State-sponsored development,oil and democratization

This study seeks to examine the relationship between natural resource revenues, most notably oil-generated wealth, and democratization. I show that the prevalent theoretical framework fails to explain the variation in rentier states' level of democracy. The empirical evidence from the fixed-effects regression models for the 1972–1999 period poses a challenge to the currently prevalent ‘resource curse’ hypothesis and suggests the possibility of a positive relationship between oil wealth and democratization.     

自然、契约与人性——古希腊智者与近代契约理论的界分

契约理论是关于国家(城邦)起源的重要理论。古希腊智者学派在自然与约定的争论中表达了早期的契约理论,将自然本性和人性完善作为契约的基础,对人、社会、自然做出了界定,同时也抬升了人的地位。近代霍布斯、洛克以自然状态为社会契约论的逻辑起点,以人性的欲望至上性为基础,在确立人的主体地位的同时,也削弱了自然和人的本性力量。通过古代与近代契约理论的界分,领悟到人的真正发展是自身发展和自然的复活,是人、社会、自然的和谐发展。     

Russian Energy and the Korean Peninsula

The recent agreements concerning North Korea’s nuclear program raise possibilities for providing North Korea with energy (oil and gas) to compensate for the termination of its nuclear program and of integrating it more broadly into the Northeast Asian economy. Russia has long wanted to play the role of provider of oil and gas to North Korea and these agreements open up new opportunities for it to do so. However, serious obstacles in the nature of North Korea’s precarious economic situation and its consequences, international rivalries in Northeast Asia, and Russia’s own energy policies present serious obstacles to the realization of Russia’s ambitions as regards North Korea and as energy provider to Northeast Asia as a whole.     

Chemical Contamination of Soft Drinks in Sealed Plastic Bottles by Environmental Stress Cracking

Abstract:  A contamination of soft drinks in sealed bottles by organic solvents is reported: closed bottles full of soft drinks were accidentally placed on a cardboard soaked with thinner and the organic fluid subsequently fissured the bottom of the bottles and penetrated into the soft drinks without any apparent leakage of the soft drinks. Experiments were carried out to simulate the process: the penetration of different organic solvents into soft drinks through the bottom of closed bottles was tested. The penetration occurred only when the closed bottles contained carbonated soft drinks (CSD), indicating that inner pressure is a necessary condition for the fissuring of the bottles. This paper discusses environmental stress cracking of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by organic solvents and migration of chemicals to CSD. Experiments were conducted to determine the conditions in which PET can be permeable to poisoning organic products.     

国际法上的“强行法”规范初探

国际法上的"强行法"规范是指由全体国际社会成员所公认且在缔约时不能贬损的那些国际法律规范,对此类规范的存在,国际社会已经形成普遍共识;其最初适用范围仅仅限于国家的缔约行为,但随后逐渐及于其它国家行为;国际法学说、条约及国际司法实践初步确认了某些具体的规则具有"强行法"规范的性质,但关于"强行法"的更为明确或具体的范畴问题,国际社会远未达成普遍共识,因而在"强行法"规范的识别及具体适用上存在相当困难;经过深入的国际法理论研究和有力倡导以及长期的国际法实践的推演,国际法上的"强行法"规范更有可能通过习惯国际法的方式加以产生;在条件成就时,再由习惯国际法规则演变或制定为条约国际法规则。     

法律实证主义的问题意识

法律实证主义作为西方法哲学史上与自然法学派相对立的思想流派.始终饱受误解和质疑.法律实证主义的"问题意识"是深入领会其良苦用心和精神实质的关键.自然法学派与法律实证主义的法律观都具有批判与保守、灵活与随意、确定与僵化的两面性.法律实证主义以"形式正义"取代"实质正义",以"合法性"诠释"正当性",是对自然法的绝对性、抽象性、不确定性等形而上学固有缺陷深刻认识的结果,反映了法律实证主义深刻的问题意识.因之,法律实证主义在实践上具有更稳健、妥切、现实的品格.法律实证主义以特殊的方式理解和处理了正当性观念,它与自然法学派的关系与其说是本体论上的对立,不如说是认识论和方法论上的发展、补充和超越,由此二者才能共同支撑和维护西方法治文明的大厦.     

法哲学视域下的民事权利概念

我国大陆现存的民事权利概念是专门由民法学家经营的一个概念,是民法学视域下的民事权利概念,也是狭义的民事权利概念。法哲学视域下的民事权利概念,是应该由法理学家或宪法学家经营的一个概念,是广义的民事权利概念。该概念应是站在法哲学的高度,在整个法学领域内,对民事权利进行全景式的认识和研究,因而该概念更具全面性和普适性。法哲学视域下的民事权利概念有利于全面认识和揭示民事权利的属性;有利于全面认识和揭示民事权利对法的作用和在法体系中的地位;有利于语词使用上的一致性。     

Age determination of ballpoint pen ink by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Two main approaches can be used for determining the age of an ink: indirect dating and direct dating. Indirect dating is based on the chemical analysis of an ink followed by comparison with known samples in a reference collection. The collection should contain information about the inks including the market introduction dates. This approach may allow for an anachronism to be detected. The second concept is based on measuring ink components that change with age. The analysis of solvents in ballpoint inks may be a useful parameter for determining the age of ink on paper. In a previous study, the authors demonstrated that thermal desorption of ink directly from paper, followed by chemical analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), is a promising procedure for characterizing ink-binder resins and solvents. Preliminary tests showed that monitoring the evaporation of ink solvent from ink on paper is not a suitable method for ink dating. Thermal analysis of ink on paper in two steps revealed that fresh ink releases a relative amount of solvent at a certain low temperature in a defined period of time, which decreases as the ink ages. As a consequence, this relative amount of solvent released at a certain low temperature, and its decrease with time, can be used to estimate ink age. This age-dependent parameter was studied in 85 different inks ranging in age from 1 week to 1.5 years. It was found that some inks showed a significant decrease of this parameter up to an age of several months, and that the aging process can be monitored within this period. For other inks, however, the age-dependent parameter decreases relatively fast, e.g., within a few days, to a constant level, which can be too fast for casework. Based on these results, a general procedure for assessing the age of ballpoint pen inks on paper was developed.     

Utility of immunoassay in drug screening in skeletal tissues: sampling considerations in detection of ketamine exposure in femoral bone and bone marrow following acute administration using ELISA

Detection of ketamine exposure in skeletal tissues by automated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) is described. Rats (n = 18) received 0, 15, 30, or 75 mg/kg ketamine hydrochloride acutely (i.p.), and were euthanized within 15 min or 1 h. Ketamine was extracted from ground femoral bone by methanolic incubation followed by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), while marrow was homogenized in alkaline solution, and then underwent LLE. Extracts were analyzed by ELISA, and subsequently by GC-ECD following derivatization with trifluoroacetic acid anhydride. The effect of tissue type (i.e., diaphyseal bone vs. epiphyseal bone vs. bone marrow) on the immunoassay response was examined through determination of binary classification test sensitivity (S) and measurement of the relative decrease in absorbance (%DA, drug-positive tissues vs. drug-free controls) in each tissue type. The %DA varied significantly between different tissues examined under a given dose condition, and generally decreased in the order marrow > epiphyseal bone > diaphyseal bone, at all dose levels examined. Measured S values for marrow, epiphyseal bone, and diaphyseal bone were 100%, 77%, and 23%, respectively (75 mg/kg dose). These results suggest that the type of skeletal tissue sampled and position sampled within a given bone (diaphyses vs. epiphyses) are important parameters in drug screening of skeletal tissues.