Maize diversity,poverty, and market access: lessons from Mexico

Crop genetic diversity and poverty are linked: first, resource-poor farmers often maintain genetic diversity; and second, crop diversity, when properly valued by the market, has the potential to alleviate poverty. This article examines this supposition by drawing on three case studies of the intersection of the market with poverty and maize diversity in Mexico. These suggest that the bulk market for maize offers little room for maize landraces (local maize varieties known as criollo maize), in that it does not reward qualitative variation in maize grain and instead presents incentives that make planting ‘improved’ maize germplasm the rational economic choice for small-scale farmers. Meanwhile, attempts to add value to maize landraces via market differentiation have had varying success. Although there is potential for differentiated markets to contribute to successful business models and poverty alleviation, these cases exhibit trade-offs between product consistency, investment of labour and resources, and genetic-diversity conservation.     

俄罗斯人二十年后看改革(续)

1人们如此看待苏共的主要原因是,在政治和经济危机不断加剧的情况下,这个曾经强大的政党却受到内部纷争的困扰,其本身就被视为对稳定和秩序的威胁。所以,从此次调查结果来看,如今大多数俄罗斯人不会为苏共消失感到惋惜,更不会认为这是“改革的损失”。十分明显,被俄罗斯人视为改革重大损失的没有安全感和对未来生活信心的丧失,在今天仍令俄罗斯人感到不安。正因为如此,社会上不仅对改革的看法褒贬不一,而且有人觉得改革没有完成。因为事实已经很清楚,戈尔巴乔夫的改革以及后来叶利钦时期的改革都未能实现设定的目标,国家现任总统也遇到很大…     

国外政府机构设置的做法和经验

世界各国中央政府机构的设置情况,既有各自特点,也有一些共同做法。考察分析这些共同做法,有助于了解国外政府机构设置的经验,为我国的政府机构改革提供参考和借鉴。本文选取了九个国家作为分析对象,对各国中央政府的机构设置进行了梳理,尤其对美国、英国、日本和德国的做法进行了较为详细的介绍,探讨了各国中央政府机构设置的一般做法和趋势。     

The Geography of Repression and Opposition to Autocracy

State repression is a prominent feature of nondemocracies, but its effectiveness in quieting dissent and fostering regime survival remains unclear. We exploit the location of military bases before the coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile in 1973, which is uncorrelated to precoup electoral outcomes, and show that counties near these bases experienced more killings and forced disappearances at the hands of the government during the dictatorship. Our main result is that residents of counties close to military bases both registered to vote and voted “No” to Pinochet's continuation in power at higher rates in the crucial 1988 plebiscite that bolstered the democratic transition. Potential mechanisms include informational frictions on the intensity of repression in counties far from bases and shifts in preferences caused by increased proximity to the events. Election outcomes after democratization show no lasting change in political preferences.     

Spatial mobility of knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity: analysis and measurement of the impact within the geoeconomic space

This paper analyses the spatial mobility of knowledge and technology transfer and measures the economic impact on the geo-economic space. The data of laboratories operating in different research and technological fields are used. The results show that, when the distance from the source of knowledge (research institute) to users increases, the impact of knowledge and technology transfer decreases with damped pulsations. The magnitude of knowledge and technology transfer shows a high intensity within the industrial district because small businesses are able to acquire externally scientific knowledge, without conducting in-house research, but by interactions with public scientific bodies and adopting both collective rules that act as collective knowledge devices, making collective learning possible, and skilled labor.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry assay for hair analysis of methylphenidate

Examination of various SIM cards and smart card devices indicates that data may be retained in SIM card memory structures even after heating to temperatures up to 450 degrees C, which the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has determined to be approximately the maximum average sustained temperature at desk height in a house fire. However, in many cases, and certainly for temperatures greater than 450 degrees C, the SIM card chip has suffered structural or mechanical damage that renders simple probing or rewiring ineffective. Nevertheless, this has not necessarily affected the data, which is stored as charge in floating gates, and alternative methods for directly accessing the stored charge may be applicable.     

Commotio cordis as a result of a fight: report of a case considered to be imprudent homicide

The report describes a fatal outcome in a 5-year-old male who died after drinking a fatal dose of ethanol at the party held by his parents. Urine and blood alcohol level of the deceased was 0.4 and 0.5 g/dL, what might explain the sudden death of the child. In addition, the analysis of the boy's hair demonstrated the presence of ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a marker of alcohol consumption; hair EtG concentration levels indicated that the boy might have occasionally imbibed alcohol prior to death. Pathological lesions of the liver observed in histopathology did not contradict such a hypothesis.     

A middle-aged female serial killer

The case of a 48-year-old woman accused of killing at least 12 elderly women and attempting to kill another one during the last 3 years is presented. Extensive neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and neuropsychiatric testing showed no evidence of a DSM-IV-TR Axis I diagnosis, but a decrease in executive functions and abnormalities in the processing of affective stimuli were found. Behavioral and psychophysiological studies revealed dissociation between knowing how to behave and actually behaving in socially acceptable ways. According to the woman, killing was just her response to "humiliating situations." Two potentially significant conditions in her past history are found: (i) childhood abuse; and (ii) multiple head injuries. It is conjectured that the nature of her crimes, paranoid and personality traits, a probable frontal brain dysfunction, as well as a specific demographic and social context represent unusual factors accounting for her violent behavior.