Prospective Hosts Research Articles

Examining the development of human rights strategies for large-scale sport events: the case of the United Bid for the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026

ABSTRACT Research question Criticism of human rights issues associated with large-scale sport events has led event rights holders to incorporate human rights into bidding and hosting requirements. Bids for FIFA World Cups (men’s and women’s) now require the inclusion of a human rights strategy. Given that these requirements are relatively new, there is limited understanding of how these strategies are developed. This study drew on strategy formulation and contingency theory to examine human rights strategy development of the United Bid – a joint bid between Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Research methods A qualitative instrumental case study was employed using archival data and 12 semi-structured interviews with United Bid members and key stakeholders. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in three themes. Results and findings Findings highlight the critical roles of stakeholder engagement and individuals with event experience in developing human rights strategies. The novelty of FIFA’s human rights requirements and late delivery of the bid guidelines presented significant challenges for the bid committee. Implications This research advances contingency theory by suggesting the approach to the development of human rights strategies is dependent on prospective hosts’ overall bid strategy. In this case, the bid focused on human rights at the country level and deferred assessment of human rights at the host city level until after the bid was won. This insight can guide prospective host nations in accounting for and integrating human rights into their bids.

Communicating inclusiveness through major sporting events: development and application of a framework

ABSTRACT Major sporting events (MSEs) have been used by governments to improve the image of cities and nations, and to attract tourists. In the wake of criticism of how global MSEs handle human-rights issues, governments are pressured to rethink how these events are organised and branded. Developing and employing an analytical framework based on inclusive place branding and pathways to progressive human-rights outcomes, this study explores how and to whom inclusiveness is communicated in five Olympic Games candidate files. A quantitative content analysis is performed using keywords related to inclusiveness and three characteristics of inclusiveness are analysed qualitatively: democratic representation, inclusive participation, and committed transformation. The findings show that three of the candidate files predominantly belong to the traditional place branding paradigm through their focus on external stakeholders, while two have adopted a more inclusive place branding strategy and put emphasis on internal stakeholders. The analytical framework introduced in this study can be useful for both researchers and practitioners – such as prospective hosts of MSEs and other events – as a conceptual tool to analyse and develop inclusiveness in major events.

The challenges of encouraging refugee assistance: lessons learned from reframing the problem as one of within-group collective action and norm change

Cooperation across group boundaries presents special theoretical and practical challenges. Fostering altruism towards refugees magnifies these difficulties given structural inequalities between host communities and those in need of help. Nonetheless, countless organisations and grass-roots efforts provide critical and effective support for asylum seekers around the world. In this article, we analyse a case of a successful grass-roots effort to help a family of asylum seekers in Australia. We use this as a starting point to review the evolutionary social-science literature on cooperation and suggest ways that collective action in support of refugees can be promoted and maintained. The challenge can be reframed as one of achieving two goals: first, norm change; and, second, encouraging altruistic actions. The former requires convincing prospective hosts that refugee support is indeed a public good at the community level. The second goal requires encouraging cooperation within the host community. We have better evidence of what works for the latter than the former.

Aggregation-prone peptides from within a non-self-protein homoaggregate are preferred for MHC association: Historical overview.

New technologies assist re-evaluation of hypotheses on generation of immune cell repertoires and distinctions of self from non-self. Findings include positive correlations between peptide propensities to aggregate and their binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins. This recalls the hypothesis that foreign proteins may homoaggregate in host cytosols prior to releasing their peptides (p) to form pMHC complexes. Clues to this included aggregation-related phenomena associated with infections (rouleaux formation, pyrexia, certain brain diseases). By virtue of 'promiscuous' gene expression by thymic presenting cells - perhaps adapted from earlier evolving gonadal mechanisms - developing T cells monitor surface pMHC clusterings. This evaluates intracellular concentrations of the corresponding proteins, and hence, following Burnet's two signal principle, degrees of self-reactivity. After positive selection in the thymic cortex for reactivity with 'near-self', high-level pMHC clustering suffices in the medulla for negatively selection. Following Burnet's principle, in the periphery low-level clustering suffices for T cell stimulation and high-level clustering again provokes negative selection (immunological tolerance). For evolving intracellular pathogens, fine-tuned polymorphisms of their host species have limited to 'near-self' some mimicking adaptations. It is proposed that while entire pathogen proteins may have evolved to minimize their aggregability, the greater aggregability of their peptides remains partially hidden within. Two-step proofreading mechanisms in prospective hosts select proteins containing aggregable peptide for the generation of pMHC clusters at the surface of presenting cells. Through mutations, some proteins of pathogens and cancer cells tend to converge towards the host 'near-self' that its T cells have auditioned to address.

The Fast X-Ray Transient XRT 210423 and Its Host Galaxy

Fast X-ray Transients (FXTs) are X-ray flares with durations ranging from a few hundred seconds to a few hours. Possible origins include the tidal disruption of a white dwarf by an intermediate-mass black hole, a supernova shock breakout, or a binary neutron star merger. We present the X-ray light curve and spectrum as well as deep optical imaging of the FXT XRT 210423, which has been suggested to be powered by a magnetar produced in a binary neutron star merger. Our Very Large Telescope and Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) observations began on 2021 May 6, thirteen days after the onset of the flare. No transient optical counterpart is found in the 1.″ (3σ) X-ray uncertainty region of the source to a depth g s = 27.0 AB mag. (We use the word “counterpart” for any transient light in a wave band other than the original X-ray detection wave band, whereas the word “host” refers to the host galaxy.) A candidate host lies within the 1.″ X-ray uncertainty region with a magnitude of 25.9 ± 0.1 in the GTC/HiPERCAM g s filter. Due to its faintness, it was not detected in other bands, precluding a photometric redshift determination. We detect two additional candidate host galaxies: one with z spec = 1.5082 ± 0.0001 and an offset of 4.″2 ± 1.″ (37 ± 9 kpc) from the FXT, and another one with and an offset of 3.″6 ± 1.″ (30 ± 8 kpc). Based on the properties of all the prospective hosts, we favor a binary neutron star merger, as previously suggested in the literature, as the explanation for XRT 210423.

Specialist Herbivore Performance on Introduced Plants During Native Host Decline.

Ash (Fraxinus spp.) is in rapid decline across the northeastern USA due to the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire). Three recently co-occurring confamilial species may serve as alternative larval host plants for ash-reliant Lepidoptera. These prospective hosts are nonnative shrubs often planted in managed suburban landscapes and are sometimes invasive or naturalized in North America. Given the imminent decline of ash trees, we considered potential downstream effects on insect herbivores historically specialized on ash foliage. We measured the performance of three ash-specialist hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) on native white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) and alternative host plants: common lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.), weeping forsythia [Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl], and European privet (Ligustrum vulgare L.). We found the nonnative host plants provided varied support for larval survival to pupation, with biomass and growth rate affected differently by both plant and insect identity. Nearly all caterpillars reared on one alternative host, European privet, exhibited distinct malformations of the wing buds at pupation. Given caterpillar presence on privet in the field, privet may constitute an ecological trap (i.e., when female moths select a sub-optimal host, offspring survival and fitness are reduced). This work demonstrates how performance testing can reveal species-specific effects of host plant loss on mono- or oligophagous insects. For some ash specialists, alternative nonnative host plants may be suboptimal, but some cultivated host plants may be able to support certain specialist insects during native host decline. We suggest that landscaping decisions can be tailored to support threatened insect species.

Targeting Transcriptional and Translational Hindrances in a Modular T7RNAP Expression System in Engineered Pseudomonas putida.

The T7 RNA polymerase is considered one of the most popular tools for heterologous gene expression in the gold standard biotechnological host Escherichia coli. However, the exploitation of this tool in other prospective hosts, such as the biotechnologically relevant bacterium Pseudomonas putida, is still very scarce. The majority of the existing T7-based systems in P.putida show low expression strengths and possess only weak controllability. A fundamental understanding of these systems is necessary in order to design robust and predictable biotechnological processes. To fill this gap, we established and characterized a modular T7 RNA polymerase-based system for heterologous protein production in P.putida, using the enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (eGFP) as an easy-to-quantify reporter protein. We have effectively targeted the limitations associated with the initial genetic setup of the system, such as slow growth and low protein production rates. By replacing the T7 phage-inherent TΦ terminator downstream of the heterologous gene with the synthetic tZ terminator, growth and protein production rates improved drastically, and the T7 RNA polymerase system reached a productivity level comparable to that of an intrinsic RNA polymerase-based system. Furthermore, we were able to show that the system was saturated with T7 RNA polymerase by applying a T7 RNA polymerase ribosome binding site library to tune heterologous protein production. This saturation indicates an essential role for the ribosome binding sites of the T7 RNA polymerase since, in an oversaturated system, cellular resources are lost to the synthesis of unnecessary T7 RNA polymerase. Eventually, we combined the experimental data into a model that can predict the eGFP production rate with respect to the relative strength of the ribosome binding sites upstream of the T7 gene.

Prospective Alternate Hosts of an Emerging Polerovirus in Cotton Landscapes in the Southeastern United States.

The identification of alternate hosts that can act as virus inoculum sources and vector reservoirs in the landscape is critical to understanding virus epidemics. Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) is a serious pathogen in cotton production and is transmitted by the cotton/melon aphid, Aphis gossypii, in a persistent, circulative, and non-propagative manner. CLRDV was first reported in the United States in Alabama in 2017, and thereafter in several cotton-producing states. CLRDV has since established itself in the southeastern United States. The role of alternate hosts in CLRDV establishment is not clear. Fourteen common plant species in the landscape, including crops, weeds, and ornamentals (cotton, hollyhock, marshmallow, country mallow, abutilon, arrowleaf sida, okra, hibiscus, squash, chickpea, evening primrose, henbit, Palmer amaranth, and prickly sida) were tested as potential alternate hosts of CLRDV along with an experimental host (Nicotiana benthamiana) via aphid-mediated transmission assays. CLRDV was detected following inoculation in hibiscus, okra, N. benthamiana, Palmer amaranth, and prickly sida by RT-PCR, but not in the others. CLRDV accumulation determined by RT-qPCR was the highest in N. benthamiana compared with cotton and other hosts. However, aphids feeding on CLRDV-infected prickly sida, hibiscus, and okra alone were able to acquire CLRDV and back-transmit it to non-infected cotton seedlings. Additionally, some of the alternate CLRDV hosts supported aphid development on par with cotton. However, in a few instances, aphid fitness was reduced when compared with cotton. Overall, this study demonstrated that plant hosts in the agricultural landscape can serve as CLRDV inoculum sources and as aphid reservoirs and could possibly play a role in the reoccurring epidemics of CLRDV in the southeastern United States.

What factors affect entrepreneurial intention in sharing accommodations? The application of the entrepreneurial event model

Hosts of sharing accommodation platforms are considered an evolving mode of entrepreneurs. This study aimed to examine the relationship among entrepreneurship capital (EC), perceived feasibility (PF), perceived desirability (PD), and entrepreneurial intention (EI) in sharing lodging by using the entrepreneurial event (SEE) model. Particularly, EC was evaluated as a second-order factor with four first-order sub-variables: financial, social, intellectual, and human capital (HC). Data were collected from online surveys completed by 328 respondents. Second-order factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used in the analysis. Results confirmed that all four sub-variables contributed to inclusive capital. Inclusive capital positively influenced PF and PD, which led to EI. This study contributes to the evolving knowledge of sharing accommodations and enriches the research body of entrepreneurship via examining hosts of sharing lodging as innovative micro-entrepreneurs. It offers practical tools to help prospective hosts assess whether they are ready to operate a sharing lodging business.

Editorial: The inaugural issue of Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

Editorial: The inaugural issue of Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

Structural and spectroscopic analyses on the multi former glasses developed with Eu3+ ions in favor of red laser gain medium applications

Certainly, multi glass formers are reckoned to be prospective efficient laser hosts due to their collective influence. Lead by this idea, a batch of Eu3+ ions activated modifier incorporated multi former glasses were fabricated via conventional melt quenching technique in favor of red laser applications. The produced glasses were collectively coded as BTPEM (M = Zn, Ba, Li, Sr & Ca) and their structural, spectroscopic traits were analyzed through XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR, Raman, absorption and luminescence studies. The calculated positive bonding parameter (+δ) from the absorption study revealed the covalent nature of the titled glasses. The radiative parameters were derived from the JO intensity parameters (Ωλ) utilizing the emission spectra. Moreover, the luminescence spectra of the samples exposed a striking red peak at 614 nm (5D0→7F2 transition) with an elevated stimulated emission cross-section (σsec) and high luminescence branching ratio (βR) for the zinc containing glass (BTPEZn). Additionally, the acquired color coordinates (x, y) that lie close to the standard red color (x = 0.67, y = 0.33) accompanied with the high quantum efficiency (73%) affirmed the adequacy of the BTPEZn glass as a solid potential red laser host.

Phylogeny and Life Cycles of the Archiacanthocephala with a Note on the Validity of Mediorhynchus gallinarum.

The molecular profile of specimens of Mediorhynchus gallinarum (Bhalero, 1937) collected from chickens, Gallus gallus L. in Indonesia was analysed. The aim of this study was to assess the phylogenetic position of species of Mediorhynchus within the order Giganthorhynchida. We used one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome oxidase 1) and one nuclear gene (18S ribosomal RNA) to infer phylogenetic relationships of class Archiacanthocephala. The COI and 18S rDNA genes sequences showed that M. gallinarum had low genetic variation and that this species is sister to Mediorhynchus africanus Amin, Evans, Heckmann, El-Naggar, 2013. The phylogenetic relationships of the Class Archiacanthocephala showed that it is not resolved but, however, were mostly congruent using both genes. A review of host-parasite life cycles and geographic distributions of Archiacanthocephala indicates that mainly small mammals and birds are definitive hosts, while termites, cockroaches, and millipedes are intermediate hosts. While the intermediate hosts have wide geographic distributions, the narrow distribution of the definitive hosts limit the access of archiacanthocephalans to a wider range of prospective hosts. Additional analyses, to increase taxonomic and character sampling will improve the development of a robust phylogeny and provide more stable classification. The results presented here contribute to better understanding of the ecological and evolutionary relationships that allow the host-parasite co-existence within the class Archiacanthocephala.

“Unlikely Recruits”: Why Politically Irrelevant Ethnic Minorities Participate in Civil Wars?

There is little research on why smaller ethnic groups with no political stakes in the conflict take part in civil wars. There is even less understanding as to why members of small ethnicities join ideologically distant conflict participants to fight against an enemy that does not directly threaten their ethnic security. This study describes these ethnic minority combatants as “unlikely recruits.” It argues that members of politically irrelevant minorities join stronger conflict participants—either governments or rebels—seeking to protect their ethnic interests from both their prospective hosts and their foes. Although the “unlikely recruits” have minimal grievances against enemies of their hosts and they receive limited participation rewards, forging an alliance with an actor which is likely to offer the highest benefits is sufficient to overcome the collective action problem. Recruiting members of smaller ethnic minorities in the context of ethnic civil wars allows armed actors to strengthen their image of ethnic diversity and all-inclusiveness, as well as to benefit from material resources provided by the “unlikely recruits.” These arguments are empirically tested using new evidence from Ukraine that offers a rare glimpse into the dynamics of politically irrelevant minorities’ participation in civil wars.

Europium-doped boro-telluro-dolomite glasses for red laser applications: Basic insight into spectroscopic traits

Naturally abundant minerals and lanthanide-doped synthetic boro-tellurite networks have become prospective efficient laser hosts because of the synergy between them. Driven by this idea, Eu3+-doped boro-telluro-dolomite (BTD) glasses were prepared via the melt-quenching method. The spectroscopic traits of as-quenched samples were analyzed though experimental and theoretical studies. The result from the derivation of absorption spectral fitting (DASF) model demonstrated the direct allowed transition in the glasses. Moreover, the photoluminescence spectra of the sample containing 1.0 mol% of Eu3+ (BTD1.0Eu glass) revealed a prominent red peak at 611 nm (assigned to 5D0 → 7F2 transition in Eu3+ ion) with a large stimulated emission cross section (7.15×10−22cm2) and a high luminescence branching ratio (61.5%). Furthermore, the attained CIE color coordinates (0.637, 0.363), which lie near the standard red hue (0.67, 0.33), together with high quantum efficiency (92.7%) affirmed the effectiveness of BTD1.0Eu glass as a potential red laser host.

How intraguild predation affects the host diversity-disease relationship in a multihost community

Broad evidence has shown that host diversity can impede disease invasion and reduce the eventual prevalence, but little is known on how species interactions play in shaping this host diversity-disease relationship. Previous work has illustrated that intraguild predation (IGP), combined with parasite-mediated indirect effects, can have strong influences on parasitic infection. Following this line of thinking, we here examine the role of predatory interactions in the disease transmission within a multihost community. Through varying fractions of IGP in a competitive community, we show that, dependent on the fraction of predatory interactions, species richness can switch from enhancing to inhibiting disease establishment/prevalence. Without IGP interactions, high host species richness can likely weaken the ‘dilution effect’ and in some cases even enhance the disease establishment (and/or prevalence) due to the existence of alternative sources for infection, whereas IGP can generally heighten the negative diversity-disease relationship due to the reduction of encounter rate between prospective hosts and parasites. Although trait-mediated interactions (captured as the infection-induced changes in predation rate) only weakly affect disease prevalence, density-mediated interactions (captured as the additional infection-induced mortality) can pose a relatively strong influence on disease transmission. Our results thus underline the importance of considering species interactions when investigating the host diversity-disease relationship.

Selection of Appropriate Autoinducer Analogues for the Modulation of Quorum Sensing at the Host-Bacterium Interface.

Bacteria regulate a variety of phenotypes in response to their population density using quorum sensing (QS). This phenomenon is regulated by small molecule or peptide signals, the best characterized of which are the N-acyl l-homoserine lactones (AHLs) utilized by Gram-negative bacteria. As many QS-controlled phenotypes, notably pathogenicity and symbiosis, can profoundly impact host eukaryotes, there is significant interest in developing methods for modulating QS signaling and either ameliorating or augmenting these phenotypes. One strategy has been the use of non-native AHL analogues to agonize or antagonize specific AHL receptors. This approach is complicated, however, by the potential for prospective hosts to respond to both native AHLs and synthetic analogues. Accordingly, identifying AHL analogues with little or no activity toward eukaryotes is important in developing QS modulation as a strategy for the regulation of prokaryotic behaviors. Herein, we utilize the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to characterize eukaryotic responses to a variety of synthetic AHL analogues to identify structural elements of existing scaffolds that may elicit responses in prospective hosts. Our results indicate that, while many of these compounds have no discernible effect on A. thaliana, some elicit strong phenotypes similar to those produced by auxin, a hormone involved in almost all aspects of plant development. We outline concentrations and chemical scaffolds that are ideal for deployment on plant hosts for the regulation of QS. This approach should be exportable to other eukaryotes for the selection of optimal AHL tools for the study of QS at the host-microbe interface.

Transient Expression of Human Cytochrome P450s 2D6 and 3A4 in Nicotiana benthamiana Provides a Possibility for Rapid Substrate Testing and Production of Novel Compounds.

Employment of transient expression of foreign genes for bioconversion of pharmaceutically valuable low-molecular-weight compounds, including plant secondary metabolites, is an enticing trend still scantily explored in plant biotechnology. In the present work, an efficient protocol for rapid assessment of synthetic and plant-derived metabolites as potential substrates for human P450s (CYP2D6 and CYP3A4) via Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana is put forth. Animal P450s with broad substrate specificity are promising candidates for transformation of diverse metabolites. The efficiency of P450s in heterologous surroundings is not always satisfactory and depends on the availability of an associated electron-transfer enzyme. Plants represent an attractive assortment of prospective hosts for foreign P450s expression. The optimal composition of genetic blocks providing the highest transient expression efficiency is designed, an effective substrate administration scheme is validated, and biological activity of the investigated P450s against loratadine and several indole alkaloids with different molecular scaffold structures is tested. A novel indole alkaloid, 11-hydroxycorynanthine, is isolated from N. benthamiana plants transiently expressing CYP2D6 and supplemented with corynanthine, and its structure was elucidated. The proposed technique might be of value in realization of combinatorial biosynthesis concept comprising the junction of heterologous enzymes and substrates in different metabolic surroundings.

Sport mega-events, the ‘non-West’ and the ethics of event hosting

Events and sports events are perceived as having the potential to contribute to a number of benefits for the host country and its communities. The socio-political and economic environment of the host is an important consideration for both prospective hosts and event owners when allocating hosting rights. It is therefore, unsurprising that concerns have been raised over the relatively recent relocation of events to developing countries which, by their nature, frequently lack the economic, political and social stability of the traditional industrialized host. Developing nations are less affluent and arguably less prepared to deliver large scale sports events than developed nations. Therefore, this paper asks, ‘are governing bodies, when equipped with this knowledge, ethically obliged to withhold hosting rights from developing countries?’ The paper argues that denying sovereign States the right to make their own decisions would appear to compound the disadvantaged status of countries that mega-event hosting is perceived to address. The paper contends that event hosts – particularly those in the developing world – are potentially vulnerable to exploitation by the event owner.

New complex phosphates Cs3MIIBi(P2O7)2 (MII - Ca, Sr and Pb): synthesis, characterization, crystal and electronic structure.

Herein, the peculiarities of complex phosphate formation in self-fluxes of Cs-MII-Bi-P-O (MII = Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb) systems with Cs/P = 0.7-1.3 at fixed ratios of Bi/P = 0.2 and Bi/MII = 1.0 were studied and discussed. Three novel isostructural diphosphates with the general composition Cs3MIIBi(P2O7)2 (MII = Ca, Sr and Pb) and the original framework topology were synthesized and characterized via single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, SEM, DTA, and FTIR- and UV-VIS-spectroscopy. In addition, electronic structure (DFT) and Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra (VDP) characteristics calculations and crystallochemical analysis were performed. In the structure of the new compounds, the MIIO7 and BiO6 polyhedra are connected via common oxygen vertices forming infinite helical-like chains, which are linked by P2O7 groups into a 3D-framework with pentagonal tunnels, where the Cs+ cations are located. The structural peculiarities are discussed considering perspectives for the creation of new luminescent materials. The dielectric bandgaps, Eg, of the Cs3MIIBi(P2O7)2 crystals reveal an ∼0.2 eV low-energy shift in the Ca-Sr-Pb sequence of MII cations, which reveals the possibility to tune the optical absorbance spectra of the crystals via the synthesis of solid solutions with various contents of MII cations. The glass-ceramic synthetic approach is also proposed as a convenient method for the creation of new diphosphates, and the applicability of this method is verified for Cs3CaBi(P2O7)2.

Applying the facility location problem model for selection of more climate benign mega sporting event hosts: A case of the FIFA World Cups

Sporting mega-events generate substantial carbon footprint where return transportation of event participants and visitors between the source and host countries makes the largest contribution. To enhance environmental sustainability of sporting mega-events, it is paramount to select a host country with the lowest carbon footprint from international transportation without compromising the magnitude of major visitor flows. The Facility Location Problem (FLP) model represents an established tool employed in the business environment to determine the best location for the installation of facilities to provide for existing or envisaged consumer demand. The model has proven its feasibility in a number of economic sectors, but rarely been applied in tourism, and never with sustainability management and planning purposes. This study contributes to knowledge by demonstrating the applicability of the FLP model when planning for sporting mega-events. The model enables selection of a host country with better climate credentials by quantifying the magnitude of international transportation of the event participants alongside the associated carbon footprint. Application of the FLP model to the FIFA World Cups shows that, to facilitate the progress of these mega-events towards sustainability, a decision on a host country should be made after the team qualification round, rather than before, as it currently stands. The model can then identify prospective hosts with the lowest carbon footprint from international transportation.