scholarly journals Sequencing Data of North American SARS-CoV-2 Isolates Shows Widespread Complex Variants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby T. Ford ◽  
Rachel Scott ◽  
Denis Jacob Machado ◽  
Daniel Janies
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Upper Midwest ◽  
Multiple Sequence ◽  
Us States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
United States Mexico ◽  
Viral Isolates

Several new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 have been isolated in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Many of the variants contain single variants of functional significance (e.g. S: N501Y increases transmissibility). To study the occurrence and co-circulation of these variants, we have developed an easy-to-use dashboard at janieslab.github.io/sars-cov-2.We created a multiple sequence alignment workflow and processing script to generate a variant dataset, which populates this dashboard. We then use the features of the dashboard, such as visualization of the single and complex nucleotide variants geospatially and in a color-coded matrix format. Users also interact with the dashboard to filter the underlying data to regions of interest and or variants of interest. The user can export reports based on the desired filters, which we intend to be used for regionally specific pandemic response. We find in Genbank, an isolate from Massachusetts containing [(S: Q677H), (ORF3a: Q57H), (M: A85S), (N: D377Y)] collected on September 11, 2020.Moreover, we find that many viral isolates bear a marker of increased transmissibility (S: N501Y) in linkage with at least one variant of concern isolated from Ohio also range across the Untied States and stretch from British Columbia, Canada to Mexico. When we analyze co-circulation of more complex variant constellations with (S: N501Y), we note that the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States contain these isolates.In summary, the viral variants that have raised concern in a few US States in recent reports are widespread. Based on the increase in the proportion of variant viruses being sampled and some empirical evidence in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Ohio, these variants are likely to lead to increased transmission of SARS-CoV-2 across North America in the coming months.

Morrissey as Latina/o Literary and Cultural Icon

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Hidalgo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Body ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Fourth Decade ◽  
The World ◽  
United States Mexico ◽  
North And South America

Morrissey is a singer and songwriter from Manchester, England. He rose to prominence as a popular-music icon as the lead singer for the Manchester band The Smiths (1982–1987). After the breakup of The Smiths, Morrissey launched his solo career in 1988. In his fourth decade as a popular singer, Morrissey continues to tour the world and sell out shows in venues throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia, and across North and South America. Although Morrissey enjoys a fiercely loyal global fan base and inspires fans all over the world, his largest and most creatively expressive fans, arguably, are Latinas/os in the United States and Latin America. He is especially popular in Mexico and with Chicanas/os from Los Angeles, California, to San Antonio, Texas. How does a white singer and pop icon from England become an important cultural figure for Latinas/os? This entry provides an overview of Morrissey’s musical and cultural importance to fans in the United States–Mexico borderlands. It introduces Morrissey, examines the rise of Latina/o Morrissey and Smiths fandom starting in the 1980s and 1990s, and offers a survey of the fan-produced literature and other cultural production that pay tribute to the indie-music star. The body of fiction, films, plays, poetry, and fans’ cultural production at the center of this entry collectively represent of Morrissey’s significance as a dynamic and iconic cultural figure for Latinas/os.

The Recreational Use of Cannabis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Iversen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Us States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Criminal Offenses ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Recreational Use

Until relatively recently, the use of cannabis has occurred largely in an underground world of illegality. In most countries, cannabis is considered a dangerous narcotic. Possession of cannabis, cultivation of the cannabis plant, or trafficking are criminal offenses, some of which can carry severe penalties. Although this is the official policy of many countries (including the United States and the United Kingdom), in practice cannabis-related offenses are treated leniently. Despite legal bans, there is a large-scale prevalence of cannabis use. Although legalization has occurred in Europe and some US states, this has not led to large increases in consumption. This chapter discusses the recreational use of cannabis, including prevalence, how it is consumed, and where it comes from. It also provides snapshots of legal cannabis use in the state of Colorado and elsewhere.

scholarly journals A Really Big Button That Doesn’t Do Anything? The Anti-NME Clause in US Trade Agreements Between Law and Geoeconomics

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Geraldo Vidigal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Us ◽  
United States Mexico ◽  
Legal Consequences

Abstract The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) features a clause, dubbed ‘anti-China’, which sets out legal consequences in case one of the parties negotiates or enters into a free trade agreement (FTA) with a nonmarket economy (NME). A similarly worded objective appears among the negotiating objectives of the US for FTAs with the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom. This article examines the anti-NME clause, arguing that its concrete legal consequences are less relevant than its symbolic effects. The USMCA clause itself is difficult to replicate in bilateral agreements, since it depends on cooperation between the two nonsigning parties. Its operation is nonetheless similar to that of two unilateral remedies available under the law of treaties, permitting a reasonable assessment that the clause, if it follows its original design, will aim to permit termination of bilateral US FTAs in response to the other party entering into an NME FTA. While such a clause would offer little in terms of concrete effects if added to agreements that already permit unilateral withdrawal, its greatest value may not be in its legal effects but in its legitimating and signaling properties, which push USMCA parties to establish a common front in the ‘geoeconomic’ dispute between the United States and China.

Effectiveness of Programs for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Del Campo ◽  
Marisalva Fávero
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse Prevention ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Methodological Considerations

Abstract. During the last decades, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in different countries. In this article, we present a review of 70 studies (1981–2017) evaluating prevention programs, conducted mostly in the United States and Canada, although with a considerable presence also in other countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The results of these studies, in general, are very promising and encourage us to continue this type of intervention, almost unanimously confirming its effectiveness. Prevention programs encourage children and adolescents to report the abuse experienced and they may help to reduce the trauma of sexual abuse if there are victims among the participants. We also found that some evaluations have not considered the possible negative effects of this type of programs in the event that they are applied inappropriately. Finally, we present some methodological considerations as critical analysis to this type of evaluations.

Science, Politics, and the Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (820) ◽  
pp. 303-309
Author(s):  
J. Nicholas Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
The Uk

Comparing the virus responses in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States shows that in order for scientific expertise to result in effective policy, rational political leadership is required. Each of these three countries is known for advanced biomedical research, yet their experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic diverged widely. Germany’s political leadership carefully followed scientific advice and organized public–private partnerships to scale up testing, resulting in relatively low infection levels. The UK and US political responses were far more erratic and less informed by scientific advice—and proved much less effective.

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