Striking Antibody Evasion Manifested by the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2

The Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 was only recently detected in southern Africa, but its subsequent spread has been extensive, both regionally and globally1. It is expected to become dominant in the coming weeks2, probably due to enhanced transmissibility. A striking feature of this variant is the large number of spike mutations3 that pose a threat to the efficacy of current COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapies4. This concern is amplified by the findings from our study. We found B.1.1.529 to be markedly resistant to neutralization by serum not only from convalescent patients, but also from individuals vaccinated with one of the four widely used COVID-19 vaccines. Even serum from persons vaccinated and boosted with mRNA-based vaccines exhibited substantially diminished neutralizing activity against B.1.1.529. By evaluating a panel of monoclonal antibodies to all known epitope clusters on the spike protein, we noted that the activity of 18 of the 19 antibodies tested were either abolished or impaired, including ones currently authorized or approved for use in patients. In addition, we also identified four new spike mutations (S371L, N440K, G446S, and Q493R) that confer greater antibody resistance to B.1.1.529. The Omicron variant presents a serious threat to many existing COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, compelling the development of new interventions that anticipate the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2.

South Tyrol

The sixth chapter looks at another case, South Tyrol, where secessionism has remained weak. While there has not been in Italy a series of constitutional changes affecting regional autonomy, the long-time slogan of the SVP, dynamic autonomy, speaks to the nature of South Tyrol’s autonomy within the Italian state. A striking feature of the Second Autonomy Statute for South Tyrol is that its implementation took 20 years (1972–1992). During this period, which followed a decade, the 1960s, punctuated by secessionist and irredentist violence, there was virtually no reason to adopt and support secessionist positions, as autonomous measures were gradually put into place. Most crucially, the bilateral commissions tasked with the implementations of the Second Autonomy Statute continued their work after 1992, keeping South Tyrol’s autonomy on the move, adjusting it to new circumstances, and even expanding it. These two bodies, the Commission of Six and the Commission of Twelve, play central roles in the governance of both the region of Trentino-Alto Adige and the province of Bolzano/Bozen as their enactment degrees become Italian law. The fact that South Tyrol still develops its autonomy has kept secessionist forces at bay. Indeed, incentives to support independence or reintegration with Austria are virtually non-existent in a context where autonomy can be progressively adapted, fine-tuned, and even developed in a way that largely shields South Tyrol from the broader Italian politics and maximizes the prosperity of the Alpine community.

YOUSUF HASSAN KI GHAZAL MEIN TABQATI AUR SMAJI SHAOOR

One of the striking and significant name of Ghazal poetry during the decade of seventies was Yousaf Hassan. He chose capitalistic mindset and social discrimination in Pakistani society as a permanent subject of his Ghazal. His poetry offers a critique of the materialization of social relations. He aims to posit mutual compassionate empathy and high humanistic values as the characteristic features of an individual. His poetic work Aye Dil Aye Darya comprises of remarkable verses which represent the perception about social as well as class discrimination. The striking feature of this representation is the portrayal of classical as well as traditional metaphors in a progressive context.

U-2 YOUSUF HASSAN KI GHAZAL MEIN TABQATI AUR SMAJI SHAOOR

One of the striking and significant name of Ghazal poetry during the decade of seventies was Yousaf Hassan. He chose capitalistic mindset and social discrimination in Pakistani society as a permanent subject of his Ghazal. His poetry offers a critique of the materialization of social relations. He aims to posit mutual compassionate empathy and high humanistic values as the characteristic features of an individual. His poetic work Aye Dil Aye Darya comprises of remarkable verses which represent the perception about social as well as class discrimination. The striking feature of this representation is the portrayal of classical as well as traditional metaphors in a progressive context.

Editorial, special issue on “Advances in Robust Statistics”

Starting with 2020 volume, the journal Metron has decided to celebrate the centenary since its foundation with three special issues. This volume is dedicated to robust statistics. A striking feature of most applied statistical analyses is the use of methods that are well known to be sensitive to outliers or to other departures from the postulated model. Robust statistical methods provide useful tools for reducing this sensitivity, through the detection of the outliers by first fitting the majority of the data and then by flagging deviant data points. The six papers in this issue cover a wide orientation in all fields of robustness. This editorial first provides some facts about the history and current state of robust statistics and then summarizes the contents of each paper.

Negligibility of haptotaxis effect in a chemotaxis–haptotaxis model

In this work, we rigorously study chemotaxis effect versus haptotaxis effect on boundedness, blow-up and asymptotical behavior of solutions for a chemotaxis-haptotaxis model in 2D settings. It is well-known that the corresponding Keller–Segel chemotaxis-only model possesses a striking feature of critical mass blowup phenomenon, namely, subcritical mass ensures boundedness, whereas, supercritical mass induces the existence of blow-ups. Herein, we show that this critical mass blow-up phenomenon stays almost the same in the full chemotaxis-haptotaxis model and that any global-in-time haptotaxis solution component vanishes exponentially and the other two solution components converge exponentially to that of chemotaxis-only model in a global sense for suitably large chemo-sensitivity and in the usual sense for suitably small chemo-sensitivity. Therefore, haptotaixs is neither good nor bad than chemotaxis, showing negligibility of haptotaxis effect in the underlying chemotaxis-haptotaxis model.

Formal Assignation of the Kissing Bug Triatomalecticularia (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) to the Genus Paratriatoma

The subfamily Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) comprises hematophagous insects that are vectors of Chagas disease; including species assigned to the genera Triatoma and Paratriatoma. Initial examination of Triatoma lecticularia revealed the hirsuteness covering the entire body—a characteristic and striking feature of members of the genus Paratriatoma—and a systematic study revealed several other morphological characters that are in diagnostic alignment with Paratriatoma. Based on the examination of several specimens (including the lectotype), and with the additional support of molecular and cytogenetic data, we propose the formal transferal of Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859) into the genus Paratriatoma with the resulting new combination: Paratriatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859) comb. nov. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae).

The Indonesian Constitution Read with German Eyes

The Indonesian Constitution offers many interesting insights to a German constitutional scholar. The most striking feature is the balance between the unitarian state and the natural diversity of Indonesia. In Germany, the state architecture reflects regional diversity in its federal framework, whereas Indonesia combines the unitarian state with various decentralising elements. This balance between unitarianism and regional diversity is probably the most conspicuous feature of the Indonesian Constitution and appears to be a suitable compromise between the conflicting aims of stabilising the state and the nation on the one hand and accommodating the geographic, demographic and cultural differences within the country on the other. Another striking feature is the presidential system, which is quite the opposite of the parliamentary system of the German Constitution. Other points that, from the perspective of German constitutional law, invite comparison are the constitutional provisions about the legal system,Indonesia’s constitutional monotheism, which is quite the opposite of the German idea of the state being strictly neutral in religious affairs, and human rights.

LYRIC LOCATION AND PERFORMANCE CIRCUMSTANCES IN SAPPHO AND ALCAEUS: A COGNITIVE APPROACH

A striking feature of the songs of Sappho and Alcaeus is their constant use of ‘deictic’ signals (‘I’, ‘you’, ‘this’, ‘here’, ‘now’) to establish a setting in a specific location in time and space. This article examines the created worlds of Sappho and Alcaeus, drawing on cognitive methodologies, in particular Text World Theory. It argues for the importance of a methodological distinction between the circumstances of performance of the songs, and the cognitive world they create (‘discourse world’ and ‘text world’). The locations established by the songs are designed to assimilate to, or mirror, the plausible/potential circumstances of actual performance, but are distinct from them, and are just as constructed as the artful lyric locations of Horace or Thomas Gray. Close readings of the songs show how Sappho and Alcaeus use ‘location’ as a tool in their poetics, exploiting the interaction between the world created by the songs and the circumstances of their performance.

Disagreement or Badmouthing? The Role of Expressive Discourse in Politics

A striking feature of political discourse is how prone we are to disagree. Political opponents will even give different answers to factual questions, which suggests that opposing parties cannot agree on facts any more than they can on values. This impression is widespread and supported by survey data. This chapter will argue, however, that the extent and depth of political disagreement is largely overstated. Many political disagreements are merely illusory. This claim has several important upshots. The implications of this idea for theories about voter misinformation, motivated reasoning, deliberative democracy, and a number of other issues are explored.