The Political Economy of Land Grabs in Malawi: Investigating the Contribution of Limphasa Sugar Corporation to Rural Development

Though a recent phenomenon, land grabs have generated considerable debate that remains highly polarized. In this debate, one view presents land deals as a path to sustainable and transformative rural development through capital accumulation, infrastructural development, technology transfer, and job creation while the alternative view sees land grabs as a new wave of neo-colonization, exploitation, and domination. The underlying argument, at least theoretically, is that international land deals unlock the much needed capital to accelerate the achievement of sustainable and transformative rural development in developing countries. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the contribution of large scale land deals in Malawi to rural development by employing the political economy perspective using the Limphasa Sugar Corporation as a case study with particular focus on the nature and interest of the actors involved; the legal framework supporting large scale land deals; major individual and community benefits; and the extent to which these large land deals can indeed bring about sustainable and transformative rural development. The findings of this article demonstrate that large scale land deals present short term benefits to local communities such as capital for rural development; technology transfer and job creation in exchange for the priceless economic and social capital that local people depend upon; destruction of local social systems; deepening of local communities’ vulnerability to economic shocks; and the entrenchment of community dependence that may in the long run result in social and political unrest.     

输变电工程电磁辐射污染的初步探讨

为了解输变电工程对周边环境的影响,对南阳地区某110 kV输变电工程进行实地监测。结果表明,工频电场、工频磁场和无线电干扰远远低于国家相关标准限值,而且随着距离的递增呈衰减趋势。然而监测往往选在"好天气"的时间进行,不能反映"坏天气"的实际状况。结合输变电工程环境影响评价的实际工作经验,分析电磁污染和公众参与现状,发现问题并提出建议。     

Population dynamics and regulation in the cave salamander <Emphasis Type="Italic">Speleomantes strinatii</Emphasis>

Time series analysis has been used to evaluate the mechanisms regulating population dynamics of mammals and insects, but has been rarely applied to amphibian populations. In this study, the influence of endogenous (density-dependent) and exogenous (density-independent) factors regulating population dynamics of the terrestrial plethodontid salamander Speleomantes strinatii was analysed by means of time series and multiple regression analyses. During the period 1993–2005, S. strinatii population abundance, estimated by a standardised temporary removal method, displayed relatively low fluctuations, and the autocorrelation function (ACF) analysis showed that the time series had a noncyclic structure. The partial rate correlation function (PRCF) indicated that a strong first-order negative feedback dominated the endogenous dynamics. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the only climatic factor influencing population growth rate was the minimum winter temperature. Thus, at least during the study period, endogenous, density-dependent negative feedback was the main factor affecting the growth rate of the salamander population, whereas stochastic environmental variables, such as temperature and rainfall, seemed to play a minor role in regulation. These results stress the importance of considering both exogenous and endogenous factors when analysing amphibian long-term population dynamics.     

苯甲酸生产废水的处理与资源化

为有效地回收甲苯液相氧化法生产苯甲酸的工业废水中的苯甲酸和乙酸,并配合废水生物降解的末端处理技术,研究了20%,30%和50%磷酸三丁酯(TBP)/煤油的混合溶剂、正辛醇和甲苯萃取苯甲酸稀溶液特性,以及对工业废水处理的实验.结果表明,TBP对苯甲酸稀溶液具有良好的萃取作用,而纯溶剂体系与溶剂的极性有关,正辛醇的萃取能力与30%TBP相当;残液中的COD_Cr值由萃取剂在水中的溶解和苯甲酸自身的COD_Cr值组成,其中残液中溶剂溶解导致的COD_Cr值随其中苯甲酸浓度变化不明显,且COD_Cr值的大小为:50%TBP≈30%TBP>正辛醇>20%TBP>甲苯.针对工业废水中主要含有苯甲酸和乙酸的工况,提出了废水资源化的处理工艺流程,即首先采用甲苯进行废水中苯甲酸的回收,之后,再利用三烷基氧磷/煤油为萃取剂回收废水中的醋酸,进一步生产绿色化学品乙酸钙镁盐.     

Codling moth males do not discriminate between pheromone and a pheromone/antagonist blend during upwind flight

Discrimination between conspecific and heterospecific signals is a key element in the evolution of pheromone-mediated communication in insects. Pheromone antagonists prevent heterospecific attraction. They are typically pheromone synergists in other species and enable specific communication in closely related species, using partly the same chemicals. In codling moth, Cydia pomonella, as in other moths, upwind flights to a pheromone/antagonist blend were slower and more convoluted than to pheromone. However, this deteriorated flight behaviour did not account for the strong decrease in male attraction. The pheromone/antagonist blend blocked instead the onset of upwind flight. This was corroborated by placing a separate source of pheromone close by, which restored male attraction. Males flying upwind did not discriminate between pheromone and the adjacent pheromone/antagonist blend, and landed on either source. This indicates differences in the neural regulation for initiating and maintaining a behavioural response to pheromone.     

'Molecular farming' of antibodies in plants

'Molecular farming' is the production of valuable recombinant proteins in transgenic organisms on an agricultural scale. While plants have long been used as a source of medicinal compounds, molecular farming represents a novel source of molecular medicines, such as plasma proteins, enzymes, growth factors, vaccines and recombinant antibodies, whose medical benefits are understood at a molecular level. Until recently, the broad use of molecular medicines was limited because of the difficulty in producing these proteins outside animals or animal cell culture. The application of molecular biology and plant biotechnology in the 1990s showed that many molecular medicines or vaccines could be synthesised in plants and this technology is termed 'molecular farming'. It results in pharmaceuticals that are safer, easier to produce and less expensive than those produced in animals or microbial culture. An advantage of molecular farming lies in the ability to perform protein production on a massive scale using hectares of cultivated plants. These plants can then be harvested and transported using the agricultural infrastructure. Thus, molecular farming allows rapid progress from genetic engineering to crop production, and new cash crops producing recombinant proteins are already being commercially exploited. We speculate that as functional genomics teaches us more about the nature of disease, molecular farming will produce many of the protein therapeutics that can remedy it.     

The effect of clock-shift on the initial orientation of wild rock doves (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba l. livia</Emphasis>)

Previous experiments on wild rock doves ( Columba l. livia Gmelin) released within their familiar area revealed an evident effect of fast-shifting, although shifted doves, but not controls, tended to orient homeward. Such an outcome suggested a possible influence of the release time per se on the directional choices of the tested doves. In the present study, this hypothesis was investigated by comparing the orientation of slow-shifted birds to that of two control groups released at different times of the day. As would be expected if doves make use of a time-compensated sun compass, the bearings of shifted birds were deflected clockwise with respect to controls. The time of release itself seemed to influence only the scatter of the vanishing bearings of controls. These findings testify to the substantial similarity of clock-shift effects on the initial orientation of rock doves to those on homing pigeons released from familiar sites.     

合肥市十八联圩湿地表层沉积物营养盐与重金属分布及污染评价

十八联圩是南淝河入巢湖湖口区一处由"退耕还湿"形成的大型人工湿地.为了解其表层沉积物营养盐与重金属分布和污染特征,于2018年7月采集湿地内部和外部毗邻水体共72个位点的沉积物样品进行调查,并对污染来源进行了分析.结果表明,在十八联圩湿地内部水体中,表层沉积物总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和有机质(OM)平均含量分别为2 108. 87mg·kg~(-1)、1 448. 82 mg·kg~(-1)和86. 2 g·kg~(-1),而在外部水体中,分别为2 305. 81 mg·kg~(-1)、1 268. 46 mg·kg~(-1)和59. 9 g·kg~(-1).重金属Mn、Cr、Cu、Pb、Cd、As和Hg在湿地内、外部水体中的平均含量分别为462. 58、42. 12、21. 69、18. 05、0. 63、5. 67和0. 059 mg·kg~(-1); 381. 61、36. 85、24. 74、30. 70、2. 49、6. 47和0. 035 mg·kg~(-1).湿地内水体表层沉积物,在营养盐污染评价中,TN整体处于轻度至中度污染水平,TP整体处于重度污染水平,营养盐整体处于中度至重度污染水平;在有机污染指数评价中,OM整体处于中度至重度污染水平;在重金属潜在生态风险评价中,潜在生态风险指数(RI)和潜在生态风险系数(Eir)表明,部分区域的Cd与Hg具有一定的生态风险.而湿地外毗邻水体表层沉积物的营养盐水平同样较高,且重金属污染严重,所有位点均达到强生态风险以上.