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Life Sciences	40%

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Locating Responsibility: The Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Its Rationale

DISASTERS, Issue 2 2004
James Darcy
Criticised by some as a technical initiative that neglects core principles, Sphere was seen by its originators precisely as an articulation of principle. The Humanitarian Charter was the main vehicle through which this was expressed, but its relationship to the Minimum Standards has remained a matter of uncertainty. Specifically, it was unclear in the original (1999) edition of Sphere how the concept of rights informed the Minimum Standards. The revised (2004) edition goes some way to clarifying this in the way the standards are framed, yet the link between the standards and the charter remains unclear. The concern with the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance, which motivated the attempt to establish system-wide standards through the Sphere Project, was accompanied by a desire to establish such actions in a wider framework of legal and political responsibility. In part, this reflects the conditional nature of the undertaking that agencies make when they adopt Sphere. This aspect of the charter has been neglected, but it is fundamental to an understanding of the standards and their application. This paper considers the rationale of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and the conceptual model that underpins it. It discusses the relationship between the charter and the Minimum Standards, and the sense in which the latter are properly called ,rights-based' (explored further in a related paper herein by Young and Taylor). The author was closely involved in the conception and drafting of the charter, and this paper attempts to convey some of the thinking that lay behind it. [source]

The maize viviparous15 locus encodes the molybdopterin synthase small subunit

THE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006
Masaharu Suzuki
Summary A new Zea mays viviparous seed mutant, viviparous15 (vp15), was isolated from the UniformMu transposon-tagging population. In addition to precocious germination, vp15 has an early seedling lethal phenotype. Biochemical analysis showed reduced activities of several enzymes that require molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) in vp15 mutant seedlings. Because MoCo is required for abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis, the viviparous phenotype is probably caused by ABA deficiency. We cloned the vp15 mutant using a novel high-throughput strategy for analysis of high-copy Mu lines: We used MuTAIL PCR to extract genomic sequences flanking the Mu transposons in the vp15 line. The Mu insertions specific to the vp15 line were identified by in silico subtraction using a database of MuTAIL sequences from 90 UniformMu lines. Annotation of the vp15 -specific sequences revealed a Mu insertion in a gene homologous to human MOCS2A, the small subunit of molybdopterin (MPT) synthase. Molecular analysis of two allelic mutations confirmed that Vp15 encodes a plant MPT synthase small subunit (ZmCNX7). Our results, and a related paper reporting the cloning of maize viviparous10, demonstrate robust cloning strategies based on MuTAIL-PCR. The Vp15/CNX7, together with other CNX genes, is expressed in both embryo and endosperm during seed maturation. Expression of Vp15 appears to be regulated independently of MoCo biosynthesis. Comparisons of Vp15 loci in genomes of three cereals and Arabidopsis thaliana identified a conserved sequence element in the 5, untranslated region as well as a micro-synteny among the cereals. [source]

The genetics of autism

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2001
M. Lauritsen
Objective: To review systematically the empirical evidence for the involvement of genetic risk factors in infantile autism. Method: We aimed at including all relevant papers written in English. We conducted a Medline search in September 2000. In addition we searched the reference lists of related papers. Results: A relatively small number of reports including family and twin studies, comorbidity, cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies were reviewed. Conclusion: As well family, twin, cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies supported the importance of genetic risk factors in infantile autism. In most individual cases probably at least a few gene variants simultaneously determine the genetic risk. Presently the most interesting chromosome regions concerning the aetiology of autism are chromosomes 7q31,35, 15q11,13 and 16p13.3 which have been suggested by different lines of genetic research. [source]

Meeting the ecological challenges of agricultural change: editors' introduction

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2003
S. J. Ormerod
Summary 1The global need for agricultural production has never been greater. Nor has it ever been more complex due to the needs to balance global food security, optimum production, technological innovation, the preservation of environmental functions and the protection of biodiversity. The role of ecologists in finding this balance is pivotal. 2In support of this role, ecologists now have very substantial experience of agricultural systems. We can understand, recognize and sometimes predict, at least qualitatively, the effects of pesticide applications, fertilizer use, drainage, crop choices and habitat modifications on farmland organisms, agro-ecosystems or other ecosystems influenced by agricultural land. 3In instances of greater uncertainty, for example under changing climates, where environmental stresses on ecosystems are interactive, and where ecosystem management or restoration must adapt to new technologies, the investigative skills and experience of ecologists are even more crucial in problem solving. 4There are, nevertheless, contrasting examples of good and bad practice in knowledge-transfer between ecologists and the communities who need our knowledge. The UK farm-scale evaluations of genetically modified crops, for example, involved ecologists at all stages from design and data collection to advocating policy. By contrast, many European agri-environment projects appear to have been developed and evaluated with only modest ecological advice. We advocate fuller involvement of ecologists in the development and evaluation of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy. 5This special profile of seven agriculturally related papers illustrates effectively the array of approaches used by applied ecologists in addressing agricultural questions: modelling, meta-analysis, surveys, transect studies, classical experiments, seedbank assays and process studies based on modern ecological methods. With over 20% of recent papers in the Journal of Applied Ecology reflecting agricultural issues, agro-ecology continues to represent one of the pre-eminent areas of applied ecology that is unlikely to diminish in importance. [source]

Strategic management of the Tokyo taxi cab industry: an exploratory study

KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2007
Walter Skok
Taxicabs are an indispensable means of transportation in Tokyo, as they provide a 24/7 door-to-door service for a daily average of 1.3 million people. In 2002, legislation was introduced to abolish restrictions on the number of taxicabs on the road. This relaxation of regulation, together with the corresponding recession, raised new issues such as increasing cab numbers and reducing drivers' wages. The wide variety of stakeholders involved within the taxicab industry have conflicting positions, resulting in little agreement on the possible way forward. An exploratory study was therefore undertaken in order to investigate the management of Tokyo's taxicab operations in order to formulate strategies for improving the service. Two related papers report on the study. This paper starts by providing an understanding of the current situation, examining the roles of the major stakeholders and outlining day-to-day operations. Academic frameworks, for example PEST, Critical Success Factors and the Cultural Web, from the strategic management literature, are used to identify the structure of the industry and analyse the environment in which it operates. The results found that Tokyo's taxicab industry is highly efficient operationally, due to the high standard of customer service, effective driver's learning scheme and active use of IT. However, a paradoxical situation has been identified where the demand for cabs has decreased even though the available vehicles have increased. Finally, a uniform method to measure the level of taxicab service is recommended. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]