Sex estimation from the mastoid process among North Indians

Determination of sex from fragmentary crania is a critical problem in forensic anthropology. Osteometric analysis of mastoid can serve forensic anthropologists better in sex identification by virtue of the noticeable dimorphic characteristics. The present study aims to develop population-specific, sex-differentiating anthropometric standards for the mastoid process of North Indian skulls. Eight parameters of the mastoid region were measured on 138 adult crania (M/F 104:34, 22-65 years) and analyzed using SPSS 16.0. All parameters showed significant sexual dimorphism (p < 0.000). In stepwise analysis, asterion-mastoidale and mastoid breadth have provided an accuracy of 87%. Receiver operating characteristic curves were obtained for each variable to observe their overall performance in sex determination. Posterior end of incisura mastoidea-depression of suprameatal triangle was found to be the best variable with maximum area under curve and highest predictive accuracy (82.6%).     

吉林省西部特色经济区区域竞争力的制约因素与发展对策探析

在"十二五"时期和今后相当长一段时间,吉林省西部的经济和社会发展既面临难得的战略机遇和有利条件,又存在诸多制约因素。本文依据区域经济发展的相关理论和统计资料,力图找到提升吉林省西部特色经济区区域竞争力,促进当地经济社会又好又快发展的基本对策。     

Fighting terrorism in Africa by proxy: the USA and the European Union in Somalia and Mali

The French intervention in Mali in early 2013 emphasizes that the decision-makers in Paris, Brussels, and Washington considered the establishment of the radical Islamist regime in Northern Mali a threat to their security interests. The widespread instability including the rise of radical Islamist groups in Somalia was perceived as a threat to western interests. It is the core argument of the paper if western powers decide to provide security in Africa, they will be inclined to use proxy instead of deploying own troops. Security provision by proxy in African means that African troops are doing the actual fighting and peacekeeping on the ground while western powers basically pay the costs, the logistics, and the training of local African troops. The paper concludes that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Somalia and The African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) in Mali are proxies for the USA and the European Union.     

Sino-Indian Relations in the New Era

To have a clear understanding of the features of the Sino-Indian relations and its developing trend,it is necessary to take of the tinted spectacles and see the stark realities.     

Oversight Effectiveness and Political Will: Some Lessons from West Africa

The purpose of the present note is to advance two theoretical claims. The first claim proposed is that the impact of the availability of oversight tools and of the most broadly understood legislative capacity (availability of material, technical, financial resources; availability of well-trained staff) on the effectiveness with which legislative oversight is performed is conditional. The second claim put forward, after reviewing a rich body of work on executive–legislative relations and legislative oversight in West Africa, is that, of the various conditions that promote or prevent the effective use of oversight tools and capacity, political will is the single most important. These claims have both theoretical and practical relevance, for if political will is as important as is claimed for the effective performance of the oversight function, then international organisations may have to reconsider their approach to legislative strengthening.     

西尼罗病毒E蛋白的原核表达及其多克隆抗体的制备

利用PCR技术扩增西尼罗病毒(WNV)E蛋白基因并将其插入原核表达载体pET-30a(+),构建重组质粒pET-30a(+)-WNV-E,并转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)感受态细胞中,经IPTG诱导目的蛋白表达,对诱导条件进行优化,利用His镍柱亲和层析法纯化目的蛋白,纯化后的蛋白经SDS-PAGE与Westernblot鉴定正确后,免疫BALB/c小鼠制备多克隆抗体并进行间接免疫荧光鉴定。结果显示:WNV E蛋白在大肠杆菌中以包涵体形式被成功表达,蛋白最佳诱导条件为37℃,0.8 mmol/L IPTG诱导5 h,经间接免疫荧光鉴定多克隆抗体能特异性识别WNV E蛋白。本研究成功表达并纯化了WNV E蛋白,证明该蛋白具有良好的免疫原性,为WNV抗原、抗体检测方法的建立和新型疫苗的研发及相关研究奠定了基础。     

Britain Returns to the Indian Ocean?

This article considers how far the UK is returning to an ‘East of Suez’ role in the Indian Ocean. A threefold structure is taken based on past, current and future aspects of this role. The first section (‘past’) considers the Indian Ocean as a British Lake and the announced withdrawal from East of Suez that was announced in the early 1970s. The second section (‘present’) looks at the various bases, facilities and partnerships that the UK has around and across the Indian Ocean with Bahrain, Oman, Gulf of Aden, Somaliland, Diego Garcia (and the United States), India, Malaysia and Singapore (including the Five Power Defence Agreements), Australia and China. The third section (‘future’) considers likely post-BREXIT decisions facing the UK in the Indian Ocean with regard to its projected naval assets and political choices across the region. It finds there is some substance behind the rhetoric on a British return to the area.     

Transnational cooperation: a network analysis of town twinning in the Baltic Sea region

The patterns of cooperation between regions and urban spaces are no longer influenced, to the same extent, by national borders. Political integrative events changed the extent of transborder urban cooperation in the Baltic borderlands, a region that has undergone extensive changes. A social network analysis of cooperative ties in the form of town twinning indicates that the end of the Cold War strongly changed the network of town twinning in this region, whereas the effect of the various EU enlargement rounds seems to be more nuanced.     

The spaces of intervention for Mali and Guinea-Bissau

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on interventions by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States in Guinea-Bissau and Mali. In the literature, these are often approached in a ‘top-down’ manner, focusing on formal institutions, not accounting for the complex dynamics in and around conflict intervention. This article argues that adopting space as an analytical lens allows new ways to address these issues. It highlights how interventions by different actors and their interactions are influenced by spatial perceptions and framings, which result in the making of different ‘spaces of intervention’ through different practices. The two described here, ‘scaling’ and ‘establishing reach’, enable strategic and continuous formation and negotiation of spaces for action, according to actors’ needs and interests. Thus, shedding light on specific actors and their practices, the article contributes to a better understanding of the complex dynamics in conflict intervention in West Africa.     

Multialignment and Indian Foreign Policy under Narendra Modi

This article examines India’s emerging approach to foreign policy: multialignment. It argues that since the mid-2000s India has developed multialignment as a means of achieving what it perceives as its core interests and ideals in international relations. Characterised by an emphasis on engagement in regional multilateral institutions, the use of strategic partnerships, and what is termed ‘normative hedging’, multialignment is being utilised to boost India’s economic development and national security, as well as to project influence and promote its values. The article traces the emergence of this strategy during the governments of Manmohan Singh and its implementation and extension by the new government of Narendra Modi. It analyses the key arguments that have been presented in its favour and the ways in which it was been put into practice. It concludes with a brief assessment of multialignment as a strategy, as well as the prospect that it will deliver the dividends expected by India’s foreign policy elite.