Crime and conflicts in Africa: consequences of corruption?

With earthshaking and jaw-breaking levels of corruption in the African continent, the question on the extent to which corruption influences crime still remains unanswered. This paper assesses the effect of corruption (corruption-control) in 38 African countries using updated data. We find that, crime is highly positively (negatively) correlated with corruption (corruption-control). The potential mitigation effect (by corruption-control) is higher than the corresponding positive effect of corruption, implying, corruption-control offsets crime emanating beyond the corruption mechanism (inter alia, other poor governance mechanisms). The relationship is statistically strong when controlling for the number of police officers, age dependency, per capital economic prosperity, level of education, government effectiveness and population density. Given that crime is proxied by the level of organized internal conflict, the findings also sustain the substantial role of corruption in the birth and propagation of conflicts within and across Africa. Policy implications are discussed

Fighting African Conflicts and Crimes: Which Governance Tools Matter?

Crimes and conflicts are seriously undermining African development. This article assesses the best governance tools in the fight against the scourges. The following findings are established. (1) Democracy, autocracy and voice & accountability have no significant negative correlations with crime. (2) The increasing relevance of government quality in the fight is as follows: regulation quality, government effectiveness, political stability, rule of law and corruption-control. (3) Corruption-control is the most effective mechanism in fighting crime (conflicts). The findings are significantly strong when controlling for age dependency, number of police (and security) officers, per capita economic prosperity, educational level and population density. Justifications for the edge of corruption-control (as the most effective governance tool) and policy implications are discussed

Slave trade and Human Trafficking

The literature has not sufficiently engaged in the emergence and expansion of the phenomenon of slave trade. This article estimates whether or not slave trade affects human trafficking using an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) with standard errors that are consistent with heteroscedasticity. The paper also checks for the robustness of the OLS model. The findings of the paper reveal that the effect of slave trade on human trafficking is positive and statistically significant.The more one is exposed to the phenomenon of slave trade, the more human trafficking is important. The paper also deduces that developed countries that experienced slave trade record low level of human trafficking nowadays, while developing countries continue to record high level of human trafficking. Additionally, institutions werefound to be statistically very significant, and essential to be politically and socioeconomically consolidated and promoted, mainly in developing countries in order to alleviate the level of human trafficking

Age of politicians and Regulatory Reform

This article discusses the relationship between the identity of the rulers of the executive and reform. Thus, we enrich the literature on the determinants of reform and the result of the executive. This is a new and very important literature, as these are the reforms that allow progress. We use a sample of 141 countries over the period 2003-2013 to investigate the link between the age of politicians and regulatory reforms. We created an ad hoc database for the age of politicians and for reform, we use micro-reform data. An econometric model is used to discover if the age of a political leader in office can be a driving force that is more or less likely to bring about regulatory reforms. Our results suggest that the age of politicians has a positive incidence on the reform that they bring about. The results are robust for the reform measures and techniques used. The results also indicate that older politicians implement more reforms than the young ones. More precisely, the paper found that older politicians who are in their sixties bring about the most regulatory reforms than politicians of any other age ranges

Indicating appropriate groundwater tables for desert river-bank forest at the Tarim River, Xinjiang, China

Based on data collected over 2 years of monitoring the lower reaches of the Tarim River, the groundwater table depth was divided into six classes; 0 to 2 m, 2 to 4 m, 4 to 6 m, 6 to 8 m, 8 to 10 m, > 10 m. We investigated the vegetation in this area to measure the influence of groundwater table depth on plant diversity and species ecological niche. The results indicated that plant diversity was highest at the 2 to 4 m groundwater table depth, followed by that at 4 to 6 m, and then that at 0 to 2 m. When the groundwater depth dropped to below 6 m, species diversity decreased dramatically, and the slope of Hill's index tended to level off. The ecological niche of the major species in this area initially expanded as the groundwater level dropped. The widest niche appeared at the 4 to 6 m groundwater table depth and gradually narrowed with deepening groundwater. Ecological niche analysis also revealed that the 4 to 6 m groundwater table depth was associated with the lowest degree of niche overlap and the richest variety of species. Our findings indicate that in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, the groundwater table depth must be a minimum of 6 m for vegetation restoration; it should be maintained at 2 to 4 m in the vicinity of the water path, and at 4 to 6 m for the rest of this arid area

Relationship Between Soil Properties and Plant Diversity in a Desert Riparian Forest in the Lower Reaches of the Tarim River, Xinjiang, China

Based on data from soil characteristics of 217 soil samples collected from 31 soil profiles that were located at eight monitoring sections in the lower reaches of the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang, we analyzed the spatial distribution of soil properties using nonparametric tests and ANOVA. Plant species diversity was analyzed based on vegetation data that were collected over several years. In addition, the study also examined the relationship between plant species diversity and soil parameters by using grey correlation analysis. The results show a significant difference (p < 0.05) in soil organic matter, total N, and total K between the top layer (0-50cm) and the deep layers (>50cm). Along the different monitoring sections, going from the upper to the lower reaches at locations of 150m away from the right riverbank of the Tarim River, the plant species diversity index (Shannon-Weiner index) has the same trend as total N. Furthermore, plant communities change from compound communities to a single community corresponding to the changes in plant species diversity-namely, from the communities composed of trees (Populus euphratica Oliv.), shrubs (Tamarix spp), and herbs to a pure Tamarix community. Grey correlation analyses indicated that significant relationships exist between plant species diversity, soil organic matter, and total N at the 0-50cm soil layer

Kajian pendahuluan Biotransformasi α-mangostin oleh jamur Penicillium sp Isolasi Metabolit Sekunder dari kultivar Serta Uji Aktivitas Antibakteri

Telah dilakukan penelitian pendahuluan biotransformasi α-mangostin oleh jamur endofitik Penicillium sp. yang diperoleh dari lichen Stereocaulon halei yang tumbuh pada bebatuan Gunung Singgalang yang dikultivasi pada media beras selama 21 hari, selanjutnya diekstrak berturut-turut dengan etil asetat dan metanol. Dengan menggunakan metoda kromatografi fasa normal silika gel dan dilanjutkan dengan metoda rekristalisasi dari fraksi etil asetat ini diperoleh senyawa Y1 berupa padatan amorf tidak bewarna 22.6 mg (0,001% dari berat kultivar), memberikan nilai Rf 0,58 dengan toluen:etil asetat:asam format (70:25:5) dan jarak leleh 129,9-133,1oC. Spektrum UV-VIS senyawa Y1 memperlihatkan maksimum (λ max) 282 nm. Dari data spektroskopi 1H dan 13C NMR, diperkirakan senyawa Y1 merupakan golongan diterpenoid. Uji daya hambat terhadap pertumbuhan bakteri senyawa Y1 dengan menggunakan metode difusi agar terlihat aktif menghambat pertumbuham empat bakteri patogen manusia Staphylococcus aureus ATCC, Pseudomonas aureginosa ATCC, Escherichia coli ATCC dan MRSA dengan aktivitas sedang dengan diameter hambat 5-10 mm pada semua konsentrasi (0,5%, 0,25% ; 0,1% ; dan 0,075%) Kata kunci : Biotransformasi, α-mangostin, Penicillium sp., antibakter

Response of glacial-lake outburst floods to climate change in the Yarkant River basin on northern slope of Karakoram Mountains, China

Based on the glacial flood events and climate change in the Yarkant River basin during the past 50 years, the study investigated the long-term change of temperature and precipitation, the characteristics of glacial floods, the origin of sudden flood release, the suggested flood mechanism of glacial lakes and the relationship between glacial floods and climate change. Results showed that there was an obvious increase in the temperature of the basin since 1987. Specifically in the mountainous area, the significantly increasing temperature in the summer and autumn seasons accelerated the melting rate of glaciers and caused glacial-lake burst. Sudden flood release occurred frequently. The frequency of glacial-lake outburst floods was 0.4 times/a during the period 1959-1986 and increased to 0.7 times/a during 1997-2006. Peak discharge also increased. There were seven floods with peak discharge over 4000 m(3)/s from 1959-2006, and three occurred after 1997. The increasing frequency and magnitude of glacial outburst floods mirrored the effect of climate warming on glaciers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved

Effect of Nitrate on Root Development and Nitrogen Uptake of Suaeda physophora Under NaCl Salinity

The effects of NaCl salinity and NO3- on growth, root morphology, and nitrogen uptake of a halophyte Suaeda physophora were evaluated in a factorial experiment with four concentrations of NaCl (1, 150, 300, and 450 mmol L-1) and three NO3- levels (0.05, 5, and 10 mmol L-1) in solution culture for 30 d. Addition of NO3- at 10 mmol L-1 significantly improved the shoot (P < 0.001) and root (P < 0.001) growth and the promotive effect of NO3- was more pronounced on root dry weight despite the high NaCl concentration in the culture solution, leading to a significant increase in the root:shoot ratio (P < 0.01). Lateral root length, but not primary root length, considerably increased with increasing NaCl salinity and NO3- levels (P < 0.001), implying that Na+ and NO3- in the culture solution simultaneously stimulated lateral root growth. Concentrations of Na+ in plant tissues were also significantly increased by higher NaCl treatments (P < 0.001). At 10 mmol L-1 NO3-, the concentrations of NO3- and total nitrogen and nitrate reductase activities in the roots were remarkably reduced by increasing salinity (P < 0.001), but were unaffected in the shoots. The results indicated that the fine lateral root development and effective nitrogen uptake of the shoots might contribute to high salt tolerance of S. physophora under adequate NO3- supply