The IMF and Russia in the 1990s

This paper explains the IMF's impact on economic policies in Russia, focusing on where the IMF made a difference. The Russian economic and political leadership essentially determined economic policies. The IMF's influence was modest: it had a limited impact on overall fiscal policy and major structural reforms, but it had a positive impact on monetary policy. A tougher position on fiscal policy in 1996-98 might have produced a better outcome. The G-7's concerns weakened the IMF. However, the IMF played a major role in transferring knowledge about macroeconomic policymaking and implementation. Copyright 2006, International Monetary Fund

Commentary: primary emotional systems and personality: an evolutionary perspective

In Primary emotional systems and personality Christian Montag and Jaak Panksepp analyze how emotional systems are involved into the development of basic personality into an evolutionary framework. They also stress the importance of such investigation for the promotion of human welfare in the context of psychiatric research and practic

Niche inheritance: a cooperative pathway to enhance cancer cell fitness though ecosystem engineering

Cancer cells can be described as an invasive species that is able to establish itself in a new environment. The concept of niche construction can be utilized to describe the process by which cancer cells terraform their environment, thereby engineering an ecosystem that promotes the genetic fitness of the species. Ecological dispersion theory can then be utilized to describe and model the steps and barriers involved in a successful diaspora as the cancer cells leave the original host organ and migrate to new host organs to successfully establish a new metastatic community. These ecological concepts can be further utilized to define new diagnostic and therapeutic areas for lethal cancers.Comment: 8 pages, 1 Table, 4 Figure

Ornamental plant domestication by aesthetics-driven human cultural niche construction

Unlike plants that were domesticated to secure food, the domestication and breeding of ornamental plants are driven by aesthetic values. Here, we examine the major elements of the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) theory that bridges the gap between the biology of ornamental plant domestication and the sociocultural motivations behind it. We propose that it involves specific elements of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE), plant gene-human culture coevolution (PGHCC), and niche construction (NC). Moreover, ornamental plant domestication represents an aesthetics-driven dimension of human niche construction that coevolved with socioeconomic changes and the adoption of new scientific technologies. Initially functioning as symbolic and aesthetic assets, ornamental plants became globally marketed material commodities as a result of the co-dependence of human CCE and prestige-competition motivations

Evolution of virulence: triggering host inflammation allows invading pathogens to exclude competitors.

Virulence is generally considered to benefit parasites by enhancing resource-transfer from host to pathogen. Here, we offer an alternative framework where virulent immune-provoking behaviours and enhanced immune resistance are joint tactics of invading pathogens to eliminate resident competitors (transferring resources from resident to invading pathogen). The pathogen wins by creating a novel immunological challenge to which it is already adapted. We analyse a general ecological model of 'proactive invasion' where invaders not adapted to a local environment can succeed by changing it to one where they are better adapted than residents. However, the two-trait nature of the 'proactive' strategy (provocation of, and adaptation to environmental change) presents an evolutionary conundrum, as neither trait alone is favoured in a homogenous host population. We show that this conundrum can be resolved by allowing for host heterogeneity. We relate our model to emerging empirical findings on immunological mediation of parasite competition

Improving carbon coated TiO2 films with a TiCl4 treatment for photocatalytic water purification

Using a simple thermal decomposition route, carbon-TiO2 hybrid films have been synthesized from a catechol-TiO2 surface complex. The coated films display enhanced visible region absorption, owing to the thin (~2 nm) layer of carbon encapsulating the TiO2. While photocatalytically active under visible light alone, it is demonstrated that the activity of the carbon coated films can be improved further by a hydrolytic treatment with TiCl4, leading to the introduction of small TiO2 particles (5-10nm) and doping of chlorine into the structure. The combination of the carbon layer and TiCl4 treatment gives increased photocatalytic performance for the photodegradation of dyes, phenolic pollutants and the reduction of toxic Cr(VI) to relatively benign Cr(III). In addition, the carbon coated films show improved bactericidal activity under UV irradiation, and hence have been successfully tested against the most common types of pollutant present in potential drinking waters

Analysis of coloured Grooved Ware sherds from the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney

To the accumulation of evidence of painted decoration applied to Neolithic and Early Bronze Age pottery in Britain and elsewhere in Europe we report here the presence of decoration in red, black and white on some third millennium BC Grooved ware pottery at the Ness of Brodgar on Orkney. As expected, the red was identified as an iron-rich material and black was carbon black. The white was prepared from calcined (cow) bone; however, its identification encountered some issues arising principally from the effects of the prevailing burial conditions on the bone. Furthermore, whereas the chemical and FTIR data were consistent with the presence of apatite, XRD indicated that the white had a significant content of silicate minerals. This finding has suggested that the white required a preparatory step which might have included the calcined bone bring ground to powder in a stone mortar before application to the vessel surface. The results obtained at Ness of Brodgar are reviewed in the light of archaeometric data on similarly decorated prehistoric pottery reported from sites in Europe