The Research Liaison Committee was established under the auspices of the African Studies Association. It is supported by a Ford Foundation grant following the Ford-sponsored ASA exploratory mission to Africa. This mission examined opportunities for new ways in which to increase cooperation between U.S. scholars concerned with Africa and individuals and academic institutions based in Africa.

Scholars from the United States constitute the largest single national group engaged in African research. In the past the responsibility for establishing friendly relations with our colleagues in Africa has been assumed by the individual scholar. However, it becomes increasingly apparent that cooperation with Africanists in Africa itself will be of the greatest importance to future research, and that the Association can play a useful liaison role in establishing this cooperation.

To facilitate communication, the Research Liaison Committee is collecting information and identifying sources of information for scholars and students proposing research in African Studies. The Committee has established an office in New York at the same address as the Association's offices and under the direction of William O. Brown, with Shirley K. Fischer as Administrative Secretary. Its objectives are first, to develop and strengthen relations among scholars concerned with Africa; and second, to maintain liaison with research institutions in Africa through visits to Africa by members of the Committee.

Plasma-terminating disruptions represent a critical outstanding issue for reactor-relevant tokamaks. ITER will use shattered pellet injection (SPI) as its disruption mitigation system to reduce heat loads, vessel forces and to suppress the formation of runaway electrons. In this paper we demonstrate that reduced kinetic modelling of SPI is capable of capturing the major experimental trends in ASDEX Upgrade SPI experiments, such as dependence of the radiated energy fraction on neon content, or the current quench dynamics. Simulations are also consistent with the experimental observation of no runaway electron generation with neon and mixed deuterium–neon pellet composition. We also show that statistical variations in the fragmentation process only have a notable impact on the disruption dynamics at intermediate neon doping, as was observed in experiments.

The effect of different levels of residue from the extraction of cassava starch (REAM) in the diet of multiparous lactating Holstein cows was investigated. The experiment was carried out at the Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná. Five multiparous Holstein cows, with mean milk production of 30.65 ± 1.17 kg/day were distributed into five treatments, using Latin squares (5 × 5). Treatments consisted of inclusion (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32% dry matter basis) of REAM in the diet. Intake, digestibility, milk production and composition as well as blood parameters were measured. Except for ether extract and total digestible nutrients, the intake variables did not differ significantly between treatments. Except for the digestibility of crude protein, all digestibility values decreased progressively with inclusion levels of REAM. The inclusion of REAM in feeding of lactating Holstein cows up to 32% of the diet reduced milk production by 15%, however, it did not alter milk production efficiency, fat, total solids and blood parameters. We conclude that up to 16% of REAM can be included in the diet; however, higher levels may lead to a significant fall in productivity.

Comparative social policy research frequently deals, implicitly or explicitly, with time and timing in the development of welfare states. We identify three types of such temporal theorizations – i.e. stage models, timed orders, and periodizations – and analyze their relevance for global social policy development. We do so by employing sequence and cluster analysis to a new comprehensive dataset of social policy adoption in 164 countries over 140 years (1880–2019). While our analysis reveals certain common stages of social policy consolidation – from education mandates and health care systems over work-related protections to care services – we also find varying trajectories which challenge conventional regional clustering narratives. Moreover, our analysis highlights two periods which have so far not featured prominently in comparative welfare state research: The interwar years (1919–1929) and the period of decolonization (1949–1969).

While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were being negotiated, global policymakers assumed that advances in data technology and statistical capabilities, what was dubbed the “data revolution”, would accelerate development outcomes by improving policy efficiency and accountability. The 2014 report to the United Nations Secretary General, “A World That Counts” framed the data-for-development agenda, and proposed four pathways to impact: measuring for accountability, generating disaggregated and real-time data supplies, improving policymaking, and implementing efficiency. The subsequent experience suggests that while many recommendations were implemented globally to advance the production of data and statistics, the impact on SDG outcomes has been inconsistent. Progress towards SDG targets has stalled despite advances in statistical systems capability, data production, and data analytics. The coherence of the SDG policy agenda has undoubtedly improved aspects of data collection and supply, with SDG frameworks standardizing greater indicator reporting. However, other events, including the response to COVID-19, have played catalytic roles in statistical system innovation. Overall, increased financing for statistical systems has not materialized, though planning and monitoring of these national systems may have longer-term impacts. This article reviews how assumptions about the data revolution have evolved and where new assumptions are necessary to advance the impact across the data value chain. These include focusing on measuring what matters most for decision-making needs across polycentric institutions, leveraging the SDGs for global data standardization and strategic financial mobilization, closing data gaps while enhancing policymaker analytic capabilities, and fostering collective intelligence to drive data innovation, credible information, and sustainable development outcomes.

Background: Stroke survivors have a higher risk of depression and suicide, but how hospitalization for major depression modifies the risk of suicide after stroke is not well-known. Methods: We conducted a population-based matched cohort study of adults hospitalized with first-ever stroke between 2008 to 2017 matched 1:1 to the general Ontario population on age, sex, neighbourhood-level income, rurality, and comorbidities. Patients with major depression or deliberate self-harm prior to index event were excluded from both groups. We used cause-specific proportional hazards models to evaluate the association between stroke and suicide (defined as self-harm or death by suicide) and used an interaction term to assess effect modification of depression on stroke-suicide association. Results: We included 64,719 matched pairs of patients with stroke and without (45.5% female, mean age 71.4 years). Compared to matched controls, stroke survivors had a higher rate of suicide (11.1 vs. 3.2, HR 2.87 [2.35-3.51]). Depression was associated with a higher rate of suicide in both groups (HR 13.8 [8.82-21.61]). The interaction between stroke and depression was not significant (Pstroke*depression = 0.51). Conclusions: Hospitalization for depression does not modify the rate of suicide after stroke, suggesting the need to better understand the pathways leading to suicide after stroke.

The term ‘water pocket’ describes invisible en- and subglacial water reservoirs that can cause sudden glacial outburst floods. However, there is currently no consensus on its definition and the formation and rupture mechanisms of water pockets remain poorly understood. This study aims to understand the mechanisms behind water pocket outburst floods (WPOFs) from alpine glaciers by analyzing their spatial and temporal distribution, pre-event meteorological conditions and the glacio-geomorphic features of the glaciers from which the floods originate. To this end, we updated an inventory of known WPOFs in the Swiss Alps to 91 events from 37 individual glaciers. Most WPOFs occurred between June and September, likely linked to meltwater input. Meteorological data indicate anomalously high temperatures during the days preceding most events and heavy precipitation on 25% of days for which WPOFs occur, indicating that water pockets typically rupture during periods of high water input. We propose four mechanisms of water pocket formation: temporary subglacial channel blockage (which is the mechanism suggested most often for our inventory), hydraulic barriers, water-filled crevasses and accumulation of liquid water behind barriers of cold ice (thermal barriers). Overall, our analysis highlights the challenge of understanding WPOFs due to the subsurface nature of water pockets, emphasizing the need for field-based research to improve their detection and monitoring.

It is widely accepted that we ought to avoid taking excessive risks of causing gratuitous suffering. The practical implications of this truism, however, depend on how we understand what counts as an excessive risk. Precautionary frameworks help us decide when a risk exceeds the threshold for action, with the recent Birch et al. (2021) framework for assessing invertebrate sentience being one such example. The Birch et al. framework uses four neurobiological and four behavioural criteria to provide an evidence-based standard that can be used in determining when precautionary action to promote invertebrate welfare may be warranted. Our aim in this discussion paper is to provide a new motivation for the threshold approach that the Birch et al. framework represents while simultaneously identifying some possible revisions to the framework that can reduce false positives without abandoning the framework’s precautionary objectives.

We are happy to publish a roundtable debate based on the discussions carried out at the webinar organized by our journal to discuss Ayşe Buğra’s latest book, Social Policy in Capitalist History: Perspectives on Poverty, Work and Society. Buğra’s important contribution to the field of social policy is critically evaluated by Guy Standing, Andrew Fischer, and Tuba Ağartan. Social policy is an important field for New Perspectives on Turkey, one in which we try to publish research articles, book reviews, and commentaries. We are hoping that this roundtable debate, by revisiting the theoretical and historical foundations of social policy via Standing’s, Fischer’s, and Ağartan’s takes on Buğra’s arguments, will contribute to the enhancement of the ongoing critical discussions at a time during which the capitalist economy is going through a major transformation at the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. We are grateful to Başak Akkan for organizing and moderating the webinar and seeing through the publication process and our associate editor Z. Umut Türem for making it possible.

Objectives/Goals: The bromodomain PHD finger transcription factor (BPTF) is an oncogenic driver of neuroblastoma. Our objective is to pioneer the discovery of the first class of chemical compounds that engage the PHD finger of BPTF and inhibit its biological function in cellulo, thereby establishing first-in-class chemical probes for this epigenetic reader. Methods/Study Population: Our previous work has identified a collection of small molecules that engage BPTF PHD in vitro. Following structure–activity relationships analysis, candidates will be used in a neuroblastoma cell model to validate BPTF PHD interaction in cellulo and predict therapeutic potential. Nanoluciferase bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (NanoBRET) will be used to confirm BPTF PHD engagement by compounds. Selective toxicity in neuroblastoma cells upon inhibitor treatment will be gauged by comparing cell growth and viability in the IMR-32 cell line against the HEK293 cell line. Treated HEK293 cells will be subjected to the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin (ATAC) and RNA sequencing methods to monitor changes in chromatin structure and transcriptional signatures against untreated cells. Results/Anticipated Results: We hypothesize that compounds with low micromolar potency for BPTF PHD in vitro will engage the target in cellulo and displace NanoLuciferase tagged protein from its HaloTagged® peptide binding partner. Additionally, we anticipate that our inhibitors will show cytotoxicity for IMR-32 cells with limited effects on HEK293 cells. We envision that inhibitor treatment in HEK293 cells will correlate with reduced chromatin exposure, suggesting that blocking the BPTF–histone interaction via PHD finger inhibition hinders the remodeling of transcriptionally silent heterochromatin into a transcriptionally active state. Finally, we expect that inhibitor treatment will result in diminished gene expression of oncogenic transcription factors, including N-Myc, a biomarker of neuroblastoma. Discussion/Significance of Impact: These first-in-class chemical probes for BPTF PHD will enable further investigation of BPTF and high-risk neuroblastoma progression, as well as its role in other diseases. In addition, these compounds will serve as a platform for the development of new anticancer agents that may improve outcomes for children that suffer from high-risk neuroblastoma.

We consider a sequential two-party bargaining game with uncertain information transmission. When the first mover states her demand she does only know the probability with which the second mover will be informed about it. The informed second mover can either accept or reject the offer and payoffs are determined as in the ultimatum game. Otherwise the uninformed second mover states his own demand and payoffs are determined as in the Nash demand game. In the experiment we vary the commonly known probability of information transmission. Our main finding is that first movers’ and uninformed second movers’ demands adjust to this probability as qualitatively predicted, that is, first movers’ (uninformed second movers’) demands are lower (higher) the lower the probability of information transmission.