant groups as well as places. We suggest being more explicit regarding the conceptualisation of dimensions of what is ‘legal’ and of ‘consciousness’, and adopting a pluralist approach to law. The analytical grouping of the factors impacting migrants’ legal consciousness may serve as a useful reference point for future research and facilitate a more comprehensive appraisal of the various dynamics shaping migrants’ legal consciousness.
Ban on religious symbols in the public service: Quebec’s Bill 21 in a global pluralist perspective
Authors: Mégret Frédéric
Published: March 2022

Bill 21 is a highly contested law adopted in Quebec that bans certain civil servants from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their duties. Rather than analyse Bill 21 on its merits, the article treats it as a test case for global legal pluralism, examining how the validity of the law from an international perspective depends on the frames one uses to analyse it. It finds that a basic tension permeates the entire debate between a universalist vision of rights and a vision of rights as anchored in particular political configurations that demand a constant process of adaptation. That tension is visible in the dualist opposition between Canadian and international law; in the role of federalism as a significant mediating factor in the implementation of constitutional and international rights; and in the kind of majoritarian check on rights that manifests itself in the Canadian Charter of Rights’ ‘notwithstanding clause’. Throughout, the article explores how these tensions might be mediated in ways that do not simply oppose international and domestic law but seek to make the most of their interaction.
Biogeosciences Perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) Science
Authors: Dwivedi D. , Santos A. L. D. , Barnard M. A. , Crimmins T. M. , Malhotra A. , Rod K. A. , Aho K. S. , Bell S. M. , Bomfim B. , Brearley F. Q. , Cadillo‐Quiroz H. , Chen J. , Gough C. M. , Graham E. B. , Hakkenberg C. R. , Haygood L. , Koren G. , Lilleskov E. A. , Meredith L. K. , Naeher S. , Nickerson Z. L. , Pourret O. , Song H.‐S. , Stahl M. , Taş N. , Vargas R. , Weintraub‐Leff S.
Published: March 2022

This article is composed of three independent commentaries about the state of Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) principles in the American Geophysical Union Biogeosciences section, and discussion on the opportunities and challenges of adopting them. Each commentary focuses on a different topic: (a) Global collaboration, technology transfer, and application (Section 2), (b) Community engagement, community science, education, and stakeholder involvement (Section 3), and (c) Field, experimental, remote sensing, and real‐time data research and application (Section 4). We discuss needs and strategies for implementing ICON and outline short‐ and long‐term goals. The inclusion of global data and international community engagement are key to tackling grand challenges in biogeosciences. Although recent technological advances and growing open‐access information across the world have enabled global collaborations to some extent, several barriers, ranging from technical to organizational to cultural, have remained in advancing interoperability and tangible scientific progress in biogeosciences. Overcoming these hurdles is necessary to address pressing large‐scale research questions and applications in the biogeosciences, where ICON principles are essential. Here, we list several opportunities for ICON, including coordinated experimentation and field observations across global sites, that are ripe for implementation in biogeosciences as a means to scientific advancements and social progress.
Tectonic Fabric in the Banda Arc‐Australian Continent Collisional Zone Imaged by Teleseismic Receiver Functions
Authors: Zhang Ping , Miller Meghan S. , Schulte‐Pelkum Vera
Published: March 2022

The convergent plate boundary in eastern Indonesia and Timor‐Leste captures an active oblique collision between the Banda Arc and the Australian plate. We analyzed ∼5 years' worth (2014–2019) of radial and tangential teleseismic Ps receiver functions (RFs) observed at 30 temporary broadband seismic stations across the area. Azimuthal variations in RF arrivals are observed throughout the region, indicative of the presence of oriented tectonic fabrics (dipping contrasts or plunging axis anisotropy) from a variety of crustal depths. The two main strikes of these fabrics are roughly parallel to the orogen and the plate convergence across the outer arc islands, likely associated with orogenic and strike‐slip structures. We observe distinct double polarity‐reversal arrivals with opposite polarity that reflect an anisotropic layer with orogen‐parallel strikes in the shallow crust beneath Timor and Savu, interpreted as metamorphic rocks. Fabrics oriented E‐W are imaged beneath the Flores and Lomblen that host active volcanoes, where we find interesting correlations with magmatic structures. NNW‐SSE striking fabric is imaged at ∼13 km depth beneath central Flores, which relates to a connected dike magmatic system that feeds the aligned cinder cones exposed on the surface. Finally, we identify convergence‐parallel fabrics on the volcano‐extinct islands of Alor and Atauro, consistent with one main fabric orientation imaged in Timor. We suggest all convergence‐parallel fabrics might accommodate strike‐slip motion generated by the overall NNE convergence of the Australian plate with respect to Eurasian plate and contribute to strain partitioning between the trough and backarc resulting from the collision.
Solar Minimum Exospheric Neutral Density Near the Subsolar Magnetopause Estimated From the XMM Soft X‐Ray Observations on 12 November 2008
Authors: Jung J. , Connor H. K. , Carter J. A. , Koutroumpa D. , Pagani C. , Kuntz K. D.
Published: March 2022

The Earth's magnetosheath and cusps emit soft X‐rays due to the charge exchange between highly charged solar wind ions and exospheric hydrogen atoms. The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X‐ray Imager and Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer missions are scheduled to image the Earth's dayside magnetosphere system in soft X‐rays to investigate global‐scale magnetopause reconnection modes under varying solar wind conditions. The exospheric neutral hydrogen density distribution, especially the value of this density at the subsolar magnetopause is of particular interest for understanding X‐ray emissions near this boundary. This paper estimates the exospheric density during solar minimum using the X‐ray Multimirror Mission (XMM) astrophysics observatory. We selected an event on 12 November 2008 from the XMM data archive, which detects soft X‐rays of magnetosheath origin while solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions are relatively constant. During the event the location of the magnetopause was measured in situ by the THEMIS mission, thus the location of the solar wind ions responsible for the magnetosheath emission is well constrained by observation. We estimated the exospheric density using the Open Geospace Global Circulation Model (OpenGGCM) and a spherically symmetric exosphere model. The ratio of the magnetosheath plasma flux between the OpenGGCM model and the THEMIS, was nearly 1, which means the magnetohydrodynamic model reasonably reproduces the magnetosheath plasma conditions. The OpenGGCM magnetosheath parameters were used to deconvolve soft X‐rays of exospheric origin from the XMM signal. The lower‐limit of the exospheric density of this solar minimum event is 36.8 ± 11.7 cm−3 at 10 RE subsolar location.
Properties of Ion‐Inertial Scale Plasmoids Observed by the Juno Spacecraft in the Jovian Magnetotail
Authors: Sarkango Yash , Slavin James A. , Jia Xianzhe , DiBraccio Gina A. , Clark George B. , Sun Weijie , Mauk Barry H. , Kurth William S. , Hospodarsky George B.
Published: March 2022

We expand on previous observations of magnetic reconnection in Jupiter's magnetosphere by constructing a survey of ion‐inertial scale plasmoids in the Jovian magnetotail. We developed an automated detection algorithm to identify reversals in the component and performed the minimum variance analysis for each identified plasmoid to characterize its helical structure. The magnetic field observations were complemented by data collected using the Juno Waves instrument, which is used to estimate the total electron density, and the JEDI energetic particle detectors. We identified 87 plasmoids with “peak‐to‐peak” durations between 10 and 300 s. Thirty‐one plasmoids possessed a core field and were classified as flux‐ropes. The other 56 plasmoids had minimum field strength at their centers and were termed O‐lines. Out of the 87 plasmoids, 58 had in situ signatures shorter than 60 s, despite the algorithm's upper limit being 300 s, suggesting that smaller plasmoids with shorter durations were more likely to be detected by Juno. We estimate the diameter of these plasmoids assuming a circular cross section and a travel speed equal to the Alfven speed in the surrounding lobes. Using the electron density inferred by Waves, we contend that these plasmoid diameters were within an order of the local ion‐inertial length. Our results demonstrate that magnetic reconnection in the Jovian magnetotail occurs at ion scales like in other space environments. We show that ion‐scale plasmoids would need to be released every 0.1 s or less to match the canonical 1 ton/s rate of plasma production due to Io.
The Role of Quartz Cementation in the Seismic Cycle: A Critical Review
Authors: Williams Randolph T. , Fagereng Åke
Published: March 2022

Because quartz veins are common in fault zones exhumed from earthquake nucleation temperatures (150°C–350°C), quartz cementation may be an important mechanism of strength recovery between earthquakes. This interpretation requires that cementation occurs within a single interseismic period. We review slip‐related processes that have been argued to allow rapid quartz precipitation in faults, including: advection of silica‐saturated fluids, coseismic pore‐fluid pressure drops, frictional heating, dissolution‐precipitation creep, precipitation of amorphous phases, and variations in fluid and mineral‐surface chemistry. We assess the rate and magnitude of quartz growth that may result from each of the examined mechanisms. We find limitations to the kinetics and mass balance of silica precipitation that emphasize two end‐member regimes. First, the mechanisms we explore, given current kinetic constraints, cannot explain mesoscale fault‐fracture vein networks developing, even incrementally, on interseismic timescales. On the other hand, some mechanisms appear capable, isolated or in combination, of cementing micrometer‐to‐millimeter thick principal slip surfaces in days to years. This does not explain extensive vein networks in fault damage zones, but allows the involvement of quartz cements in fault healing. These end‐members lead us to hypothesize that high flux scenarios, although more important for voluminous hydrothermal mineralization, may be of subsidiary importance to local, diffusive mass transport in low fluid‐flux faults when discussing the mechanical implications of quartz cements. A renewed emphasis on the controls on quartz cementation rates in fault zones will, however, be integral to developing a more complete understanding of strength recovery following earthquake rupture.
Exploring the Potential of Long Short‐Term Memory Networks for Improving Understanding of Continental‐ and Regional‐Scale Snowpack Dynamics
Authors: Wang Yuan‐Heng , Gupta Hoshin V. , Zeng Xubin , Niu Guo‐Yue
Published: March 2022

Accurate estimation of the spatio‐temporal distribution of snow water equivalent is essential given its global importance for understanding climate dynamics and climate change, and as a source of fresh water. Here, we explore the potential of using the Long Short‐Term Memory (LSTM) network for continental and regional scale modeling of daily snow accumulation and melt dynamics at 4‐km pixel resolution across the conterminous US (CONUS). To reduce training costs (data are available for ∼0.31 million snowy pixels), we combine spatial sampling with stagewise model development, whereby the network is first pretrained across the entire CONUS and then subjected to regional fine‐tuning. Accordingly, model evaluation is focused on out‐of‐sample predictive performance across space (analogous to the prediction in ungauged basins problem). We find that, given identical inputs (precipitation, temperature, and elevation), a single CONUS‐wide LSTM provides significantly better spatio‐temporal generalization than a regionally calibrated version of the physical‐conceptual temperature‐index‐based SNOW17 model. Adding more meteorological information (dew point temperature, vapor pressure deficit, longwave radiation, and shortwave radiation) further improves model performance, while rendering redundant the local information provided by elevation. Overall, the LSTM exhibits better transferability than SNOW17 to locations that were not included in the training data set, reinforcing the advantages of structure learning over parameter learning. Our results suggest that an LSTM‐based approach could be used to develop continental/global‐scale systems for modeling snow dynamics.
Behavioral phenotyping of a rat model of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism reveals selective impairment of fear memory
Authors: Jaehne Emily J. , Kent Jessica N. , Antolasic Emily J. , Wright Bradley J. , Spiers Jereme G. , Creutzberg Kerstin C. , De Rosa Federico , Riva Marco A. , Sortwell Caryl E. , Collier Timothy J. , van den Buuse Maarten
Published: March 2022

The common brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism is associated with reduced activity-dependent BDNF release and increased risk for anxiety disorders and PTSD. Here we behaviorally phenotyped a novel Val66Met rat model with an equivalent valine to methionine substitution in the rat Bdnf gene (Val68Met). In a three-day fear conditioning protocol of fear learning and extinction, adult rats with the Met/Met genotype demonstrated impaired fear memory compared to Val/Met rats and Val/Val controls, with no genotype differences in fear learning or extinction. This deficit in fear memory occurred irrespective of the sex of the animals and was not seen in adolescence (4 weeks of age). There were no changes in open-field locomotor activity or anxiety measured in the elevated plus maze (EPM) nor in other types of memory measured using the novel-object recognition test or Y-maze. BDNF exon VI expression in the dorsal hippocampus was higher and BDNF protein level in the ventral hippocampus was lower in female Val/Met rats than female Val/Val rats, with no other genotype differences, including in total BDNF, BDNF long, or BDNF IV mRNA. These data suggest a specific role for the BDNF Met/Met genotype in fear memory in rats. Further studies are required to investigate gene–environment interactions in this novel animal model.