Oil palm plantation investments in Indonesia’s forest frontiers: limited economic multipliers and uncertain benefits for local communities

This paper examines the implications of oil palm estate development in Indonesia’s frontier province of Papua. Government planners believe that oil palm investment will develop the local economy, create jobs and reduce poverty. Using the input–output approach, we find that, in aggregate terms, oil palm investments boost the economic output in the province, generate jobs and increase worker salaries. However, the oil palm subsector operates in isolation and has limited economic multipliers. The number of jobs is potentially large, but those best positioned to benefit from them are mostly skilled migrants, not local poor. The government should reduce the size of plantation investments and plan their implementation as part of a broader development package to allow greater economic integration and skill acquisition by local communities. The priority areas for plantation development should be degraded, non-forest land.     

A highly sensitive spectrophotometric determination of micro amounts of vanadium(V) in environmental and alloy samples by using 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehydeisonicotinoylhydrazone (3,4-DHBINH)

3, 4-Dihydroxybenzaldehydeisonicotinoylhydrazone was prepared, characterized with spectral analyses and used for developing a new method for the simple, sensitive and rapid spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V) which gives maximum absorbance at wave length 360 nm. The metal ion gives a yellow colored complex with 3, 4-DHBINH in acetate buffer of pH 5.5 with 1:1 (metal:ligand) composition. The method obeys Beer's law in the range 0.5-5.3 mug mL(-1) of vanadium(V). The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 1.29 x 10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.003949 mug cm(-2) respectively. The correlation co-efficient of the V(V)-3, 4-DHBINH complex was 0.992 which indicated an excellent linearity between the two variables. The repeatability of the method was checked by finding the relative standard deviation (RSD) as 0.424% (n = 5), and its detection limit 0.01677 mug mL(-1) of vanadium(V). The instability constant of the method was calculated by Asmus' method as 4.1666 x 10(-3). The interfering effect of various cations and anions were also studied. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of vanadium(V) in environmental samples (water and soil) tobacco leaves and alloy samples. The validity of the method was tested by comparing the results with those obtained using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.     

Road characteristics and driver fatigue: a simulator study

Two experiments examined the influence of road characteristics on driver fatigue in a prolonged simulator drive. In experiment one, ten military truck drivers drove a mixed route, with straight, winding, and straight highway segments. In experiment two, 16 additional drivers drove either a straight, a winding, or a mixed route. Fatigue symptoms were assessed using performance, subjective, and psychophysiological measures (HRV). We hypothesized that drivers adopt different fatigue-coping strategies relative to the demands of the drive. Thus, on straight roads drivers are more likely to loosen their driving demands by either increasing their driving speed and/or not maintaining the lane position, as the road is tolerant to both strategies, whereas on winding roads, drivers are more likely to increase their speed but not their lane positioning. Our results confirm that decremental changes in driving performance varied among road types. In the straight road components, we found decrements in the quality of lane maintaining (experiment one) and steering quality (experiments one and two) and longitudinal speed (experiment two). In the winding road, we found that drivers increased their driving speed over time (experiments one and two).     

如何在教学中做到“到位而不越位”——针对中年段语文教学的研讨

<正>中年级的语文阅读教学,既要完成本学段的学习目标,又要为高年级的阅读教学作准备,起着承上启下的作用,是学生语文学习的一个重要阶段。但是纵观中年段的语文课文安排,我们不难发现:有一些是原老教材的高年级课文,移到了中年级,如《太阳》《小英雄雨来》《西门豹》《一个中国孩子的呼声》等。这些文章篇幅长、内容深,对于中年级孩     

Campylobacter coli infection causing second trimester intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR): a case report and review of the literature

Campylobacter is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, curved rod and a normal resident of the gastrointestinal flora and may be the cause of disease in animals. Transmission to humans occurs by ingestion of contaminated food or by direct contact with infected animals. In the past few decades, an increasing number of reports have implicated the presence of this organism in human abortions as well. An infectious mechanism due to primary placental inflammatory damage followed by secondary damage to the fetus following placental insufficiency and ischemia was suggested. The most common species of Campylobacter are Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, which are classically associated with enteritis in humans. We present a rare case of mid-gestation intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) associated with maternal bacteremia caused by C. coli infection. Our literature review focuses on Campylobacter infections occurring in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. In all cases, mild maternal symptoms consisting of fever and weakness were presented. However, associated adverse fetal outcome, including abortions, IUGR or preterm labor may occur more frequently than anticipated. Our report strengthens the importance of awareness to this finding and focuses the need to consume properly cooked meat during pregnancy. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of polychlorinated biphenyls and brominated flame retardants in sludge,sediment and fish from municipal dumpsite at Surabaya,Indonesia

We investigated the PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs contamination in sludge, sediments and fish from various locations including raw leachate pond, leachate treatment plans (LTPs), control wells and reference site at open landfill of municipal dumpsite, Surabaya City, Indonesia. 62 PCBs and 14 PBDEs congeners, and 3 HBCDs isomers were identified and quantified using GC–MS and LC–MS/MS, respectively. Concentration ranges and median (value in parentheses) of PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs were from not detected (ND) to 60 (3.9) ng g⁻¹ dw, 0.0075 to 45 (4.5) ng g⁻¹ dw and ND to 2.8 (0.052) ng g⁻¹ dw in sludge and sediments, respectively. While in two polled of fish samples were 30–55 ng g⁻¹ lw, 6.6–11 ng g⁻¹ lw and 1.6–3.3 ng g⁻¹ lw, respectively. Among the sampling sites, the highest level of PCBs and PBDEs were detected in sludge from raw leachate pond. However, PCBs and PBDEs levels were showing decreased in LTP-1 that could be due to the bacterial degradation but not in LTP-2, HBCDs were more stable in both LTPs. Levels of PCBs and BFRs in sludge at the present study were lower than those reported in sewage sludge reported from some other countries. PCBs profiles were mainly composed in that order by CB-138, -153, -180, -101, -118 and -28, while by BDE-47, -99, -100, -153, -154 and -28 for PBDEs in sludge, sediments and fish. Profiles of HBCDs were predominantly composed by γ- and α-isomers in sludge and fish, respectively. Debromination, dechlorination, commercial formulations used and congener-specific accumulation of those contaminants are the factors influenced the profiles.