Coronavirus: notes on crisis, borders and the future of neoliberalism

Every crisis is a moment both of the intensification of borders (social, economic, geographical …) and of their potential breaking down – a moment of the reaffirmation of a certain social model and of its questioning. Borders have acquired centrality in the imaginary of the management of the pandemic. They are a constitutive part of the pandemic condition, endowed with a new symbolic and cognitive force. The new importance of borders in times of a pandemic also shows the complexity of the concept of border itself and accelerates the trends underway regarding borders' transformations. The pandemic draws a new strategic border space and accentuates the complexity of the relationship between sovereignty and territory inherent to the process of globalization. The massive interventions by states to shore up the economy and support businesses and workers have the goal of stabilizing the economy, without any intention of entering into a logic of redistribution and expansion of public services. These massive bailouts may simply be the prelude to a more virulent phase, where a crisis of legitimacy and a crisis of social reproduction and of the global forms of governance of neoliberalism are interwoven. The contradiction between the free movement of capital and goods and the limited movement of labor that characterizes globalization can be further intensified, while the rhetoric of borders and control takes on new relevance.

When is SARS-CoV-2 in your shopping list?

ABSTRACTThe pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused, by May 24th 2020, more than 5.3 million confirmed cases worldwide. The necessity of keeping open and accessible public commercial establishments such as supermarkets or pharmacies increases during the pandemic provided that distancing rules and crowd control are satisfied.Herein, using agent-based models, we explore the potential spread of the novel SARS-CoV-2 considering the case of a small size supermarket. For diverse distancing rules and number of simultaneous users (customers), we question flexible and limited movement policies, guiding the flow and interactions of users in place. Results indicate that a guided, limited in movement and well-organized policy combined with a distance rule of at least 1 m between users and a small number of them (15) may aid in the mitigation of potential new contagions in more than 90% compared to the usual policy of flexible movement with more users (30) which may reach up to 64% of mitigation of potential new infections under the same distancing conditions. This study may guide novel strategies for the mitigation of the current COVID-19 pandemic, at any stage, and prevention of future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 or related viruses.

Determination of optimum metam-potassium rate for weed, tomato, and pepper termination

Metam potassium (metam-K) is a soil fumigant used commonly in Florida at the end of the tomato and pepper production season. The fumigant essentially cleans a field by killing the established weeds and crops after harvest. The goal of this project was to determine the optimal rate of metam-K for the effective termination of tomato, pepper, and established weeds such as purple nutsedge, goosegrass, and dogfennel. Tomato, pepper, and purple nutsedge at bed center were effectively terminated with the metam-K rate of 65 kg ha−1. Optimal rates required for the termination of goosegrass and dogfennel were 91 and 156 kg ha−1, respectively. In contrast, metam-K at 500 to 680 kg ha−1 was required to terminate purple nutsedge on bed edges. The reduced efficacy of metam-K at bed edge might be related to the limited movement of metam-K in soil.

Cliticization as Extraction: The Big DP Hypothesis Revisited

In this paper, it is argued that cliticization is extraction out of a big DP. Big DPs contain both clitic pronouns and associate DP arguments (Torrego, 1995; Uriagereka, 1995, 2005, among others). The DP can be pronounced, which gives rise to a clitic doubling configuration, or can be null, in which case a simple clitic configuration is obtained. This hypothesis allows us to explain not only the limited movement possibilities of clitic pronouns (cf. Belletti 1999), but also their restricted inventory: Not all complements can be cliticized. If clitic pronouns are reduced maximal projections (Cardinaletti and Starke, 1999), the big DP hypothesis needs to be revisited. Clitic pronouns cannot be assumed to be the heads of big DPs, as was suggested in the abovementioned proposals. The proposal is that clitic pronouns are merged as specifiers of the highest projection of big DPs, namely K(ase)P, which also captures the fact that they are the only elements which bear morphological case in languages like Italian.

Brief insight into the behavior, activity, and interspecific interactions of urban Trimeresurus (Cryptelytrops) albolabris (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae) vipers in Bangkok, Thailand

Green Pit Vipers are a widely distributed, diverse group of snakes which occur across a variety of habitats. Little is known about their natural history in anthropogenically modified environments, and no ecological work has investigated their persistence in cities. We non-invasively photo-monitored White-lipped Green Pit Vipers Trimeresurus (Cryptelytrops) albolabris in the metropolis of Bangkok, Thailand (n = 4 individuals, mean = 2,658 minutes per individual). Subsequently, we preliminarily characterize urban green pit vipers as nocturnal predators, displaying ambush-foraging at night, sheltering during the day, and having limited movement in between temporal periods. We recorded two predation events of vipers capturing and ingesting anuran prey. Vipers infrequently displayed tail undulations (239 minutes total), with one event occurring immediately before a predation event. We also document chemosensory, probing, and mouth-gaping behaviors having occurred exclusively at night. Other vertebrates including birds, frogs, geckos, small mammals, and a cobra were photographed interacting with focal vipers or their immediate surroundings (315 minutes total). Knowledge of organisms in tropical urban environments is scarce, and the persistence of venomous snakes in these unique and challenging habitats requires further study.

Keanekaragaman Makrozoobentos Di aliran Sungai Talawaan Minahasa Utara, Sulawesi Utara

Makrozoobentos memiliki peranan penting dalam ekosistem perairan. Ciri makrozoobentos dengan pergerakan yang relatif terbatas menyebabkan makrozoobentos dapat menjadi bioindikator kualitas air sungai. Sungai Talawaan merupakan salah satu habitat makrozoobentos yang terletak di Minahasa Utara, Sulawesi Utara. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengidentifikasi jenis-jenis makrozoobentos yang terdapat di Sungai Talawaan, Minahasa Utara, Sulawesi Utara dan menganalisis tingkat keanekaragaman makrozoobentos di Sungai Talawaan. Pengambilan sampel makrozoobentos menggunakan metode purposive sampling. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan makrozoobentos yang ditemukan di Sungai Talawaan sebanyak 297 individu yang terdiri dari 3 filum, 3 kelas, 9 bangsa, 17 suku dan 21 marga. Indeks keanekaragaman makrozoobentos tertinggi pada Stasiun 1 (2,50), kemudian diikuti oleh Stasiun 2 (2,40) dan terendah pada Stasiun 3 (2,07)Macrozoobenthos has important roles in the aquatic ecosystem. The macrozoobenthos characteristic with relatively limited movement enables this organism to be the bioindicator of water quality in the river. Talawaan River is one of the macrozoobenthos habitat in the North Minahasa, North Sulawesi Province. This study aimed to identify the macrozoobenthos and to analyze the level diversity of macrozoobenthos in the Talawaan River, North Minahasa, North Sulawesi. The macrozoobenthos was sampled using purposive sampling method. The results showed that there were 3 phyla, 3 classes, 9 nations, 17 tribes and 21 clans of macrozoobenthos found in the Talawaan River. The highest diversity index of macrozoobenthos was observed in the station 1 (2.50), then followed by station 2 (2.40) and the lowest was in the station 3 (2.07)