True Origins Research Articles

Bedding and bedding surfaces in carbonate and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic successions Part 2: processes, identification and implications of diagenetic bedding

Bedding and bedding surfaces in carbonate and mixed siliciclastic-carbonate successions can be diagenetic, not depositional in origin and require interrogation to determine their true origins. This study reviews the different models and implications associated with diagenetic bedding and diagenetic bedding surfaces in such successions. Weathering, especially where strong lithological and mechanical differences occur, can make distinguishing primary and diagenetic bedding more difficult, and criteria are reviewed. Early, shallow diagenetic processes linked to mineral instability of aragonite, mediated by biochemical processes, are capable of producing bedding and bedding surfaces. Zones of early cementation within sediments can produce discrete beds and surfaces exemplified in the formation of limestone-marl alternations (LMAs). Variations in the degree of early cementation (stratified cementation in sense of Bathurst, 1987) in shallow buried argillaceous carbonate sediments, affected by later compaction can produce layering with beds showing little compaction separated by highly compacted, argillaceous fissile interbeds which develop bedding surfaces within those fissile units (“couplets” of Bathurst, 1987). Where such diagenetic limestone beds form intrastratally, as in LMAs, they do not obey the Principle of Superposition, and by virtue of never having been deposited laterally adjacent to their associated deposits, do not comply with Walther's Law of Facies. Bedding surfaces associated with LMAs only become true surfaces when exhumed to produce some types of firmgrounds and hardgrounds.

A distance-based network activity correlation framework for defeating anonymization overlays

As the effectiveness of modern Internet-based anonymization infrastructures grows, law enforcement agencies are experiencing a progressive erosion of their surveillance capabilities. This can severely undermine their efforts to prevent and investigate various types of unlawful activities, potentially increasing the impunity of organized criminal networks. Balancing the legitimate privacy needs of individuals with the imperative to maintain public safety and combat criminal behavior in the digital world remains a complex tradeoff for both policymakers and technologists who need to find a systematic and reliable way to link the traffic traces associated with criminal activities to their anonymized origins. Accordingly, this paper presents a simple but very effective de-anonymization approach capable of associating traffic traces captured at the edge of the overlay infrastructures, in correspondence with the true origins, to those captured in correspondence with the destinations. The approach is based on determining the minimum-distance pairs within a complete bipartite graph in which the traffic traces are the nodes. Experiments with different distance functions, applied in varied ways, show that the resulting framework appears to be a promising solution that is scalable and easily deployable on real-life network equipment.

The Ismaʿili Manuscripts in University Library Tübingen

Abstract The article is written in the framework of provenance research and focuses on the special, mostly precarious situation of Ismaili manuscripts. It sheds light on the history of a group of 42 Ismaili manuscripts, some of them stolen from the famous Hamdani Collection in Surat/Gujarat, India, and the circumstances of their acquisition by the University Library Tübingen between 1970 and 1972. When the manuscripts were acquired, the true origins and disposition of these manuscripts were still completely shrouded in darkness. More than fifty years after these events, I would like to put some pieces of the mosaic together and follow the history of the displaced manuscripts from their place of origin in Surat via Beirut to their final destination, Tübingen. My sources are: Archival material from Tübingen University Archive, dispersed documents, oral and written accounts of contemporary witnesses, further informants—and last not least, the manuscripts themselves.

A Child's Right to Identity in the Context of Embryo Donation: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand, Part 2

In part 1 of this article, the current level of protection for the right to identity both at the national and international levels were considered in the case of embryo donation. It was concluded that at a national level the NHA, its accompanying regulations and the Children’s Act fail to protect this right. The constitutional provisions on children’s rights are further unhelpful in providing the requisite level of protection. At an international level it was further found that neither the CRC or the ACRWC explicitly uphold the child’s right to identity in the case of embryo donation. In an attempt to address this defect, this article draws comparisons on the legal protection provided for the right to identity of children born through embryo donation in Australia and New Zealand. A number of lessons can be drawn from this comparative analysis. At a national level, the article submits that the birth certificate should indicate the child’s true origins and in addition to a register which holds the particulars of the child’s donor parents, a separate donor sibling register is also suggested. Legislative amendments are also suggested to Parliament. At an international level, the following recommendations are made: a new UN Convention which is centred around Assisted Reproductive Technology, a General Comment drafted by the Convention on the Rights of the Child to cover specific issues and interests of children, ratification of a Convention by the Hague Conference, and an investigation into the concerns raised by international embryo donation to be carried out by the International Social Service Network. Further, the article concludes that an African based instrument would not be as effective as a UN proposed solution given the cultural and religious concerns in traditional African societies.

Archaeology of psychotropic substances: The problem of analytical detection of ayahuasca

AbstractThe primary objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges involved in detecting ancient ayahuasca, a traditional hallucinogenic drink from the Amazon region, which is prepared using Banisteriopsis caapi liana and other plants, by utilizing advanced analytical techniques. The presence of harmine and harmaline in Andean archaeological findings has led certain authors to speculate that the Banisteriopsis liana may have been the source plant responsible for their occurrence. Consequently, the utilization of this liana can be traced back to at least 500 CE. However, a combination of archaeological, ethnobotanical, biochemical and analytical chemistry considerations has rendered uncertain the true origins of the presence of harmine and harmaline in ancient mummies and artifacts. Thus, the archaeological evidence does not convincingly prove the ancient usage of ayahuasca.

From Primate Myth to Global Concern

This analysis delves into the enigmatic nature of the Human Mpox Virus (formerly Monkeypox), a pathogenic virus that affects humans and has recently garnered attention due to its wide range of hosts and a global pandemic in 2022. Despite its misleading name, which implies primate transmission, the true origins and hosts of Mpox remain unknown, sparking debates about its classification and concerns about stigmatization. Through a thorough examination of the virus's historical emergence, clinical manifestations, evolving epidemiology, and transmission patterns, this analysis aims to provide valuable insights into this infectious disease. By understanding its complexities, effective control and prevention strategies can be developed. Mpox, belonging to the Orthopoxvirus species, shares genetic similarities with other poxviruses such as smallpox and cowpox. Early recognition of symptoms is vital for prompt diagnosis and isolation, as there is no permanent cure for Mpox. Preventive measures involve surveillance, early detection, isolation, and vaccination. By further exploring Mpox’s complexities, advancements can be made in controlling and preventing this infectious disease.

Egypt as a Gateway for the Passage of Pathogens into the Ancient Mediterranean

Abstract Ancient Egypt plays a crucial role in the history of infectious disease. An intersection for communication and commerce, Egypt linked disparate civilizations and ecologies, allowing the spread of local epidemics and Mediterranean-wide pandemics. The region south of Egypt developed a pestilential reputation, due in part to Thucydides’ account of the Plague of Athens, which traced the disease’s origins to that area. Later records are modeled on Thucydides’ account, muddling the true origins and scope of later outbreaks. Critical reading of ancient literature and documents—particularly papyri—supplemented with archeological and palaeoscientific evidence, significantly improves our understanding of how Egypt facilitated the circulation of pathogens between the western Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Wine's True Origins: A broad genetic study has revised the prevailing narrative about how wine grapes spread around the world.

Wine's True Origins: A broad genetic study has revised the prevailing narrative about how wine grapes spread around the world.

The Bahir and Its Historiography: A Reassessment

The book Bahir is a linchpin in the current historiography of Kabbalah, yet its origins are murky. The dominant theory, espoused by Gershom Scholem and his successors, treats the Bahir as a stratified work whose earliest elements originated in antiquity in the East. The book supposedly underwent a long, tortuous process of textual consolidation, during which its components came into contact with various esoteric circles, such as the German Pietists and “first kabbalists” of southern France. This account is to a large extent the foundation of an all-encompassing history of Kabbalah’s emergence, which has not gone unchallenged but still profoundly shapes scholarly discourse. This study thoroughly reassesses all of the evidence for this grand narrative, and concludes that it is a blend of biased interpretation and imaginative invention, which proceeds from a purist, dichotomizing approach to textual, philological, socio-intellectual, and conceptual history. Furthermore, the narrative’s conceptual constructs have constricted scholarly thinking about core kabbalistic ideas, the nature of theosophical kabbalists, and more. Therefore, despite the satisfyingly granular detail of this narrative, we remain very much in the dark about the true origins of the Bahir and, by extension, of early Kabbalah. In the epilogue, I suggest fully reinvestigating the Bahir’s textual tradition, especially in light of recent discoveries, and partly reviving forgotten but promising historical and philological avenues of inquiry in order to write a new history of the so-called first kabbalistic book.

Does Psychoactive Substance Use Affect Academic Performance of Medical Students? A Systematic Review

Background: The use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco is very common among medical students. Problems related to substance usage are currently of concern on a global scale. Despite this, the condition is frequently misdiagnosed because students attempt to conceal their issues and do not seek professional assistance.
 Aim: To investigate how drug usage affects medical students' academic performance.
 Design: A systematic review.
 Data Sources: Systematic search for worldwide published literature from PsycINFO, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and WHOLIS. 
 Study Eligibility Criteria: Studies that were part of this review provided information on the methodology, methods, and/or measurements for how drug usage affected medical students' academic performance.
 Data Extraction: The researcher further gathered the information from the chosen publications and recorded the following information in a consistent table: (i) publication information (first author's last name, year, and location of study); (ii) the sample size of the report; (iii) the impact of substance abuse on medical students' educational outcomes; (iv) the tool used to measure academic performance; (v) the average age of the sample size; and (vi) the percentage of female and unmarried medical students.
 Results: Only 8 studies out of a total of 2,007 papers met all the inclusion criteria. Selection procedure was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA).
 Conclusion: Medical students and people who use psychoactive substances become unproductive in their lives. Due to the dearth of longitudinal investigations, understanding the true origins of this situation is challenging. To ensure that students attain the goals of their medical education and contribute to society's demand for more qualified and better trained medical professionals, medical training institutes may need to enact stricter prohibitions on drug use among students. The availability of medicines should be restricted in order to deter medical students from using and misusing them.

Luigi Donato Ventura, a Trilingual Self-translator

Luigi Donato Ventura, a Trilingual Self-translator

Conception of the “Peasant Revolution in 1917” by Andrii Shestakov (about forgotten scientific achievements and the disputability of modern achievements)

The famous historian of agrarian history Andrii Shestakov in the 1920s in his scholarly studies as to 1917 in Russia used the term "peasant revolution". In such a situation, the modern scientific school of V. Danilov came up with the concept of the peasant revolution of the early twentieth century which he presents as the latest achievement of historical science. Due to this situation, the question arises about the primacy in the formation of the concept of peasant revolution. The aim of the article is presented to expose Andrii Shestakov's interpretation of the term "peasant revolution" and to show its relation to the modern concept of V. Danilov and his supporters. Andrii Shestakov regarded the revolutionary struggle of the peasantry in 1917 as an independent socio-political phenomenon. It took place in several stages. At first, it was relatively peaceful, hoping for a solution to the agrarian issue by the authorities. From March to May, the peasants actively appealed to various instances. They rarely resorted to radical action. In May – July 1917, the peasant movement became more organised. Its representatives were the executive committees of the parish and the land committees. In August – October peaceful methods of struggle were replaced by the peasantry force measures to seize landlords. From the end of October 1917 the revolutionary struggle of the peasantry merged into one stream with the revolutionary struggle of the workers, which led to the victory of the revolution. At the end of 1917 – in the beginning of 1918 there was a liquidation of the landed land ownership and transfer to the peasantry on the basis of the Soviet power legislation. Andrii Shestakov pointed to the low level of political parties` influence, as well as the revolutionary authorities and other institutions on the actions of the peasantry. Rural communities were the real organizer and leader of the revolutionary struggle of the peasantry. Andrii Shestakov considered the peasant revolution of 1917 to be victorious, and defined its character as bourgeois-democratic. As a result of this revolution, peasant land use per capita increased, on average, from 1¾ to 2¼ people. It is positively impacts on the peasant economy and the transfer of landlord inventory. As a result of the research, Andrii Shestakov's understanding of the concept "peasant revolution" is revealed, and thus shows the true origins of the concept of peasant revolution. The modern scientific school of the peasant revolution actually has its authoritative predecessors. In the 1920s, the concept of the peasant revolution was developed by Andrii Shestakov. According to the Shestakov`s concept the peasantry in the conditions of the revolutionary struggle of 1917 acted as an autonomous socio-political force. In its political behavior, it was beyond the control of political parties and urban social strata, and manifested a capacity for self-organization. The withdrawal from the scientific and cognitive use and forgetting the concept of the peasant revolution of 1917 came under pressure from the socio-political situation in the USSR. The consequences of this are tangible even in today's context, and still most historians do not see in the peasantry the self-sufficient power of revolutionary change. The conceptual similarity of Andrii Shestakov vision of the revolutionary struggle in 1917 and the modern scientific school of the peasant revolution indicates that the creative heritage of the scientist can be synthesized with modern methodological tools of historical science.

Tracing and tracking wine bottles: Protecting consumers and producers

The effective tracking and tracing of wine bottles is critical to ensure consumers are receiving high quality wine from the place of origin that is stated on the label and produced from grapes grown in that place. Wine production and its supply chain are controlled by different laws around the globe. From the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) to the European Union (EU) and other national governments, suppliers and producers are required to provide specific documentation as the wines make their way to consumers. However, the wine industry loses billions from counterfeit wine and illicit trade. That is why the improvement of the methods applied to verify the origin and the quality of wines is important to protect wine consumers and producers. This short presentation explores what members of the Wine Origins Alliance (WOA) are doing within their respected regions to effectively trace and track their wine bottles along the entire value chain, with intelligent labeling and data recording through effective technology. Specifically, WOA provides case studies from its members that give an overview of the methods they have implemented (or are working to implement) to ensure consumers know the true origins of the wine. Their commitment to quality, traceability, and transparency are the very reasons why these regions are considered among the most renowned across the globe. Below are a few examples of the case studies that will be presented. * Chianti Classico. All the wines can be traced from the vineyard to the bottle as the entire production is monitored and recorded. Each bottle must be adorned with a government-issued label on the bottle neck, which contains an alphanumeric code that consumers can use to access the wine’s official chemical analysis and quantity bottled on the open database located on the Chianti Classico website. * Champagne. The General Syndicate of Winegrowers in Champagne (SGV) contracted with Advanced Track & Trace to supply the CLOE caps, which feature a unique serialized code and hologram. A QR code customized to the Champagne grower’s visual identity, which appears on the exterior of the cap, offers customers “access to each bottle's unique information, concealed on the inside of the cap. That includes a serial number, signature, message and illustration of the brand, as well as the ability to check the bottle's origin.” *Rioja. All wine bottles produced in the region are required to include numbered seals for specific zones or municipalities. But, in the Rioja Alta zone, producers have been using artificial vision to photograph each bottle, scanning the code and marking it on the bottle with ultraviolet (UV) link and integrating it into each winery’s computer systems, allowing wineries “to identify and monitor each and every bottle individually, from the moment the wine is labelled until it is delivered to every client, distributor or importer anywhere in the world.”

Isolation and Barcoding of Trace Pollen-free DNA for Authentication of Honey

Adulteration and mislabeling of honey to mask its true origin have become a global concern. Pollen microscopy, the current gold standard for identifying honey's geographical and plant origins, is laborious, requires extensive training, and fails to identify filtered honey and honey spiked with pollen from a more favorable plant to disguise its origins. We successfully isolated pollen-free DNA from filtered honey using three types of adsorbents: (i) anti-dsDNA antibodies coupled to magnetic microspheres; (ii) anion-exchange adsorbent; and (iii) ceramic hydroxyapatite. The internal transcribed spacer 2 region of the captured pollen-free DNA was polymerase chain reaction-amplified and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Using an in-house bioinformatics pipeline, initial experiments showed that anion exchange had the greatest capacity to capture trace pollen-free DNA, and it was successfully applied to isolate DNA from five honey samples. Enrichment of trace pollen-free DNA from filtered honey samples opens a new approach for identifying the true origins of honey.

Determining Factors of Socio-Cultural Strategy in Modernization Theories

There are numerous works of both Russian and foreign authors concerning the issue of modernization, yet interest toward it is far from exhausted. While complexity of globalization processes grows, modernization constantly presents us with new challenges, thus demanding new approaches in research. This article represents our attempt to rethink existing concepts in order to prove the preference of deploying research in a socio-cultural direction, which may ensure priority of the human factor, social partnership and social equality in the global arena, as, without these, modernization also loses its socio-cultural perspective and content. Most certainly, this new idea requires a sociocultural model of modernization to be created, as well as a corresponding methodology. However, we are forced to narrow the postulate of the topic, as the justification of the need for such a model raises certain questions, namely: why exactly it is needed, and what factors hindering its development are present in existing modernization theories. Therefore, the following tasks have been prioritized: highlighting the positive aspects of the three stages of modernization theory, changing the paradigms of research approaches, creating the principles of interdisciplinarity by the American school of social scientists, determining the role of science in the institutionalization of these processes. The article highlights as determining factors of the socio-cultural modernization strategy the political motives for creating the modernization theory, leading to an increase in the status of strong states over weak ones, to an imbalance in the development of different societies, subordination of the weak to the powerful. Unlike many researchers who associate the leap in human progress with the Industrial Revolution and the Great French Revolution, the author believes that the true origins of the phenomenon should be found in the Scientific Revolution of the Western countries of the 16th—17th centuries. After all, the basis and driving force of modernization consist of intellectual capital and the middle class. The article also provides examples of practical application of scientific discoveries, its destructive and positive influence on Western societies in the era of rapid changes, giving examples to all humanity. In conclusion, the article defines the socio-cultural model of modernization.

Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to The Modern by Mary Beard

Reviewed by: Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to The Modern by Mary Beard Mikayla Barreiro Mary Beard, Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to The Modern ( Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021), 392 pp., 260 ills. Mary Beard's books have long graced the shelves of both professional and amateur historians; now, room must be made for her latest triumph. Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern takes readers on a delightful journey through artistic representations of Rome's emperors (and, occasionally, its empresses). Beard has curated an exhibit of imperial imagery across time and medium, with 260 vibrant images integrated across 286 pages of body text. She has also, somehow, meticulously researched every piece included, providing those interested with a thorough introduction to these works. Meanwhile, her tight prose clarifies important historical facts for nonacademic readers, without losing the overall flow. Beard has so perfectly balanced her two audiences that this book could be read at the beach, then cited in a dissertation. While Beard mainly leads readers through the enchanting—and sometimes strange—history of imperial art, she also includes a handful of key arguments. "This is a book both about emperors and about 'emperors' in quotation marks," because, as her work so frequently shows, the distinction is often insignificant (7). The book begins and ends with a Roman coffin, once on display in the National Mall, now relegated to the Smithsonian's basement. Historians have concluded that it never interred an emperor, but during the age of Andrew Jackson it was purported to have belonged to Alexander Severus. The true origins were irrelevant to what the object meant to the republican president: "a Sarcophagus made for an Emperor or King" (6). Similarly, Beard reminds readers that traits that modern scholars use to determine the accuracy of a representation were not necessarily important to historical viewers. An image that captures the personality of an emperor does not need to capture the physical appearance of a historical figure, who, in all likelihood, was scarred and misshapen by the mishaps of premodern life. Such ills of premodern life outline Beard's final and overarching argument: modern leaders depicting themselves in the guise of ancient emperors is neither inevitable nor inconsequential. The decisions made in modern artistic representations of imperial power are exactly that, decisions, and they are made for a variety of reasons and understood in a variety of ways. Beard briefly explores some of the motives and receptions of the pieces within her work, but any and all could be the subject of their own monograph. Chapter 2 digs into the topic at hand, providing a simple overview of the emperors to be discussed and their artistic representations in antiquity. Even specialists will learn something new as Beard contributes her own perspective to longstanding debates on whether certain pieces, such as the British Museum's bust of Caesar, should be classified as ancient or modern. Chapter 3 dives into the most common form of ancient representation, coinage, analyzing in particular the modern shift toward considering busts, and not coins, the "most authentic images of those faces of the Roman past" (98). Other overarching themes are present too. Beard contrasts Petrarch and Charles I of England's perceptions of the meaning of ancient coins, and discusses why in the early modern era "Roman emperors ceased to be portrayed as if they were modern rulers, and modern rulers started to be portrayed as if they were Roman emperors" (113). Memory, interpretation, and fact are all fluid in art, granting these imperial representations new and powerful meanings time and time again. [End Page 233] Chapters 4 and 5 delve into the titular "twelve emperors," presenting first their roots in Suetonius, and then deconstructing how the concept of "twelve emperors" was more important than there ever actually being twelve—or at the very least the same twelve—such people. Images could shift and change until "the face of the Roman emperors was now … copies of copies" (182; Beard's italics). The actual historical people were insignificant compared to the idea of these people. Still, even the idea of these people was fluid...

Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung on Myths and Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious: Unnoticed Similarity

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and Carl Gustav Jung’s analytical psychology are different in many ways and some of their differences are extremely crucial. It is widely believed that one of the most obvious examples of this intellectual confrontation is the difference between Freud’s and Jung’s views on mythology. Proponents of this view believe that Jung was much more interested in mythological issues and his theory of myth became much deeper and more developed than Freud’s one. In particular, it is believed that Freud focused exclusively on the individual’s psyche, while Jung allegedly reached the true origins of mythmaking in the collective unconscious, which is the sediment of the vast historical experience of mankind. The article shows that such statements do not reflect the real situation but just the point of view, which Jung began to spread after his break-up with Freud. In fact, the founder of psychoanalysis had a steady and deep interest in mythology. The manifestation of this interest was the formation of “psycho-analytics” of myth – a specific area of research, which in the early years of the psychoanalytic movement was joined by several first psychoanalysts, including Franz Riklin, Karl Abraham, Otto Rank, Ernest Jones, and Jung himself. It is essential that both Freud and Jung, before and after the break-up in 1913, have been and remain the supporters of the consideration of a man and culture through the prism of certain biological concepts of that time. Those are the principle of inheritance of acquired properties (Lamarckism) and the idea that ontogenesis recapitulates phylogeny (“biogenetic law”). Based on Lamarckian-biogenetic assumptions, both Freud and Jung saw the origins of mythology in the collective historical experience of mankind. The article demonstrates that the image of Oedipus and the associated motives of incest and parricide play almost the same role in Freud’s (and Freudian) model of mythmaking as the archetypes of the collective unconscious in Jung’s (and Jungian) concept of myth.

Fossil evidence unveils an early Cambrian origin for Bryozoa

Bryozoans (also known as ectoprocts or moss animals) are aquatic, dominantly sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous modular colonial (clonal) exoskeleton1–3. The presence of six major orders of bryozoans with advanced polymorphisms in lower Ordovician rocks strongly suggests a Cambrian origin for the largest and most diverse lophophorate phylum2,4–8. However, a lack of convincing bryozoan fossils from the Cambrian period has hampered resolution of the true origins and character assembly of the earliest members of the group. Here we interpret the millimetric, erect, bilaminate, secondarily phosphatized fossil Protomelission gatehousei9 from the early Cambrian of Australia and South China as a potential stem-group bryozoan. The monomorphic zooid capsules, modular construction, organic composition and simple linear budding growth geometry represent a mixture of organic Gymnolaemata and biomineralized Stenolaemata character traits, with phylogenetic analyses identifying P. gatehousei as a stem-group bryozoan. This aligns the origin of phylum Bryozoa with all other skeletonized phyla in Cambrian Age 3, pushing back its first occurrence by approximately 35 million years. It also reconciles the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of an early Cambrian origination and subsequent Ordovician radiation of Bryozoa following the acquisition of a carbonate skeleton10–13.

Assessment of the True Origins of Fiscal Decentralisation in the Selected EU Member States

Goals and potential effects of fiscal decentralisation have been analysed in numerous scientific papers and studies. Empirical data shows different or even contradictory results of fiscal decentralisation expansion even though fiscal decentralisation is based on a solid theoretical framework. Fiscal decentralisation might have a positive impact on investment, GDP growth, quality enhancement of healthcare, education and social protection. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence whether fiscal decentralisation was primarily led by the economic or political rationale in the selected EU member states – 11 CEE and SEE countries. The EU integration process created a pressure on new member states which joined the EU between 2004 and 2013 to implement fiscal decentralisation policies. The goal of this paper is to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate whether all analysed countries followed the fiscal decentralisation path and what were the predominant reasons for fiscal recentralisation.

Identifying the true origins of selectivity in chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed N-acyl-azetidine desymmetrizations.

The first catalytic intermolecular desymmetrization of azetidines was reported by Sun and coworkers in 2015 using a BINOL-derived phosphoric acid catalyst (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 5895–5898). To uncover the mechanism of the reaction and the origins of the high enantioselectivity, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed at the B97D3/6-311+G(2d,2p)/SMD(toluene)//B97D3/6-31G(d,p)/CPCM(toluene) level of theory. Comparison of four possible activation modes confirms that this reaction proceeds through the bifunctional activation of the azetidine nitrogen and the thione tautomer of the 2-mercaptobenzothiazole nucleophile. Upon thorough conformational sampling of the enantiodetermining transition structures (TSs), a free energy difference of 2.0 kcal mol−1 is obtained, accurately reproducing the experimentally measured 88% e.e. at 80 °C. This energy difference is due to both decreased distortion and increased non-covalent interactions in the pro-(S) TS. To uncover the true origins of selectivity, the TSs optimized with the full catalyst were compared to those optimized with a model catalyst through steric maps. It is found that the arrangements displayed by the substrates are controlled by strict primary orbital interaction requirements at the transition complex, and their ability to fit into the catalyst pocket drives the selectivity. A general model of selectivity for phosphoric acid-catalyzed azetidine desymmetrizations is proposed, which is based on the preference of the nucleophile and benzoyl group to occupy empty quadrants of the chiral catalyst pocket.