Human Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22 traces Neolithic expansion in West Asia and supports the Elamite and Dravidian connection.

West and South Asian populations profoundly influenced Eurasian genetic and cultural diversity. We investigate the genetic history of the Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22, which, while prevalent in these regions, lacks in-depth study. Robust Bayesian analyses of 165 high-coverage Y chromosomes favor a West Asian origin for L1-M22 ∼20.6 thousand years ago (kya). Moreover, this haplogroup parallels the genome-wide genetic ancestry of hunter-gatherers from the Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus. We characterized two L1-M22 harboring population groups during the Early Holocene. One expanded with the West Asian Neolithic transition. The other moved to South Asia ∼8-6 kya but showed no expansion. This group likely participated in the spread of Dravidian languages. These South Asian L1-M22 lineages expanded ∼4-3 kya, coinciding with the Steppe ancestry introduction. Our findings advance the current understanding of Eurasian historical dynamics, emphasizing L1-M22's West Asian origin, associated population movements, and possible linguistic impacts.

Rethinking the country-level percentage of population residing in urban area with a global harmonized urban definition.

The UN (United Nations) collects global data on the country-level Percentage of Population Residing in Urban Area (PPRUA). However, variations in urban definitions make these data incomparable across countries. This study assesses national defined PPRUA within UN statistics against estimates we derived using global comparable definitions. Refer to the UN's Degree of Urbanization framework, we propose 90 global harmonized methods for estimating PPRUA by combining different configurations of three global population datasets, six urban total population thresholds, and five urban population density thresholds. This approach demonstrated significant variations in country-level PPRUA estimations, with wide 95% confidence intervals using the Z score method. Most national defined PPRUA fall between the upper 95% CI and the median of the estimations, underscoring the need for globally harmonious PPRUA estimates. This study advocates for a reassessment of datasets and thresholds in the future and for investigating urbanization on a scale beyond the country level.

The Value of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Human Geography and Bioethics.

Human geography and bioethics both take pride in their interdisciplinary approaches. Relatively little cross-pollination has occurred between human geography and bioethics. This paper takes three cases to highlight the generative potentials of both disciplines, dedicating time and space to learning from each other. Through doing so, we highlight these potentials by focusing on how navigating public spaces subverts the expected uses of particular spaces. We demonstrate that these are entangled with questions of responsibility that both geographers and bioethicists might find helpful. Human geographers and bioethicists can, and should, look for non-naïve ways to care for space, and we hope for this paper to be an example of where to start in the collaborative future of our disciplines.

HLAEquity: Examining biases in pan-allele peptide-HLA binding predictors.

Peptide-HLA (pHLA) binding prediction is essential in screening peptide candidates for personalized peptide vaccines. Machine learning (ML) pHLA binding prediction tools are trained on vast amounts of data and are effective in screening peptide candidates. Most ML models report the ability to generalize to HLA alleles unseen during training ("pan-allele" models). However, the use of datasets with imbalanced allele content raises concerns about biased model performance. First, we examine the data bias of two ML-based pan-allele pHLA binding predictors. We find that the pHLA datasets overrepresent alleles from geographic populations of high-income countries. Second, we show that the identified data bias is perpetuated within ML models, leading to algorithmic bias and subpar performance for alleles expressed in low-income geographic populations. We draw attention to the potential therapeutic consequences of this bias, and we challenge the use of the term "pan-allele" to describe models trained with currently available public datasets.

Ancestry and kinship in a Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages cemetery in the Eastern Italian Alps.

In South Tyrol (Eastern Italian Alps), during Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages, archeological records indicate cultural hybridization among alpine groups and peoples of various origin. Using paleogenomics, we reconstructed the ancestry of 20 individuals (4th-7th cent. AD) from a cemetery to analyze whether they had heterogeneous or homogeneous ancestry and to study their social organization. The results revealed a primary genetic ancestry from southern Europe and additional ancestries from south-western, western, and northern Europe, suggesting that cultural hybridization was accompanied by complex genetic admixture. Kinship analyses found no genetic relatedness between the only two individuals buried with grave goods. Instead, a father-son pair was discovered in one multiple grave, together with unrelated individuals and one possible non-local female. These genetic findings indicate the presence of a high social status familia, which is supported by the cultural materials and the proximity of the grave to the most sacred area of the church.

Cognition and Interaction: From the Perspective of Daily Therapeutic Landscape of the Coastal Zone.

This study explored the relationship between mental and physical therapeutic effects through three dimensions: man-environment relationships, a sense of place, and symbolic landscapes. The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Local residents living in the coastal area of Xinglin Bay were the research objects. Quantitative data analysis revealed that the frequency of residents' visits was an important variable affecting their physical and treatment perceptions. For those who visit frequently, these visits can evoke memories, which can better express their sensory experience. The text analysis showed that residents picked up two major landscape elements to form the sense of place and symbolic landscape: one is the water body in the coastal zone, and the other is the cultural symbol of the peninsula. Based on untoward event experience, the residents assembled the elements into a new spatial relationship with therapeutic affordance.

Anthropogenic activities and age class mediate carnivore habitat selection in a human-dominated landscape.

Human activities increasingly challenge wild animal populations by disrupting ecological connectivity and population persistence. Yet, human-modified habitats can provide resources, resulting in selection of disturbed areas by generalist species. To investigate spatial and temporal responses of a generalist carnivore to human disturbance, we investigated habitat selection and diel activity patterns in caracals (Caracal caracal). We GPS-collared 25 adults and subadults in urban and wildland-dominated subregions in Cape Town, South Africa. Selection responses for landscape variables were dependent on subregion, animal age class, and diel period. Contrary to expectations, caracals did not become more nocturnal in urban areas. Caracals increased their selection for proximity to urban areas as the proportion of urban area increased. Differences in habitat selection between urban and wildland caracals suggest that individuals of this generalist species exhibit high behavioral flexibility in response to anthropogenic disturbances that emerge as a function of habitat context.

Negotiating dignity in public geography: The ethics of public engagement in pandemic times.

In this paper, I reflect on some of the ethical dimensions of public engagement with geographic research. The paper draws on my recent experience of a project entitled 'Not working from home', which sought to make visible the everyday experiences of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was intended as a space for essential workers to document their daily lives using text, images and video, enabling them to engage with each other, while also informing the wider public about the everyday challenges of not working from home during the pandemic. The paper discusses some of the ethical implications and challenges of conducting this project, drawing on a critical engagement with dignity as an ethical framework for public engagement. I discuss the implications of calling workers 'essential', the role of collective and professional identities explored by the participants, and the impact of offering rewards. I also ask some broader questions on the role that the concept of dignity might play in the ethics of public engagement with research in human geography.

Construction of a national natural hazard interaction framework: The case of Sweden.

Recent multiple natural hazards and compound climate events studies have identified a range of interaction types and examined natural hazard interactions in various locations. Yet, there are calls for examining relevant multiple natural hazards in still unstudied national contexts as Sweden. Moreover, multi-hazard concepts rarely consider climate change effects, despite the call of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to adopt multi-hazard approaches and the growing recognition that compound events should be considered "normal". Using a systematic literature study, the paper presents a national natural hazard interaction framework for Sweden identifying 39 cascading, 56 disposition alteration, 3 additional hazard potential, and 17 coincident triggering interactions between 20 natural hazards. Reviewed gray literature, an expert workshop, and reviewed climate research suggest increases of multiple natural hazards with heat wave and heavy rain as triggering or driving events and with hydrological hazards, for instance, fluvial floods, landslides, and debris flows, as the main consequences.

Digging into the admixture strata of current-day Canary Islanders based on mitogenomes.

The conquest of the Canary Islands by Europeans began at the beginning of the 15th century and culminated in 1496 with the surrender of the aborigines. The collapse of the aboriginal population during the conquest and the arrival of settlers caused a drastic change in the demographic composition of the archipelago. To shed light on this historical process, we analyzed 896 mitogenomes of current inhabitants from the seven main islands. Our findings confirm the continuity of aboriginal maternal contributions and the persistence of their genetic footprints in the current population, even at higher levels (>60% on average) than previously evidenced. Moreover, the age estimates for most autochthonous founder lineages support a first aboriginal arrival to the islands at the beginning of the first millennium. We also revealed for the first time that the main recognizable genetic influences from Europe are from Portuguese and Galicians.

The unbalanced trade-off between pollution exposure and energy consumption induced by averting behaviors.

Behavioral responses to environmental risks create gains and losses. We use high-frequency datasets to elucidate such behavior responses against air pollution and find a "double-peaked" time pattern in reducing outdoor exposure and in increasing electricity consumption. Despite that one standard deviation increase in the Air Quality Index induces 2% less outdoor population and 6% more household electricity consumption at peak, most responses fail to match with the intra-day pollution peaks, implying ineffective exposure avoidance. We find an unbalanced trade-off between health benefits and energy co-damages. The behavior-induced change in annual residential power consumption (+1.01% to +1.20%) is estimated to be 20 times more than that in the population-based exposure (-0.02% to -0.05%), and generates 0.13-0.15 million more metric tons of citywide carbon emissions. Our results imply that by targeting peak pollution periods, policies can shrink the trade-off imbalance and achieve mutual improvements in exposure reduction and energy conservation.

The island biogeography of human population size.

For decades, biogeographers have sought a better understanding of how organisms are distributed among islands. However, the island biogeography of humans remains largely unknown. Here, we investigate how human population size varies among 486 islands at two spatial scales. At a global scale, we tested whether population size increases with island area and declines with island elevation and nearest mainland, as is common in non-human species, or whether humans escape such biogeographic constraints. At a regional scale, we tested whether population sizes vary among islands within archipelagos according to the positioning of different cultural source pools. Results illustrate that on a global scale, human populations increased in size with island area, similar to non-human species, yet they did not decline in size with elevation and distance to nearest mainland. At a regional scale, human population size often varied among islands within archipelagos relative to the location of different cultural source pools. Despite broad-scale similarities in the geographical distribution of human and non-human species among islands, results from this study indicate that the island biogeography of humans may also be influenced by archipelago-specific social, political and historical circumstances.

'Enabling places': Rethinking 'community' in ageing-in-community in Beijing, China.

OBJECTIVE(S): To understand how community as 'enabling places' is experienced by older people and brings about enabling resources for supporting ageing in community (AIC). METHODS: From a health geographical perspective, we conceptualize community as enabling places that are produced by the interaction of material, social, and symbolic resources. Focusing on a community-based care centre (CBCC) in Beijing, China, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 older persons to examine how a CBCC enabled AIC. RESULTS: The CBCC site created three interdependent spaces and material/social/affective resources for enabling AIC: (1)living space (residential care beds) to create a sense of connection and safety; (2) a CBCC-supported care space at home to create an atmosphere of trust and safety; and (3) a social space to create feelings of belonging and contribution. Variations in how the three resources interacted produced not only different spaces at the same site for various users but also different AIC experiences for the same user. CONCLUSIONS: Community is not simply a static research context or spatial container. Rather, community as an enabling place involves a dynamic process in which spatial/social/affective resources are encountered and interact. Older people's AIC experiences change as their encounters change in the three types of resources we described and thus their capacities for ageing well change correspondingly. Furthermore, the binary idea of community versus institution needs to be expanded to explore how home, community, and institution are related, in order to create enabling spaces for AIC.

An overview and thematic analysis of research on cities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Toward just, resilient, and sustainable urban planning and design.

Since early 2020, researchers have made efforts to study various issues related to cities and the pandemic. Despite the wealth of research on this topic, there are only a few review articles that explore multiple issues related to it. This is partly because of the rapid pace of publications that makes systematic literature review challenging. To address this issue, in the present study, we rely on bibliometric analysis techniques to gain an overview of the knowledge structure and map key themes and trends of research on cities and the pandemic. Results of the analysis of 2,799 articles show that research mainly focuses on six broad themes: air quality, meteorological factors, built environment factors, transportation, socio-economic disparities, and smart cities, with the first three being dominant. Based on the findings, we discuss major lessons that can be learned from the pandemic and highlight key areas that need further research.

Satellite monitoring of shrinking cities on the globe and containment solutions.

Shrinking cities are often neglected in the context of global urbanization, the tip of the iceberg that was driven by underlying complex sets of causes. Therefore, it is urgent and crucial to investigate the invisible aspects of global urbanization propelling specific challenges to attain Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) related to sustainable cities and communities. Here, we identify shrinking cities in 1992-2000, 2000-2012, and 2013-2018 and predict them in 2018-2050, using nighttime light images and redefined natural city boundaries. The proportion of shrinking cities increased from 9% to 16 and 25%. Looking ahead, there will be 7,166 predicted shrinking cities in 2050, accounting for 37% of all cities. In this context, synergistic efforts like regreening vacant lands and constructing compact cities would help achieve SDG 11 in consideration of the new urban shrinking landscape with multisource data like CO2 emissions and points of interests (POIs).

A onlook at the Landscapes of Complexity to Understand Criminal Temtorialization / Una mirada a los paisajes de la complejidad para entender la territorializacion criminal

RESUMEN Este artículo presenta una reflexión producida tras una serie de intervenciones realizadas en el sector conocido como "El Bronx" en la ciudad de Bogotá, financiadas por el Gobierno nacional y distrital para, por un lado, comprender el papel que algunas dinámicas territoriales tienen para prevenir el crimen y, por otro lado, diseñar e implementar una estrategia en los entornos escolares locales que ayudara a reducir la vulnerabilidad de los jóvenes del sector. Las propuestas de trabajo desarrollan lineamientos de las políticas sociales articulando elementos propios de la geografía humana, la sociología y la psicología alrededor de propuestas como las Zonas de Orientación Escolar. Entre las conclusiones pueden encontrarse indicios sobre la importancia de considerar el efecto que las dinámicas territoriales tienen para la efectividad del diseño e implementación de políticas sociales, así como también la dificultad que representa la definición de indicadores que permitan la comparabilidad con experiencias similares.

ABSTRACT This paper is a reflection produced after a series of interventions carried out at the sector known as "The Bronx", in the city of Bogotá, financed by the national and district governments. The main aim was, on one hand, to understand the role that some dynamics play in order to prevent crime, and, on the other hand, to design and implement a strategy in local schools that will help to reduce the individual vulnerability of young people in the sector. The work proposals develop social policy guidelines articulating elements of human geography, sociology, and psychology, around proposals such as the Zonas de Orientación Escolar (School Guiding Zones, Indications about the importance of considering the effect that territorial dynamics have on the effectiveness of the design and implementation of social policies, as well as the difficulty of defining indicators that allow comparability with similar experiences, can be found among the conclusions.

Colonial Geographies, Black Geographies, and Bioethics.

Structural anti-Black racism exists within the fields of bioethics and medicine. The colonial structures underlying bioethics render the geographies and subjectivities of Black scholars and patients "ungeographic," hidden by dominant White geographies. In this essay, I aim to illuminate more clearly the anti-Black racist structures embedded in bioethics and medicine by engaging with Katherine McKittrick's work Demonic Grounds: Black Women and the Cartographies of Struggle. Specifically, I apply McKittrick's concepts of Black geographies to the physical spaces of health care (which could be the hospital, intensive care ward, or birthing room) and the discursive space of bioethics journals and texts. Finally, recommendations are made for bioethics to build the capacity to hold a multiplicity of geographies simultaneously.

Compound impacts from droughts and structural vulnerability on human mobility.

Extreme dry events already disrupt populations' ability to migrate. In a warming climate, compound drought events could amplify vulnerability and drive forced migration. Here, we contribute the first multi-method research design on societal impacts from compound drought events. We show how mobility patterns are shaped by the intersection of drought and social vulnerability factors in three drought-prone countries - Madagascar, Nepal, and Mexico. We find that internal migration in agricultural communities in Mexico increased by 14 to 24 basis points from 1991 to 2018 and will prospectively increase by 2 to 15 basis points in Nepal in case of a compound drought event in 2025. We show that consecutive drought events exacerbate structural vulnerabilities, limiting migrants' adaptation options, including long-range migration. We conclude that the additional social pre-conditions, e.g., social isolation and lack of accurate information, ultimately limit migration as an adaptation option for households vulnerable to compound drought events.

Ocean Literacy and Surfing: Understanding How Interactions in Coastal Ecosystems Inform Blue Space User's Awareness of the Ocean.

Intergovernmental policy is targeting public ocean literacy to help achieve the societal changes needed to reach a sustainable ocean agenda within a 10-year timeframe. To create a culture of care for the ocean, which is under threat from Anthropocentric pressures, informed ocean citizens are central to upholding meaningful actions and best practices. This research focuses on recreational ocean users, specifically surfers and how their blue space activities may inform understanding of ocean processes and human-ocean interconnections. The Ocean Literacy Principles were used to assess ocean awareness through surfing interactions. An online survey questionnaire was completed by 249 participants and reduced to a smaller sample focus group. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated to develop further understanding of surfer experiences, using the social-ecological systems framework to model surfing outcomes. The results found that surfers indeed receive ocean literacy benefits, specifically three out of the seven Ocean Literacy Principles and that ocean literacy is a direct benefit many surfers in the sample group receive. By identifying synergies between the Ocean Literacy Principles, variables within coastal ecosystems and user (surfer) interactions, this research offers novel insight into opportunities for integrating ocean sustainability strategies through blue space activity mechanisms and coastal community engagement.

Where do successful populations originate from?

In order to understand the dynamics of emergence and spreading of socio-technical innovations and population moves it is important to determine the place of origin of these populations. Here we focus on the role of geographical factors, such as land fertility and mountains in the context of human population evolution and distribution dynamics. We use a constrained diffusion-based computational model, computer simulations and the analysis of geographical and land-quality data. Our analysis shows that successful human populations, i.e. those which become dominant in their socio - geographical environment, originate from lands of many valleys with relatively low land fertility, which are close to areas of high land fertility. Many of the homelands predicted by our analysis match the assumed homelands of known successful populations (e.g. Bantus, Turkic, Maya). We also predict other likely homelands as well, where further archaeological, linguistic or genetic exploration may confirm the place of origin for populations with no currently identified urheimat. Our work is significant because it advances the understanding of human population dynamics by guiding the identification of the origin locations of successful populations.