El auge de las minas de oro, el capital noreuropeo y la reorganización del comercio portugués de esclavos en Angola (1710-1730)

The article explores the reorganization of the Portuguese slave trade in Angola in the early eighteenth century when an upsurge in traffic took place along with a gold mining boom in Brazil. The appearance of a new group in the administration of the Angola contract, with the political support of the Crown and the financial assistance of merchants connected to London stimulated the expansion of the slaving frontier into Benguela. A large part of the historiography has interpreted this growth of the slave trade in Benguela as a phenomenon produced by local or “internal” developments of the Portuguese empire. My argument is that this shift was related to the international development of capitalism. The growing international competition over slave markets in the Gulf of Guinea and Loango pushed Portuguese authorities and slave traders to focus on the traffic in the areas to the south of Luanda. This process was financed by international credit networks and played a central role in the establishment of a new slaving frontier that supplied captives to the Brazilian goldfields.El artículo aborda la reorganización de la trata de esclavos portuguesa en Angola a principios del siglo XVIII, en un contexto marcado por el crecimiento de la trata de seres humanos y el auge de la minería en Brasil. La entrada de un nuevo grupo en la administración del contrato de Angola, con el apoyo político de la Corona y el sostenimiento financiero de mercaderes vinculados a Londres, favoreció la expansión de la frontera esclavista hasta Benguela. La mayor parte de la historiografía ha interpretado la creciente exportación de esclavos de Benguela como un fenómeno relacionado exclusivamente con cuestiones “internas” y/o locales del Imperio portugués. Como pretendo demostrar, este movimiento estuvo relacionado con una coyuntura internacional del capitalismo. La creciente competencia internacional por los mercados de esclavos en el Golfo de Guinea y Loango es lo que llevó a las autoridades y traficantes portugueses a priorizar la captura en áreas al sur de Luanda. Este proceso fue financiado por redes de crédito internacionales y fue decisivo en la generación de olas de violencia esclavizante que abrieron definitivamente una nueva frontera para el abastecimiento de seres humanos para las minas en Brasil

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Temporary carbon storage and discount rates

Several approaches have been proposed for accounting for temporary carbon sequestration in land-use change and forestry projects that are implemented to offset permanent emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector. In a previous paper, we evaluated the incentives provided by some of these approaches. In this paper, we investigate further what we call the “ideal” accounting system, where the forest owner would be paid for carbon sequestration as the service is provided and redeem payments when the forest is harvested and carbon is released back into the atmosphere. We demonstrate how discounting affects the net present value of the forest when carbon sequestration is taken into account under this ideal system. Not all carbon is released back into the atmosphere at harvest, however, since a large proportion may remain fixed in forest products for many years. Here, we compare the profitability of the forest under full redemption of credits at harvest, with partial redemption of credits at harvest followed by annual redemption post-harvest as the carbon decays in a durable forest product. The analysis is based on simulation of farm-forestry systems in south-eastern Australia.carbon accounting, reforestation, discounting, bioeconomics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

The precipitous decline of the ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana: time to build on scientific evidence to inform conservation management

In recent decades there has been a marked decline in most ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana populations in temperate Europe, with many regional populations now extinct or on the brink of extinction. In contrast, Mediterranean and, as far as we know, eastern European popula-tions seem to have remained relatively stable. The causes of decline remain unclear but include: habitat loss and degradation, and related reduction in prey availability; climate change on the breeding grounds; altered population dynamics; illegal captures during migration; and environmental change in wintering areas. We review the current knowledge of the biology of the ortolan bunting and discuss the proposed causes of decline in relation to the different population trends in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. We suggest new avenues of research to identify the factors limiting ortolan bunting populations. The main evidence-based conservation measure that is likely to enhance habitat quality is the creation of patches of bare ground to produce sparsely vegetated foraging grounds in invertebrate-rich grassy habitats close to breeding area

Bulk Handling of Paddy and Rice in Malaysia: an Economic Analysis

Crop Production/Industries,

Distribution and correlates of plantar hyperkeratotic lesions in older people

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plantar hyperkeratotic lesions are common in older people and are associated with pain, mobility impairment and functional limitations. However, little has been documented in relation to the frequency or distribution of these lesions. The aim of this study was to document the occurrence of plantar hyperkeratotic lesions and the patterns in which they occur in a random sample of older people.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A medical history questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 301 people living independently in the community (117 men, 184 women) aged between 70 and 95 years (mean 77.2, SD 4.9), who also underwent a clinical assessment of foot problems, including the documentation of plantar lesion locations, toe deformities and the presence and severity of hallux valgus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 301 participants, 180 (60%) had at least one plantar hyperkeratotic lesion. Those with plantar lesions were more likely to be female (χ²= 18.75, <it>p </it>< 0.01; OR = 2.86), have moderate to severe hallux valgus (χ²= 6.15, <it>p </it>< 0.02; OR = 2.95), a larger dorsiflexion range of motion at the ankle (39.4 ± 9.3 <it>vs </it>36.3 ± 8.4°; <it>t </it>= 2.68, <it>df </it>= 286, <it>p </it>< 0.01), and spent more time on their feet at home (5.1 ± 1.0 <it>vs </it>4.8 ± 1.3 hours, <it>t </it>= -2.46, <it>df </it>= 299, <it>p </it>= 0.01). No associations were found between the presence of plantar lesions and body mass index, obesity, foot posture, dominant foot or forefoot pain. A total of 53 different lesions patterns were observed, with the most common lesion pattern being "roll-off" hyperkeratosis on the medial aspect of the 1^stmetatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ), accounting for 12% of all lesion patterns. "Roll-off" lesions under the 1^stMPJ and interphalangeal joint were significantly associated with moderate to severe hallux valgus (<it>p </it>< 0.05), whereas lesions under the central MPJs were significantly associated with deformity of the corresponding lesser toe (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Factor analysis indicated that 62% of lesion patterns could be grouped under three broad categories, relating to medial, central and lateral locations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Plantar hyperkeratotic lesions affect 60% of older people and are associated with female gender, hallux valgus, toe deformity, increased ankle flexibility and time spent on feet, but are not associated with obesity, limb dominance, forefoot pain or foot posture. Although there are a wide range of lesion distribution patterns, most can be classified into medial, central or lateral groups. Further research is required to determine whether these patterns are related to the dynamic function of the foot or other factors such as foot pathology or morphology.</p

Outlier analysis for a silicon nanoparticle population balance model

© 2016 The Combustion Institute We assess the impact of individual experimental observations on a multivariate population balance model for the formation of silicon nanoparticles from the thermal decomposition of silane by means of basic regression influence diagnostics. The nanoparticle model is closely related to one which has been used to simulate soot formation in flames and includes morphological and compositional details which allow re presentation of primary particles within aggregates, and of coagulation, surface growth, and sintering processes. Predicted particle size distributions are optimised against 19 experiments across ranges of initial temperature, pressure, residence time, and initial silane mass fraction. The influence of each experimental observation on the model parameter estimates is then quantified using the Cook distance and DFBETA measures. Seven model parameters are included in the analysis, with five Arrhenius pre-exponential factors in the gas-phase kinetic rate expressions, and two kinetic rate constants in the population balance model. The analysis highlights certain experimental conditions and kinetic parameters which warrant closer inspection due to large influence, thus providing clues as to which aspects of the model require improvement. We find the insights provided can be useful for future model development and planning of experiments.This work was partly funded by the Cambridge Australia Trust, by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme, and by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement 646121

Economic Prospects for Vanilla in the South Pacific

Crop Production/Industries,