Applying Stone in a Western Landscape: Ranchers,Conservationists, and Causal Stories in the “American Serengeti”

As the emergence of nongovernmental conservation efforts generates conflict among various stakeholders, the causal story that each party articulates regarding conservation and the causes of land degradation reflects their unique interests. This study uses existing literature to evaluate causal stories surrounding a contemporary conservation effort: Montana's American Prairie Reserve. Through qualitative review of web‐based documents and newspaper articles, it generates a preliminary account of key stakeholders' causal stories. The case study suggests that parties who might be disadvantaged by ascribing responsibility for environmental harms in an adversarial fashion may instead elect to articulate causal stories that are more neutral than existing approaches might forecast. The study concludes by suggesting that further development of causal story literature may enable it to better address contemporary conservation efforts.     

基于抗原蛋白Fiber-2及细胞因子佐剂的Ⅰ群4型禽腺病毒亚单位疫苗的开发

为了开发一种抗I群4型禽腺病毒(FAd V-4)的亚单位疫苗,选择I群禽腺病毒血清4型流行毒株衣壳蛋白Fiber-2作为保护性抗原蛋白。利用昆虫细胞-杆状病毒系统生产Fiber-2蛋白,通过Westernblot检测重组蛋白的表达情况,利用双向琼脂扩散法检测重组Fiber-2的免疫原性。为了增强亚单位疫苗的免疫保护效果,添加鸡源白细胞介素2(chIL-2)和鸡源γ-干扰素(ch IFN-γ)作为免疫佐剂,与重组Fiber-2单独或混合使用,制备多种形式的亚单位疫苗,并进行动物攻毒保护试验。重组蛋白的Western-blot鉴定结果显示,63 ku处出现Fiber-2蛋白目的条带;双向琼脂扩散试验结果显示,重组蛋白效价达到1∶128,表现出良好的反应原性。动物攻毒保护试验结果显示,单独使用Fiber-2免疫SPF鸡,在50 μg/只的剂量下,可为SPF鸡提供100%的保护效果,以chIL-2和chIFN-γ为免疫佐剂,与重组Fiber-2联合免疫SPF鸡,可显著增强Fiber-2在低剂量(10 μg/只)下的免疫保护效果,上述结果表明重组Fiber-2联合chIL-2和chIFN-γ细胞因子佐剂所制备的亚单位疫苗在抗I群4型禽腺病毒感染领域具有良好的应用前景。     

十三味玉泉丸治疗早期2型糖尿病疗效观察

目的 观察十三味玉泉丸治疗早期2型糖尿病的临床疗效。方法 将100例早期2型糖尿病患者随机分为对照组和治疗组各50例，对照组采用二甲双胍缓释片联合阿卡波糖片口服降血糖，治疗组采用十三味玉泉丸口服降血糖，两组疗程均为3个月。比较两组治疗后空腹血糖（fasting plasma glucose，FPG）、餐后2 h血糖（2-h postprandial blood glucose，2hPG）、糖化血红蛋白（glycosylated hemoglobin，HbA1c）、空腹胰岛素（fasting insulin，FINS）、胰岛素分泌指数（homeostasis model assessment beta-cell function，HOMA-β）、胰岛素抵抗指数（homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance，HOMA-IR）、体质量指数（body mass index，BMI）、不良反应发生率。结果 与治疗前比较，两组患者治疗后FPG、2hPG、HOMA-IR、BMI降低，FINS、HOMA-β显著升高，差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）；治疗组患者治疗前后HOMA-β、HOMA-IR差值显著大于对照组（P＜0.05）。两组不良反应发生率比较，差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。结论 十三味玉泉丸治疗早期2型糖尿病疗效确切，能很好地降血糖，改善胰岛β细胞功能，减少胰岛素抵抗，减轻体质量，且无明显不良反应。     

Sample Mining and Data Mining: Combined Real-Time and Retrospective Approaches for the Identification of Emerging Novel Psychoactive Substances

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic drugs that pose serious public health and safety concerns. A multitude of NPS have been identified in the United States, often implicated in forensic investigations. The most common and effective manner for identifying NPS is by use of mass spectrometry and the true utility lies within nontargeted acquisition techniques. During this study, a liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) assay was developed, validated, and implemented for forensic toxicology testing. A SCIEX TripleTOF™ 5600 + with SWATH^® acquisition was used. Resulting data were compared against an extensive library database containing more than 800 compounds. The LC-QTOF-MS assay was applied to the reanalysis of biological sample extracts to discover emergent NPS. More than 3,000 sample extracts were analyzed, and more than 20 emerging NPS were detected for the first time. Among these were isopropyl-U-47700, 3,4-methylenedioxy-U-47700, fluorofuranylfentanyl, N-methyl norfentanyl, 2F-deschloroketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxy-alpha-PHP, eutylone, and N-ethyl hexedrone.     

Fatal intoxication involving 2-methyl AP-237

Novel synthetic opioids contribute considerably to the opioid epidemic, especially with the frequent emergence of structurally similar compounds. This case report describes a fatal intoxication involving 2-methyl AP-237. A 54-year-old Caucasian male was found deceased from an apparent drug overdose. A plastic container labeled “2MAP” and a cut straw were found in the decedent's backpack at the scene. A white substance found in the container tested positive for fentanyl by field testing. According to his medical history, the decedent was treated for a drug overdose 3 years prior to his death. With no diagnostic findings at autopsy, the case was submitted for toxicological analysis. An unknown substance was detected in peripheral blood and urine using gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorous detection (GC-NPD). Further testing was conducted using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) which confirmed the presence of 2-methyl AP-237 and potential metabolites in blood and urine. Quantitation by GC-NPD revealed concentrations of 2-methyl AP-237 in blood and urine at 480 ng/mL and 4200 ng/mL, respectively. The toxicological analysis also identified and quantitated alprazolam in the blood at 55 ng/mL. Additionally, the metabolism of 2-methyl AP-237 was investigated and three hydroxylated metabolites were identified in peripheral blood and urine. Limited literature is available for the detection and quantitation of 2-methyl AP-237 in postmortem specimens. Given the toxicological findings with unremarkable autopsy findings, this case is an example of a fatal intoxication involving 2-methyl AP-237.     

2,4,6-Tri(2′-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine for determination of iron(II), Iron(III), and total iron contents on human palms

When iron-based tools, such as knives or guns, are held, traces of iron can transfer to the skin. However, no previous studies have been published regarding the effect of the elapsed contact time on the transfer of iron species with different valences to the palm. Compared with 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine (PDT), 2,4,6-tri(2′-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPTZ) was found to exhibit a higher sensitivity to iron(II) spectrophotometrically. This work employed 2,4,6-tri(2′-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPTZ) and UV spectrophotometry to determine the amounts of iron(II), iron(III), and total iron transferred to human palms from iron tools. It was found that the palmar moisture level was an important factor in determining the amounts of total iron, including iron(II), transferred to the palm. For identical contact times, the amounts of total iron transferred to the palm was proportional to the palmar moisture, and the difference between the maximum and minimum amounts was 12 μg per hand. However, the amounts of iron(II) transferred to the palm gradually decreased over time for low palmar moisture levels, but steadily increased over time for high palmar moisture levels. Additionally, for average levels of palm moisture, the amounts of iron(II) and iron(III) transferred to the palm gradually decreased and increased, respectively, with longer contact times. Notably, this research could serve as a theoretical basis and guide for the detection of trace iron species with different valences on human palms for criminal investigations.     

Conservation in Context: Toward a Systems Framing of Decentralized Governance and Public Participation in Wildlife Management

Governance scholars have long championed the adaptive utility of decentralized management institutions, in part due to their ability to bring diverse stakeholders into decision‐making processes. However, research into the link between decentralization and participation often looks at policy design but bypasses important system feedbacks that shape sustained participation over time. To paint a more robust picture detailing how decentralization and participation are related, this paper uses a complex systems framework to explore interacting structural, operational, and cultural components of decentralized wildlife governance institutions in the United States and Botswana. Through this comparative analysis, I argue that the landscape of public participation in decentralized governance institutions appears to be significantly impacted by three factors: 1) how decentralization processes occurred, 2) where in the process of decision making participation is situated, and 3) perceptions of power distribution between groups with competing interests.     

Policy Narratives across Two Languages: A Comparative Study using the Narrative Policy Framework

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) focuses on the role of narratives, drawing from a rich scholarship in narrative, language, and culture. Despite the understanding that narratives are constructions of language and that narrative construction differs across languages, NPF studies have not focused on policy narratives in languages other than English. Language characteristics of narratives are important to assess the stability of policy narratives when there are multiple dominant languages in a political system. This study investigates the use of narrative elements in policy narratives in agricultural biotechnology policy in India across Hindi and English media coverage to examine the NPF assumption that narratives have generalizable narrative elements irrespective of variation in linguistic context and, specifically, tests the transportability of narrative elements. Findings validate the transportability of narrative elements in Hindi narratives, indicate variation in the use of narrative elements over time, and have implications for applying NPF across languages.     

Confidence in an election authority and satisfaction with democracy: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment of a failed election in Sweden

Contemporary research on electoral integrity has focused on the functioning, evaluation, and legitimacy of electoral processes in emerging democracies. By contrast, this study investigates whether a failed election in a well-established democracy can affect individuals' evaluations of the electoral management body, the Election Authority, and whether those evaluations affect satisfaction with democracy. Using the case of a Swedish regional election in 2010 that had to be rerun due to procedural mistakes in the vote handling, we found that, in the short term, individuals’ confidence in the Election Authority was reduced after it was announced that the election had to be rerun because of the mistakes. Subsequently, this decreased confidence was strongly associated with less satisfaction with democracy at the regional and national level. As good news for the authority, after a successful rerun election, confidence rebounded to the levels prior to the failed election.     

平台异化还是因债致罪？——P2P网贷涉非法吸收公众存款罪裁判文本实证研究

文章采用文献研究的方法对83份P2P网贷平台构成非法吸收公众存款罪的裁判文书进行实证分析。通过对平台异化模式的定性分析和平台负债情况的定量分析以及与刑事责任程度的交叉分析，文章认为，平台异化是P2P网贷平台构成非法吸收公众存款罪的基础性因素，负债规模、存款人人数和无法清偿的数额等三个因素都对刑事责任的程度产生影响。而且相比之下，无法清偿的数额对刑事责任影响的程度最为显著。实际上对P2P网贷平台追究非法吸收公众存款罪的刑事责任是因为网贷平台无法清偿举债数额巨大，即因债致罪。这种因债致罪的司法行为逻辑，可以从司法者作为“清场者”的功能定位和对社会秩序的价值追求来解释其合理性，但是从多元价值权衡和刑事民事分离的角度分析，其又是不合理的。