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SARS-CoV-2 is a newly discovered beta coronavirus at the end of 2019, which is highly pathogenic and poses a serious threat to human health. In this paper, 1875 SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences and the sequence coding spike protein (S gene) sampled from the United States were used for bioinformatics analysis to study the molecular evolutionary characteristics of its genome and spike protein. The MCMC method was used to calculate the evolution rate of the whole genome sequence and the nucleotide mutation rate of the S gene. The results showed that the nucleotide mutation rate of the whole genome was 6.677 × 10-4 substitution per site per year, and the nucleotide mutation rate of the S gene was 8.066 × 10-4 substitution per site per year, which was at a medium level compared with other RNA viruses. Our findings confirmed the scientific hypothesis that the rate of evolution of the virus gradually decreases over time. We also found 13 statistically significant positive selection sites in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. In addition, the results showed that there were 101 nonsynonymous mutation sites in the amino acid sequence of S protein, including seven putative harmful mutation sites. This paper has preliminarily clarified the evolutionary characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, providing a scientific basis for future surveillance and prevention of virus variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a critical reflection that validates the concept of translocality. I argue that the notion of locality, although indispensable in anthropology, often inscribes or even "locks up" culture in time and space, thus contributing to the institutionalization of the global-local dichotomy. In contrast, and supplementing it, translocality, as a concept, requires the recognition of forms of cultural exchange where the relations among blurred local groups foster the production of cultural hybrids and the transcendence of dichotomies that essentialize the local. Using my fieldwork in Chiapas and Yucatan, Mexico, where I have studied "local" medical knowledges, gastronomy, and identity, respectively, I uncover the mechanisms that produce forms of action that transcend the spatial-temporal limits generally presumed by the concept of "locality" and that are deployed to counter new forms of cultural colonialism. Looking at medical knowledge among speakers of different indigenous languages in Chiapas and at nutritional and dietetic knowledge in Yucatán, I show how, "locally" individuals and groups of people engage in forms of negotiation and appropriation of universalized discourses, to forge culturally hybrid discourses that are inscribed in the interstices of the global and the local. I argue that the concept of "translocality" suggests shifting temporal and spatial attributes that help us overcome the conceptual limits imposed by the local-global dichotomy. It also prevents representations of the local as static and unchanging forms anchored in a definite territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the inner workings of Chinese human smuggling organizations. Contrary to widely held conceptions about Chinese organized crime, most alien smugglers are otherwise ordinary citizens whose familial networks and fortuitous social contacts have enabled them to pool resources to transport human cargoes around the world. They come from diverse backgrounds and form temporary alliances to carry out smuggling operations. With the exception of a shared commitment to making money, little holds them together. The smuggling organizations mostly resemble ad hoc task forces and are assembled for specific operations. These organizations have clear divisions of labor with limited hierarchical structures. We discuss the theoretical implications of their unique organizational characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]