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The People's Republic of China is increasing its influence around the world every day. It's hard not to notice the aggressive economic expansion being carried out by China in the Asian region. Chinese presence is felt in Africa, South America and even in Europe. By engaging in a trade war with the United States, China thereby challenged the most influential economy in the world, which is confirmed by its ambitions as a world leader. To meet these ambitions, a powerful transport and logistics support is necessary, which gave rise to the "Belts and Ways" initiative. The initiative "One Belt - One Road" combines two projects: "The Economic Belt of the Silk Road" and "The Sea Silk Road of the XXI Century". This means that, in addition to the traditional land routes of the Silk Road, Beijing is exploring the sea routes along the African continent and in the Pacific Ocean. Since the initiative does not have a clear strategy, the northern routes that have recently become relevant are also considered by the Chinese authorities.The search for an alternative to the Suez Canal has repeatedly prompted researchers to use the Northern Sea Route as a trading artery linking Europe and Asia, but climatic conditions and technical capabilities did not allow this idea to be realized. The current situation in the Arctic region allows us to talk about new development prospects.China is actively interested in the Arctic: since 2013, it has an observer status in the Arctic Council, has been increasing its presence in the region by organizing scientific expeditions, building icebreakers, introducing its own brand "Northern Silk Road", and also investing in projects like "Yamal LNG». China outlined its presence in the Arctic region in a white paper published in January 2018. One of the main goals that Beijing sets for itself is multilateral cooperation in the development of the Northern Sea Route.The author of the article analyzes the origins of such interest, as well as possible threats to Russia. The study also examines the position of European partners in the participation of the development of the SMP, bilateral relations with the Chinese side and the ratio of the strategy of the European Union, China and Russia in the High North. The author gives a geopolitical rationale for Chinese initiatives that are aimed at creating the conditions for intensive navigation in the northern areas.

AbstractIntroductionSafer conception strategies minimize HIV risk during condomless sex to become pregnant. Gaps remain in understanding the acceptability, feasibility and choices HIV‐serodiscordant couples make when multiple safer conception options are available.MethodsWe conducted a pilot study of a comprehensive safer conception package for HIV‐serodiscordant couples with immediate fertility desires in Kenya from March 2016 to April 2018. The intervention package included antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV‐positive partners, oral pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV‐negative partners, daily fertility and sexual behaviour tracking via short message service (SMS) surveys, counselling on self‐insemination, and referrals for voluntary medical male circumcision and fertility care. Couples attended monthly visits until pregnancy with HIV testing for negative partners at each visit. We estimated the number of expected HIV seroconversions using a counterfactual cohort simulated from gender‐matched couples in the placebo arm of a previous PrEP clinical trial. We used bootstrap methods to compare expected and observed seroconversions.ResultsOf the 74 enrolled couples, 54% were HIV‐negative female/HIV‐positive male couples. The 6 and 12‐month cumulative pregnancy rates were 45.3% and 61.9% respectively. In the month preceding pregnancy, 80.9% of HIV‐positive partners were virally suppressed, 81.4% of HIV‐negative partners were highly adherent to PrEP, and SMS surveys indicated potential timing of condomless sex to peak fertility (median of sex acts = 10, interquartile range (IQR) 7 to 12; median condomless sex acts = 3.5, IQR 1 to 7). Most (95.7%) pregnancies were protected by ≥2 strategies: 57.4% were protected by high PrEP and ART adherence, male circumcision with or without timed condomless sex; 10 (21.3%) were protected by viral suppression in the HIV‐positive partner and male circumcision with or without timed condomless sex; 8 (17.0%) were protected by high PrEP adherence and male circumcision with or without timed condomless sex. We observed 0 HIV seroconversions (95% CI 0.0 to 6.0 per 100 person years), indicating a 100% reduction in HIV risk (p = 0.04).ConclusionsThe use of multiple safer conception strategies, primarily PrEP, ART, male circumcision and/or tracking fertility, was acceptable and feasible for African HIV‐serodiscordant couples and significantly reduced HIV transmission risk. It is important to increase the availability of and counselling about safer conception services in regions with HIV epidemics involving heterosexual transmission and high fertility.

AbstractIntroductionSocial, structural and systems barriers inhibit uptake of HIV testing. HIV self‐testing (HIVST) has shown promising uptake by otherwise underserved priority groups including men, young people and first‐time testers. Here, we use characteristics of HIVST kit recipients to investigate delivery to these priority groups during HIVST scale‐up in three African countries.MethodsKit distributors collected individual‐level age, sex and testing history from all clients. These data were aggregated and analysed by country (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) for five distribution models: local community‐based distributor (CBD: door‐to‐door, street and local venues), workplace distribution (WD), integration into HIV testing services (IHTS), or public health facilities (IPHF) and during demand creation for voluntary male medical circumcision (VMMC). Used kits were collected and re‐read from CBD and IHTS recipients.ResultsBetween May 2015 and July 2017, 628,705 HIVST kits were distributed in Malawi (172,830), Zambia (190,787) and Zimbabwe (265,091). Community‐based models, the first to be established, accounted for 519,658 (82.7%) of kits distributed, with 275,419 (53.0%) used kits returned. Subsequent model diversification delivered 54,453 (8.7%) test‐kits through IHTS, 23,561 (3.7%) through VMMC, 21,183 (3.4%) through IPHF and 9850 (1.7%) through WD. Men took 294,508 (48.2%) kits, and 263,073 (43.1%) went to young people (16 to 24 years). A higher proportion of male self‐testers (65,577; 22.3%) were first‐time testers than women (54,096; 17.1%) with this apparent in Zimbabwe (16.2% vs. 11.4%), Zambia (25.4% vs. 17.7%) and Malawi (27.9% vs. 25.9%). The highest proportions of first‐time testers were in young (16 to 24 years) and older (>50 years) men (country‐ranges: 18.7% to 35.9% and 13.8% to 26.8% respectively). Most IHTS clients opted for HIVST in preference to standard HTS in each of 12 delivery sites, with those selecting HIVST having lower HIV prevalence, potentially due to self‐selection.ConclusionsHIVST delivered at scale using several different models reached a high proportion of men, young people and first‐time testers in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, some of whom may not have tested otherwise. As men and young people have limited uptake under standard facility‐and community‐based HIV testing, innovative male‐ and youth‐sensitive approaches like HIVST may be essential to reaching UNAIDS fast‐track targets for 2020.

AbstractIntroductionPre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection is being rolled out in Africa. The uptake of PrEP to date has varied across populations and locations. We seek to understand the drivers of demand for PrEP through analysis of qualitative data collected in conjunction with a PrEP demonstration project involving East African HIV serodiscordant couples. Our goal was to inform demand creation by understanding what PrEP means – beyond HIV prevention – for the lives of users.MethodsThe Partners Demonstration Project evaluated an integrated strategy of PrEP and antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery in which time‐limited PrEP served as a "bridge" to long‐term ART. Uninfected partners in HIV serodiscordant couples were offered PrEP at baseline and encouraged to discontinue once infected partners had taken ART for six months. We conducted 274 open‐ended interviews with 93 couples at two Ugandan research sites. Interviews took place one month after enrolment and at later points in the follow‐up period. Topics included are as follows: (1) discovery of serodiscordance; (2) decisions to accept/decline PrEP and/or ART; (3) PrEP and ART initiation; (4) experiences of using PrEP and ART; (5) PrEP discontinuation; (6) impact of PrEP and ART on the partnered relationship. Interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed. We used an inductive, content analytic approach to characterize meanings of PrEP stemming from its effectiveness for HIV prevention. Relevant content was represented as descriptive categories.ResultsDiscovery of HIV serodiscordance resulted in fear of HIV transmission for couples, which led to loss of sexual intimacy in committed relationships, and to abandonment of plans for children. As a result, partners became alienated from each other. PrEP countered the threat to the relationship by reducing fear and reinstating hopes of having children together. Condom use worked against the re‐establishment of intimacy and closeness. By increasing couples' sense of protection against HIV infection and raising the prospect of a return to "live sex" (sex without condoms), PrEP was perceived by couples as solving the problem of serodiscordance and preserving committed relationships.ConclusionsThe most effective demand creation strategies for PrEP may be those that address the everyday life priorities of potential users in addition to HIV prevention.Clinical Trial NumberNCT02775929

South Africa hosts Africa's most advanced form of the new Blue Economy, named 'Operation Phakisa: Oceans.' In 2014, the McKinsey-designed project was formally launched by now-disgraced President Jacob Zuma with vibrant state and corporate fanfare. Financially, its most important elements were anticipated to come from corporations promoting shipping investments and port infrastructure, a new generation of offshore oil and gas extraction projects and seabed mining. However, these already conflict with underlying capitalist crisis tendencies associated with overaccumulation (overcapacity), globalization and financialization, as they played out through uneven development, commodity price volatility and excessive extraction of resources. Together this metabolic intensification of capital-nature relations can be witnessed when South Africa recently faced the Blue Economy's ecological contradictions: celebrating a massive offshore gas discovery at the same time as awareness rises about extreme coastal weather events, ocean warming and acidification (with profound threats to fast-bleaching coral reefs), sea-level rise, debilitating drought in Africa's main seaside tourist city (Cape Town), and plastic infestation of water bodies, the shoreline and vulnerable marine life. Critics of the capitalist ocean have demanded a greater state commitment to Marine Protected Areas, support for sustainable subsistence fishing and eco-tourism. But they are losing, and so more powerful resistance is needed, focusing on shifting towards post-fossil energy and transport infrastructure, agriculture and spatial planning. Given how climate change has become devastating to vulnerable coastlines – such as central Mozambique's, victim of two of the Southern Hemisphere's most intense cyclones in March-April 2019 – it is essential to better link ocean defence mechanisms to climate activism: global youth Climate Strikes and the direct action approach adopted by the likes of Dakota Access Pipe Line resistance in the US, Extinction Rebellion in Britain, and Ende Gelände in Germany. Today, as the limits to capital's crisis-displacement tactics are becoming more evident, it is the interplay of these top-down and bottom-up processes that will shape the future Blue Economy narrative, giving it either renewed legitimacy, or the kind of illegitimacy already experienced in so much South African resource-centric capitalism.Keywords: Blue Economy, capitalist crisis, Oceans Phakisa, resistance, South Africa

Background In 2012 the South African National Department of Health (SA NDoH) set out, using a top down process, to implement several innovations in eleven health districts in order to test reforms to strengthen the district health system. The process of disseminating innovations began in 2012 and senior health managers in districts were expected to drive implementation. The research explored, from a bottom up perspective, how efforts by the National government to disseminate and diffuse innovations were experienced by district level senior managers and why some dissemination efforts were more enabling than others. Methods A multiple case study design comprising three cases was conducted. Data collection in 2012 – early 2014 included 38 interviews with provincial and district level managers as well as non- participant observation of meetings. The Greenhalgh et al. (Milbank Q 82(4):581-629, 2004) diffusion of innovations model was used to interpret dissemination and diffusion in the districts. Results Managers valued the national Minister of Health's role as a champion in disseminating innovations via a road show and his personal participation in an induction programme for new hospital managers. The identification of a site coordinator in each pilot site was valued as this coordinator served as a central point of connection between networks up the hierarchy and horizontally in the district. Managers leveraged their own existing social networks in the districts and created synergies between new ideas and existing working practices to enable adoption by their staff. Managers also wanted to be part of processes that decide what should be strengthened in their districts and want clarity on: (1) the benefits of new innovations (2) total funding they will receive (3) their specific role in implementation and (4) the range of stakeholders involved. Conclusion Those driving reform processes from 'the top' must remember to develop well planned dissemination strategies that give lower-level managers relevant information and, as part of those strategies, provide ongoing opportunities for bottom up input into key decisions and processes. Managers in districts must be recognised as leaders of change, not only as implementers who are at the receiving end of dissemination strategies from those at the top. They are integral intermediaries between those at the at the coal face and national policies, managing long chains of dissemination and natural (often unpredictable) diffusion.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an increasingly important tool for sustainable marine governance. However, their effectiveness is improved if designed to consider how people value and interact with coasts and marine resources designated for protection. This research critically examines the different perceptions of stakeholders towards the rezoning of Africa's oldest MPA, the Tsitsikamma National Park (TNP) MPA. In South Africa, MPAs created prior to 1994 under the Apartheid regime disregarded local communities' rights to the coast and in some cases removed or restricted access, with no consultation. In December 2016 the TNP MPA was rezoned from a 'no-take' MPA to a partially open protected area with the aim of readdressing historical exclusion and to provide managed access and benefits to adjacent communities. This thesis explores the perceptions of different stakeholders to the rezoning process and the underlying values, worldviews and beliefs that influence these perceptions. The research also examines the nature of participation in the rezoning process, including issues of representation, trust and legitimacy. Data collection is based primarily on 55 semi structured key informant interviews from the nine different communities adjacent to the Tsitsikamma MPA, scientists, NGO and government officials, as well as a focus group with eight representatives from South African National Parks. Data sources are supplemented with census and mapping information, field observations and a participatory film project. Findings from this research identified and examined the diverse perceptions of stakeholders about the re-zoning and highlighted how different groups have very different perceptions about the benefits of the rezoning for either marine conservation objectives or community economic, livelihood and wellbeing aspirations. What emerged clearly was that perceptions are influenced by values, worldviews and beliefs and that failure to recognize and incorporate these perceptions in planning, discussions and decision-making leads to ongoing contestation and conflict. The research thus highlights the challenge of balancing community rights and needs with conservation goals in a rapidly changing marine context, and highlights that understanding different perceptions and values that underlie these perceptions and providing the space to allow these different views to be shared is important for collaborative governance of MPAs in South Africa. Based on an enhanced understanding of perceptions, recommendations are made regarding the importance of recognizing and incorporating perceptions in planning and decision-making and promoting greater participation in governance.

Interest in the concept of financialisation has gained traction in both developed and emerging markets. With roots embedded in the economic theory of neo-liberalism, the concept of financialisation can be broadly defined as the growing importance of financial instruments and the financial sector. A large body of empirical work in developed markets has generally indicated a negative association between financialisation and various socio-economic indicators. However, the limited empirical evidence in emerging markets has proved inconsistent. This study examines the presence of financialisation in South Africa since the start of the democratic era covering 1994 to 2017, and explores the relationship between financialisation and several key socio-economic factors in the country including economic growth, investment, inequality, unemployment and innovation. Financialisation is measured using two generally accepted proxies - the contribution of the financial sector to total value added in the economy and the percentage of people employed in the financial sector. In addition, two other measures are used based on the work of Krippner (2005) with the first the ratio of portfolio income generated by non-financial firms relative to revenue yielded by productive activities and the second the ratio of the financial sector's revenue contribution to the economy in relation to the non-financial sector. The Autoregressive Distributive-Lag (ARDL) model is used to examine the long-run and short-run associations between financialisation and the key development indicators. The study finds evidence in support of the occurrence of financialisation in South Africa post 1994. The results of the statistical analysis reveal that for the generally accepted proxies for financialisation, financialisation has a positive effect on unemployment reduction and economic growth, no effect on inequality reduction and investment, while the evidence with regards to innovation is mixed. The additional results from the Krippner financialisation ratios indicate that financialisation has a positive effect on inequality reduction and economic growth, a negative effect on innovation and investment, while no effect on unemployment reduction. The findings of this study contradict theoretical expectations, as they point to some positive effects of financialisation on the South African economy although there are also some negative effects. In light of this, policy recommendations are provided so as to enhance these positive effects while also safeguarding against further negative effects.

The global plan to eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV) led by the World Health Organization outlines the use of highly effective direct‐acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) to achieve elimination by 2030. Identifying individuals with active disease and investigation of the breadth of diversity of the virus in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) is essential as genotypes in this region (where very few clinical trials have been carried out) are distinct from those found in other parts of the world. We undertook a population‐based, nested case‐control study in Uganda and obtained additional samples from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to estimate the prevalence of HCV, assess strategies for disease detection using serological and molecular techniques, and characterize genetic diversity of the virus. Using next‐generation and Sanger sequencing, we aimed to identify strains circulating in East and Central Africa. A total of 7,751 Ugandan patients were initially screened for HCV, and 20 PCR‐positive samples were obtained for sequencing. Serological assays were found to vary significantly in specificity for HCV. HCV strains detected in Uganda included genotype (g) 4k, g4p, g4q, and g4s and a newly identified unassigned g7 HCV strain. Two additional unassigned g7 strains were identified in patients originating from DRC (one partial and one full open reading frame sequence). These g4 and g7 strains contain nonstructural (ns) protein 3 and 5A polymorphisms associated with resistance to DAAs in other genotypes. Clinical studies are therefore indicated to investigate treatment response in infected patients. Conclusion: Although HCV prevalence and genotypes have been well characterized in patients in well‐resourced countries, clinical trials are urgently required in SSA, where highly diverse g4 and g7 strains circulate. ; Supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) (MC_UU_12014/1) and Wellcome Trust (102789/Z/13/A) (to E.T.). M.S. is funded by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (WT098051), the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research (MRC UK partnership grant number MR/K013491/1), and the UK MRC (G0901213‐92157, G0801566). P.K. is funded by the UK MRC and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) under the MRC/DFID Concordat agreement. J.S. is funded by the MRC Confidence in Concept award to the University of Glasgow (MC PC 16045). G.M. is a Gates Cambridge Scholar supported by the Gates Cambridge Trust.

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the wave of socio-political transformations that began in December 2010 in Tunisia and Algeria, called the «Arab Spring», was a phenomenon caused by a difficult internal situation, as well as internal and external factors that triggered these events. The article examines the degree of influence of political Islam on the processes of modernization, geopolitics, as well as sociopolitical development, including the need to create a scientific basis for regulating religious relations in Arab African countries, which have become a source of instability. In this context, political processes in North Africa and the Middle East are studied. The processes of social and political transformations have influenced the political systems of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other Gulf countries. Also, the result of social and religious unrest was the overthrow of the ruling regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya. They led to changes in the ruling elite in Yemen and to this day the struggle continues between the Syrian government and the opposition. If the demonstrations against the regime in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen were based on the internal socio-economic crisis, corruption of the ruling elite, the absence of genuine democratic freedoms and ethno-confessional confrontation, then the support of external forces was a key factor in Libya and Syria. At the same time, changes in the socio-political situation in each of the countries of the region directly affect their neighboring states. Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have created a more complex and interdependent situation, which has led to changes in the relations of security and stability not only in neighboring regions, but also in the world. The influence of the «Arab spring» on North Africa and the Middle East is not the same. As a result of the political and economic upheavals of the Arab Spring, countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Syria were seriously affected by them. And on Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman, they had only a superficial influence. These events spanned the entire Arab world, with the exception of Somalia, Mauritania and the Comoros, and led to a change in their political systems, structures, as well as the political future of states.

Orthodox copyright scholarship frames piracy in 'developing' countries as a detrimental and illegal practice that results from these countries' lack of economic, social and cultural development. It argues that piracy needs to be discouraged, regulated, and finally overcome for legitimate business to flourish. In this article, the authors challenge this viewpoint and question whether the implementation of international copyright instruments in legislation across Africa really promotes those local economies or if it merely exposes them to neo-colonial exploitation. While the early international treaties on intellectual property rights (IPR) were formulated by European states and implemented in most parts of Africa through colonial laws, more recent legislation has been globally implemented through institutions such as the United Nations or the World Trade Organization, which remain dominated by Western interests. Through a structured overview of the adoption of IPR treaties in African countries, the authors advance a political economy perspective of intellectual property rights as a (neo-)colonial regime. ; Les membres de l'école traditionnelle sur les questions de droits d'auteurs mettent en avant le piratage dans les pays « en développement » comme une pratique préjudiciable et illégale qui résulte du manque de développement économique, social et culturel de ces pays. Ils soutiennent que le piratage doit être découragé, réglementé et finalement surmonté pour que le commerce légitime puisse prospérer. À travers cet article, nous remettons en question ce point de vue et nous nous demandons si la mise en place de mesures internationales relatives au droit d'auteur dans la législation à travers le continent africain, favorise réellement ces économies locales ou si elles ne font que les exposer à l'exploitation néo-coloniale. Alors que les premiers traités internationaux sur les droits de propriété intellectuelle étaient formulés par des États européens puis appliqués à travers la plupart des régions d'Afrique à travers les lois coloniales, plus récemment la législation a été globalement mise en oeuvre par des institutions telles que l'Organisation des Nations unies ou l'Organisation mondiale du commerce, qui restent dominées par les intérêts occidentaux. À travers une vue d'ensemble structurée de l'adoption des traités sur les droits de propriété intellectuelle dans les pays africains, nous mettons en avant une perspective d'économie politique des droits de propriété intellectuelle en tant que régime (néo-)colonial.

One of the biggest challenges for South African food security is recurring drought. It is a major concern due to insufficient knowledge and the low levels of resources or livelihood assets available to farmers in vulnerable situations, thereby limiting coping and adaptation choices. The objective of this paper was to identify the current adaptation and coping measures used by smallholder farmers, with a particular emphasis on farmers&rsquo ; vulnerability to drought and the adaptive measures or strategies that are effective in the study area. In addition, we determined factors influencing their choice of adaptation strategies. In this way, the extent of farmers&rsquo ; vulnerability and how this affects the choice of coping or adaptation strategies during drought were determined. The multinomial probit model (MPM) was used to examine the factors that influence farmers&rsquo ; choice of coping/adaptation strategies in the study area. The results show that the respondents&rsquo ; human capital vulnerability to drought was very high compared to their economic and social vulnerability. Influences such as age, gender, and marital status contributed to their human capital vulnerability. The majority of the respondents implemented water-use restrictions as a coping strategy during drought periods. There were several reasons for this, such as the resources available, the effective coping strategy for that specific location/area, and the socio-economic status of the respondents. The inadequate contribution by the government to drought risk reduction, the age of the respondents, the monthly income of each household, and the inequality of decision-making powers between male and female respondents were also found to contribute greatly to choosing an effective adaptation strategy. This study contributes to the ongoing investigation of the adaptation strategies and coping measures used by farmers vulnerable to drought in arid and semi-arid areas in Africa. This is done by identifying effective adaptation and coping measures within the farmers&rsquo ; operational environment, unlike other studies that have only identified adaptation and coping strategies without examining their effectiveness in the given environment. Also, the inclusion of the human, social, economic, institutional, natural, and political forms of capital as determinants of the farmers&rsquo ; choice of adaption and coping measures provides relevant insights for efficient and sustainable policy design.

Shakespeare remains topical in politics under various regimes, both authoritative and democratic. A few recent events have reminded us of this unique phenomenon. In 2012, Gregory Doran staged his Julius Caesar against an 'African' setting and brought the play to a festival in Moscow. The performance contained a warning against a popular leader's abuse of authority, and in view of Russian politics sounded as a hint at Vladimir Putin's running for a third presidential term.We do not mean to say that Russia leads in Shakespeare-related excesses, but there is a special coloring to it. For instance, a 10-year-old boy reciting Hamlet's monologue To be or not to be was detained by the police in the center of Moscow, allegedly for begging; and then there were accusations of theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov (staging A Midsummer Night's Dream at Gogol-Center in Moscow), and theater manager Aleksei Malobrodsky was charged with embezzlement, following which public protests were organized in their defense.All these incidents bring to mind Tsar Alexander II's disapproval of Shakespeare's 300th anniversary and the plans of its celebration in the Russian Empire. In this paper, I try to trace the history of 'involving' the playwright in current politics, and the myths emerging along the way. ; Шекспир политически актуален во все времена и во всех культурах, при разных формах правления — авторитарных и демократических. Достаточно вспомнить недавние события, связанные с именем драматурга. В 2012 г. Грегори Доран выпустил своего «африканского» «Юлия Цезаря» и побывал со спектаклем на гастролях в Москве. Его предупреждение о том, что авторитарный правитель может попытаться узурпировать всю полноту власти, было воспринято как намек на возвращение В. Путина на очередной президентский срок.В России ситуация не более скандальная, чем в других странах, но имеет свой колорит: задержание полицией на Новом Арбате якобы за попрошайничество 10-летнего мальчика, декламировавшего монолог Гамлета «Быть или не быть», полукриминальная ситуация вокруг спектакля «Сон в летнюю ночь» режиссера Кирилла Серебренникова, обвинения в хищении средств театрального менеджера Алексея Малобродского, гневные выступления в их защиту общественности.По этому поводу можно вспомнить, как в свое время Александр II неодобрительно высказался о планах празднования 300-летнего юбилея Шекспира в Российской империи. В своей статье я попытаюсь проследить эволюцию политизации творчества британского драматурга, реальную и мифическую.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein) ; Genomes are dynamic biological units, with processes of gene duplication and loss triggering evolutionary novelty. The mammalian skin provides a remarkable case study on the occurrence of adaptive morphological innovations. Skin sebaceous glands (SGs), for instance, emerged in the ancestor of mammals serving pivotal roles, such as lubrication, waterproofing, immunity, and thermoregulation, through the secretion of sebum, a complex mixture of various neutral lipids such as triacylglycerol, free fatty acids, wax esters, cholesterol, and squalene. Remarkably, SGs are absent in a few mammalian lineages, including the iconic Cetacea. We investigated the evolution of the key molecular components responsible for skin sebum production: Dgat2l6, Awat1, Awat2, Elovl3, Mogat3, and Fabp9. We show that all analyzed genes have been rendered nonfunctional in Cetacea species (toothed and baleen whales). Transcriptomic analysis, including a novel skin transcriptome from blue whale, supports gene inactivation. The conserved mutational pattern found in most analyzed genes, indicates that pseudogenization events took place prior to the diversification of modern Cetacea lineages. Genome and skin transcriptome analysis of the common hippopotamus highlighted the convergent loss of a subset of sebum-producing genes, notably Awat1 and Mogat3. Partial loss profiles were also detected in non-Cetacea aquatic mammals, such as the Florida manatee, and in terrestrial mammals displaying specialized skin phenotypes such as the African elephant, white rhinoceros and pig. Our findings reveal a unique landscape of "gene vestiges" in the Cetacea sebum-producing compartment, with limited gene loss observed in other mammalian lineages: suggestive of specific adaptations or specializations of skin lipids. ; This work was supported by Project No. 031342 cofinanced by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the ERDF, and by Fundac¸a~o para a Cie^ncia e a Tecnologia through national funds. R.R.F. thanks the Danish National Research Foundation for its support of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate (grant DNRF96). We acknowledge the various Cetacea genome consortiums for genome sequencing and assemblies. We also thank Gısli Vikingsson at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute in Iceland for lending us the Larsen gun and to North Sailing whale watching for the use of their zodiac. ; Peer Reviewed

Climate change is already negatively affecting Sub Saharan African agriculture. One of the most effective ways to adapt on farm is to switch crop varieties. This technological change depends on the policies and institutions involved in governing the seed systems on which farmers rely for access to suitable seeds. Whilst the need for seed systems to adapt and become more resilient is indisputable, the question of how this is best achieved is debated. The dominant seed system development pathway promoted by international development actors is characterized by formalization and commercialization of the seed sector. In order to assess political and social outcomes of this development agenda, we compare maize seed system development in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania, combining policy analysis with quantitative analysis of farmers' seed use. We show that while the development policies promoted by international donors have similar objectives in the three countries, national policies and the seed systems farmers use differ substantially. National policies are shaped by political and historical factors and established in an interplay between state institutions, international donors and private input suppliers. Drawing on a new livelihood dataset, we show that in all three countries the formalization agenda is most visible in maize seed systems, with 25, 61, and 58% of the maize farmers planting improved maize varieties in the study sites in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania, respectively. The inroads of improved maize, and particularly hybrid maize, in farmers' seed systems reflects these seeds high profitability for private seed companies. The tenuous use of improved varieties in crops such as sorghum reflects the limitation of the private sector-based seed system development approach in other crops and illustrates the need for public research and governance. Comparison of households cultivating improved maize with households cultivating local maize reveals that the first group is significantly wealthier and more food secure than the latter. This suggests that better-off households are likely to benefit first from the commercial formalization agenda. We argue that climate-smart seed policies and seed system development strategies must be sensitive to differences between farming systems and different groups of farmers if they are to deliver socially fair outcomes. ; European Union ; Peer Review