Health Risks for Poultry Workers in Brazil in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article discusses labour relations in the poultry industry in Brazil in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meat production and processing industries there have been many complaints about abusive practices that put workers' health at risk. In several small cities across the country, slaughterhouses already act as pandemic contagion risk hotspots. We present an overview of the demeaning treatment of workers and the risks to public health associated with Brazil's poultry industry.     

巴西和中国:在变化的世界格局中加强战略伙伴关系

我很荣幸来到中国社会科学院这所在中国和全亚洲最知名的学术机构之一,贵院在所有研究领域都有很高的知名度.同时,也很高兴能参加贵院巴西研究中心的成立仪式.借此机会我想与大家分享巴中战略伙伴关系的几点思考,以及讨论国际格局大变化中我们共同面临的挑战.     

Recovering obliterated laser engraved serial numbers in firearms

An easy procedure for recovering obliterated firearms serial numbers, which are laser engraved is presented in this case report. For these serial numbers, the traditional recovering method using acid etching generally fails, once marking the serial number does not necessarily imply a deep permanent deformation of the crystalline array. The standard required mirror-like finish of the surface commonly can destroy any evidence of the original serial number, i.e., can destroy the heat affected zone (HAZ) of only few micra, if it is still present. It is shown in this report that relief polishing and reflected light stereomicroscopy can, in certain cases, successfully reveal obliterated serial numbers, originally marked by laser. The use of this procedure for recovering this type of obliterated serial number is illustrated and discussed with an example we have dealt with.     

An unusual case of fatal accidental paraquat poisoning

Paraquat, a useful contact herbicide is now used in over 130 countries of the world, including Sri Lanka. The number of cases of accidental poisoning reported with paraquat is small, relative to instances of suicide. When a clear history is not available, accidental paraquat poisoning is sometimes difficult to diagnose. A 9-year-old boy was admitted to a peripheral hospital with a history of diarrhoea and vomiting. He later developed abdominal pain, subcutaneous emphysema and difficulty in breathing. Following transfer to a district hospital and then to a teaching hospital, poisoning with paraquat was suspected only on day 11 of the illness. On persistent questioning, on day 13 of the illness the child remembered that the day prior to the onset of illness, on his way from a shop, he felt thirsty and having found an empty bottle of Gramoxone (paraquat) on the wayside he used it to drink water from a water tank. The child died on day 17 and the histology of the lung showed typical changes of paraquat poisoning. This tragic episode emphasises the need for proper disposal of empty containers of all poisonous substances.     

Misidentified political figures: an underappreciated danger

A series of twelve patients is presented in which each patient suffered from one or more misidentification syndromes and also misidentified one or more political figures. The fact that misidentification syndromes have been associated with physical violence and that the majority of the patients studied had a history of physical violence suggests that these individuals could pose a significant danger of physical harm to others, including political figures. Persons who threaten political figures should be evaluated for misidentification syndromes.     

Selling Sustainable Development and Shortchanging Social Ecology in Costa Rican Forest Policy

Costa Ricans have worked hard to weave the norms and principles of sustainable development into their nation's environmental policies, especially with respect to natural renewable resources, such as the forest. As a result, the nation is known as a leader in innovative environmental initiatives. But sustainable development is a complex, evolving concept. This paper analyzes how the emphasis on biodiversity conservation during the 1990s and early 2000s has, rhetoric notwithstanding, neglected the social equality, or livelihood, component of sustainable development. This trend stands in sharp contrast to earlier periods, when decisionmakers crafted policies and institutions that supported social ecology. The article concludes with a few observations on building political will to revive the grassroots development component of sustainable development.