Governing sustainable palm oil supply: Disconnects,complementarities, and antagonisms between state regulations and private standards

The global palm oil value chain has grown in complexity; stakeholder relationships and linkages are increasingly shaped by new public and private standards that aim to ameliorate social and environmental costs while harnessing economic gains. Regulatory initiatives in the emerging policy regime complex struggle to resolve sector‐wide structural performance issues: pervasive land conflicts, yield differences between companies and smallholders, and carbon emissions arising from deforestation and peatland conversion. Identifying opportunities for more effective governance of the palm oil value chain and supply landscapes, this paper explores disconnects, complementarities, and antagonisms between public regulations and private standards, looking at the global, national, and subnational policy domains shaping chain actors’ conduct. Greater complementarities have emerged among transnational instruments, but state regulation disconnects persist and antagonisms prevail between national state regulations and transnational private standards. Emerging experimental approaches, particularly at subnational level, aim to improve coordination to both enhance complementarities and resolve disconnects.     

The 2017 election in Kenya: reimagining the past or introducing the future?

The new 2010 Kenya Constitution introduced a devolved system of government that has radically transformed the Kenyan polity. The political elite which operated primarily at the national level now encounters a new competitive political arena with the introduction of county governments under devolution. In particular, a new post of County Governor has surpassed in power calculations both the traditional MP and the new position of senator. In the 2013 elections, the focus was on the national arena; in 2017, all this will change.     

Identification and Individualization of Lophophora using DNA Analysis of the trnL/trnF Region and rbcL Gene

Lophophora williamsii (peyote) is a small, spineless, greenish‐blue cactus found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Ingestion of the cactus can result in hallucinations due to its content of mescaline. In the United States, L. williamsii is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. In this study, we use DNA analysis of the chloroplast trnL/trnF region and chloroplast rbcL gene to identify the individuals of Lophophora. Using the rbcL gene, Lophophora specimens could be distinguished from outgroups, but species within the genus could not be distinguished. The trnL/trnF region split the Lophophora genus into several groups based on the length and substructure of an AT‐rich segment of the sequence. Our results indicate that the genetic variability at the trnL/trnF locus is greater than previously recognized. Although DNA structures at the trnL/trnF region and rbcL gene do not align with the classification of Lophophora species, they can be used to aid in forensic analysis.     

ID‐Check: Online Concealed Information Test Reveals True Identity

The Internet has already changed people's lives considerably and is likely to drastically change forensic research. We developed a web‐based test to reveal concealed autobiographical information. Initial studies identified a number of conditions that affect diagnostic efficiency. By combining these moderators, this study investigated the full potential of the online ID‐check. Participants (n = 101) tried to hide their identity and claimed a false identity in a reaction time‐based Concealed Information Test. Half of the participants were presented with personal details (e.g., first name, last name, birthday), whereas the others only saw irrelevant details. Results showed that participants′ true identity could be detected with high accuracy (AUC = 0.98; overall accuracy: 86–94%). Online memory detection can reliably and validly detect whether someone is hiding their true identity. This suggests that online memory detection might become a valuable tool for forensic applications.     

强奸案件证据标准与证明方法的实证分析

强奸案件的证据采信问题在司法实践中颇受争议,出现这种现象的主要原因在于其直接证据的稀缺。针对强奸案件的证据收集和运用中所存在一系列的疑难情形,司法机关不必追求证据之间无任何矛盾,而要从全案证据出发,采取"自由心证"与"相互印证"相结合的证明方法,并运用对质制度,做到完整证据链条支持下的内心确认即可。     

mtDNA技术及其在诉讼和事故调查中的应用

本文系统编译整理了线粒体及线粒体 DNA(mtDNA)技术。mtDNA 技术对刑侦、刑事审判与辩护、重大灾害事故调查和民事诉讼以及战争阵亡者母系血统关系认定具有广泛的作用。执法人员、刑事被告人、民事诉讼参与人了解 mtDNA 技术与 DNA 指纹技术的区别才能有效地利用 mtDNA 技术,避免错案和合法权益受到损害。     

美国全球供应链调整的国家安全逻辑及实现路径

自奥巴马政府以来,特别是新冠肺炎疫情暴发后,国家安全在美国全球供应链调整中的影响日益彰显。在国家安全的视域下,美国政府调整全球供应链的逻辑依据为“国防论”与“选择性贸易保护主义”。美国的国家安全侧重国家利益与价值,全球供应链调整则诉求产品(或服务)的可替换性,二者交互作用,贸易保护主义性质的“国防论”与“选择性贸易保护主义”就成为分析美国全球供应链调整的理论分析框架。“国防论”侧重诠释具有国防意义产品(或服务)的进出口,而“选择性贸易保护主义”则分析了普通贸易实践对美国整体福利乃至国家安全的损害。美国在国家安全视域下调整全球供应链的路径依赖于软硬两种手段。一是无弹性的硬手段,表现为官僚体制、决策机制、相关法律制度与管理规范,美国全球供应链上的企业必须遵守,其具有吓阻功能。二是具有弹性的软手段,体现为国家战略以及政策说明等,其不具有强制性。基于此,这一研究有助于进一步厘清时下美国政府变动不居的对华经贸政策,构建合作与开放的中美经贸关系。     

结核分枝杆菌与牛分枝杆菌PCR快速鉴别检测方法的建立

根据结核分枝杆菌与牛分枝杆菌基因组的比对分析结果,针对结核分枝杆菌与牛分枝杆菌153bp、RD10和TbD1的3处差异缺失区域设计引物,分别建立了结核分枝杆菌与牛分枝杆菌PCR快速鉴别检测方法.应用建立的3种方法分别对84株结核分枝杆菌、3株牛分枝杆菌、51株非结核分枝杆菌及9种其他常见菌株进行了检测.结果显示,用针对153 bp缺失片段建立的PCR方法分别在结核分枝杆菌及牛分枝杆菌中扩增出645 bp及492 bp的目的条带;用针对RD10、TbD1建立的PCR方法分别在结核分枝杆菌及牛分枝杆菌中扩增出478 bp及361 bp的目的条带、358 bp及524 bp的目的条带.这3种PCR检测方法的准确率和特异性均为100%.敏感性试验结果显示,这些检测方法对结核分枝杆菌和牛分枝杆菌基因组DNA的检测极限均为10 pg.表明,此方法可用于牛源或人源结核分枝杆菌及牛分枝杆菌的快速鉴别检测.     

Foreign corporate accountability: The contested institutionalization of mandatory due diligence in France and Germany

In the recent past, European states have adopted mandatory due diligence (MDD) laws for holding companies accountable for the environmental and human rights impacts of their supply chains. The institutionalization of the international due diligence norm into domestic legislation has, however, been highly contested. Our contribution analyzes the discursive struggles about the meaning of due diligence that have accompanied the institutionalization of MDD in Germany and France. Based on document analysis and legal analysis of laws and law proposals, we identify a state-centric, a market-based, and a polycentric-governance discourse. These discourses are based on fundamentally different understandings of how the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights should be translated into hard law. By outlining these discourses and comparing the related policy preferences, we contribute with a better understanding of different ways in which MDD is institutionalized, with important consequences for the possibilities to enhance corporate accountability in global supply chains.     

Mitochondrial DNA Extraction from Burial Soil Samples at Incremental Distances: A Preliminary Study

Preservation variance of soil DNA is neglected in the literature, and exceptional cases exaggerate amplification capabilities. This study sought to amplify a short mitochondrial fragment (212 bp) specific to Sus scrofa domesticus from the soil surrounding decomposing pig remains from an open‐air locale. Samples collected above the body at incremental distances after 145 days of initial placement yielded pig DNA. A secondary sampling was collected in 2017, approximately 768 days after burial. Inhibition tests corroborated that pig DNA was no longer present in the soil resulting in a loss of original DNA between 145 and 768 days. The results provide evidence that genetic material leaches out radially from the source and DNA fragments longer than 200 bp do not persist in soil for a relatively short timeframe in western Montana. The conclusions support the collection of soil in crime scene investigation procedures within the first few months of decomposition.