Results of the GEP-ISFG collaborative study on two Y-STRs tetraplexes: GEPY I (DYS461, GATA C4, DYS437 and DYS438) and GEPY II (DYS460, GATA A10, GATA H4 and DYS439)

A collaborative exercise was carried out by the Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group (GEP-ISFG) in order to evaluate the performance of two Y-chromosome STR PCR tetraplexes, which include the loci DYS461, GATA C4, DYS437 and DYS438 (GEPY I), and DYS460, GATA A10, GATA H4 and DYS439 (GEPY II). The participating laboratories were asked to type three samples for the eight markers, using a specific amplification protocol. In addition, two control samples, with known haplotypes, were provided. The results obtained by the 13 different participating laboratories were identical, except for two laboratories that failed to type correctly the same two samples for GATA C4. By sequence analyses, two different GATA C4 allele structures were found. One control sample (allele 21) and two questioned samples (allele 22, correctly typed by all the laboratories, and allele 25) presented the following repeat structure: (TCTA)4(TGTA)2(TCTA)2(TGTA)2(TCTA)n, but different from the one found for allele 26 in one sample included in this exercise, as well as in the second control sample (allele 23), namely (TCTA)4(TGTA)2(TCTA)2(TGTA)2(TCTA)2(TGTA)2(TCTA)n. The collaborative exercise results proved that both Y-tetraplexes produce good amplification results, with the advantage of being efficiently typed using different separation and detection methodologies. However, since GATA C4 repeat presents a complex structure, with alleles differing in sequence structure, efficient denaturing conditions should be followed in order to avoid typing errors due to sizing problems.     

Tunisian population data on 10 Y-chromosomal loci

Alleles and haplotypes frequencies for 10 Y-chromosome STR loci (DYS19, DYS385 I/II, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS438 and DYS439), included in the Y-Plex6 and Y-Plex5 kits were determined for a Tunisian population sample of 100 male individuals.     

Providing rural credit in southern India: A comparison of commercial banks and cooperatives

This paper contrasts the recent experiences of two different institutions in providing credit and savings facilities in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, southern India. Ever since the late-1960s, there has been a rising demand for credit to finance investment in agriculture. This has been reinforced by Government policy over the last two decades, and especially since 1980, to provide credit both to priority activities, including agriculture, and to disadvantaged rural groups. Part of that policy has been to encourage the commercial banks to offer services in the countryside, alongside the previously well-developed network of cooperatives offering formal rural credit. The commercial banks have had considerable success in expanding their network of branches, and in increasing bank deposits and loans in rural areas. Operating as corporate bureaucracies, the banks have been able to expand without being crippled in the process. On the other hand, their institutional strength has meant that Government credit policy has been implemented cautiously. The agricultural credit cooperatives, no newcomers to the countryside, have still to fulfil their long-declared function of providing short-term credit for crop production to the majority of agricultural households. Loan recovery by the cooperatives has been weak. The cooperatives have suffered partly from the internal contradictions inherent in any cooperative structure imposed upon the peasantry, from major flaws in the organizational structure of Tamil Nadu cooperatives, as well as from the increasing appropiation of the cooperatives for party political ends. The contrasting experiences of the two different institutions in providing rural credit illustrate how policy applied through different institutions can produce quite different outcomes. They also demonstrate how changes in the socio-political environment, neither immediately obvious nor predictable, can critically affect policy results.     

Priorities,government institutions and foreign assistance in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Russia

This article argues that for a number of reasons, the Russian state has had limited success in tackling the growing problem of HIV/AIDS. It begins with brief discussions of the health context of HIV/AIDS in the Russian Federation and the development of institutions in Russia post‐1991. It then discusses the attempts that have been made thus far to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic, both on the part of the federal government and with the aid of international donor funding. It is argued that a number of factors have contributed to Russia's lack of success in tackling HIV/AIDS. Firstly, the infection has been interpreted as a health problem rather than as a phenomenon which impacts on all aspects of public life. Secondly, there have been weak incentives at the federal level, which has resulted in a lack of a coordinated approach to HIV/AIDS at the national level. Thirdly, there have been regional variations in the autonomy and independence from the federal state impacting on the struggle against HIV in the Russian regions. Evidence from research undertaken by DFID is drawn upon to illustrate these variations in tackling HIV/AIDS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accumulation by Dispossession and Its Limits: The Southern Africa Paradigm Revisited

The dispossession of agricultural producers from the land has long been considered a condition of successful capitalist development. The main contention of this paper is that such dispossession has in fact become the source of major developmental handicaps for at least some and possibly many countries of the global South. We develop our argument by focusing on the South(ern) African experience as a paradigmatic outlier case of accumulation by dispossession—that is, as one of its extreme instances capable of highlighting in almost ideo-typical fashion its nature and limits. After reconstructing interpretations of capitalist development in Southern Africa that in the early 1970s established the region as a paradigm of accumulation by dispossession, we discuss how useful these interpretations are for understanding the more recent developmental trajectory of South Africa. We then suggest ways in which these interpretations from the 1970s should be reformulated in light of subsequent developments. We conclude by briefly examining the theoretical and policy implications of the analysis.     

Brokers and Entrepreneurs in Human Stem Cell Governance Networks in the United States

The policy debate over embryonic stem cell (ESC) research in the United States mainly focuses on the extent to which the government ought to provide resources for that research. This article addresses the strategic use of network positions to mobilize an effective coordination system for lifting the moratorium on funding of ESC under the Obama administration since March 2009. By identifying patterns of interactions between members in a network of embedded ties, we can explore the major actors who play the role of brokers or entrepreneurs in stem cell research funding policy under the Obama administration. For that, this article utilizes social network analysis and the G&F brokerage roles framework to identify key brokers in facilitating coordination among various members engaged in funding human stem cell research in the governance network.     

和谐社会的人际伦理

在现代社会中使用"和谐"的说法,需要作与现代政治、社会有关的释义,方能明确它的现代含义.我们可以用现代民主、宪政、法制、权利、权威等概念来解释"和谐"的现代政治含义,也可以用别类现代概念来解释"和谐"其它方面的现代意义.著名伦理哲学家马各利特(A.Margalit)在<记忆的伦理>中提出的一系列有用的伦理哲学概念,为我们解释"和谐"的现代社会人际伦理意义提供了一种可能.     

当代科技革命和交往手段的变革

科技革命促使人们交往手段的变革.交往是实践活动中不可缺少的部分,它有共同的内在结构和变革机制.从交往的价值论观点看,交往是有价值负荷的,从交往的实践论观点看,交往推进了信息技术的革命,从交往的产权变革看,科技革命推进了经济交往手段的变革,从而促进了社会经济的发展.