Ivan O. Nekhaev, Anel A. Ishayeva, Amina M. Omarova
et al.
The dwarf pond snail Galba truncatula (O.F. Müller, 1774) is a widespread freshwater species and a key intermediate host of Fasciola spp. Despite its ecological and medical significance, the evolutionary structure of its populations remains incompletely resolved. Using 78 mitochondrial COI sequences, including newly obtained material from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Caucasus, we reconstructed the phylogeographic pattern of Galba truncatula across Western Palearctic. Our analyses reveal the presence of three distinct phylogenetic lineages. A deeply divergent group, represented by a small number of sequences, occurs sympatrically with the main clade in Western Europe. The main clade, comprising the majority of sequences, is split into two geographically structured subclades: a western lineage (Western Europe and North Africa) and an eastern lineage (Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia). Both major lineages are represented in South America, suggesting at least two independent colonization events. We propose that the initial divergence between the eastern and western lineages likely began in the early Pleistocene, whereas their present-day distribution may have been shaped by isolation during the Last Glacial Maximum. Highlights We reconstructed the phylogeographic structure of Galba truncatula using COI sequences from Eurasia and South America. Three distinct lineages were identified, including a deeply divergent group occurring sympatrically in Western Europe. The main lineage is split into eastern and western clades, likely diverging in the early Pleistocene. Both clades are represented in South America, indicating at least two independent colonization events. Our findings challenge the hypothesis of a South American origin and highlight the role of glacial history in shaping current diversity.
Abstract Anthropogenic activities like trade facilitate increasing rates of biological invasions. Asian long-horned beetle (ALB), which is naturally distributed in eastern Asia (China, Korean peninsula), was introduced via wood packing materials (WPM) used in trade to North America (1996) and Europe (2001). We used 7810 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived by a genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) approach to decipher the introduction patterns into Europe. This is applied for the first time on European ALB outbreaks from Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, both from still active and already eradicated infestations. The genome-wide SNPs detected signs of small and highly structured populations within Europe, showing clear founder effects. The very high population differentiation is presumably derived from multiple independent introductions to Europe, which are spatially restricted in mating. By admixture and phylogenetic analyses, some cases of secondary dispersal were observed. Furthermore, some populations suggest admixture, which might have been originated by either multiple introductions from different sources into the new sites or recurrent introductions from an admixed source population. Our results confirmed a complex invasion history of the ALB into Europe and the usability of GBS obtained SNPs in invasion science even without source populations.
Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro, Joan Madurell-Malapeira, Sergio Ros-Montoya
et al.
On 2015, after the direct study of the most important Late Villafranchian fossil collections of Europe and Western Asia, including Orce (Spain), Pirro Nord and Upper Valdarno (Italy), Appollonia (Greece), Dmanisi (Georgia) and ‘Ubeidiya (Israel), among others, our team proposed the hypothesis that suids disappeared from Europe during the time span between 1.8 and 1.2 Ma. The implications of our conclusions were significant, the arrival of Early <i>Homo</i> into Western Europe, dated to 1.4 Ma at the site of Barranco León in Orce (Spain), preceded the return of pigs into the continent at 1.2 Ma. This hypothesis has been recently challenged because of the finding of an incomplete metatarsal ascribed to <i>Sus</i> sp., with no clear stratigraphic origin, found in the XIX Century Croizet collection of Peyrolles (France), which is housed in the Natural History Museum, London, together with other weak arguments based on the absence of reliable dating for many Early Pleistocene European sites, and other hypothetical records of pigs, with no real fossil support. We answer all these questions and defend that our 2015 hypothesis is correct.
Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is a devastating invasive pest originating from South America. It has spread rapidly to Europe, Africa, and Asia, and has invaded China in recent years, and now is a highly potential threat to the solanaceous crop industry in China. Due to its characteristics of leaf mining, fruit burrowing, short life history, high reproductivity, etc., its control effect relying on chemical pesticides is limited. Many theoretical studies and application explorations have been carried out for developing the biological control strategies for Tuta absoluta in the world, and a lot of biological control agents with high potential for usage have been screened. In this review, we summarized the research progress on the global biological control of Tuta absoluta, focusing on the parasitic and predatory natural enemy insects, the bio-control microbes, and the repellent plants and their chemical extracts. In the green control of Tuta absoluta in China, in-depth studies could be carried out on the introduction of biocontrol species suitable for the agricultural niche in China, the digging of local biocontrol resources, and the industrialization of these biocontrol organisms; meanwhile, the integrative utilization of these organisms could be promoted via the combined use of them and the ecological regulation of the agricultural landscape, so as to ensure the high-quality development of Chinese solanaceous crop industry.
Eun Kyung Kang, F. Manuel Montalbán Pergrín, Antonio J. Domenech
Este artículo estudia el papel del teatro de máscaras en la transformación de las artes escénicas en Corea a lo largo del siglo XX y sus conexiones con el teatro moderno y el europeo. Se analizan los cambios producidos en los periodos que han marcado las distintas etapas del teatro en la península coreana y, en particular, en la República de Corea después de la división del país. Se examina la situación durante la colonización japonesa para luego, tras la guerra de Corea, centrarse en el desarrollo del teatro contemporáneo en la posguerra y la dictadura hasta llegar al periodo democrático. Igualmente, se presentan ejemplos de trabajos realizados por profesionales de las artes escénicas para hacer realidad las nuevas formas del teatro coreano. El teatro se adaptó en cada momento a los cambios históricos, sociales y culturales que ocurrían en la península.
Sadie J. Ryan, Catherine A. Lippi, Oswaldo C. Villena
et al.
Abstract Background Anopheles stephensi is a malaria-transmitting mosquito that has recently expanded from its primary range in Asia and the Middle East, to locations in Africa. This species is a competent vector of both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria. Perhaps most alarming, the characteristics of An. stephensi, such as container breeding and anthropophily, make it particularly adept at exploiting built environments in areas with no prior history of malaria risk. Methods In this paper, global maps of thermal transmission suitability and people at risk (PAR) for malaria transmission by An. stephensi were created, under current and future climate. Temperature-dependent transmission suitability thresholds derived from recently published species-specific thermal curves were used to threshold gridded, monthly mean temperatures under current and future climatic conditions. These temperature driven transmission models were coupled with gridded population data for 2020 and 2050, under climate-matched scenarios for future outcomes, to compare with baseline predictions for 2020 populations. Results Using the Global Burden of Disease regions approach revealed that heterogenous regional increases and decreases in risk did not mask the overall pattern of massive increases of PAR for malaria transmission suitability with An. stephensi presence. General patterns of poleward expansion for thermal suitability were seen for both P. falciparum and P. vivax transmission potential. Conclusions Understanding the potential suitability for An. stephensi transmission in a changing climate provides a key tool for planning, given an ongoing invasion and expansion of the vector. Anticipating the potential impact of onward expansion to transmission suitable areas, and the size of population at risk under future climate scenarios, and where they occur, can serve as a large-scale call for attention, planning, and monitoring.
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine, Infectious and parasitic diseases
The appearance of Hindu gods was an essential feature of various indigenous Indian art tradition. The rise of hybrid Indo-Western art schools, notably Patnakalam heralded a fundamental shift in the way gods appeared in art and the meaning their iconography carried. This may be understood as one of the ways in which a kind of modernity took shape in nineteenth century Indian art.
The article analyzes the points of intersection between the Japanese and Russian social and cultural realities directly linking to national identity. The analysis is based on the opinion polls, representing different views of the Japanese and Russians on themselves and on the outside world. The author marks an inclination towards conservative values in both identities. The events in Kiev, Russia’s reunification with the Crimea, the civil war in the South-East of Ukraine have defined the contours of Russian identity much more precisely, unlocking the archetypal layers of historical memory of the Russians. By 2015, new features started to shape in the Japanese consciousness. There is a growing belief in the uniqueness of Japanese society, the Japanese are increasingly wary with media and are increasingly respectful towards the Emperor, while failing to demonstrate a reliable historical memory.
Sufism emerged in Khurasan and Central Asia during the ninth and tenth centuries in the form of circles of followers organized around spiritual masters. Either practicing various professions or living as mendicants, Sufis gathered in lodges calledkhanaqahto experience pious companionship. Masters were often trained as religious scholars and were well‐versed in Islamic disciplines, including law. Among them, medieval authors such as Sulami and Tirmidhi shaped the so‐called Khurasani school of Sufism based on regional spiritual traditions. Thanks in part to the patronage of rulers seeking religious legitimacy, Sufi institutions spread in the region. In this favorable context, Sufi scholars of the eleventh century elaborated principles of organization and spiritual progress. Two phenomena arose in the history of Sufism before and after the Mongol conquest: the elaboration of Persian mystical poetry and the advent of Sufi lineages. In a time of crisis preceding the nomads' surge, poets such as Sanaʾi delivered a salutary message. In response to the disorder caused by the invasions, early Sufi orders strengthened the institutionalization of Sufism. The main Sufi orders in the region included the Kubrawiyya, the Yasawiyya, and the Naqshbandiyya, each characterized by specific teachings related to, among other things, ritual repetitions and spiritual inner life. They developed in branches headed by missionary deputies in Khurasan, Transoxania, Khwarezm, Badakhshan, and the Kazakh Steppe. Especially under the Timurids (fifteenth century), Sufism became a mainstream culture, a source of inspiration and constant reference in the writings of influential polymaths such Jami and Nawaʾi. Lastly, beside Sufi orders, marginal mystics with antinomian practices livened up the socioreligious scene of cities like Herat.
Kobpat Phadungsaksawasdi, Sakone Sunantaraporn, Nirin Seatamanoch
et al.
<h4>Background</h4>Pediculus humanus capitis or head louse is an obligate ectoparasite and its infestation remains a major public health issue worldwide. Molecular analysis divides head lice into six clades and intra-clade genetic differences have been identified. Several hypotheses have been formulated to elucidate the discrepancies of the variety of head lice among different regions of the world. It is currently concluded that head lice distribution might be associated with human migration history. This study aims to investigate genetic data of human head lice in Thailand. We believe that the analysis could help establish the correlation between local and global head lice populations.<h4>Method</h4>We investigated mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene of the collected 214 head lice to evaluate genetic diversity from 15 provinces among 6 regions of Thailand. The head lice genes were added to the global pool for the phylogenetic tree, Bayesian tree, Skyline plot, and median joining network construction. The biodiversity, neutrality tests, and population genetic differentiation among the 6 Thailand geographic regions were analyzed by DNAsp version 6.<h4>Results</h4>The phylogenetic tree analysis of 214 collected head lice are of clade A and clade C accounting for roughly 65% and 35% respectively. The Bayesian tree revealed a correlation of clade diversification and ancient human dispersal timeline. In Thailand, clade A is widespread in the country. Clade C is confined to only the Central, Southern, and Northeastern regions. We identified 50 novel haplotypes. Statistical analysis showed congruent results between genetic differentiation and population migration especially with South Asia.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Pediculosis remains problematic among children in the rural areas in Thailand. Cytb gene analysis of human head lice illustrated clade distribution and intra-clade diversity of different areas. Our study reported novel haplotypes of head lice in Thailand. Moreover, the statistic calculation provided a better understanding of their relationship with human, as an obligate human parasite and might help provide a better insight into the history of human population migration. Determination of the correlation between phylogenetic data and pediculicide resistance gene as well as residing bacteria are of interest for future studies.
Japan’s geographical location is often compared to that of the United Kingdom in Europe, and its strategic role is expected to correspond to Britain’s as a balancer that has endeavored to keep the European world from being dominated by a hegemony or hegemonic coalition of powers. his geographical resemblance infers that Japan will play the role of a British balancer in East Asia. However, Japan differs from the UK geopolitically. If it were a balancer, Japan would welcome a more stable Korean Peninsula able to manage unexpected provocation from the North. Instead, Japan is skeptical about today’s changing inter-Korean situation, following the Panmunjom Declaration on 27 April 2018. It needs to be understood that Japan has lain within a different geopolitical environment from Britain in Europe, which influenced different strategic choices in the history of East Asia.
This paper introduces the challenges of studying parliamentary institutions in Southeast Asia. My focus of research is in three countries’ institutions: national parliaments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. While in Southeast Asia, it is widely known that studying issues of politics and institutions face challenges – compared to studying culture, for example, this view is arguably no longer valid, however with certainqualification.
The comparison of parliamentary tradition between three countries – based on observation of the plenary session - reveals that the effectiveness of parliamentary works is related to parliamentary procedure, and even to the culture of work in the countries. Parliamentary structure, procedure and their political culture matters. Therefore, acknowledging these factors will give rise to more research opportunities, if a researcher plans to study the political institution in other countries in Southeast Asia.
History of Asia, Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)
Abstract This article proposes that South Asia has produced rich histories of economic practices understood variously as hoarding, speculation, and extortion. This essay frames the discussion of speculation in South Asian history along these three axes. First, it puts the term speculation under scrutiny to look at its changing meanings within the colonial and metropolitan context in order to assess how the term enters the colonial archive of law and finance. Especially, it looks at how the colonial officials created and sustained (mis)translations between indigenous practices and Anglo‐European categories of economic crimes. Second, it looks at the early scholarship on 18th and 19th century indigenous commercial practices that were coded as hoarding, speculating, profiteering, hedging, and squeezing in an attempt to rescue the colonial bazaar and what has been called its “inside history” alongside the development of market practices. This body of scholarship remains primarily focused on trading activities under the Mughals and East India Company. In the third and final section, we turn to the recent histories that have returned to vernacular commercial practices and the historical roots of India's market society to raise critical questions about how speculation and calculation shaped late colonial capitalism and governmentality.
By declaring Shia as the official religion of Iran, the Safavids used different tools to institutionalize and disseminate it. One of these tools was developing religious endowments. The holy shrine of Imam Reza, which is the only holy shrine of Twelver Shiites in Iran, became the most important religious state at the center of attention of the Safavids, and many endowments were established for it. As a result, the amount of endowments for the shrine increased. Goals of increasing the endowments for the shrine were to disseminate Shiite beliefs, glory/dynamism of the shrine and its continuity. The purpose of this article is to describe the function of the development of the endowments of the holy shrine of Reza (AS). The approach of this paper is that the main goal of the Safavid religious policy was to promote the Shia belief by developing religious places and creating endowments and expansion of the endowments. The implementation of this policy in connection with the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), which was accompanied with the support of the Safavid politicians, in the short and long term, increased the space, facilities, administrative organization of the shrine and the expansion of services to pilgrims and adjacent people, and in the long run, guaranteed the dynamism and the reliability of the organization for the future. In this paper, the data sources consisted of endowments and manuscripts extracted, as well as the results of published researches on the subject of the endowments of the shrine of Imam Reza (AS). Using the descriptive method, with the historical attitude, the expansion of the endowments of the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) has been investigated.
History (General) and history of Europe, History of Asia
After toppling the first Communist ministry in Kerala the main attention of the US agencies—Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US Embassy in India—was to install a non-communist stable government in Kerala to meet the dangers of communism in Asia. The US agencies adopted two ways to realise these objectives. First of all, they extended all out support to the triple alliance composed of the Congress Party, Praja Socialist Party (PSP) and the Muslim League against the Communist Party in 1960 election. The election campaign of the triple alliance was much funded by the CIA. However the triple alliance won the election, the Communist Party got more votes than in 1957 and it intensified the US agencies to beef up its anti-Communist operations in Kerala and outside. It led to the adoption of second method of anti-Communist activities that the US agencies began to give wide publicity in India and outside that the first Communist ministry in Kerala could not make any economic advancement in Kerala during their tenure nor could they redress the chronic problems of unemployment and food scarcity and if Communists were voted to power in other parts of Asia, they would follow the same trend and fall.
This article looks at how ‘indigenous’ medical systems, particularly Ayurveda figured in the official discourse of the Government of India in the post-independence period. In doing so, it studies the recommendations of the committees set up in the first few decades after independence to prepare reports on ‘indigenous’ medicines in India. By studying these reports, we may gain some insights on the paths that were cleared in the professionalisation of Ayurvedic medicine and its institutionalisation in colleges and hospitals. The focus here is on the recommendations and analyses of five committee reports. This article analyses the similarities and near consensus in their approach to the issue of research in Ayurveda. What accounts for such a consensus despite the constitution of different committees over a period of time? How are some of the differences in the recommendations and analyses of the reports resolved in ways that maintain an overall similarity? This article engages with these questions in its analysis of the committee reports.
The main features of the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah was the multiplicity of intelligence agencies and supervisory authorities. That was because of his concerns about the incidence of domestic oppositions. One of these agencies was the Imperial Inspection Agency, as an intelligence-security organization, established in the late 1330s due to interior circumstances of the country in the years after the coup of Mordad 28th, 1332 SH. The life of this small organization is divided into two distinct periods; the first was under the supervision of Lieutenant General Yazdan-Panah and the second was under the supervision of Fardoust. Lieutenant General Yazdan-Panah was one of the statesmen of the Pahlavi era, who made a lot of efforts to stabilize and perpetuate the regime. During the five decades of life of this dynasty, he was always responsible for important jobs and positions. The task of the Imperial Inspection Angency, in the first period of its activities, i.e. under the supervision of Yazdan-Panah, was gaining information concerning interior circumstances of the country, dealing with troubles such as administrative corruption and officials’ sabotages, monitoring the activities of other security agencies. This paper, through a historical analysis and based on documentaries and library references, studies performance of the Imperial Inspection Agency (e.g. its proceedings and scope of activity) and its consequences in the first period.
History and principles of religions, History of Asia
Safavid era (1501–1729) begins a new age in the history of Iran. With the beginning of the Safavid dynasty in Iran, Albuquerque, a Portuguese general, conquered Hormoz Island in southern Iran. Geographical discoveries, in general, and bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, in particular, in South Africa, changed traditional trade routes in Iran’s international trade. Under the new conditions that the Ottoman Empire held western areas of overland trade routes, Silk Road and Spice road failed in playing their former roles. On the other side, religious conflicts in the Safavid, Ottoman and Uzbek drew new plan of religious territories influencing road map. This paper tries to explain new map of Iran’s trade routes through studying Iran and economic and commercial requirements within 16th century.
A group of nine Indus Valley copper plates (c. 2600–2000
BC), discovered from private collections in Pakistan, appear to be of an important type
not previously described. The plates are significantly larger and more robust than those
comprising the corpus of known copper plates or tablets, and most significantly differ
in being inscribed with mirrored characters. One of the plates bears 34 characters,
which is the longest known single Indus script inscription. Examination of the plates
with x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrophotometry indicates metal compositions, including
arsenical copper, consistent with Indus Valley technology. Microscopy of the metal
surface and internal structure reveals detail such as pitting, microcrystalline
structure, and corrosion, consistent with ancient cast copper artifacts. Given the
relative fineness of the engraving, it is hypothesised that the copper plates were not
used as seals, but have characteristics consistent with use in copper plate printing. As
such, it is possible that these copper plates are by far the earliest known printing
devices, being at least 4000 years old.
Caste inequality is a heatedly debated issue in contemporary Kerala, in stark contrast to an earlier time, when the idea that Kerala had overcome caste hierarchies through the twin strategies of social development and political mobilisation was still hegemonic. Post-1990s, political developments have pushed the question of caste back into the forefront of public debate, and ‘Dalit identity politics’ has been perceived as a serious threat by Kerala’s powerful left parties, despite the fact that Dalit political formations are not numerically powerful. Three processes seem to be crucial in precipitating the current situation: (a) the transformation of politics itself in the mid-1990s from the ‘public action’ mode to the ‘liberal’ mode, which was rejected by the Dalits and tribal communities; (b) rapidly widening economic inequalities and rapidly crystallising elite ideological dominance led to the strengthening of abjection as a mode of marginalisation of the lower castes which is being resisted; (c) the transformation of the Malayali literary public brought to the fore questions of caste and gender that were submerged under the earlier socio-cultural consensus generated by the hegemonic Malayali national popular shaped by the communists.