Agriculture in the western Himalayas – an asset turning into a liability

Agriculture in the Himalayas has witnessed dynamic shifts and acute crises over the last decade. This viewpoint identifies and discusses the factors leading to de-agrarianisation and land abandonment in the western Himalayas. Data on farming preferences and bottlenecks for agricultural production were also gathered through a short survey with farmers. Escalating male out-migration, land fragmentation and heightened exposure to uncertain environmental conditions have transformed agriculture into a liability for the farmers. The viewpoint suggests that effective implementation of land consolidation reforms in the region would enhance agricultural production, curtail mass migration, and potentially insulate farmers from the ongoing agrarian crisis.     

Roles and contributions of community seed banks in climate adaptation in Nepal

Community seed banks are an effective local institution to conserve quality seeds, to strengthen farmers’ accessibility to social seed networks, and improve agrobiodiversity and food security. This article analyses the prospects and challenges of community seed banks in climate change contexts. It finds that community seed banks serve as sources of climate-resilient seeds to withstand in local climates and improve community resilience. Community seed banks provide landraces for participatory crop improvement to develop resistant varieties to improve quality and productivity. They also strengthen participatory seed exchange to cope with climate adversity. However, there are challenges with defining specific and common goals, functions, approaches, and governance.     

Appeals to the Hispanic Demographic: Targeting through Facebook Autoplay Videos by the Clinton Campaign during the 2015/2016 Presidential Primaries

By looking at the autoplay videos posted and shared on Hillary Clinton’s Facebook account during the 2015 Facebook. 2015. “The Value of Video for Brands.” Webpage Accessed 28 April 2017. https://www.facebook.com/business/news/value-of-video [Google Scholar]/2016 Clinton, H. 2016. “A Special Moment during a Meeting with the Union of Peasants. Yes You Can! Watch the Video. Facebook Status Update.” Retrieved 20 November 2016. https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/posts/1090969694292892 [Google Scholar] primary election season, this article offers much needed insight into the communication aspect of campaign targeting. Using data analysis extracted from the leading social media platform, the article examines what groups of Hispanic Facebook users were attracted to Clinton’s targeted autoplay videos, what elements within these videos best enticed these people into liking the videos, and if the Clinton campaign appeared to learn what types of autoplay videos were most effective over the course of the primary season.     

两种混合STR分型分析软件的比较与应用

随着DNA技术的发展和应用拓广,案件现场生物检材及其提取检验愈受重视、愈显重要性,近年来混合检材的DNA有效检出比例越来越高,混合STR分型的拆分与合理解释也益发成为DNA鉴定技术领域的研究热点与难点。本文主要针对当下国际主流的两款混合分型分析软件——STRmix和云算GPM进行比较研究,就两者的基本信息、理论、分析过程作比较,并结合实战应用和典型案例综合分析两者的异同,希冀为法医DNA工作者提供选用参考和使用依据,也希望能够推动国内混合STR分型分析的发展及与国际交流互鉴。     

Participatory visual research with subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea

This article discusses the trial of visual research methods in a socio-economic research and development project with women subsistence farmers and their families in two regions of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It reports on the benefits and challenges of three visual research methods (drawing, participatory photography, and picture elicitation) to explore the agricultural practice of women subsistence farmers and their families. The paper discusses the potential of these methods for enhancing community engagement, reducing the power imbalance between researchers and participants, and promoting dialogue and reflection to better understand the needs and practices of subsistence farmers.     

Empowering farmers? Collaborative research at Sokoine University of Agriculture,Tanzania

This article presents experiences with collaborative and on-farm research based on the implementation of a four-year Programme for Agricultural and Natural Resources Transformation for Improved Livelihoods (PANTIL) at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania. It outlines the basic elements in the implementation of a programme aimed to be demand-based, and discusses the challenges encountered in combining collaborative research with the empowerment of farmers. Finally, the article draws out some lessons with implications for the future organisation of collaborative and on-farm agricultural research.     

Twenty reasons why local knowledge will remain relevant to development

Local knowledge has continued to gain popularity among development practitioners in the last four decades. However, the future of local knowledge seems hazy to some academics and researchers, perhaps due to the methodological challenges in operationalising local knowledge in development research. Rather than appropriate its full potential for sustainable (global) progress, renditions on the relevance of local knowledge in development research agenda have largely become rhetoric. Nonetheless, this viewpoint outlines 20 pertinent reasons in support of the relevance of local knowledge and why it has a future in development theory and practice.     

Evaluation of Commercial Kits for Dual Extraction of DNA and RNA from Human Body Fluids, ,

STR typing of DNA evidence can identify the donor with a high power of discrimination but cannot identify the tissue origin of a body‐fluid stain. Using RNA to attribute a crime scene stain to a particular tissue may aid in reconstruction efforts. With blood from 10 donors, four DNA and RNA coextraction kits were evaluated by measuring yields and STR and mRNA profiles. T tests indicated some significant differences in kit performance. The Zymo Research ZR‐Duet^? kit performed best based on average DNA (41.4 ng) and mRNA (4.07 ng) yields and was the only kit to provide complete DNA/RNA profiles for all samples. The consistency of this kit was challenged by data from additional blood and saliva donors. Further testing is advised before a superior kit is unequivocally chosen. Stand‐alone DNA or RNA purification generally offers higher yield, but coextraction may still allow successful STR profiling and tissue source identification.     

Simultaneous Screening for 45 Poisonous Alkaloids in Blood by LC-MS/MS

Objective To develop a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS) screening method for 45 poisonous alkaloids in blood. Methods Identification was based on the compound’s retention time and two precursor-to-production transitions. The method involved a liquid-liquid extraction(LLE) followed by LC-MS/MS with multiple-reaction monitoring(MRM). When 1 m L of blood was extracted with diethyl ether at p H=9.2 with SKF525 Aas the internal standard, the target compounds were analyzed with LC-MS/MS in the positive ionization mode. Results The target alkaloids had good linearity(r>0.995 1), both the intra-day precision and inter-day precision being less than 14.77%. The limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 25 ng/m L in blood. Conclusion The method is selective and sensitive in detecting poisonous alkaloids with a total running time of 12 minutes; therefore it was successfully applied to some actual cases of suspected alkaloids poisoning.     

利用扫描电镜/能谱仪和X-射线衍射仪鉴别假“冰毒”

冰毒为纯白或淡黄色结晶体,为利益所驱,很多制贩毒者利用其它外观相似的晶体充当替代品或者掺杂剂,在常规检测时,用气/质联用仪无法检验其成分。本文利用扫描电镜/能谱仪和X-射线衍射仪对外观酷似"冰毒"的晶状物成分进行检测,先利用扫描电镜/能谱仪测定未知物主要元素,再利用X-射线衍射仪测定其晶体结构和成分。两者有效结合成功地鉴别假"冰毒"物质的成分。