Re‐evaluating the Contribution of Social Capital in Achieving Sustainable Development

The last decade has seen considerable interest in the concept of social capital and there have been a number of publications focused around the concept. A wide range of claims have been made for the analytic potential of social capital leading some to question the concept's continued value. We think that the concept still has considerable value if used in a careful and rigorous way. We further think that the concept has particular value when considering policy for sustainable development. However, just as sustainable development is a multi‐faceted concept, this application requires a multi‐faceted reading of social capital. Having concluded that a clearer typology of social capital is needed, we propose a threefold typology, adding the new category of ‘bracing’ social capital to the more commonly used distinction between ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital. We also address the issues of what social capital can do and how it actually works, specifically in the context of policy for sustainable development.     

Socio-cultural inequities in access to prenatal diagnosis: The role of insurance coverage and regulatory policies

The article presents the results of a 4-month-period survey by questionnaire among all women attending the Marseille Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis for amniocentesis. Socio-cultural status of women getting access to amniocentesis is significantly higher than in the general population of pregnant women in the same geographic area of south-eastern France. Sociocultural status is also higher among women who have to cover costs of procedure to get access to amniocentesis than among those who benefit from it free-of-charge according to French Social Security regulations. In contrast, risk perception and attitudes toward termination of pregnancy are similar in these two groups. A total of 24·4 per cent of respondents declared that they got access to amniocentesis ‘on their own initiative’, the remaining 75·6 per cent declaring that they ‘were following medical advice’. Multidimensional analysis shows that the women who do not benefit from free-of-charge amniocentesis, and who have a high level of education and no antecedents of fetal and perinatal deaths, are more likely to perceive themselves as ‘self-referring’. The study indicates that institutional coverage may be effective in reducing socio-cultural inequities in access to prenatal diagnosis. But such a policy may conflict with the respect of women' s individual autonomy in the amniocentesis decision.     

Isolation and characterization of a diverse group of phenylacetic acid degrading microorganisms from pristine soil

A diverse range of microorganisms capable of growth on phenylacetic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy were isolated from soil. Sixty six different isolates were identified and grouped according to 16S rRNA gene RFLP analysis. Subsequent sequencing of 16S rDNA from selected strains allowed further characterization of the phenylacetic acid degrading population isolated from soil. Nearly half (30) of the isolates are Bacillus species while the rest of the isolates are strains from a variety of genera namely, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, and Paenibacillus. Sixty-one of the sixty-six strains reproducibly grew in defined minimal liquid culture medium (E2). All strains isolated grew when at least one hydroxylated derivative of phenylacetic acid was supplied as the carbon source, while 59 out of the 61 strains tested, accumulated ortho-hydroxyphenylacetic acid in the assay buffer; when pulsed with phenylacetic acid. Oxygen consumption experiments failed to indicate a clear link between phenylacetic acid and hydroxy-substituted phenylacetic acid in isolates from a broad range of genera.     

阿拉善盟沙尘暴情况调研报告

本文重点介绍阿拉善沙尘暴发生的基本情况并对成因进行了分析，最后提出恢复生态环境防治沙尘暴的频频垄击。