The Coronaviridae is a family of positive-strand RNA viruses that includes SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bearing the largest single-stranded RNA genomes in nature, ...coronaviruses are critically dependent on long-distance RNA-RNA interactions to regulate the viral transcription and replication pathways. Here we experimentally mapped the in vivo RNA-RNA interactome of the full-length SARS-CoV-2 genome and subgenomic mRNAs. We uncovered a network of RNA-RNA interactions spanning tens of thousands of nucleotides. These interactions reveal that the viral genome and subgenomes adopt alternative topologies inside cells and engage in different interactions with host RNAs. Notably, we discovered a long-range RNA-RNA interaction, the FSE-arch, that encircles the programmed ribosomal frameshifting element. The FSE-arch is conserved in the related MERS-CoV and is under purifying selection. Our findings illuminate RNA structure-based mechanisms governing replication, discontinuous transcription, and translation of coronaviruses and will aid future efforts to develop antiviral strategies.
Display omitted
•Comprehensive RNA-RNA networks of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and subgenomes inside cells•Long-range structures spanning thousands of bases resulting in dynamic topologies•Multiple site-specific interactions between host and virus RNAs•An arch around the ribosomal frameshifting element is under purifying selection
Coronaviruses use RNA structure to regulate their function. Ziv et al. identified maps of RNA-RNA interactions along the SARS-CoV-2 genome and subgenomes inside cells, revealing long-range base-pairing between distal elements, alternative co-existing RNA topologies, and interactions between virus and host RNA and providing insights into the coronavirus modes of action.
To ensure the positive sentiment of residents towards sporting events, it is important to understand and manage the social impact perceptions generated by such events at the host destinations. The ...Comrades ultramarathon is a unique event which affects the residents of two cities at the same time, meaning that diversified social impact management approaches may be needed. The research revealed apparent differences in social impact perceptions among the two cities. Despite the Comrades, as it is colloquially termed, being a single event, diversified management approaches are therefore needed. This study furthermore reveals that the size and diversity of communities' economies might influence residents' social impact perceptions.
The existing literature on labour movements notes how trade unions have been weakened in recent years. This observable pattern is not unique to South Africa; arguably, this decline represents a ...global phenomenon characterised by the disintegration of erstwhile militant labour movements. In the case of South Africa, the post-apartheid neoliberal labour regime has fragmented the militant social-movement unionism (SMU) of the 1980s almost to the point of extinction. Despite this trend, various studies have detailed pockets of revival and resistance by workers spread across a variety of sectors and continents. My article seeks to contribute to this literature by drawing on the case study of Mamelodi Train Sector (MTS). MTS was formed in 2001 as a 'mobilising structure', aligned to the African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance partners. Using the notion of space as a theoretical tool, I attempt to understand MTS and the space it organises - the train. MTS utilises the travel time spent going to and from work to offer legislative education to largely unorganised/non-unionised workers. In addition to legislative education, MTS members (self-styled comrades) discuss community issues and matters pertaining to the ANC's tripartite alliance as an attempt to foster a particular kind of identity politics. The data collected reveals that, among other contributions, MTS offers hope and a sense of solidarity to those workers without workplace representation. The comradely sense of belonging, buttressed by a common identity, potentially mitigates the impact of workplace fragmentation - experienced by the majority of workers in South Africa. Organising on the train points to one missing link in our current efforts to understand workers' agency - the geography of transport in South Africa and its related possibilities as a site of revival. With a specific focus on the MTS as a case study, I suggest that the train, as a by-product of apartheid spatiality, represents a strategic location for worker organisation in South Africa.
1980s. The autonomous women's movement burst into the scene capturing the imagination of so many women – women who were trapped in families, women who were battling sexism in their workplace, women ...suffocating in abusive marriages, women struggling to be seen and heard in political organizations that still refused to see gender as a primary question - women from different backgrounds, professions, caste, class, religion, political beliefs – all of whom who were ill at ease with their worlds, their homes, their works and were struggling to find air, grappling for a new home, came together in solidarity, resistance, rage and imagination. While the rumblings of the women's movement, of feminist politics could be felt long back since the waging of the freedom struggle, there was a novelty in the way the 80s moment brought in scores of women to talk, scream, organize, sing, dance, shout slogans, march, ideate on things that moved them, on ‘women's issues’. The idea of sisterhood though soon encountered the anti-Mandal commission agitation, and the rise of Hindutva that exposed the cracks, faultlines of any notion of sisterhood that subsumed identities of caste, religion, sexuality. The journey of the feminist movement in India, therefore, has also been a journey of making and remaking of ideas of sisterhood, solidarity, of the collective ‘we’. While the critical interventions from identity based movements have torn down the inherent ‘naturalness’ of women's friendships – bringing to question the identities and political locations that make the collective ‘we’, the question arises, how do we then think of forging bonds of resilient comradeships, of waging collective struggles in times of cancel culture and neoliberal notions of ‘allyship’. Informed by and building on the debates on ‘intersectionality’ (Nivedita Mennon, Mary John, David Mcnally, etc.), learnings from identity based interventions in movements, and Marxist feminist interventions, this paper will examine Jodi Dean's theorization of the communicative ‘we’, Devika Jain's reconfiguration of Ambedkar's concept of ‘maitri’, and insights from activists in the struggle to unpack how we can think of building companionship of resistances in today's times. Furthermore, as we interrogate the possibilities of friendship in organizing social relations in the new world, we will also look into the possibilities it then holds in crafting a new morality, new ethics.
The Comrades Marathon is South Africa's - and the world's - most recognised and largest ultra-marathon event, with over 15 000 par ticipants from across the globe competing in the 89-km road running ...event each year. Historically, the event has been held before the star t of austral winter (20 May - 17 June). However, in 2022, organisers of the race moved the event to 28 August, when austral spring commences. We explore the climate, in par ticular the Universal Thermal Comfor t Index (UTCI), of past Comrades events (1980-2019) and compare these data to UTCI data of the new proposed date (28 August) for the same period. The climatology for May, June, July and August was determined to identify periods with the lowest risk for 'strong' to 'very strong' heat stress. Results show that par ticipants' risk of exposure to 'strong' heat stress and 'very strong' heat stress periods will be more likely if the event is held in August as compared to the original event dates. Therefore, it is concluded that mid-June to mid-July has the lowest risk of heat stress exposure along the route. Runners and organisers should be aware of the higher risk of exer tional heat illness during the 2022 Comrades Marathon to ensure safe par ticipation.
We value comments on our research paper in a Commentary in this issue (Simpson, S Afr J Sci. 2024;120(1/2), Art. #16445). Acknowledging the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI)'s limitations in ...capturing individual physiological responses remains important; however, we argue for its appropriateness based on recent thermophysiology and heat exchange advancements during its development and broader alignment with standardised indexing efforts. Our original research paper set out with these considerations in mind, and our conclusions remain valid. We further argue for refinement of the UTCI for specific activities instead of using the PET. Finally, future efforts should focus on monitoring data in real-world scenarios to validate and improve thermal indices.
This article explores the forgotten queer pasts of Eastern European cinema under socialism and highlights the queer cinematic histories of Yugoslavia, specifically its former Republic of Slovenia. ...Through visual, substantive, and contextual analysis, the article focuses on the selected films with queer undertones made post WWII, arguing that the relationship between queerness and Yugoslav society and cinema was more complex than previously thought. The examples demonstrate that Yugoslav cinema reflected the country's ambivalent attitudes towards queerness: on the one side, the analysed films featured numerous unhappy queer people and sad endings, on the other, they portrayed images of different non-normative sexualities and gender expressions rebelliously and more openly than is currently acknowledged in queer cinema scholarship.
The purpose of this study is to analyse the perceptions of Comrades Marathon runners concerning the application of virtual reality technologies as a strategic response to the effects of COVID-19 in ...South Africa. Furthermore, the study also assesses the runners' challenges and readiness to participate in virtualised marathons post-COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from Comrades Marathon runners using online interviews. However, the study results showed mixed perceptions concerning virtual reality application to an outdoor sporting event like the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. Regardless of these perceptions, managers of sporting events are encouraged to make significant investments for the strategic development of virtual sports in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Данная статья посвящена анализу символов в их культурно значимом аспекте, она стала попыткой реализовать междисциплинарный подход к исследованию символики художественного текста, что дает возможность ...проникнуть в семантическое пространство языковых единиц и текста, где и формируется соответствующая языковая и культурная картина мира. Материалом исследования послужило произведение Э. М. Ремарка «Три товарища». Исследование символической природы мотивов в романе Ремарка показало, что своеобразие символических средств может одновременно обнаруживать и те области значений, которые находятся вне актуализируемого в конкретной ситуации контекста. Показано, что значение символов необходимо связать с содержанием передаваемой им культурной информации.
PDF
