This article proposes a measure of the social structuration of political parties. The measure has some distinctive virtues. It assesses the social bases of partisanship from the standpoint of the political party, and it provides a simple and transparent method for assessing the relative weight of social-structural and behavioral factors for party composition. We illustrate the power of this measure through a comparison of political parties in 30 European countries since 1975.

From a land called the “Cradle of Civilizations” to one that is now described as “apocalyptic” and “one of the most dangerous places on Earth”, Syria may have no more critical moment than the current crisis to reflect on what is taking it down this terrifyingly dark path. We resort to history in order to decipher the mysteries of the present, and there is no more honest and direct history than that of the built environment: a concrete object that tells the narratives not only of the winners, the wealthy and the powerful, but also of those who were brushed aside, cut apart and walked over.

This Opinion Note argues that reversing the process which led to the loss of home and the loss of urban fabric is the foundation of reclaiming these as essential elements of recovery after war and destruction. It examines four areas of transformation where modern urban planning and architecture have left their marks on the Levantine city, to give a clearer understanding of the role of architecture and where to begin in the rebuilding.

Over the past two decades, increasing efforts have been made to find suitable nutritional products for managing particularly moderate forms of malnutrition following acute phase treatment, including the adoption of ready-to-use therapeutic foods. The challenge in meeting nutrient needs of normal growing young children and other vulnerable population groups with scant food supply has led us to explore the use of local, traditional and culturally adaptable food-based complementary foods employing the food multimix (FMM) concept. The present paper examined FMM as a concept to demonstrate how locally available composite complementary recipes were used to create highly nutritious recipes at low cost and improve nutrition among vulnerable individuals. The method employed a food-to-food fortification approach for recipe development making use of the ‘nutrient strengths’ of candidate ingredients. A range of different food recipes had been developed using a stepwise approach and combinations of foods from different populations and communities and packaged as 100 g recipe powders. Proximate and micronutrient analyses have been undertaken, optimised and the nutrient compositions compared with reference nutrient intakes for target groups. Examples of recipes and their nutrient profiles had been highlighted for different formulations showing different ingredients. Theoretical nutrient values were translated into practice based on data from intervention studies. The FMM approach using locally available food has held promise, and published evidence did indicate that the concept can contribute significantly to long-term food-based solutions to meeting nutrient needs of vulnerable groups in poor communities.

During the two years research 1983–1985 on traditional maize granaries in Togo, we studied three methods for loss assessment which are discussed by the FAO: the count and weigh method, the standard volume/weight method and the thousand-grain mass method.

In general, between 80 and 90% of the overall losses were caused by insect feedings. Besides Prostephanus truncatus (Horn), the most important storage pests were Sitophilus zeamais (Motsch.), Tribolium spp. and Cathartus quadricollis (Guèr.). Best results were given by the count and weigh method. The significantly highest losses of dry weight (12–13%) were found after 6 months in stored hybrids. At the same time, local varieties appeared much more adapted to traditional storage methods, exhibiting losses of only 3% under the same conditions. Lowest level of losses (<1%) were observed in regularly smoked granaries in the mountain regions. The mean losses of dry weight during primary season were found to be 6.4% after 6 months, while after a storage period of 4 months during the secondary season, losses were as high as 8%. In Togo, P. truncatus was observed for the first time in spring 1984. Because of the different damage P. truncatus causes on corn, a newly developed sample weight method was examined in an additional test. After 6 months of observation, this dangerous pest caused serious losses up to 30.2%.

DDT and BHC were used prior to 1954 as grain protectant but gradually malathion was adopted as prophylactic spray at 50 mg/m2. However, during the continuous usage, doses were enhanced up to 150 mg/m2 to meet the level of effective kill. Toxicity studies on different surfaces, seeds, moisture content level, different insects and stages and emergence of resistance were carried out with respect to malathion and several newer insecticides. DDVP was incorporated in spray schedule at 100 mg/m2. Toxicity data on 17 insecticides, three formulations, persistence on six surfaces and three seeds, tests on 13 insects have been utilized to evolve a strategy for future developments of a prophylactic insecticides. Demerits of switching to new insecticides without broad-based toxicity data have also been advocated. Insects, such as, larva of Trogoderma granarium Everts and adults of Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.), Rhizopertha dominica Fab., Callosobruchus maculatus Fab., Lasioderma serricorne Fab. and Sitophilus oryzae Linn, among beetles and Ephestia cautella (Wlk.) and Corcyra cephalonica Staint from moths were found least susceptible to most of the insecticides. Etrimfos and deltamethrin were adjudged superior for large scale use specially as wettable powder and adjudged suitable to sub-tropical conditions. The paper also provides information on currently used insecticides in India, methods of grain storage at rural and organized level and various constraints faced in the developing countries.