Roots and Routes of Political Violence in Kenya’s Civil and Political Society: A Case Study of Marsabit County

Struggles to influence the balance of power and the distribution of economic resources in Kenya have a long history of violence: national and local, actual and threatened, physical and psychological. Somewhat controlled by sophisticated legal, administrative and political institutions and strongly tempered by a deep fund of intercommunity cooperation, violence has been kept in check, but remains persistent. The levels of violence vary from place to place and year to year, and seldom break out into full-scale clashes or war. Nonetheless, different forms of violence combine with politics to form a resilient chain that exerts powerful control over people’s lives and resists straightforward policy prescriptions or easy practical resolutions. This case study uses a definition of political settlements to frame the inquiry (Parks and Cole 2010). This approach defines political settlements as the informal agreements that govern the formal negotiation and distribution of goods, rights and responsibilities within the state. The study aims to show one manifestation of how the political settlement in Kenya is upheld by a variety of interlinked forms of ‘normal’ violence, themselves linked to economic dependencies. Today’s political settlement is founded in the new constitution of Kenya and structured by the new system of devolved government. We show how the informal rules of the political (un)settlement in operation at the most local level play a role in sustaining a violent political system.UK Department for International Developmen

La Geomatica a supporto dell'analisi critica della metodologia PAI in Sardegna.

In un progetto finanziato dall’Agenzia del Distretto Idrografico della Sardegna, si sta conducendo un’analisi critica della normativa e delle Linee Guida del Piano di Assetto Idrogeologico (PAI) relativamente alla sezione che, attraverso l’analisi di specifici indicatori pesati, porta dapprima all’individuazione delle aree potenzialmente instabili e di seguito alle carte di pericolosità e rischio. Il presente lavoro illustra le attività di analisi delle criticità, unitamente allo sforzo di fornire una caratterizzazione più strettamente geologica ai fenomeni di instabilità dei versanti. Nella metodologia attualmente in vigore gli aspetti geologici non contemplano la complessità stratigrafica e geometrica dei territori e dei fenomeni di instabilità. In particolare, la classificazione meccanica delle litologie che viene suggerita, frutto di studi condotti in contesti geologici diversi, non sembra essere coerente con le fenomenologie franose che si sviluppano nell’Isola. Particolare rilevanza viene attribuita all’esposizione dei versanti come concausa di fenomeni franosi, mentre questo aspetto non sembra avere alcuna influenza. Diversamente, emerge una stretta relazione tra litologie, classi di pendenza e sistemi di discontinuità per le frane per crollo e ribaltamento, tipologie di frana più frequenti nell’Isola. Le relazioni tra diverse tipologie di fenomeno franoso, litologie, classi di pendenza e altri parametri geomorfometrici suggeriscono l’importanza di una caratterizzazione basata su parametri differenti della per le diverse tipologie di frana. Ad esempio, per la propensione al ribaltamento risulta poco efficace la relazione tra il deposito di frana così prodotto e il substrato su cui poggia, elemento che è sicuramente più significativo per le frane di scivolamento. L’approccio geologico inteso in senso classico è stato affiancato dal contributo fornito dalla Geomatica per poter analizzare congiuntamente dati digitali nativi (per esempio, modelli di elevazione del terreno ed elaborazioni derivate). Il risultato atteso è ottenere una caratterizzazione geomorfologica dei bacini della Sardegna in funzione delle diverse tipologie di fenomeni franosi

Geomorphology, stratigraphy and facies analysis of some Late Pleistocene and Holocene key deposits along the coast of Sardinia (Italy).

Two major synthems have been recognised along the coasts of Sardinia. The older one is composed of two sub-synthems, the oldest of which was formed in high-energy boulder beaches, and is a thin condensed transgressive sequence usually located at the foot of a marine cliff. The overlying sub-synthem was generated by aeolian, slope, interdunal ponds and alluvial depositional environments. It is widespread, and terraces and relict dune fields are usually deeply dissected. Its deposition is associated with a cold and arid climate. The aeolian and alluvial deposition was interrupted by the evolution of steppe-prairie soils. A more evolved reddish brown Bt paleosol is locally found at the top of the sequence. The younger synthem is made of beach and coastal lagoon and swamps. It is more variable in thickness, rests unconformably over the older, one and has no sedimentary cover. It is laterally correlated to the present-day depositional environments such as alluvial plains and beaches. Unfortunately, because beach deposits of this synthem are found up to 6 m asl and a marine notch is present at 5–6 m (Capo San Marco), the widespread idea that Sardinia is a stable area and that marine sea level during the Holocene was never higher than nowadays led to their previous attribution to MIS 5e. However, all the stratigraphic, geomorphic and pedological evidence indicates that only the older sub-synthem can be correlated with the MIS 5e high stand. The younger sub-synthems made of aeolian lacustrine and alluvial deposits at Cala Gonone, Santa Reparata, Capo S.Marco and S.Giovanni di Sinis were deposited during the rest of the Late Pleistocene. The younger synthem evolved during the Holocene, and this is the chronological setting of the beach deposits at Is Arenas, Scala e´ Croccas, Santa Reparata, and Capo San Marco. Radiocarbon dating confirms these attributions. Unfortunately, OSL dating suggests an older chronology for these deposits, and therefore it seems that further investigations are needed

OCT-4 and DAZL expression in precancerous lesions of the human uterine cervix

Aim To determine whether octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT-4) and deleted in azoospermia like (DAZL) are expressed among cells with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions and quantify their relative expression when compared with normal cervical cultures. Methods Cervical cells derived from normal cell cultures, HPV lesions and CIN lesions were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 20% amniotic fluid and 5 ng/mL basic fibroblast growth factor at 37°C and humidified 10% CO2 in air. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using G6PD as a reference. We used REST for statistical analysis of real-time PCR. Results Whereas DAZL was not expressed either in normal cultures or HPV and CIN lesions, OCT-4 was expressed in all examined cell lines. Moreover its relative expression was significantly upregulated among cultures of HPV-infected cells (RE, 11.003; 95%CI: 0.054-36 704.527, P = 0.042), an observation that was also close to statistical significance among cultures of CIN lesions (P = 0.066). Conclusion The relative expression of OCT-4 is upregulated during the early, preinvasive stages of cervical carcinogenesis. Future studies should investigate its potential as a screening marker and as a possible target of therapy. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2014 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology