Mid 1990s Research Articles

Translating Algae into Policy: Introduced Marine Pests and the Emergence of Australian Ballast Water Management, 1970–1990

Ballast water is broadly understood today to be an important driver of marine and aquatic introductions worldwide, and it is subject to multiple national and international regulations. In the mid 1980s, marine ‘bioinvasion’ science was nascent and management nearly non-existent. A series of ballast-borne introduction crises prompted changes, including the discovery of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum , a type of plankton, in Tasmania in 1985. This article examines the socio-environmental roots of this crisis and its influence on ballast water science and policy-making. Drawing insights from critical disaster studies, it examines the transformation of the alga from an organism into a bioinvasion crisis that warranted a policy response. This translation process emerged out of decades-long socio-environmental changes on land and sea that introduced new species, catalysed a new environmental science to interpret those changes and reflected the biology and biogeography of the alga itself.

Industrialization and Economic Development in Tanzania from Independence to Today: A Review of Historical Strategies, Challenges and Prospects

Tanzania got her independence from the British in 1961, by then, Tanganyika, before joining Zanzibar in 1964. Tanzania started the move towards industrialization just after the independence in 1961. The Industrial development in Tanzania is categorized in various phases namely immediately after independence, during Ujamaa na kujitegemea (Socialism & Self-reliance ideology) after the Arusha Declaration of 1967, economic and political reforms in mid 1980s, beyond 1996 - privatization and establishment of private sectors, and free market economy period to date. The Industrial Development in Tanzania was strengthened in 2000s when the Tanzania Development Vision (TDV) 2025 was formulated with the aim of enabling the country to reach the semi-industrialized economy by 2025. Various strategies and economic development plans have been formulated in order to meet the TDV 2025. Many industrial development efforts were observed such as constructions of infrastructures such as buildings for offices, hotels, roads, railways, marine facilities, purchasing of airplanes, and establishment of power energy plants and service delivery facilities. However, the Industrial Development sector faced a number of challenges. The challenges include lack of capital, Inadequate supply of power, lack of technical skills, discontinuation of policies between succeeding regimes, price fluctuation, unstable currencies, corruption and economic crises due to various shocks such as the Tanzania –Uganda war of 1978/1979. However, the Industrial development in Tanzania keeps on pacing since independence 1961 to date. Industrialization in Tanzania has a positive, though complex, relationship with economic growth. In order to improve development of industries and country’s economic growth towards achieving the TDV 2025, the challenges and constraints which hinders industrial development should be evaded.

Impact of time to treatment on overall survival for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A SEER database analysis.

e13879 Background: Incidence and mortality of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have continued to rise since the mid 2000s. Few studies have examined the impact of optimal time of treatment initiation (TTI). The aim of this study is to investigate the association between TTI and survival while analyzing socioeconomic factors associated with a delay in treatment. Methods: Patients diagnosed with Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2000-2021 were selected. Additional variables were collected including age, sex, race, stage, surgical status, radiation status, TTI, household income, and population size. Survival was analyzed via Cox regression analyses. Logistic regression contrasted variables associated with delayed TTI. Results: A total of 37,627 patients were included. On Cox regression, no survival difference was observed between patients with TTI less than one month compared to greater than one month. Patients with median household income of > $50k (p < 0.001, HR = 0.830) and 100k+ (p < 0.001, HR = 0.673), recipients of surgery (p < 0.001, HR = 0.421), chemotherapy (p < 0.001, HR = 0.868) and radiation therapy (p < 0.001, HR = 0.450) were all associated with improved survival. Patients between the ages of 50-64 years (p < 0.001, HR = 1.223) or 65+ (p < 0.001, HR = 1.824), Black (p < 0.001, HR = 1.867) or Hispanic (p < 0.001, HR = 1.248) and with regional (p < 0.001, HR = 1.686) or distant (p < 0.001, HR = 4.400) stages at diagnosis were associated with worse survival. On Logistic regression, patients with median household income of > $50k (p = 0.043, OR = 0.108) or $100k+ (p < 0.001, OR = 1.240), those who lived in metropolitan areas (p < 0.001, OR = 0.849), regional (p = 0.017, OR = 0.896) or distant (p < 0.001, OR = 0.822) stages, recipients of surgery (p < 0.001, OR = 0.206) and chemotherapy (p < 0.001, OR = 0.801) were all associated with earlier TTI. Age 50-64 years (p < 0.001, OR = 1.214) or 65+ (p < 0.001, OR = 1.338) and Hispanic (p < 0.001, OR = 1.354) or Black (p < 0.001, OR = 1.345) populations were associated with later TTI. Conclusions: There were no significant survival differences between TTI within or more than 1 month; however, demographic factors associated with decreased TTI were also associated with better survival outcomes. Increased age and black and hispanic race are associated with worse survival. Future research should focus on addressing disparities in survival and TTI between populations.

Hot electron relaxation: A review of the two temperature model for ultrafast non-equilibrium phenomena in metals

The famous Two-Temperature Model (TTM) used extensively in the investigations of energy relaxation in photo excited systems originated in the seminal work of Kaganov et al. [Sov. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 4, 173 (1957)]. The idea that with an ultrashort laser pulse a temporal (transient) state of electrons in a metal can be created, in which electrons after absorbing energy from the laser pulse heat up and their temperature becomes substantially greater than that of lattice, was originated in the work of Anisimov et al. [Sov. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 39, 375 (1974)]. The heated electron sub-system (hot electrons) loses its energy to phonon sub-system via electron–phonon scattering, and thermodynamic equilibrium re-establishes over a time scale of a few picoseconds in metals. This field saw great developments in the 1980s and 1990s with the advent of femtosecond pump–probe spectroscopy. From 2000 onward, focus shifted from non-equilibrium phenomena in simple metals to those in more complex systems including strongly correlated systems such as high Tc cuprate superconductors. P. B. Allen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1460 (1987), revisits the calculations of KLT and rewrites the electron–phonon heat transfer coefficient α in terms of a very important parameter in the theory of superconductivity (λ⟨ω2⟩). This has far reaching consequences; λ, a very crucial dimensionless electron–phonon coupling parameter for a given superconducting material, can be estimated by doing pump–probe experiments on it. By mid 1990s, it became clear that TTM is violated and is not a sufficient model to discuss non-equilibrium relaxation. Year 2000 onward, field saw the development of models that go beyond the original TTM. Very recently, the field has entered into the attosecond domain. In this article, the author attempts a concise account of the development of the TTM and, in addition, a recent possible revival of it in the attosecond domain.

Nitrogen deposition effects in Austrian forests

Excess Nitrogen (N) deposition from industrial, domestic and agricultural sources have led to increased nitrate leaching, the loss of biological diversity, and has affected C sequestration in forest ecosystems. Global mean N deposition is still increasing while in Europe, N deposition peaked during the mid 1980s and was slowly going down until today as a result of emission reductions (EU28) of NOx by 50% and NH3 by 30% between the years 1990 and 2015. However, the amount of N deposition did not decrease in all areas in Europe and the currently legislated emission reduction targets are too low to save ecosystems and biodiversity from further effects. In order to assess the ecosystem effects of chronically high N deposition in the forests of the Austria, a unique four-decade data set of 16 single monitoring and research sites has been compiled. These measurements include air concentration, deposition, soil water chemistry, and foliage chemistry together with ancillary data on climate, soils, tree species, forest management and structure. The results underpin the tight relationship between N deposition, nitrate leaching, and nutrient deficiency in trees. Hence, the deposition pattern found in Austria (high in the north and southeast and low in the center) correlate with the N impacts. Furthermore, tree species and climate mediate the magnitude in the effects. In Austria, 56% of the nitrogen released into the environment comes from agriculture. In particular, emissions of ammonia, which are produced during livestock farming, the storage of slurry and manure and fertilisation, have been reduced comparatively little. As a result, forests, meadows, heaths and moors, which account for around 60% of the country's surface area, still receive nitrogen above the critical load. Protected areas for rare species and habitats are also affected. The Ammonia Reduction Ordinance has been in force since January 2023. Targeted measures such as the mandatory covering of manure storage facilities, the mandatory incorporation of fertilisers in arable farming and requirements for the use of emission-intensive urea fertilisers are intended to reduce nitrogen emissions.

China shares fossil treasures with the world.

China has been a rich source of fossils for nearly a century, beginning with the discovery of so-called Peking man (Sinanthropus pekinensis), known today as Homo erectus pekinensis in the mid 1920s. The first Chinese dinosaurs were described in 1929, the sauropod Helopus (now Euhelopus) and the ornithopod Tanius, described by the Swedish paleontologist Carl Wiman. Over the next six decades, further dinosaurs were described by Yang Zhongjian (C.C. Young) and his students Dong Zhi-Ming and Zhao Xijin, but remained poorly known in the West. A golden age of Chinese paleontology began as spectacular feathered dinosaurs were described from Lagerstätten in northeastern China beginning in 1996. Today, China has more genera of dinosaurs than any country on earth. In addition to dinosaurs and birds, China has among the oldest fossil vertebrates on earth with Cambrian fish such as Haikouella and Myllokunmingia, one of the first fossil flowers with Early Cretaceous Archaefructus, and a rich fauna of mammals, including Early Eocene Archicebus, one of the earliest known fossil primates. Fossil mammals range from a Jurassic beaver-tailed aquatic docodont, Castorocauda, to a Cretaceous gobiconodontid, Repenomamus, which had the nerve to munch on a baby dinosaur, to Ice Age elephants, woolly rhinoceros, horses, and saber-toothed cats. Surprising new fossils of all kinds will continue to be discovered in China for decades to come.

TURF IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION 1945-2000

This paper examines the industrial harvesting of turf and its use in electricity generation in Ireland from 1945 to 2000. It explores the commercial exploitation of Irish bogs which had been neglected for centuries. Exploitation achieved impetus when some revolutionaries such as Todd Andrews advocated economic self-sufficiency. With Government approval, Bord na Móna was created in 1945. Another state body, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), established turf-fired power plant. These developments had a significant economic impact until the mid 1980s. Thereafter, a combination of ageing plant, and supra-national environmental regulation led to the closure of power stations and the cessation of peat harvesting.

Reading Between the Lines: Miriam Makeba’s Shifting Liberation Politics in Drum Magazine, 1957–1964

Based on archival research conducted at the Bailey’s African History Archive (BAHA) in Johannesburg, this article explores how the South African edition of Drum magazine covered the South African and international superstar singer, Miriam Makeba, prior to and as she left South Africa for the world’s stage in 1959, and into the mid 1960s while she was beginning her exiled life in the United States. I analyse Makeba’s life through Drum using the model of New Africanism theorist Ntongela Masilela to showcase Makeba’s transition from a quintessential New African performer to a black international pan-African figure remaking her life and politics on the global stage. Reading between the lines of how Drum covered Makeba’s political transition from 1957 to 1964 also reveals the reasons why Drum had dissolved by the mid 1960s, as its theoretical and contextual foundation of New Africanism was abandoned for more radical politics following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and its aftermath. My article adds an historical analysis of Makeba’s engagement in the pages of Drum while also attending to the shifting political climate of South Africa and the globe. Reading Drum as the leading voice in broadcasting New African ideals and images from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s, I deduce that not only does the magazine make a compelling argument for Makeba as an important New African figure, but her coverage also prescribes the end of New Africanism and Drum magazine itself.

Love beads

Abstract In this piece of creative non‐fiction, I use a countercultural artifact, love beads, to reflect on what life was like on an American countercultural commune in the 1960s and 1970s and to construct a sense of the style, visions, and hopes of the times. Not intended to be reflective of the counterculture writ large, the piece centers on one countercultural commune, its members, and their experiences. The beads take us through the beginnings of the counterculture in the mid 1960s, to the social experiments of the San Francisco Diggers, the performance politics of the Yippies, and a commune that was inspired by both.

Gene therapy for hemophilia- From basic science to first approvals of "one-and-done" therapies.

Gene therapy for hemophilia- From basic science to first approvals of "one-and-done" therapies.

Japan’s rural electrification before the mid-1930s: Private-owned utility, local community, and policy

Abstract The paper provides a narrative history of Japan’s rural electrification before the mid 1930s, focusing on the interplay among private-owned utilities, local communities, and policy. In joining the revisionist historiography on rural electrification, the paper highlights the important role played by private-owned utilities in electrifying the countryside before the 1930s. Although extending electricity systems to the countryside was uneconomical compared with densely populated cities, the rural market provided business opportunities when private-owned utilities sought to balance load factors and sell surplus power generation capacity. However, as consequence of profit-seeking, the rural communities were charged higher price for electricity, faced inferior supply conditions, and disputed with private-owned utilities over how to electrify the villages. Some communities tried public ownership, but the Japanese government was not always favourable to local initiatives out of ideology and national system considerations. The noninterventionist policy incited social discontent that aired itself in the late 1920s in tariff disputes and, with the onset of the Great Depression, pushed the government to change its policy to subsidisation and eventually to nationalisation. By contextualising rural electrification in Japan’s business, ideological, and regulatory context, this paper re-evaluates private-owned utilities, but also points out its limitation in electrifying the countryside.

Assets Instead of Liabilities: Judge Ivorey Cobb and Juvenile Justice in Colebrook, New Hampshire

Abstract This article examines the judicial career of military veteran and attorney, Ivorey Cobb, with a particular focus on his work in juvenile justice. Cobb was the first black person to receive an appointment to the New Hampshire state judiciary, serving on two different trial courts from the mid 1960s until the early 1980s. Using archival records, including Cobb's own papers, interviews, as well as newspaper reports from the time, the authors discuss his background, ascension to the bench as well as his juvenile justice initiatives in a mainly rural, racially homogeneous community and state. Grappling with rising caseloads, strained resources, and the new requirements of post‐Gault due process, Cobb was nevertheless enthusiastic in devoting his energies to initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for juvenile offenders.

Genomic Surveillance and Molecular Evolution of Fungicide Resistance in European Populations of Wheat Powdery Mildew.

Fungicides are used in agriculture to manage fungal infections and maintain crop yield and quality. In Europe, their application on cereals increased drastically starting from the mid 1970s, contributing to a significant improvement in yields. However, extensive usage has led to the rapid evolution of resistant pathogen populations within just a few years of fungicide deployment. Here we focus on wheat powdery mildew, a disease caused by the ascomycete fungus Blumeria graminis forma specialis tritici (Bgt). Previous research on Bgt documented the emergence of resistance to different fungicides and identified various resistance mechanisms. Yet, the frequency, distribution and evolutionary dynamics of fungicide resistance in Bgt populations remain largely unexplored. In this study, we leveraged extensive sampling and whole-genome sequencing of Bgt populations in Europe and the Mediterranean to investigate the population genetics and molecular epidemiology of fungicide resistance towards five major fungicide classes. We analysed gene sequences and copy number variation of eight known fungicide target genes in 415 Bgt isolates sampled between 1980 and 2023. We observed that mutations conferring resistance to various fungicides increased in frequency over time and had distinct geographic distributions, probably due to diverse deployment of fungicides across different regions. For demethylation inhibitor fungicides, we identified multiple independent events of resistance emergence with distinct mutational profiles, and we tracked their rapid spread in the last decades. Overall, we revealed the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of fungicide resistance mutations in European Bgt populations. These results underscore the potential of genomic surveillance and population genetics to enhance our understanding of fungicide resistance.

Wl-7443-A Comparative Analysis of Aspirational and Non-aspirational Districts in Select Indicators of SDG: Evidence from Two Latest Rounds of NFHS Data

India launched Aspirational District Programme (ADP) in 2018 for fast paced progress of UN-SDGs in lagging behind districts to fulfil the objective of “no one is left behind” in achieving SDGs within the stipulated time. This paper investigates the progress of ADP and non-ADP districts from 2015-16 to 2019-2021 on the key indicators of NFHS-4 and NFHS-5. Results indicate that performance of ADP districts improved significantly particularly of those that performed worse in 2015-16, which is an encouraging observation. However, this analysis suggests that areas such as Maternal Health Nutrition & Family Planning Services; Delivery Care; and Child Health Nutrition & Feeding Practices require greater attention in the ADP programme going forward. The findings suggest fostering resilience among districts that have improved their performances should be an important component of policy package. The lack of ADP districts’ ability to catch up with non-ADP districts indicate long standing issues of regional disparities among Indian states that began to emerge in mid 1960s and became starker as Indian economy achieved high economic growth after the liberalisation in 1990s. This study also compared data provided by ADP portal of select 5 indicators from NFHS-5 data. The study finds that data provided by ADP on those five indicators show significant divergence from NFHS estimates. The lack of ADP districts’ ability to catch up with non-ADP districts indicate long standing issues of regional disparities among Indian states that began to emerge in mid 1960s and became starker as Indian economy achieved high economic growth after the liberalisation in 1990s.

Genome-wide markers test the status of two putative species of North American bumble bees

Accurate species delimitation is critical to identifying the conservation status of species. Molecular species delimitation methods have revealed previously unrecognized cryptic species across the taxonomic spectrum. However, studies vary in the molecular markers selected, analytical approaches used, and taxon sampling, which sometimes results in conflicting conclusions. One example of such a conflict is seen in the species delimitation analyses of the western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis. This species was once an abundant insect pollinator in western North America but has declined severely since the mid 1990s and is predicted to continue to diminish under even optimistic future climate scenarios. Complicating this conservation crisis, the species status of B. occidentalis has varied over time, with most recent studies recognizing one or two species. Previous studies that used molecular methods to address this question focused on a Bayesian phylogeny of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Phylogenetic studies that focus on a single gene are criticized for misrepresenting the evolutionary history of species because nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and even some genes within them, may have different evolutionary patterns. We tested a two species hypothesis of the B. occidentalis complex using nuclear (ultraconserved elements) and mitochondrial (COI) markers to infer maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenies for the taxa. We present our results and conclusions from eight species delimitation methods. Based on the genomic, morphological and geographic differences between the taxa we find support for the two species hypothesis, with B. occidentalis and B. mckayi as separate species. We discuss the strengths and limitations of each genetic dataset and delimitation method, make recommendations for best practices, and highlight opportunities for equitable knowledge and technology development for phylogenomics in conservation biology.

Bold strides towards the elimination of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT) as a public health problem-A case study of Angola.

The chronic form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and commonly referred to as gambiense-HAT (gHAT) is endemic in 7 of Angola's 18 provinces. Major epidemics of the disease occurred in the country in the 1920s to 1940s and 1990s -mid 2000s, and current estimates are that up to a third of the country's population is at risk of infection. Whereas gHAT was first reported in Angola in 1871, control efforts did not begin until 30 years later in 1901. This case study describes the history of gHAT in Angola, outlines the policies and strategies used in its control, and the intensification efforts being made to accelerate progress towards elimination. Furthermore, it highlights factors that have contributed to recurrent outbreaks of gHAT in the country and key achievements in the push towards elimination. Literature review was conducted using online databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, WHO HAT data repository, and the African Union Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control (ISCTRC) conference proceedings. Data/information not found in these databases was availed through personal communication with colleagues from Instituto de Combate e Controlo das Tripanossomiases (ICCT). The search of databases was conducted using the following terms: "human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) control/elimination in Angola," "sleeping sickness/HAT control in Angola," "HAT epidemics in Angola." Overall, the interventions put in place over the years have led to significant reduction in the number of new HAT cases reported annually, from an average of 3,496 (between 1990 and 2006) to an average of 56 cases between 2016 and 2023. This has renewed the hope of achieving elimination of gHAT as a public health problem by 2030.

The Fraying at the Edges of the Public Healthcare System in Canada

Since the passage of the Canada Health Act (CHA) in the mid 1980s, advocates for private finance in Canada have challenged the CHA and its underlying access and equity principles. Such challenges have grown in recent years to encompass, among other things, facility fees, membership fees, private virtual care, private interprovincial surgery clinics and private practice nurse practitioners. The continued technological and organizational evolution of healthcare will expand and complicate this further over time. A multipronged approach is needed that includes expanded data to support research on the impacts of such activity, new regulatory frameworks and coordinated action across levels of government.

Respectability and the Silences of Settler Democracy: John Barr Becomes a Parliamentary Man in Progressive New Zealand*

Abstract This article uses the approaches of critical family history to explore the practices of settler democracy and nation‐building in early 20th‐century New Zealand and its participation in wider efforts to forge a new British commonwealth on the world stage after 1918. Our attention focuses on John Barr, the author's ancestor. Barr put himself forward as a suitable man for parliamentary office by obscuring details of his humble origins and claiming to be an imperial expert. We consider how Barr's political self‐fashioning, which relied on a number of silences, echoed New Zealand's contemporary reimagining of itself as a progressive nation at the vanguard of social reform and democratic governance, a process aided by the influential histories of William Pember Reeves. Barr was subsequently involved in efforts to promote collaboration between British democracies through the activities of the Empire Parliamentary Association in the mid 1920s. The association's attempts to present the British commonwealth as a force for good in international affairs relied on downplaying or ignoring difficult relations with other parts of the empire. Finally, we consider Barr's involvement in New Zealand's troubled efforts to deal with unrest in mandate Samoa, an uncomfortable history suppressed in official and family narratives.

Plain Concrete Highway Pavements in New South Wales Australia 1983 – 2015

Concrete highway pavements have been constructed in the State of New South Wales (NSW) Australia since the mid 1920s. Prior to 1983 the principal pavement type was jointed reinforced with a few sections of CRCP. In 1983 plain concrete was introduced for highway construction. Within an overall inventory of more than 850km of highway pavement completed and under construction since around 1980, approximately 650km are plain concrete, the remainder being CRCP. One feature of these plain concrete pavements is the inclusion of undoweled transverse contraction joints. This paper sets out the factors leading to the introduction of this type of pavement including undoweled joints, and the evolution of jointing, thickness, subbase, shoulders and overall carriageway cross sections since 1983. The importance of designing the pavement as a system, not just a series of components, and placing as much importance on what is under the slab, as for the slab itself, is emphasised. International source technologies from which NSW practice has drawn are referenced. Contemporary design traffic loads, thickness design procedures, model drawings and construction specifications, construction practice and an overview of maintenance experience are referenced.

Growth and Technology: The new economy in the 2000'S CEE countries and Romania

We use a concept of the new economy based on ICT and the inherent internal capacity to change the production patterns of producers. Thus, our results indicate that ICT is the main growth contributor (catching-up) of the years 2000 between inputs (Romania) and probably the main explication for the movement of the economies to economic growth based on the accumulation of capital and technology (CEE); large jumps and fluctuations of the technological factor probably reflect the cumulative effects of restructuring, narrowing the state sector and labor savings. We conjecture that, especially in Romania, the wave of restructuring is generated by the ICT boom; similarly, the growth contribution from labor quality is probably reflecting the massive mobilization of technology in the mid 2000s. The technological “mantra” of the new economy- faster, better, cheaper – seems to be supported by mutations in Romania and CEE economies.