While there has already been an engaged critique of the 'transition to capitalism', less work has explored the limits of the dominant capitalocentric accounts of postsocialism. In this paper, we argue that capitalist development in postsocialist societies should be seen as one part of a diverse economy, constituted by a host of economic practices articulated with one another in dynamic and complex ways and in multiple sites and spaces. To make this argument, we develop three interlinked points. First, we suggest that many ofthe prevailing conceptualizations ofdiverse economic practices in postsocialism fail to address adequately the multiple geographies within which such practices are constituted, enabled and constrained. Second, we argue that in much of the literature only limited attention has been paid to the articulation ofcapitalist and non-capitalist economies and to the mutually constitutive sets of social relations that underpin the diverse economies ofpostsocialism. Lastly, we focus on the political and moral economy ofpostsocialism% diverse economies and ask how these practices should be valued. We conclude by arguing that central to any understanding of the diverse economies of postsocialism must be a recognition of the power relations which shape and are shaped by the articulations and geographies of economic practices. This recognition, we argue, enables the possibility of reassessing the place, politics and value of such practices.

The aim of this paper is to explore a theoretical framework that can assist in under-standing the extent to which the increased integration of macro-regional economies (such as the European and North American) and the global economy is leading to divergence and/or convergence in the pattern of economic activity and the distribution of value-added and wealth. In particular, the paper focuses on the extent to which changing divisions of labour, the production, appropriation and allocation of value, and economic organization underpin these processes of convergence/divergence. We focus on developing an understanding of the changing divisions of labour across space in increasingly integrated macro-regional economies such as Europe and North America, and the (unequal) flows of value between places that underpin mosaics of territorial inequality. We argue that the production and flows of value associated with different forms of economic activities and commodity production and exchange in different localities provides a framework for understanding changing geographical divisions of labour. We also argue that a critical engagement with the range of work associated with analysing ‘commodity chains’ and ‘commodity networks’ provides a way into thinking about the (dis)organization of economic activity and value creation, appropriation and distribution. In particular, we argue that the focus on the commodity, while initially helpful, is misplaced because commodities embody and carry with them relations of value. Consequently, our attention should be focused on the organization of the production, appropriation and realization of value flows and the various forces that structure these processes, such as state governance, labour organization, corporate practices and so on, that are fundamental to understanding the (re)configuration of economic activity in macro-regional economies.

A non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism in the human SLC24A5 gene is associated with natural human skin color variation. Multiple sequence alignments predict that this gene encodes a member of the potassium-dependent sodium-calcium exchanger family denoted NCKX5. In cultured human epidermal melanocytes we show using affinity-purified antisera that native human NCKX5 runs as a triplet of approximately 43 kDa on SDS-PAGE and is partially localized to the trans-Golgi network. Removal of the NCKX5 protein through small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown disrupts melanogenesis in human and murine melanocytes, causing a significant reduction in melanin pigment production. Using a heterologous expression system, we confirm for the first time that NCKX5 possesses the predicted exchanger activity. Site-directed mutagenesis of NCKX5 and NCKX2 in this system reveals that the non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism in SLC24A5 alters a residue that is important for NCKX5 and NCKX2 activity. We suggest that NCKX5 directly regulates human epidermal melanogenesis and natural skin color through its intracellular potassium-dependent exchanger activity.

For some time now, calls have been made for a more adequate theorization of the state and institutional frameworks in work on global production networks (GPNs) and global value chains (GVCs). However, despite claims in GPN research that institutional contexts matter, there remains an absence of theoretical frameworks on the state in GPNs. Consequently, understanding of the relations between state action and the changing geographies of production networks remains in its infancy. This paper explores a strategic-relational understanding of the state and the rearticulation of scales of state formation to understand the dynamics of global production networks in macro-regional spaces.

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After a period of decline in the early 1990s, East and Central European (ECE) textile and apparel production and trade grew rapidly (figure 1, see over). Textiles and apparel now account for between 10% and 25% of manufacturing employment in many of these countries and in 2004 apparel alone represented between 2% (Czech Republic) and 20% (Romania) of total national merchandise exports in the ECE6 (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia) (WTO, 2005). However, in the late 1990s increases in imports from China and the final phaseout of quotas established under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) (1 January 2005) increased uncertainty in the industry. Contracts have been lost, contract prices have declined, and apparel exports (as a proportion of total exports) have fallen in all ECE accession and signatory countries except Bulgaria and Romania. (1) In this paper we focus on this meteoric renewal and retraction in an industry described in the early 1990s as dying or moribund, and consider the extent to which

Jarosite [KFe 3 (SO 4 ) 2 (OH) 6 ] is a mineral that is common in acidic, sulphate-rich environments, such as acid sulphate soils derived from pyrite-bearing sediments, weathering zones of sulphide ore deposits and acid mine or acid rock drainage (ARD/AMD) sites. The structure of jarosite is based on linear tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral (T-O-T) sheets, made up from slightly distorted FeO 6 octahedra and SO 4 tetrahedra. Batch dissolution experiments carried out on synthetic jarosite at pH 2, to mimic environments affected by ARD/AMD, and at pH 8, to simulate ARD/AMD environments recently remediated with slaked lime (Ca(OH) 2 ), suggest first order dissolution kinetics. Both dissolution reactions are incongruent as revealed by non-ideal dissolution of the parent solids and, in the case of the pH 8 dissolution, because of a secondary goethite precipitate on the surface of the dissolving jarosite grains. The pH 2 dissolution yields only aqueous K, Fe and SO 4 . Aqueous, residual solid and computational modelling of the jarosite structure and surfaces using the GULP and MARVIN codes, respectively, show for the first time that there is selective dissolution of the A-and T-sites, which contain K and SO 4 , respectively, relative to Fe, which is located deep within the T-O-T jarosite structure. These results have implications for the chemistry of ARD/AMD waters, and for understanding reaction pathways of ARD/AMD mineral dissolution.

The numerous species that make up the oral microbiome are now understood to play a key role in establishment and maintenance of oral health. The ability to taxonomically identify community members at the species level is important to elucidating its diversity and association to health and disease. We report the overall ecological effects of using a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins compared to a control toothpaste on the plaque microbiome. The results reported here demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can augment natural salivary defences to promote an overall community shift resulting in an increase in bacteria associated with gum health and a concomitant decrease in those associated with periodontal disease. Statistical analysis shows significant increases in 12 taxa associated with gum health including Neisseria spp. and a significant decrease in 10 taxa associated with periodontal disease including Treponema spp. The results demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can significantly shift the ecology of the oral microbiome (at species level) resulting in a community with a stronger association to health.