The resource curse

Countries that possess rich mineral deposits, it is widely assumed, are fortunate. Such deposits are assets, part of a country's natural capital. Mining is the key that converts dormant mineral wealth into schools, homes, ports, and other forms of capital that directly contribute to economic development. Over the past two decades, however, a more negative view of mining has emerged that questions the positive relationship between mineral extraction and economic development. The impetus for the alternative view came from empirical studies suggesting that countries where mining is important have not grown as rapidly as other countries. More recent studies have explored the possible reasons behind the disappointing performance of many mineral producing countries. While the central point of contention between the conventional and alternative views — namely, whether or not mining usually promotes economic development — remains unresolved, there is widespread agreement that rich mineral deposits provide developing countries with opportunities, which in some instances have been used wisely to promote development, and in other instances have been misused, hurting development. The consensus on this issue is important, for it means that one uniform policy toward all mining in the developing world is not desirable, despite the recent suggestions by some to the contrary. The appropriate public policy question is not should we or should we not promote mining in the developing countries, but rather where should we encourage it and how can we ensure that it contributes as much as possible to economic development and poverty alleviation.     

职业病危害及经济损失

我国工业职业病危害严重，造成的经济损失巨大，约占年国民经济总产值的２．５％以上，加强对职业病危害的预防、控制，以减少损失十分必要。为保证我国经济建设的顺利进行，必须完善立法，用经济手段强化对职业病的预防、监控和管理。     

Ethical obligations of veterinarians and animal scientists in animal agriculture

It is patent that society is evolving an ethic for the treatment of animals which goes well beyond the standard prohibitions against cruelty. This new ethic for animals takes the consensus ethic for the treatment of humans in society and extends it,mutatis mutandis, to the treatment of animals. Though this ethic has been applied first to research animals, its extension to agricultural animals is inevitable, and has already begun. This article explores the extent to which veterinary medicine and animal science, the major scientific fields relevant to animal agriculture, can accommodate the emerging ethic.     

An integrated modelling approach to assess the risk of wind-borne spread of foot-and-mouth disease virus from infected premises

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of livestock that has serious consequences on livestock production and trade. In Australia, preparedness and planning includes the development of decision-support tools that would assist priority setting and resource management in the event of an incursion. In this paper we describe an integrated modelling approach using geographic information system (GIS) technology to assess the risk of wind-borne spread of FMD virus. The approach involves linking an intra-farm virus production model, a wind transport and dispersal model, and an exposure-risk model to identify and rank farms at risk of wind-borne infection of FMD. This will assist authorities by enabling resources for activities like surveillance and vaccination to be allocated on the basis of risk.     

虾塘残饵腐解对养殖环境影响的研究Ⅱ.虾塘底层残饵腐解对沉积物环境的影响

通过室内模拟实验，研究了虾塘过量残饵的分解过程、池底硫化物的生成原理、沉积物中硫化物的积累与扩散过程和还原条件下虾病发生的可能性。结果显示，在３个月的实验时间内，硫化物可渗透沉积物５ｃｍ深度。静止５ｄ即可耗尽池底溶解氧。在虾饵腐解还原环境中，异养细菌总数达２０３×１０６个／ｇ，弧菌数达６８０×１０４个／ｇ，已达到发生红腿病程度     

基于神经网络的尘肺病预测模型研究

针对尘肺病对人体的危害这一现实,本文通过建立神经元网络模型,开发了神经元网络预测系统,利用预测模块对获得的尘肺病发病数据进行了学习并以此形成了稳定的预测模式,以某矿尘肺病发病情况为例进行了评价;结果表明神经元网络模型克服了传统预测模型须建立函数的难题,且预测精度较度,具有重要理论与实际应用价值.     

某蓄水工程路基挡墙的病害分析

对某蓄水工程路基挡墙的安全性进行验证，发现抗滑移和抗倾覆均满足要求，但墙身应力超标较多，墙身不满足抗拉要求，墙身产生裂缝，强度急剧下降，抗倾覆安全系数也会降低。该路基挡墙经必要的设计修正后，取得了良好的经济效益。     

Relationship between neuropsychological tests and driver's license renewal tests in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To determine whether the standard Spanish driving test (ASDE test) was able to identify patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at risk of unsafe driving and to examine the relationship between the ASDE test and the Useful Field of View (UFOV) as well as with a battery of neuropsychological tests in drivers with PD.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with PD and 33 controls matched by age and education level were included in an observational study. All participants were active drivers and patients with PD underwent study procedures after taking the medication in the “on” period. Subjects with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤ 24 were excluded. Neuropsychological tests (Repeatable Battery for Neuropsychological Status [RBANS], Trail Making Test [TMT-A and -B], and Block Design test), driving performance tests (ASDE Driver Test and UFOV), and daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) were assessed.

Results: The PD group performed significantly worse than healthy controls in the ASDE Motor Coordination tests. No significant differences were observed in anticipation speed, multiple reaction time, concentrated attention, and resistance to monotony. All participants successfully completed the UFOV tests. Statistically significant differences between patients with PD and controls were found in processing speed (UFOV1; P =.03) and more patients with PD were found in the categories of higher driving risk levels (P =.03). In addition, patients with PD showed worse scores than healthy controls in visuospatial capacities (Line Orientation), psychomotor speed (Coding and TMT-A), memory (List Recognition, Story Recall), and executive function (TMT-B). The driving tests (ASDE and UFOV) showed a low sensitivity and a high specificity but a higher percentage of patients in the PD group failed in multiple reaction time, concentrated attention, and resistance to monotony. In addition, 18.9% of patients with PD showed a cutoff of 4 for UFOV risk. In the discriminant analysis, Line Orientation (visuospatial/constructive domain) and Figure Recall (delayed memory) were found to be statistically significant with a rate of correct classification of unsafe drivers with PD of 78.2%. In addition, normal results on the Line Orientation item were associated with a 1.5 times higher probability of non-risky driving in the multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: At early stages of the disease, about 19% of patients with PD showed difficulties that may affect their driving capabilities. Line Orientation and Figure Recall are useful to alert clinicians to the risk of unsafe driving. For this reason, patients with PD should be evaluated for driving abilities more regularly to determine the extent of deficits that may influence driving performance.     

学龄儿童呼吸系统疾病、症状影响因素研究

用非条件 Logistic回归分析方法研究空气污染对学龄儿童呼吸系统疾病、症状的影响。结果表明 ,控制年龄、性别、父亲和母亲受教育水平、住房结构、家庭烹饪燃料、厨房抽风设备、被动吸烟等因素 ,污染区儿童因呼吸系统疾病住院、患支气管炎和出现喘息症状的危险性分别是相对清洁区的 1 .6、1 .5和 1 .2倍 ;不感冒咳嗽或不感冒咳痰的发生与室外空气污染水平的关系均不明显 ;家庭烹饪使用不洁燃料、厨房通风不良、被动吸烟使喘息症状的发生机会增加 (尤其是厨房的通风状况不良 )