Expanding Microfinance in Brazil: Credit Utilisation and Performance of Small Firms

We take advantage of the natural experiment generated by the exogenous change in government policy towards microcredit to evaluate the impact of the increased supply of microcredit on the utilisation of credit by micro-entrepreneurs. Based on micro-entrepreneurs' survey and administrative data from a microcredit programme in Brazil, we show that: the increased supply of microcredit raised formal credit utilisation and this does not crowd out the use of informal credit sources; formal credit taking improves business performance; and returns are larger for women- than for men-owned firms, but males employ significantly more workers after taking formal credit than females.     

Governance and Hyper-corruption in Resource-rich African Countries

Official corruption is frequently associated with the abundance of valuable extractive resources. This article reviews the worst cases of ‘resource curse’ in Africa—Angola, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria—in light of the most recent developments. Despite its systematic association with public corruption, however, mineral wealth is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition. Corruption is widespread in resource-poor countries as well—in Africa and elsewhere—and some resource-rich African countries such as Botswana have a record of good economic performance and high public integrity, suggesting specific ways in which transparency and accountability for the use of mineral resources can be encouraged and corruption correspondingly reduced. Because corruption in resource-rich African countries is heavily influenced by external interests, particularly the multinational extractive industries, recent initiatives by the United States and the international community to foster transparency carry a significant potential for reducing corruption and improving governance.     

Challenging the Ongoing Injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection: James,Wells and Lee v The United Kingdom

The Government has recently abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection, a highly controversial form of indeterminate sentence. Yet, at the time of writing, nearly 6,000 inmates are still serving such sentences, all of whom will have to convince a Parole Board that detention is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. This paper evaluates recent European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence which considered the legality of post‐tariff detention in the absence of suitable rehabilitative provision. The Court held that there would be a violation of Article 5(1) if prisoners were held without access to such provision. Consideration is given to the implications of this ruling for those serving such sentences and, more broadly, to the impact it may have on risk‐based sentencing policies.     

The Race for Critical Minerals in an Era of Geopolitical Realignments

ABSTRACT

The decarbonisation of the global economy in response to the climate crisis and the fourth industrial revolution, featuring artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G networks (massively accelerated in response to the coronavirus pandemic), has triggered a race to secure uninterrupted access to critical raw minerals (CRMs) that are indispensable inputs for high-technology applications. Moreover, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which unites Eurasia and Africa and loops in South America into a seamless space of trade, infrastructure and digital connectivity, challenges the dominance of traditional industrial powers (the United States, the European Union and Japan) and requires critical minerals. Rare earths, lithium and cobalt – among the most critical of the CRMs – are found in high geographic concentration, creating hotspots of contention, especially in unstable parts of the world. As economic transformations accelerate, securing access to these materials will both impact and help shape geopolitics in the years to come.     

展呈H5N1亚型禽流感病毒M2e表位鞭毛蛋白的构建及其免疫原性

以重组质粒pET-fliC和pUC57-M2e2为模板,通过重叠PCR将M2e2基因插入fliC的高变区域,构建嵌合鞭毛基因片段fliC/M2e2。将fliC/M2e2片段插入原核表达载体pET30a+,获得重组质粒pET-fliC/M2e2,将其转化鼠伤寒沙门氏菌LB5000,获得重组菌LB5000(fliC/M2e2)。应用P22噬菌体转导技术,将fliC/M2e2基因导入都柏林沙门氏菌SL5928的基因组中,经生化血清学鉴定、动力学测定、透射电镜观察、Western-blot分析,将阳性转导菌命名为SL5928(fliC/M2e2)。提取重组菌鞭毛蛋白fliC/M2e2作用HEK293-mTLR5细胞,能刺激细胞分泌IL-8。将fliC/M2e2通过皮下注射途径免疫C3H/HeJ小鼠,50μg/只。结果显示,二免后第14天,fliC/M2e2鞭毛蛋白免疫组的血清抗体效价与对照组之间呈现显著性差异(P<0.05)。ELISPOT结果表明,在脾细胞中,fliC/M2e2鞭毛蛋白免疫组检测到较高水平的IFN-γ和IL-4分泌细胞,且免疫应答以Th1型为主。结果表明,构建的fliC/M2e2嵌合基因能够在沙门氏菌中表达,重组嵌合鞭毛蛋白fliC/M2e2能激发机体针对M2e表位的体液免疫应答和Th1型细胞免疫应答。     

Genotype profile for fifteen tetranucleotide repeat loci in two Tibeto-Burman speaking tribal populations of Arunachal Pradesh, India

POPULATION: Two Tibeto-Burman-speaking Adi tribal populations of Arunachal Pradesh, India, Adi Pasi ( n =121) from Upper Siang district, and Adi Minyong ( n =33) from East Siang district were analyzed for polymorphisms at 15 microsatellite loci. The populations belong to Mongoloid ethnicity and are of special significance in genetic studies due to their small population size, relative isolation in remote hilly areas, and traditional subsistence patterns.     

Rechtswirksamer Mehrheitsbeschluss der Wohnungseigentümer über die Erteilung einer begrenzten,nicht auf Bestellung eines WE-Verwalters lautenden Vollmacht zur teilweisen Vertretung der Eigentümergemeinschaft

Ist kein – auch nicht ein vorl?ufiger – WE-Verwalter bestellt, vertritt die Anteilsmehrheit der Wohnungseigentümer die Eigentümergemeinschaft nach § 18 Abs 3 Z 2 lit a WEG 2002. Um die "Selbstverwaltung" der Eigentümergemeinschaft aus Gründen der Praktikabilit?t zu erleichtern, ist ein Mehrheitsbeschluss der Wohnungseigentümer gem § 24 Abs 6 WEG 2002 rechtswirksam, durch den einem Wohnungseigentümer oder einem Dritten eine Vollmacht (hier: Kontovollmacht) zur diesbezüglichen Vertretung der Eigentümergemeinschaft erteilt wird.     

Vom "Dominator"-Wohnungseigentümer angestrebter Verwalterwechsel – rechtsunwirksamer Beschluss des Mehrheitseigentümers nach § 24 Abs 3 und 6 WEG 2002

Der Mehrheits-Wohnungseigentümer ("Dominator") ist nach § 24 Abs 3 WEG 2002 vom Stimmrecht ausgeschlossen, wenn er – nach Enthebung des bisherigen WE-Verwalters – sich selbst als Verwalter einsetzen will. Von der Interessenkollision infolge des dominanten Einflusses auf die Verwaltung der WE-Liegenschaft sind beim Mehrheitsbeschluss sowohl der Enthebungs- (hier: Kündigung aus wichtigem Grund) als auch der Bestellungsakt umfasst, die eine Einheit bilden. Die Anfechtung des Mehrheitsbeschlusses des Dominators durch einen Wohnungseigentümer richtet sich nicht nach § 30 Abs 2, sondern nach dem Beschlussrecht gem § 24 Abs 6 (und § 29 Abs 1) WEG 2002. Ficht ein Wohnungseigentümer den Kündigungsbeschluss an, besitzt der WE-Verwalter nach § 52 Abs 2 Z 1 WEG 2002 keine Parteistellung; daran hat auch die WRN 2006 nichts ge?ndert.