Publicness of goods and violent conflict : evidence from Colombia

How the degree of publicness of goods affect violent conflict? Based on the theoretical model in Esteban and Ray (2001) we find that the effect of the degree of publicness depends on the group size. When the group is small (large), the degree of publicness increases (decreases) the likelihood of conflict. This opens an empirical question that we tackle using microdata from the Colombian conflict at the municipality level. We use three goods with different publicness degree to identify the sign of the effect of publicness on conflict. These goods are coca crops (private good), road density (public good subject to congestion) and average education quality (a purer public good). After dealing with endogeneity issues using an IV approach, we find that the degree of publicness reduces the likelihood of both paramilitary and guerrilla attacks. Moreover, coca production exacerbates conflict and the provision of both public goods mitigates conflict. These results are robust to size, geographical, and welfare controls. Policies that improve public goods provision will help to fight the onset of conflict.

The handbook of race and adult education : a resource for dialogue on racism.

Es un tratado sobre la teoría, las experiencias reales y la estructura de privilegios dentro de la raza y el racismo, que además, ofrece un recurso integral sobre estos dos temas y la educación de adultos para servir de introducción a los estudiantes de postgrado en la comprensión de la complejidad de la raza y el racismo en el contexto educativo. Proporciona dentro del campo de la educación de adultos y la educación continuada o permanente un modelo de discusión de la raza y del racismo desde perspectivas psicológicas, sociales, educativas y políticas.

Usefulness of the Bayley scales of infant and toddler development, third edition, in the early diagnosis of language disorder

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Valorisation of industrial wastes for the removal of metals and arsenic from aqueous effluents

En la presente tesis se han realizado estudios de eliminación de metales pesados y arsénico de aguas contaminadas mediante procesos de adsorción sobre materiales de bajo coste. Dichos materiales son, en todos los casos, subproductos de industrias agroalimentarias o metalúrgicas.La tesis consta de diferentes capítulos enmarcados en tres secciones: (i) Eliminación de cromo hexavalente y trivalente (ii) Eliminación de cationes divalentes de metales pesados en presencia de complejantes y en mezclas multimetálicas y (iii) Eliminación de arsénico utilizando un subproducto de la industria de cromados metálicos como adsorbente. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que ciertos residuos industriales pueden ser utilizados como adsorbentes en la detoxificación de efluentes contaminados con metales pesados. La tecnología propuesta representa una alternativa sostenible y de bajo coste frente a los tratamientos actuales más costosos y dependientes, en muchas ocasiones, de productos derivados del petróleo.

The role of fungi and bacteria on the organic matter decomposition process in streams: interaction and relevance in biofilms

L'objectiu d'aquest estudi és el d'investigar sobre l'ús de matèria orgànica per part dels fongs i bacteris que colonitzen diferents substrats bentònics en rius Mediterranis i analitzar l'efecte dels factors ambientals i antròpics sobre l'estabilitat estructural i funcional de les comunitats del biofilm. La metodologia emprada en aquest estudi consisteix en: i) anàlisi de la biomassa bacteriana i fúngica, ii) anàlisi de la composició de les comunitats bentòniques (identificació d'hifomicets aquàtics i anàlisi del 16S rDNA bacterià), i iii) anàlisi de l'activitat enzimàtica extracel·lular relacionada amb el reciclatge de matèria orgànica en rius.

Implementing Basel III in Europe: disgnosis and avenues for improvement. CEPS Policy Brief No. 275, 27 June 2012

This Policy Brief provides a preliminary diagnosis of the proposed regulatory reforms contained in the Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation (CRD IV-CRR), which translate into EU law the Basel III standards adopted by the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision, and suggests avenues for improvement. The main criticism is that the proposal is not ambitious enough. In some crucial areas, such as the leverage ratio and the long-term liquidity requirements adopted under the Basel III framework, the CRD IV-CRR proposal stops short of making a strict commitment to introduce binding requirements and instead is contented with weaker (and possibly divergent) disclosure requirements.

Rediscovering the King of Woodpeckers: Exploring the Implications

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker has long held a special place in the psyche of North American conservation, eliciting unusually colorful prose, even from scientists, as an icon of the wild. The reverence in which it was held did little to slow the habitat loss that led to its apparent extinction 60 years ago. A consequence of the emotion and attention associated with the amazing rediscovery of this species is that conservation biologists will be under considerable pressure to make good on this “second chance.” This poses a challenge to conservation paradigms that has important political consequences. First, the decline of the species is due to habitat loss, recovery from which has been much more seldom achieved than recovery from declines due to impacts on vital rates. This challenge is exacerbated by the enormous area requirements of the species. Second, the species at best exists as a critically small population. It will be difficult to make the case that a viable population can be established without undermining the small population paradigm that underlies conservation strategies for many other species. This has already resulted in some political backlash. Conservation of this species is best based on the one point of clear scientific consensus, that habitat is limiting, but this may result in additional political backlash because of conflicts with other land uses.

Developmental changes in presynaptic muscarinic modulation of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in rat piriform cortex in vitro: relevance to epileptiform bursting susceptibility

Suppression of depolarizing postsynaptic potentials and isolated GABA-A receptor-mediated fast inhibitory postsynaptic potentials by the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, oxotremorine-M (10 microM), was investigated in adult and immature (P14-P30) rat piriform cortical (PC) slices using intracellular recording. Depolarizing postsynaptic potentials evoked by layers II-III stimulation underwent concentration-dependent inhibition in oxotremorine-M that was most likely presynaptic and M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated in immature, but M1-mediated in adult (P40-P80) slices; percentage inhibition was smaller in immature than in adult piriform cortex. In contrast, compared with adults, layer Ia-evoked depolarizing postsynaptic potentials in immature piriform cortex slices in oxotremorine-M, showed a prolonged multiphasic depolarization with superimposed fast transients and spikes, and an increased 'all-or-nothing' character. Isolated N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-mediated layer Ia depolarizing postsynaptic potentials (although significantly larger in immature slices) were however, unaffected by oxotremorine-M, but blocked by dl-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid. Fast inhibitory postsynaptic potentials evoked by layer Ib or layers II-III-fiber stimulation in immature slices were significantly smaller than in adults, despite similar estimated mean reversal potentials ( approximately -69 and -70 mV respectively). In oxotremorine-M, only layer Ib-fast inhibitory postsynaptic potentials were suppressed; suppression was again most likely presynaptic M2-mediated in immature slices, but M1-mediated in adults. The degree of fast inhibitory postsynaptic potential suppression was however, greater in immature than in adult piriform cortex. Our results demonstrate some important physiological and pharmacological differences between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic systems in adult and immature piriform cortex that could contribute toward the increased susceptibility of this region to muscarinic agonist-induced epileptiform activity in immature brain slices.

Characterisation of amorphous and nanocrystalline molecular materials by total scattering

The use of high-energy X-ray total scattering coupled with pair distribution function analysis produces unique structural fingerprints from amorphous and nanostructured phases of the pharmaceuticals carbamazepine and indomethacin. The advantages of such facility-based experiments over laboratory-based ones are discussed and the technique is illustrated with the characterisation of a melt-quenched sample of carbamazepine as a nanocrystalline (4.5 nm domain diameter) version of form III.

The assignment of ν2 and ν4 of SO3

Three experiments have been performed to resolve an uncertainty in the assignment of ν2 and ν4 for SO3: (i) the gas phase Raman spectrum has been measured; (ii) the infrared active combination band ν3 + ν4 has been measured; (iii) a band contour calculation has been performed taking account of the ℓ-type resonance in ν4 and a strong Coriolis resonance between ν2 and ν4. These experiments establish beyond any doubt that ν2 lies at about 497.5 cm−1 and ν4 lies at about 530.2 cm−1. The contour calculation also shows that the Coriolis resonance gives rise to a positive intensity perturbation.

Detecting local adaptation in widespread grassland species - the importance of scale and local plant community

1 Adaptation of plant populations to local environments has been shown in many species but local adaptation is not always apparent and spatial scales of differentiation are not well known. In a reciprocal transplant experiment we tested whether: (i) three widespread grassland species are locally adapted at a European scale; (ii) detection of local adaptation depends on competition with the local plant community; and (iii) local differentiation between neighbouring populations from contrasting habitats can be stronger than differentiation at a European scale. 2 Seeds of Holcus lanatus, Lotus corniculatus and Plantago lanceolata from a Swiss, Czech and UK population were sown in a reciprocal transplant experiment at fields that exhibit environmental conditions similar to the source sites. Seedling emergence, survival, growth and reproduction were recorded for two consecutive years. 3 The effect of competition was tested by comparing individuals in weeded monocultures with plants sown together with species from the local grassland community. To compare large-scale vs. small-scale differentiation, a neighbouring population from a contrasting habitat (wet-dry contrast) was compared with the 'home' and 'foreign' populations. 4 In P. lanceolata and H. lanatus, a significant home-site advantage was detected in fitness-related traits, thus indicating local adaptation. In L. corniculatus, an overall superiority of one provenance was found. 5 The detection of local adaptation depended on competition with the local plant community. In the absence of competition the home-site advantage was underestimated in P. lanceolata and overestimated in H. lanatus. 6 A significant population differentiation between contrasting local habitats was found. In some traits, this small-scale was greater than large-scale differentiation between countries. 7 Our results indicate that local adaptation in real plant communities cannot necessarily be predicted from plants grown in weeded monocultures and that tests on the relationship between fitness and geographical distance have to account for habitat-dependent small-scale differentiation. Considering the strong small-scale differentiation, a local provenance from a different habitat may not be the best choice in ecological restoration if distant populations from a more similar habitat are available.

In vitro evaluation of fibrolytic enzymes as additives for maize (Zea mays L.) silage - III. Comparison of enzymes derived from psychrophilic, mesophilic or thermophilic sources

A completely randomised study was completed to examine the influence of fibrolytic enzymes derived from psychrophilic, (F), mesophilic, (L) or thermophilic (Ta) sources, applied at ensiling, on the chemical characteristics and in vitro rumen fermentation of maize silage, assessed using the Reading Pressure Technique (RPT). Treatments, all in triplicate, consisted of untreated maize forage or treated with preparations F, L, Ta or a mixture (1: 1, v/v) of F and L (FL), at two levels each, and ensiled for 210 days in plastic mini-silos. Addition of enzymes L decreased (P < 0.05) silage pH relative to the control, whereas enzyme Ta tended (P < 0.10) to reduce it. Preparations F, L and Ta tended to reduce (P < 0.10) the fibre contents of the silages, with effects being attributable to a decrease in the cellulose fraction. Starch contents were reduced (P < 0.05) in the treatments including enzyme F. End-point (96 h) gas production (GP) values did not differ among treatments, suggesting that enzymes did not change the total amount of fermentable substrate. However, consistent with the decrease in starch contents, adding enzyme F reduced (P < 0.05) GP at most incubation times. Addition of enzymes increased (P < 0.05) the initial (6 h) organic matter degradation (OMD) levels in all but one treatment (F), with increases of 14, 19, and 26% for preparations L, Ta, and FL, respectively, averaged across levels. Furthermore, the addition of enzymes increased (P < 0.05) the soluble OM losses, however, these increases did not fully account for the initial increase in OMD. The latter suggests that enzymes increased solubility and also altered silage structure, making it more amenable to degradation by ruminal microorganisms. As a result of the increase in OMD, without a concomitant increase in GP, the fermentation efficiency was greatly increased (P < 0.05) in enzyme treatments. Addition of enzymes to maize at ensiling, particularly those from the mesophilic and thermophilic sources used here, have the potential to increase the initial rate of silage OMD. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of polyhydroxybutyrate and glycogen as carbon storage compounds in pea and bean bacteroids

Rhizobium leguminosarum synthesizes polyhydroxybutyrate and glycogen as its main carbon storage compounds. To examine the role of these compounds in bacteroid development and in symbiotic efficiency, single and double mutants of R. legumosarum bv. viciae were made which lack polyhydroxybutyrate synthase (phaC), glycogen synthase (glgA), or both. For comparison, a single phaC mutant also was isolated in a bean-nodulating strain of R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli. In one large glasshouse trial, the growth of pea plants inoculated with the R. leguminosarum bv. viciae phaC mutant were significantly reduced compared with wild-type-inoculated plants. However, in subsequent glasshouse and growth-room studies, the growth of pea plants inoculated with the mutant were similar to wildtype-inoculated plants. Bean plants were unaffected by the loss of polyhydroxybutyrate biosynthesis in bacteroids. Pea plants nodulated by a glycogen synthase mutants or the glgA/phaC double mutant, grew as well as the wild type in growth-room experiments. Light and electron micrographs revealed that pea nodules infected with the glgA mutant accumulated large amounts of starch in the II/III interzone. This suggests that glycogen may be the dominant carbon storage compound in pea bacteroids. Polyhydroxybutyrate was present in bacteria in the infection thread of pea plants but was broken down during bacteroid formation. In nodules infected with a phaC mutant of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae, there was a drop in the amount of starch in the II/III interzone, where bacteroids form. Therefore, we propose a carbon burst hypothesis for bacteroid formation, where polyhydroxybutyrate accumulated by bacteria is degraded to fuel bacteroid differentiation.