PATTERNS OF TENURE INSECURITY IN GUYANA

As of 1998, the land tenure situation along Guyana's coast was marked by disarray and insecurity. Renewed interest in land following the economic and political liberalization of the early 1990s spawned land conflicts and exacerbated their severity. This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in 1997-8, explores aspects of this situation, drawing extensively on case-study material. Attention is drawn to the impact on land tenure dynamics of several unique aspects of Guyana's development history, particularly, the country's phased development inward from the coast. Three major tenure sectors are identified, with issues unique to each and common across all of them explored. These include challenges posed by undivided ownership, widespread violations of the law, and vagueness in terms of how rights to land are documented and physically defined through surveys. While an ambitious, wide-ranging set of initiatives embarked upon in 2000 seeks to address many of these problems, it is doubtful that they will dramatically or quickly alter the prevailing state of affairs.Land tenure -- Guyana, Land use -- Government policy -- Guyana, Land titles -- Registration and transfer -- Guyana, Land conflicts -- Guyana, Agrarian structure -- Guyana, Land Economics/Use,

Cultural and Sports Participation in France: Choices, Diversity, and Accumulation

The French 2003 survey of household living conditions includes a cultural and sports participation module that covers radio and television consumption, reading, cultural outings, amateur activities, and sports, but also hunting and fishing. The social differentiation of attitudes to recreational activities is primarily determined by an accumulation criterion, which categorises individuals on the basis of the number and frequency of the activities in which they engage. Most activities do not seem mutually exclusive. People are all the more likely to engage in one if they already engage in another. An individuals ranking on the activity-accumulation scale seems more correlated with educational attainment than with income level. Differences in attitudes do not appear solely determined by the accumulation criterion. There is a contrast between persons who are not significantly engaged and two profiles of persons substantially more involved: individuals participating chiefly in sports activities, and individuals participating mainly in cultural activities.Cultural Consumption, Social Stratification, Leisure, Time Use

Quantification of the Formaldehyde Emissions from Different HCCI Engines Running on a Range of Fuels

In this paper, the formaldehyde emissions from three different types of homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are quantified for a range of fuels by means of Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis. The engines types are differentiated in the way the charge is prepared. The characterized engines are; the conventional port fuel injected one, a type that traps residuals by means of a Negative Valve Overlap (NVO) and finally a Direct Injected (DI) one. Fuels ranging from pure n-heptane to iso-octane via diesel, gasoline, PRF80, methanol and ethanol were characterized. Generally, the amount of formaldehyde found in the exhaust was decreasing with decreasing air/fuel ratio, advanced timing and increasing cycle temperature. It was found that increasing the source of formaldehyde i.e. the ratio of heat released in the cool-flame, brought on higher exhaust contents of formaldehyde. The application of a standard three-way catalyst completely removed formaldehyde from the exhaust stream

Ένας πίνακας ανάλυσης της κοινωνικής αλλαγής: μικροκοινωνιολογικές και μακροκοινωνιολογικές τάσεις

[Δε διατίθεται περίληψη / no abstract available

GRKs as Key Modulators of Opioid Receptor Function

Understanding the link between agonist-induced phosphorylation of the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and the associated physiological effects is critical for the development of novel analgesic drugs and is particularly important for understanding the mechanisms responsible for opioid-induced tolerance and addiction. The family of G protein receptor kinases (GRKs) play a pivotal role in such processes, mediating phosphorylation of residues at the C-tail of opioid receptors. Numerous strategies, such as phosphosite specific antibodies and mass spectrometry have allowed the detection of phosphorylated residues and the use of mutant knock-in mice have shed light on the role of GRK regulation in opioid receptor physiology. Here we review our current understanding on the role of GRKs in the actions of opioid receptors, with a particular focus on the MOR, the target of most commonly used opioid analgesics such as morphine or fentanyl

La perception des inégalités en France

Cet article vise à tester trois théories explicatives de la perception des inégalités sociales en se fondant sur une enquête par questionnaire complétée par une série d’entretiens qualitatifs. Nous examinerons la théorie de « l’intérêt bien compris » lié à la position sociale, celle de l’effet éventuel de mécanismes de frustration relative, et celle de l’effet de l’adhésion à des valeurs en matière de justice sociale. Les résultats montrent des effets contrastés des différentes variables explicatives selon le niveau de perception des inégalités. La position sociale comme les mécanismes de frustration relative expliquent bien l’impact personnellement ressenti, alors qu’ils n’exercent pratiquement aucun effet sur la perception globale des inégalités sociales. La perception de l’inégalité dans la société est en revanche associée, quelle que soit la position sociale, à des principes en matière de justice. Ce n’est pas la position des individus dans la stratification sociale qui informe leur perception des inégalités, mais des principes qui en sont largement indépendants.This article aims to test three explanatory theories of the perception of social inequalities, on the basis of a quantitative survey, completed by qualitative interviews. We will examine the theory of “in the best interests” linked to social position, the theory of the possible effect of relative deprivation mechanisms and the theory of values in terms of social justice. The results show contrasting effects of the different explanatory variables according to the perception level of inequality. Social status as well as relative deprivation mechanisms explain the personally felt impact, whereas they have practically no effect on the wider perception of social inequalities. On the other hand the perception of inequalities in society is associated, whatever the subject’s social status, with principles of justice. It is not the position of individuals in the system of social stratification that informs their perception of inequalities, but rather principles that are largely independent of their social status

Genetic structure of the wild boar population in Portugal: Evidence of a recent bottleneck

The present study assesses the degree of genetic structure and the presence of recent genetic bottlenecks in the wild boar population in Portugal. One hundred and ten individuals were sampled after capture during organised legal drive hunts, conducted in 58 municipalities across the continental territory, during the game seasons of 2002/2003 and 2003/2004. Individuals were genetically typed Lit six microsatellite loci using multiplex PCR amplification. Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found for the total population of wild boar in Portugal. Wild boar population genetic structure was assessed using Bayesian methods, Suggesting the existence of three subpopulations (North, Centre and South). Tests were conducted to detect the presence of potential migrants and hybrids between subpopulations. After exclusion of these individuals, three sets of wild boars representative of respective subpopulations were distinguished and tested for the effects of recent bottlenecks. Genetic distances between pairs of subpopulations were quantified using F(ST) and R(ST) estimators, revealing a variation of 0.138-0.178 and 0.107-0.198, respectively. On the basis of genetic and distribution data for Portuguese wild boar from the beginning of the 20th century, a model of strong demographic decline and contraction to isolated refuge areas Lit the national level, followed by a recovery and expansion towards former distribution limits is suggested. Some evidence points to present admixture among subpopulations in contact areas. (C) 2008 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.USDA - US Pig Genome Coordination ProjectFCT - SFRH/BM/ 13034/200

An Estimation of the Extent of Cropland Abandonment in Mountainous Regions of China

With the wages for migrant workers increasing dramatically in China since 2003, the size of the agricultural labour forces has been shrinking rapidly. Intensively substituting agricultural machinery for the shrinking farm labour force is hardly possible for croplands in the mountainous regions of China where mechanization is difficult to achieve due to small field size and rough terrain. This has eventually led to cropland abandonment in these regions. Considering the high pressure for food security in China, cropland abandonment in the mountainous regions should not be ignored. By employing a novel method, this study estimates the extent of recently abandoned croplands (period 2000–2010) and the changes that can be expected in the future in China's mountainous areas. The results show that the total extent of abandoned croplands in Chinese mountainous counties during the period 2000 to 2010 is estimated at 147 million mu (1 mu = 666.67 m2); in total, about 28% of croplands in mountainous counties was abandoned, including croplands converted in the Grain for Green Programme. With 3 scenario assumptions, a sizeable extent, 114 to 203 million mu, of croplands may be abandoned from 2010 to 2030 with the rapid decrease and ageing of projected farm labour forces. This could exacerbate the future challenges of maintaining China's food security. A substantial increase in agricultural project investments, including land consolidation and agricultural productive fixed assets, especially microtillage machines, could help mitigate the risk of cropland abandonment. Additionally, land‐use and environmental policymaking should take into account the expanding cropland abandonment in mountainous regions