Yield and Nutritional Characterization of Thirteen Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Varieties Grown in North-West Europe—Part I

The cultivation of quinoa has gained increasing interest in Europe. Different European varieties exist, but more research is required to understand the individual variety characteristics for end-use applications. The objective of this study is to evaluate the agronomic performance of 13 quinoa varieties under North-West European field conditions during three growing seasons (2017–2019). Furthermore, seeds were qualitatively characterized based on characteristics and composition. Yield differed among varieties and growing seasons (0.47–3.42 ton/ha), with lower yields obtained for late-maturing varieties. The saponin content varied from sweet to very bitter. The seeds contained high protein levels (12.1–18.8 g/100 g dry matter), whereas varieties had a similar essential amino acid profile. The main fatty acids were linoleic (53.0–59.8%), α-linolenic (4.7–8.2%), and oleic acid (15.5–22.7%), indicating a high degree of unsaturation. The clustering of varieties/years revealed subtle differences between growing seasons but also reflected the significant interaction effects of variety and year. Most varieties perform well under North-West European conditions, and their nutritional content is well within the values previously described for other cultivation areas. However, optimal yield and quality traits were not combined in one variety, illustrating the importance of breeding for adapted quinoa varieties.

Drug Control as an Exception in a Humane and Rational Criminal Policy in Finland

The drug policy in Finland is described as a paradox. Finland has after the Second World War actively worked for reducing the prison population to the general Nordic and West-European level. While these efforts were successful, the drug policy however developed in the opposite direction.

Speed structure of the mantle of the border of the Eastern European and West European platforms

This work is devoted to studying the velocity structure of the mantle of the border area of the East European and West European platforms in the crust separated by the Teiserre-Tornquist zone. The mantle under the territory of Poland and Western Ukraine is being investigated. The work uses a three-dimensional P-velocity model of the mantle, constructed using the Taylor approximation method developed by V. S. Geyko. The method’s advantages are independent of the initial approximation (reference model) and the best approximation of nonlinearity. In this area, the exploration depth is 2500 km south of 50 °NL and 1700 km north of 50 °NL. A detailed analysis of horizontal sections of a 3D P-velocity model of the mantle up to a depth of 850 km with a step of 50 km has been carried out. The change in the spatial distribution of the zero seismic velocity boundary is analyzed throughout the depths. This boundary separates the high-velocity upper mantle of the East European Platform and the low-velocity upper mantle of the West European Platform. At the depths of the transition zone of the upper mantle, this boundary separates the low-velocity upper mantle of the East European platform and the high-velocity upper mantle of the West European platform (in this geosphere, a velocity inversion has occurred with respect to the upper mantle). In latitudinal sections, two inclined layers are distinguished. One of them is associated with the upper mantle under the DDV and reaches the mantle under the Carpathians, where it begins to plunge into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. The second layer is associated with the mantle under the northwestern end of the Baltic syneclise, which extends to the mantle under the Presudet monocline, where it also plunges into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. In longitudinal sections, inclined layers are distinguished, extending from the mantle under the South Scandinavian megablock of the Baltic Shield to the mantle under the Bohemian massif and the Carpathians, where they plunge into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. In the study area, three super-deep fluids were identified, characterized by increased stratification of the medium (alternation of higher and lower velocities). The first includes the well-known oil and gas fields of the Central European oil and gas basin (Pomorie and Presudet monocline (Poland)). The second is associated with oil and gas fields of the North Ciscarpathian oil and gas basin (southeastern Poland) and the Carpathian oil and gas basin (Western Ukraine). The extracted super-deep fluid in the mantle of the Baltic Sea corresponds to both the Gdansk Gulf of the Baltic Sea and the Kaliningrad fields (southeast of the Baltic Sea).

France's Colonial Sins In Africa: Is France Really Not An Accomplice To The Rwandan Genocide?

Roughly speaking, the "Scramble for Africa" refers to the infamous invasion by the West European colonists between 1884 and 1914 of Africa and the dividing of the continent into different zones under the so-called names of protectorates, colonies, and free-trade areas. Hence, it can be said that West European colonialism set the stage for most of the deep sufferings of today's Africa by sowing the seeds of future conflicts through unbridled greed and selfishness. During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. France did not have a direct role as a colonial administration in Rwanda. However, since France has historically played a leading role in the colonization of Africa, she tried to be the dominant actor in the region in every sense in the 1990s.France's efforts to manipulate domestic politics in Rwanda; its close ties with the ruling Hutu government; her arms sales to the country; her use of military force under the guise of defending the la francophonie (French-speaking world) and while doing so pushing aside the UN force; taking a stand with the Hutu forces in "Opération Turquoise" instead of being impartial as stipulated in the UNSC resolution caused France to be confronted with serious allegations that she was complicit with the Hutu in the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.Recently published comprehensive report prepared by an US law firm upon the request of Rwandan government about the role of the French government in connection with the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda ends up with the conclusion that "the French government bears significant responsibility for enabling a foreseeable genocide."French President Emanuel Macron on 5 April 2019, by sending a letter to Prof. Vincent Duclert, a historian and Inspector General of French National Education, asked the establishment of a commission under his presidency to examine all the French archives concerning Rwanda, covering the years 1990-1994. The report prepared by the Research Commission (the Duclert Report) was presented to President Macron on 26 March 2021. It is mentioned in the report that "The Commission doubtlessly missed certain documents, those that either disappeared or were never deposited in public archival centers." It is understood from the statements of Duclert in the interviews he gave after the publication of the report that the President of the French National Assembly did not grant access to the archives of the Parliament on this subject. The Duclert report stated that “the French authority demonstrated a continual blindness in their support for a racist, corrupt and violent regime... The Rwandan crisis ended in disaster for Rwanda and in defeat for France.”. However, the report also claimed that France is not an accomplice to the genocide of the Tutsi. The report explained this point in the following way: “Is France an accomplice to the genocide of the Tutsi? If by this we mean a willingness to join a genocidal operation, nothing in the archives that were examined demonstrates this.”The 1990s constitute a "critical juncture" in world history.In this context, it should be remembered that notable political events and developments were concentrated in the 1990s.In fact, the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda is one of the most horrific chapters of this "critical juncture". Despite what was written about the actions of French governments in Rwanda in the 1990s before, during, and after the genocide, the truth about the responsibility of the then French authorities continues to be obscured.

Philosophy of Inequality in the Context of Post-Humanism

In the article the author examines humanism criticism that does not result in post-humanism. The author shows that post-humanism is the reaction to the humanistic idea of man as the center of the world that was typical for west-European philosophy. At the same time post-humanism doe not negate the logic of humanism, but extrapolates it to the whole of non-human world. On the contrary, Russian philosophy is free from the original premises of humanism and it views the crisis of humanism in a different perspective. The author shows that Russian philosophy is not anthropocentric, but on the contrary – anthropologic. Its feature consists in viewing the man in the perspective of his ontological expansion. The idea of such ontological expansion is based on the philosophy of inequality. When west-European philosophy today conceptualizes total world democracy on the other side of man, Russian philosophy turns to the idea of metaphysical gaps that substantiate the idea of man’s freedom and anthropological necessity of self-restrictions.