bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Current Progress and Prospects for a Buruli Ulcer Vaccine
Authors: Boakye-Appiah Justice , Hall Belinda , Reljic Rajko , Simmonds Rachel E. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBuruli ulcer (BU), one of the skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs), is a necrotizing and disabling cutaneous disease caused by subcutaneous infection withMycobacterium ulcerans.Leading on from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) establishment of a global BU initiative in 1998, >67,000 cases of BU have been reported from over 32 countries, mostly from West Africa and Australia. While treatment is currently in the transition period from rifampicin plus streptomycin (injection) to an all-oral regimen, it cannot hope to eradicate this opportunistic environmental pathogen.M. ulceransis genetically very similar to related pathogenic organismsM. marinum,M. lepraeandM. tuberculosis.However,M. ulceranscarries a unique megaplasmid, pMUM001, encoding the biosynthetic machinery responsible for production of a lipid-like exotoxin virulence factor, mycolactone. This diffusible compound causes the substantial divergence in BU’s pathogenic aetiology from other mycobacterial infections. Hence, mycolactone is cytotoxic and immunosuppressive and causes vascular dysfunction in infected skin. A major recent advance in our understanding of BU pathogenesis has been agreement on the mycolactone’s mechanism of action in host cells, targeting the Sec61 translocon during a major step in secretory and membrane protein biogenesis. While vaccine development for all mycobacteria has been challenging, mycolactone production likely presents a particular challenge in the development of a BU vaccine. The live-attenuated vaccine BCG is known to provide only partial and transient protection in humans but provides a convenient baseline in mouse preclinical studies where it can delay, but not prevent, disease progression. No experimental vaccine strategy has yet conferred greater protection than BCG. However, there is now the prospect of developing a vaccine against mycolactone itself, which may provide hope for the future.
The Role of Fermentation in BCG Manufacture: Challenges and Ways Forward
Authors: Walker Kenneth Barry , Bacon Joanna 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe BCG vaccine has been in existence for a century and has been instrumental in the control of tuberculosis. The method for producing the vaccine has not changed in a very long time and consists of pellicle growth followed by ball-milling, which is a lengthy and variable approach. There has been increasing interest in the possibility of producing the BCG vaccine by growing it in bioreactors, which could address some of the issues around variation between batches, increase yield, and circumvent the challenges associated with supply and demand. There is evidence that fermentation would be a quicker, more reproducible method of production, and would deliver BCG to a higher yield in a form that would be easier to characterise. However, a change to the manufacturing process may require new evidence of bioequivalence and may attract a requirement for preclinical studies as well as clinical trials from Phase I, through to efficacy studies. This chapter describes the history of the BCG vaccine and the issues of the current production method. We discuss the potential benefits of BCG fermentation and the regulatory steps required for such a method of production to be implemented.
Culture’s Divergence
Authors: Stephenson Janet 
Published: March 2023

AbstractCulture is a difficult concept to apply to sustainability challenges because of its diverse interpretations. It has different uses in everyday language, different meanings depending on disciplines and their theoretical orientations, and different fundamental conceptualisations between Western and non-Western cultures. This chapter focuses on unpicking these divergences because unless they are visible and named, they will continue to handicap the effective use of culture as a framing for examining sustainability issues. Nine meanings of culture are identified. Each approach has an extraordinarily rich knowledge base which could contribute greatly to the work of the sustainability transition.
Culture’s Convergence
Authors: Stephenson Janet 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis chapter takes an integrative approach to understanding culture. The starting position is that culture may have a coherent core of qualities, and that the divergent interpretations described in Chapter 2 may represent different perspectives on those common qualities. Drawing from definitions of culture sourced from all nine meanings, three frequently appearing qualities of culture are identified. These comprise ways of thinking, what people do and what people have or make. Most interpretations also see culture as being specific to a group of people, learned and passed on over time, with dynamic qualities and a tendency to endure over time. Although not all perspectives on culture reflect the totality of these qualities, all perspectives reflect at least some of them. The core elements and dynamics show promise for developing an analytic vocabulary and framework to support cultural analysis.
Optimization of Annealed Importance Sampling Hyperparameters
Authors: Goshtasbpour Shirin , Perez-Cruz Fernando 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAnnealed Importance Sampling (AIS) is a popular algorithm used to estimates the intractable marginal likelihood of deep generative models. Although AIS is guaranteed to provide unbiased estimate for any set of hyperparameters, the common implementations rely on simple heuristics such as the geometric average bridging distributions between initial and the target distribution which affect the estimation performance when the computation budget is limited. In order to reduce the number of sampling iterations, we present a parameteric AIS process with flexible intermediary distributions defined by a residual density with respect to the geometric mean path. Our method allows parameter sharing between annealing distributions, the use of fix linear schedule for discretization and amortization of hyperparameter selection in latent variable models. We assess the performance of Optimized-Path AIS for marginal likelihood estimation of deep generative models and compare it to compare it to more computationally intensive AIS.
Migrant Networks and Credit: Dynamics of Punjabi Migration to the Gulf Countries
Authors: Kaur Atinder Pal , Singh Ruchi 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis chapter attempts to understand the role of networks in facilitating migration to Gulf countries from Punjab and the role of credit/debt to cover cost of migration. Theoretically, the study is based on an ethnographic and narrative approach. The ethnographic approach includes the nature of migration, place of migration, network relations, years of migration, and occupation of the migrants. The narrative approach is used to understand and analyze channels of migration and return migration. The paper will highlight the role of social networks in discovering Gulf nations with employment opportunities and various types of debt used to cover migration’s costs.
The Choice for the “Zendegie Normal (Normal Life)”: Changes Among Iranian Young Immigrants
Authors: Koo Gi Yeon 
Published: March 2023

AbstractUp to a few years ago, reasons of Iranians’ migration and immigration were personal development, free life, better educational environment, and social welfare among others. However, the situation appears dire as it is circulated on social media that today’s Iranian youth migrate overseas for “air to breathe, basic living, and COVID-19 vaccination for survival”—it is their choice for a “normal life”. Iranian dream of breaking away from the day-to-day politics of surveillance and escaping to foreign countries are like virtual worlds in their reality. This chapter seeks to examine the Iranian’s forms of migration and the social context.
Reverse Orientalism? French Salafis’ Fascination with Saudi Arabia
Authors: Adraoui Mohamed-Ali 
Published: March 2023

AbstractRecently, French Muslims have been seen by several media outlets and politicians to be increasingly influenced by some of the understandings of Islam that were born in Saudi Arabia. While some connections do undoubtedly exist, I show that what we are experiencing today has much more to do with a broad globalization of beliefs, symbols, and identities than with an explicit desire to make French Muslims embrace Salafism. More importantly, I show in this piece that the influence of some forms of Islam originating in the Gulf within French society can be first and foremost interpreted as the result of a desire to identify with a non-French way of being a Muslim. Analyzing the kind of relations between certain French Muslims and a country such as Saudi Arabia highlights the fascination for Salafism and the rejection of their home country’s values. Interestingly, as shown in this piece through specific examples, French Salafis are perpetuating an Orientalist view of the Islamic world, starting with Saudi Arabia, seen as a “the land of religious authenticity.” By essentializing identity, geography, and culture, this French Salafi Orientalist type represents an original way of looking and understanding “the Islamic East” today.
Economic Development Models of Doha and Dubai: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Althani Aldana Jassim 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis chapter explores the development models of Doha and Dubai by highlighting the economic, political, and social factors in Qatar and Dubai. This research examines the historical context of Dubai and Qatar and digs deeper to explore how each state adopted a certain development path, and then the role of leadership in promoting the development through states’ strategic visions. This chapter reports that profound political, economic, and social factors lead to different development strategies for Dubai and Doha.
Chai Karak: The Politics of Tea and the Coloniality of Appropriation in the UAE
Authors: Moaswes Abdulla 
Published: March 2023

AbstractChai karak is a popular tea beverage in in the UAE and the other Arab Gulf states that is widely consumed across class and ethnic lines, particularly among wealthy UAE citizens and the poorer South Asian manual labourers who make up a large proportion of the country’s population—also often thought of as the group that brought the beverage to the UAE. This study primarily aims to understand the effects of Emirati claims of ownership over chai karak in terms of its political and socioeconomic impact. It does this through an analysis of analogous case studies and a series of interviews with chai karak vendors in the UAE. This methodology explored the item’s position with regard to three main research areas: the relationships produced by claims of its ownership, their impact on the political and socioeconomic status of South Asians in the cafeteria industry, and what the ensuant contestations show about the UAE’s wider social relations. The study concludes that the discourse of ownership produced around chai karak resembles those produced as a result of colonial relationships. In this UAE, this creates a form of consent-based hegemony that acts alongside other mechanisms of maintaining the privilege of citizens of the country.
Social Justice in the Gulf States: A Case in Qatar
Authors: Rahaman Muhammad Mustafizur 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSocial justice continues to construct important agenda for discussion due to its role in addressing the problems of inequality and ensuring the rights of equality of employment and health. This chapter addresses social justice cases in Qatar by highlighting the new measures taken by Qatari Government in ensuring migrants’ rights and healthcare provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter reports that Qatar has ensured a high form of social justice by vaccinating more than 99% of its residents. Qatar has also achieved some successes in promoting social justice through pioneering reforms in labor sector. Apart from visionary political leadership, robust judicial process, consolidation of social development institutions, and client-focused health policy and services have been instrumental in boosting up social justice.
Introduction
Authors: McCulloch Jock , Miller Pavla 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis chapter draws parallels between the Marikana confrontation between police and striking platinum miners in 2012 and the longer history of mining in South Africa. Then as now, mining has been dangerous work performed mostly by migrant workers under the eye of brutal management and a violent state. For most of the twentieth century, South Africa’s gold mines were the most profitable sector of the national economy yet faced formidable challenges in containing costs, dealing with health crises and recruiting sufficient number of workers. It was in the context of the ongoing threat to their viability that the mining houses entered debates about the character and incidence of occupational lung disease, set up clinics and hospitals, employed medical staff, collected (or avoided collecting) statistics, negotiated with public officials, funded research, contracted with insurance companies, influenced the flow of information and helped shape the public perception of risk. The chapter places this dynamic in the context of current scholarly debates about the development of scientific knowledge. It then links post-apartheid political changes with the settlement, in 2019, of a massive class action by former gold miners for occupational injury. The chapter concludes by outlining the concept of manufactured ignorance. Precisely how such ignorance was made, contested and dismantled has informed the research and writing of this book.
Identifying Risk and Compensating Tuberculosis: 1916–1957
Authors: McCulloch Jock , Miller Pavla 
Published: March 2023

AbstractDriven by concerns of the white Mine Workers Union, South Africa was the first state to compensate for silicosis and tuberculosis as occupational diseases. The Acts were woven around the binary pairing of miners (whites) and native labourers (blacks). That device enabled legislators to racialise the labour laws without mentioning race. This chapter traces the development of thorough medical examinations, comprehensive health care and a generous compensation system for whites, alongside a system designed to prevent the employment of men who already developed lung disease and to minimise compensation for the (black) majority of the workforce. Having reluctantly agreed to compensate tuberculosis, the Chamber of Mines was relentless in opposing the many critics who argued that the mines were a source of infection. As the critics reiterated, dust exposure created a pool of infected men who were repatriated to rural areas where little or no biomedical care was available. The low wages offered by the mines impoverished labour-sending communities, and this in turn created the ideal social setting for infection to take hold and to spread. Finally, because most infected miners did not receive compensation, their home communities were further impoverished by having to care for men who were no longer able to work.
The Research Community, Risk and Evidence: 1912–1932
Authors: McCulloch Jock , Miller Pavla 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe closely knit research community, centred on the South African Institute of Medical Research and the Miners’ Phthisis Medical Bureau, was created by the gold mining industry and the state between 1912 and 1916. This chapter describes the establishment and day-to-day working of that research community. It then documents the accumulation of evidence on the risks associated with exposure to silica dust, the synergy between silicosis and tuberculosis, the spread of infection in the mine compounds, the problems arising from the repatriation of sick miners and the declining living standards and malnutrition in the labour-sending communities. Despite the evidence, the chapter concludes, the Chamber of Mines and its Chief Medical Officer strenuously maintained that the mines were safe.
Tuberculosis and Migrant Labour in the High Commission Territories: Basutoland and Swaziland: 1912–2005
Authors: McCulloch Jock , Miller Pavla 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBasutoland came under British rule in the late nineteenth century. By the 1930s, the Territory’s transformation into a labour reserve for South Africa’s mines decimated its food production, impoverished its population and brought about a TB epidemic. The mines paid uneconomic wages and refused to pay compensation for occupational injury. In addition to those repatriated with tuberculosis or silicosis, the mines produced such a steady stream of sick and injured workers that mine accidents constituted the largest single cause of disability amongst men of working age.Swaziland was the smallest of the three protectorates. Land alienation to white settlers under British concessions meant that by the early 1930s, the territory produced only a fifth of its food needs. As in the other HCTs, tax collection and occupational lung disease posed serious problems. However, commercial agriculture and large deposits of asbestos generated local employment and foreign exchange and made Swaziland less dependent on migrant wages.In each of the HCTs, migrant workers faced even greater barriers in accessing compensation for occupational injury than black South Africans did. No circulars or instructions on the subject had been issued, miners were unaware of their rights, local officials did not understand the application process and travel to Johannesburg for medical examinations was not feasible for men who were dying. In all, the lack of medical capacity, the ongoing refusal to pay pensions to injured miners and the systematic failure to collect health statistics made the extent of the risk invisible. While the situation improved somewhat after independence, the mining industry continued to displace the burden of disability onto households and local communities.
Trends and Implications for the Educational Turn
Authors: Coleman Kathryn 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe speculative idea that created this edited volume was a figuring exercise to build on connections, create new opportunities and generate new Scholarship of Learning and Teaching imaginaries for the future during the initial stages of the global pandemic. The project began by inviting interested colleagues at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education to participate in a think tank series as a thought experiment. Underpinned by a co-design process to reimagine educational opportunities in and for these precarious times through iterative ideation and prototyping to create connection and collaboration through co-creation. A speculative inquiry approach was chosen to direct the project because it is a relational and emergent “figuring” practice that builds from the shared propositions and ideas that seek to provoke and spark wonderings, concepts, and ideas that will be followed in each collaborative session that follows. This chapter will discuss how the research collaborations were fostered to result in the chapters presented and conclude with implications for the educational turn. The educational turn represents a shift of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning from the peripheries of higher education to legitimate scholarly work within the academy that can inform and strengthen evidence-based approaches for impact on student learning in the future.
Approach of Electronic Structure Calculations to Crystal
Authors: Nakatani Naoki , Zheng Jia-Jia , Sakaki Shigeyoshi 
Published: March 2023

AbstractNowadays, the importance of molecular crystals and solids with regular structures is increasing in both basic chemistry and applied fields. However, theoretical studies of those systems based on electronic structure theories have been limited. Although density functional theory (DFT) calculations using generalized gradient approximation type functional under periodic boundary condition is effective for such theoretical studies, we need some improvements for calculating the dispersion interaction and the excited state of crystals. Accordingly, in this chapter, two methods for calculating the electronic structures of molecular crystals are discussed: cluster-model/periodic-model (CM/PM)-combined method and quantum mechanics/periodic-molecular mechanics (QM/periodic-MM) method. In the CM/PM-combined method, an infinite crystal system is calculated by the DFT method under periodic boundary condition, and important moieties, which are represented by CMs, are calculated by either DFT method with hybrid-type functionals or wave function theories such as the Møller–Plesset second-order perturbation theory (MP2), spin-component-scaled-MP2, and coupled-cluster singles and doubles theory with perturbative triples (CCSD(T)). This method is useful for gas adsorption into crystals such as metal–organic frameworks. In the QM/periodic-MM method, an important moiety is calculated using a QM method such as the DFT method with hybrid-type functionals and wave function theories, where the effects of the crystal are incorporated into the QM calculation via the periodic MM method using a classical force field. This method is useful for theoretical studies of excited states and chemical reactions. The applications of these methods in the following processes are described in this chapter: adsorption of gas molecules on metal–organic frameworks, chemical reactions in crystals, and luminescence of the crystals of transition metal complexes. To the best of our knowledge, the theoretical calculations conducted in this chapter show one of the successful approaches of electronic structure theories to molecular crystals, because of the reasonable and practical approximations.
Elastic and Plastic Soft Crystals with Superelasticity, Ferroelasticity, and Superplasticity
Authors: Takamizawa Satoshi , Kato Masako 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSuperelasticity is the ability of a plastically deformed solid to spontaneously recover its shape upon unloading due to stress loading. From its discovery in Au–Cd alloys in 1932, superelasticity had been believed to be limited to certain alloys until the discovery of “organic superelasticity” in 2014, which revealed it to be a general phenomenon observed in organic crystals along with ferroelasticity—reversible plastic deformability that is not accompanied by spontaneous shape recovery. In this chapter, we will introduce the discovery of organic superelasticity and the shape-memory effect, discuss superelasticity and ferroelasticity, and explain the properties and characteristics of various molecular crystals, including metal complexes. Furthermore, “organic superplasticity”—irreversible plastic deformation of several hundred percent or more, accompanied by the retention of crystallinity—has also been described.
Triboluminescence of Lanthanide Complexes
Authors: Hasegawa Miki , Hasegawa Yasuchika 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe photoluminescence of lanthanide complexes originating from f–f transitions is generally sensitized through energy transfer from the ligand to the lanthanide ion in the excited state under UV irradiation. This phenomenon is known as the photo-antenna effect. Luminescence driven by mechanical stimuli, such as tapping or rubbing, is called mechanoluminescence or triboluminescence (TL). In recent years, reports on TL in rare-earth complexes, which have attracted attention as novel luminescent materials that do not require an electrical excitation source, have steadily increased. In this chapter, we focus on triboluminescent lanthanide complexes. Specifically, we introduce the history and detection methods of TL and cite recent examples of materials demonstrating this phenomenon, particularly coordination polymer-like and discrete molecular crystalline lanthanide complexes. Finally, we summarize the application prospects of these complexes as soft crystals.