Fluorescence of a Natural Fluorophore as a Key to Improve Fingerprint Contrast Image

The optical and morphological properties of resveratrol were investigated. This nontoxic fluorescent natural material, emitting in the visible blue light, was used as an optical marker, enabling the enhancement of the image contrast coming from relief pictures marked on challenging surfaces. By applying appropriated imaging softwares, this marker was verified to be very useful in the latent fingerprint recognition deposited on different wood surface types, mainly those with high level of roughness, where conventional forensic materials do not allow effective fingerprint image visualization.     

Inward-Looking Policies, Institutions, Autocrats, and Economic Growth in Latin America: An Empirical Exploration

This paper explores the institutionaldeterminants of economic growth in LatinAmerica by taking advantage of recentempirical research that employs subjectiveand objective measures to test for apossible “Northian” explanation that linksinstitutional quality and economic growth.We explore a simple framework that may helpbetter understand the policymakers’ choicesand persistence regarding inward-lookingpolicies that were pursued between the1930s and the 1980s by arguing that in theLatin American case Olson’s (1982) idea ofencompassing interest should be expanded tocover not only the economic stakes of powerholders, but in particular, their psychicincome which includes their politicalstakes, along the lines of recent work byRobinson (1997), Coyne (2002), andothers.     

非洲联盟面临的挑战

非洲面临最重要的挑战就是如何避免并解决冲突,恢复和巩固和平。持久和平是非洲应对其他挑战的先决条件。非洲联盟的建立显示出非洲人民应对挑战的决心,其目标就是要消除贫困,维护和平,使非洲各国走上经济持续发展的道路。中国是最早向莫桑比克提供援助的国家之一,非洲国家视中国为伙伴和盟友,中非合作的前景广阔。     

The Western Muhajirat of ISIS

An unprecedented number of Western women have recently joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The group has envisaged strictly non-combat roles for them, but violence is an essential part of their embraced ideology and several signs suggest that they could claim a more militant role. Their marginalization, however, is essential for the preservation of ISIS's power system and it is consequently unlikely that it would accommodate such aspiration, at least in the areas of the proclaimed caliphate. It could be different in the West, where women returning from conflict areas or those, even more numerous, anxious to join but unable to travel, could engage in violent acts.     

Trust and Reciprocity in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters

Abstract

Beyond all the material and economic losses that natural disasters produce, post-disaster environments can alter the social capital of a community by affecting social norms, attitudes, and people’s behaviour. To analyse this issue, we empirically investigate the effect that the aftermath of a disaster can have on trust and reciprocity of people within communities. We do this by comparing outcomes of trust games conducted in earthquake-affected and non-affected rural villages one year after the 2010 Chilean earthquake. Our findings show that while trust levels do not differ across cases, reciprocity is lower in earthquake-affected areas.     

The 1992, 1994 and 1996 elections: A comment and a forecast

A model of the two-way relationship between elections and the economy, previously estimated on historical data for 1916–1988, is applied to the United States elections of 1992, 1994, and 1996. The 1992 result was a surprise to the model since the economy had performed reasonably well that election year. The midterm elections of 1994 were accurately forecast. The Republicans took control of Congress not because of unusual circumstances but because of a normal midterm cycle. President Clinton's chances in 1996 look dim given the current modest growth rate and an electoral bias favoring Republican presidential candidates. But an alternative model, keyed more to the voters choosing Clinton to balance the Republican Congress, gives him a reasonable chance of reelection.     

The effects of cashing-out food stomps on household food use and the cost of issuing benefits

The recent report produced by Vice President Gore's committee on government efficiency highlights the importance of streamlining government operations. But often there are trade-offs between administrative streamlining and accomplishing substantive program objectives. This article examines these tradeoffs in the context of the Food Stamp Program, an important component of the United States' safety net for providing low-income assistance. We estimate impacts on both administrative costs and substantive outcomes (participant food expenditures) resulting from issuing program benefits in the form of checks rather than the usual food coupons. The findings, which are based on experimental tests of the cashout approach in parts of Alabama and California, suggest that significant cost savings can be attained through cashout but that these savings may be achieved at the cost of weakening the program's ability to achieve its substantive objective of encouraging food use.     

Germany: public affairs reinvented

Reunification, growing international exposure and the move of the capital from Bonn to Berlin are not merely milestones for the major changes that have occurred in German politics since World War II. They are developments that have profoundly affected and continue to affect political life in Germany. The way that political, civic and economic interests engage with the political system has changed, and this raises the question of what public affairs is and can achieve in this context. As practitioner the author observes four main trends. First, public affairs is increasingly being understood in terms of the meaning of the German word ‘Gesellschaftspolitik’. Second, the changing nature of how political issues are being communicated demands a growing expertise from all the players involved. Third, the general feeling among organisations for ‘need to do something political’ does not yet correspond with a specific demand for public affairs services. And last, a market for high profile consultancy‐led public affairs services is still in the making. Public affairs practitioners in Germany will be key in shaping and developing the profile of public affairs as a serious discipline with services and expertise, maturely tailored to local market needs. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Mitochondrial DNA error prophylaxis: assessing the causes of errors in the GEP'02-03 proficiency testing trial

A qualitative and quantitative analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of 49 licit and illicit drugs in oral fluid. Small oral fluid samples, volume 1mL, were collected from volunteers using a modified Omni-Sal device and the analytes were extracted from an oral fluid/buffer mixture using a single Bond Elut Certify solid phase extraction cartridge. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and gas chromatography-repetitive full scan mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used in parallel to analyze the extracts for the targeted drugs. Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS in their underivatized form and as their pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Deuterated internal standards were used for quantification of drugs of abuse by LC-MS-MS to minimize matrix effects. Methadone-d(9) and tumoxetine were used as the internal standards for quantification of non-derivatized and derivatized analytes respectively by GC-MS. Linearity was demonstrated over the range 5-200 ng/mL and limits of detection were less than 4 ng/mL for each drug analyzed. The method demonstrated acceptable recoveries for most of the analytes and good intra- and inter-day precision. Acquisition of data by repetitive full scan GC-MS allows the addition of further analytes to the target menu.