Institution
Michigan State University
Education•East Lansing, Michigan, United States•
About: Michigan State University is a education organization based out in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 60109 authors who have published 137074 publications receiving 5633022 citations. The organization is also known as: MSU & Michigan State.
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TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of political transitions in Africa is presented, based on contrasts between Africa and the rest of the world and among regimes within Africa itself, arguing against the prevalent view that transitions unfold unpredictably according to the contingent interplay of key political actors, and arguing that the structure of the preexisting regime shapes the dynamics and sometimes even the outcomes of political transition.
Abstract: This article proposes revisions to the theory of political transitions by analyzing patterns of recent popular challenges to neopatrimonial rule in Africa. The approach is explicitly comparative, based on contrasts between Africa and the rest of the world and among regimes within Africa itself. Arguing against the prevalent view that transitions unfold unpredictably according to the contingent interplay of key political actors, the authors contend that the structure of the preexisting regime shapes the dynamics and sometimes even the outcomes of political transitions. They find that in contrast to transitions from corporatist regimes, transitions from neopatrimonial rule are likely to be driven by social protest, marked by struggles over patronage, and backed by emerging middle classes. Following Dahl, the authors compare African regimes on the basis of the degree of formal political participation and competition allowed. They find that regime variants—personal dictatorship, military oligarchy, plebiscitary one-party regime, and competitive one-party regime—are associated with distinctive transition dynamics. Whereas transitions from military oligarchies are typically managed from the top down and are relatively orderly, transitions from plebiscitary systems often occur discordantly through confrontational national conferences. A consolidated democracy is least likely to result from the abrupt collapse of a personal dictatorship and is most likely, though never guaranteed, from a graduated transition from a competitive one-party regime. In general, getting to democracy is problematic from all regimes that lack institutional traditions of political competition.
753 citations
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TL;DR: The rise of supermarkets in Africa since the mid-1990s is transforming the food retail sector as discussed by the authors, which presents both potentially large opportunities and big challenges for producers, and there is an urgent need for development programmes and policies to assist them in adopting the new practices that these procurement systems demand.
Abstract: The rise of supermarkets in Africa since the mid-1990s is transforming the food retail sector. Supermarkets have spread fast in Southern and Eastern Africa, already proliferating beyond middle-class big-city markets into smaller towns and poorer areas. Supplying supermarkets presents both potentially large opportunities and big challenges for producers. Supermarkets' procurement systems involve purchase consolidation, a shift to specialised wholesalers, and tough quality and safety standards. To meet these requirements, producers have to make investments and adopt new practices. This is hardest for small producers, who risk exclusion from dynamic urban markets increasingly dominated by supermarkets. There is thus an urgent need for development programmes and policies to assist them in adopting the new practices that these procurement systems demand.
752 citations
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National Scientific and Technical Research Council1, University of Buenos Aires2, University of Würzburg3, University of California, Berkeley4, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences5, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation6, University of Göttingen7, Michigan State University8, Hebrew University of Jerusalem9, University of Queensland10, University of Reading11, Jagiellonian University12, Federal University of Bahia13, Rutgers University14, Lüneburg University15
TL;DR: Wild pollinators are relevant for crop productivity and stability even when honey bees are abundant, and policies to preserve and restore natural areas in agricultural landscapes should enhance levels and reliability of pollination services.
Abstract: Sustainable agricultural landscapes by definition provide high magnitude and stability of ecosystem services, biodiversity and crop productivity However, few studies have considered landscape effects on the stability of ecosystem services We tested whether isolation from florally diverse natural and semi-natural areas reduces the spatial and temporal stability of flower-visitor richness and pollination services in crop fields We synthesised data from 29 studies with contrasting biomes, crop species and pollinator communities Stability of flower-visitor richness, visitation rate (all insects except honey bees) and fruit set all decreased with distance from natural areas At 1 km from adjacent natural areas, spatial stability decreased by 25, 16 and 9% for richness, visitation and fruit set, respectively, while temporal stability decreased by 39% for richness and 13% for visitation Mean richness, visitation and fruit set also decreased with isolation, by 34, 27 and 16% at 1 km respectively In contrast, honey bee visitation did not change with isolation and represented > 25% of crop visits in 21 studies Therefore, wild pollinators are relevant for crop productivity and stability even when honey bees are abundant Policies to preserve and restore natural areas in agricultural landscapes should enhance levels and reliability of pollination services
751 citations
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TL;DR: This paper presents a framework for the emerging Internet Quality of Service (QoS), and describes why MPLS and Constraint Based Routing have been introduced into this framework, how they differ from and relate to each other, and where they fit into the Differentiated Services architecture.
Abstract: We present a framework for the emerging Internet quality of service (QoS). All the important components of this framework-integrated services, RSVP, differentiated services, multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), and constraint-based routing-are covered. We describe what integrated services and differentiated services are, how they can be implemented, and the problems they have. We then describe why MPLS and constraint-based routing have been introduced into this framework, how they differ from and relate to each other, and where they fit into the differentiated services architecture. Two likely service architectures are presented, and the end-to-end service deliveries in these two architectures are illustrated. We also compare ATM networks to router networks with differentiated services and MPLS. Putting all these together, we give the readers a grasp of the big picture of the emerging Internet QoS.
751 citations
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TL;DR: Carotenoids and tocopherols are the two most abundant groups of lipid-soluble antioxidants in chloroplasts and are already providing a knowledge base for breeding and transgenic approaches to modify the types and levels of these important compounds in agricultural crops.
Abstract: Carotenoids and tocopherols are the two most abundant groups of lipid-soluble antioxidants in chloroplasts. In addition to their many functional roles in photosynthetic organisms, these compounds are also essential components of animal diets, including humans. During the past decade, a near complete set of genes required for the synthesis of both classes of compounds in photosynthetic tissues has been identified, primarily as a result of molecular genetic and biochemical genomics-based approaches in the model organisms Arabidopsis thaliana and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Mutant analysis and transgenic studies in these and other systems have provided important insight into the regulation, activities, integration, and evolution of individual enzymes and are already providing a knowledge base for breeding and transgenic approaches to modify the types and levels of these important compounds in agricultural crops.
750 citations
Authors
Showing all 60636 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
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David Miller | 203 | 2573 | 204840 |
Anil K. Jain | 183 | 1016 | 192151 |
D. M. Strom | 176 | 3167 | 194314 |
Feng Zhang | 172 | 1278 | 181865 |
Derek R. Lovley | 168 | 582 | 95315 |
Donald G. Truhlar | 165 | 1518 | 157965 |
Donald E. Ingber | 164 | 610 | 100682 |
J. E. Brau | 162 | 1949 | 157675 |
Murray F. Brennan | 161 | 925 | 97087 |
Peter B. Reich | 159 | 790 | 110377 |
Wei Li | 158 | 1855 | 124748 |
Timothy C. Beers | 156 | 934 | 102581 |
Claude Bouchard | 153 | 1076 | 115307 |
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis | 152 | 1854 | 113022 |
James J. Collins | 151 | 669 | 89476 |