Leader Survival,Revolutions, and the Nature of Government Finance

Leaders face multiple threats to their political survival. In addition to surviving the threats to tenure from within the existing political systems, which is modeled using Bueno de Mesquita and colleagues' (2003) selectorate theory, leaders risk being deposed through revolutions and coups. To ameliorate the threat of revolution, leaders can either increase public goods provisions to buy off potential revolutionaries or contract the provision of those public goods, such as freedom of assembly, transparency, and free press, which enable revolutionaries to coordinate. Which response a leader chooses depends upon existing institutions and the structure of government finances. These factors also affect the likelihood and direction of institutional change. Tests of leader survival indicate that revolutionary threats increase the likelihood of deposition for nondemocratic leaders. Leaders with access to resources such as foreign aid or natural resource rents are best equipped to survive these threats and avoid the occurrence of these threats in the first place.     

Population data for MiniNC01 in a population sample from North-eastern Italy and their use in neoplastic tissues fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin

To establish a database for the three MiniNC01 loci D10S1248, D14S1434, D22S1045 in a population sample from North-eastern Italy, 102 unrelated individuals were typed. DNA was amplified in a multiplex reaction with subsequent automatic detection using capillary electrophoresis. The obtained data give a contribution to the definition of Italian population miniSTRs allele frequencies for the three analysed loci. These three MiniSTRs were tested on 21 neoplastic tissues and the obtained genotypes were compared to those obtained from normal tissue. Only 3 cases (14.28%) gave a different genotype suggesting a better performance of these markers than traditional STRs.     

American declinism and the impact of petro-socialism

Irrespective of self-inflicted setbacks, the United States is and will be the ‘indispensable nation’ for the foreseeable future – not merely as the world's largest market, military power and source of technological innovation but also as trendsetter. Doubtless, the United States has fallen back during the G.W. Bush presidency – preoccupied with events in Iraq and an economic slowdown and financial crisis that are now reflected in waning neo-conservative influence. In this policy vacuum, Chávez of Venezuela is building a regional coalition critical of the ‘Washington consensus’ and traditional US hegemony, and he is backed by abundant oil supplies. Petro-socialism needs examination. Meanwhile Barack Obama speaks of change, implying a more consensual foreign policy of rebuilding alliances and opening doors long closed.     

用弓形虫代谢分泌抗原制备间接血凝诊断试剂的研究

用弓形虫代谢分泌抗原 (E/SA)致敏绵羊红细胞制备间接血凝诊断试剂 ,进行人和动物弓形虫病血清抗体检测 ,并用弓形虫虫体抗原致敏的红细胞间接血凝诊断试剂进行对照试验。结果表明 ,在弓形虫阴性、阳性血清检测中 ,弓形虫E/SA间接血凝诊断试剂与弓形虫虫体抗原间接血凝诊断试剂的符合率为 10 0 % ;在人工感染兔血的检测中 ,E/SA致敏的间接血凝诊断试剂比虫体抗原致敏的间接血凝诊断试剂的阳性检出时间提前 2d ,显示弓形虫E/SA间接血凝诊断试剂具有早期诊断和生前诊断的应用价值     

中国法官独立制度构建探讨

法官独立是司法独立的重要组成部分，是中国司法改革申一项不可回避的课题。本文先阐述法官独立的内涵，指出法官独立应从司法权独立，审判独立和法官身份独立三个方面加以理解，再分析影响中国法官独立的诸多因素，最后提出在中国构建法官独立制度的设想。