Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Assay for Genetic Identification of Lophophora williamsii*

Lophophora is a member of the Cactaceae family, which contains two species: Lophophora williamsii and L. diffusa. Lophophora williamsii is an illegal plant containing mescaline, a hallucinogenic alkaloid. In this study, a novel method based on a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay was developed for identifying L. williamsii; this assay reliably detects SNPs within chloroplast DNA (rbcL, matK, and trnL-trnF IGS) and was validated for identifying Lophophora and L. williamsii simultaneously. The chloroplast DNA sequences from four L. williamsii and three L. diffusa plants were obtained and compared using DNA sequence data from approximately 300 other Cactaceae species available in GenBank. From this sequence data, a total of seven SNPs were determined to be suitable for identifying L. williamsii. A multiplex assay was constructed using the ABI PRISM^® SNaPshot™ Multiplex Kit (Applied Biosystems, Forster City, CA) to analyze species-specific SNPs. Using this multiplex assay, we clearly distinguished the Lophophora among 19 species in the Cactaceae family. Additionally, L. williamsii was distinguished from L. diffusa. These results suggest that the newly developed assay may help resolve crimes related to illegal distribution and use. This multiplex assay will be useful for the genetic identification of L. williamsii and can complement conventional methods of detecting mescaline.     

隐案是如何形成的--对一例普通处警的个案剖析

通过对一桩个案的剖析,从微观层面上展现了隐案形成的机理,强调我们在理解警务工作现状时,不应该只看到警察的业务素质和政治觉悟不高这些“症候”,更应该努力发掘“症结”,即环境中各种因素对警察的制约。     

Economics and Law of Works of Art in the Single European Market

This paper is concerned with the economic analysis of the European rules on the circulation of works of art. After reviewing the relevant literature, an economic framework of the international circulation of works of art is provided (social goals, efficiency and distributive aspects, an economic rationale for a general free trade rule integrated by selective protectionism). Using this framework the European system of circulation of works of art—resulting from the combination of the Maastricht Treaty with Regulation 3911/92 and Directive 93/7—is analysed. The main results of the analysis are: 1) the general free trade principle ruling the Single European Market is strongly limited by rules protecting national artistic heritages of member states; 2) this protectionism—working towards countries both outside and inside the European Union—is applied according to the national laws of each member state, while, contrary to what the Maastricht Treaty would call for, an artistic heritage of European significance is not defined and no autonomous role is recognized in this field to European Institutions; 3) this system shows some inconsistencies with economic theory, as strict limits to trade are not provided when they should be required by the preservation of the physical or artistic integrity of works of art, while in other cases an unduly restrained trade may derive from highly protectionist national laws and export-licencing policies of member states. Enforcement provisions are also analysed and some proposals to improve the system are advanced.     

Brexit: A Cliff Edge or a Small Bump in the Road?

It is becoming increasingly accepted, not least by the Prime Minister and opposition leadership, that the negotiation of a comprehensive trade relationship with the EU is necessary to prevent the UK economy falling off a ‘cliff edge’. This concern is shaping the UK's strategy towards negotiations with the EU and has provided at least part of the motivation for the UK to consider requesting a transition period to facilitate the Brexit process. But how accurate are these fears? What evidence is there for the existence of a ‘cliff edge’? How disastrous would it be for the UK to revert to trading with the EU on the same basis as most other countries in the world, namely according to World Trade Organisation rules? This article seeks to address these issues and it highlights a number of implications for policy makers which flow from understanding the available evidence a little more clearly.     

The European Union and its energy security challenges: engagement through and with networks

Energy security remains a vital issue for the European Union (EU), even more so in the wake of the events that unfolded in early 2014 in Ukraine. The EU's already fragile position in the international energy arena in terms of security of supply appears to be more uncertain than ever after its umpteenth fallout with its historic energy supplier, Russia. This situation is untenable and calls for swift and decisive action to adequately tackle the issue once and for all. The article looks at the creation of a single EU energy market through the integration of energy networks in the EU. This article then examines various ways to diversify its energy supply, whether through increasing the import of liquefied natural gas or through its relations with the Eurasian Union. It then explores the International Energy Charter as an example of the EU's engagement with transnational policy networks. It concludes that from energy transit, to technology transfer, to investment protection, energy and trade present interplays across various fields. Improvements can be made to the EU trading system to ensure greater energy security and more efficient energy markets.     

Estimating Individual Contributions to Complex DNA SNP Mixtures.,

High‐throughput sequencing (HTS) of large panels of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provides an alternative or complimentary approach to short tandem repeats (STRs) panels for the analysis of complex DNA mixture forensic samples. For STRs, methods to estimate individual contribution concentrations compare capillary electrophoresis peak heights, peak areas, or HTS allele read counts within a mixture. This article introduces three approaches (mean, median, and slope methods) for estimating individual DNA contributions to forensic mixtures for HTS/massively parallel sequencing (MPS) SNP panels. For SNPs, the major:minor allele ratios or counts, unique to each contributor, were compared to estimate contributor proportion within the mixture using the mean, median, and slope intercept for these alleles. The estimates for these three methods were typically within 5% of planned experimental contributions for defined mixtures.     

The range and limitation of sub-national regime variations under electoral authoritarianism: The case of Russia

ABSTRACT

As has been demonstrated by scholars, different levels of a polity may encompass different political regimes. In this study we examine variations in regional political regimes which have developed under Russia's system of electoral authoritarianism. Comparing the results of two cycles of regional assembly elections (2008–12 and 2013–17) we analyse and compare elections results and levels of electoral contestation in both the party list (PL) and single member district (SMD) contests. This allows us to identify the range of sub-national regime variations: ‘hegemonic authoritarian’, ‘inter-elite bargain authoritarian’, ‘clearly-competitive authoritarian’, and ‘moderately-competitive authoritarian’ regions. Approximately half of the regions demonstrate stable electoral patterns across both cycles. At the same time, none of the regions go beyond the authoritarian limitations imposed by the Russian regime. The variation is explained by a combination of structural and agency factors with a prevalence of the latter.     

口蹄疫病毒O型和A型交互反应性单克隆抗体的筛选与鉴定

不同血清型口蹄疫病毒(FMDV)之间不能产生交叉免疫保护,但是血清学的交叉反应确实存在。本研究旨在建立一种筛选型间交互反应性抗体的方法,以期为解析FMDV血清型间保守的抗原结构奠定基础。本方法主要依据单个B细胞抗体技术,首先采用两种不同的荧光染料FluoProbes 647H和Pacific Blue分别标记O型与A型FMDV 146S灭活抗原,然后利用流式细胞分选技术,从免疫牛外周血单个核细胞(PBMCs)中分选出结合两种抗原的特异性B细胞,通过单个B细胞抗体基因测定,获得Ig G抗体重链与轻链可变区编码序列,并将可变区基因插入含有牛IgG抗体恒定区的pcDNA3.4载体中,构建IgG抗体的重链与轻链表达质粒。将重链与轻链表达质粒共转染中国仓鼠卵巢悬浮细胞(CHO-S)进行完整抗体表达。结果显示,通过该方法获得了5株FMDV特异性单克隆抗体,其中4株(H64、R82、I16、R29)经间接免疫荧光(IFA)检测都可特异性识别O和A型FMDV;ELISA结果显示,H64、R82、I16与O、A型抗原均具有较好的亲合力;Western-blot结果显示,I16可特异性结合O、A型FMDV结构蛋白VP2中的线性表位,说明在衣壳蛋白VP2上存在血清型间保守的抗原表位,通过本研究进一步加深了对FMDV抗原结构的认识。     

Gettin’ Down Home With the Neelys: gastro-porn and televisual performances of gender,race, and sexuality

This article illuminates how performances of gender, race, and sexuality are integrated with representations of food and food performance in contemporary American cooking television. Interrogating the intersections of food, gender, race, sexuality, and performance, this essay explores how the cable-television show, Down Home with the Neelys, depicts a nouveau gastro-porn anchored in the perceived pornographic level of blackness itself. The author reveals the ways that food and performances of food become a medium of gendering and racialization employed by American popular media. Through the lens of reality television, shows like Down Home (re)produce a certain type of black heterosexuality and gendered enactments of domesticity and space, while challenging dominant televisual reflections of black love and labor. The author argues that the Neelys self-consciously employ a vernacular aesthetic performative of “down home” (a uniquely classed, temporally–spatially situated, and sexualized blackness) to exploit the phenomenon of gastro-porn in a highly lucrative performance that signals the entangled artifice of gender, race, and sexuality. More than offering culinary expertise and education, such cooking instruction reveals the pedagogy of gender, race, and sexuality as visual lessons of a complex and contradictory authenticity. This essay reveals television cooking shows as critical sites for considering the domestic laboring of gendered and racialized sexualities. In particular, shows like Down Home evince the ways that race continues to be rendered in visual terms and the enduring edibility of blackness.     

公共财政框架下的国库集中支付制度改革

公共财政是与社会主义市场经济体制相适应的,其有别于我国传统"生产建设型财政"的内容和要求,进行国库集中支付制度改革是健全公共财政体制的应有之义和具体的实现途径。在市场经济条件下,我国传统的国库分散管理制度显露出种种弊端,与公共财政的框架格格不入。因此,实行国库集中支付制度的改革有许多重要的现实意义和积极作用。但此项改革涉及面广,需要相关配套改革措施的配合和及时跟进,才能取得应有的效果。