Potential Economic Pitfalls Call for Removal of Institutional Drawbacks——An Interview with Mr. FAN Gang (樊纲), Ph.D. of Economics, Doctoral Advisor, Director of National Research Institute of Economics

The continuous rise of consumer price index (CPI) has increased concern over China's macroeconomic situation. Will inflation have a disastrous impact on the Chinese economy? What risks are brewing behind the booming real estate and stock markets? Have bubbles already occurred in the Chinese economy? From his office in Guohong Building, Beijing, Dr. Fan Gang gave his views on these questions in an exclusive interview with China Economist.

Academic Research in China on National Human Rights Institutions

I. Symposium on National Human Rights Institutions and Research Topics Academic research in the Chinese mainland on national human rights institutions started in February 2003. From October 16-17, 2004, the China University of Political Science and Law organized an international sympo- sium in Qingdao, Shandong Province, on research about national human rights protection institutions, inviting experts from Australia, South Africa and Canada to brief the symposium on related information concerning the Asia-Pacific region and South Africa as well as to provide information about Canada＇s National Human Rights Commission. Chinese participants also discussed the possibility of establishing a national human rights organization in China.

Empirical Human Rights Studies Contribute to Building a Society Under the Rule of Law——Summary of the Fifth National Meeting for the Exchange of Work Experience Among Human Rights Research Institutions

From Nov. 5 to 6, 2013, the China Society for Human Rights Studies （CSHRS）held the Fifth National Meeting for the Exchange of Work Experience Among Human Rights Research Institutions at Wuhan University. More than 100 experts and scholars, focusing on empirical human rights studies and their contribution to building a society based on the rule of law, shared their work experience and discussed effective strategies. CSHRS President Luo Haocai, who served as vice chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People＇s Political Consultative Conference,

Quantitative trait loci associated with soybean seed weight and composition under different phosphorus levels

Seed size and composition are important traits in food crops and can be affected by nutrient availability in the soil. Phosphorus （P） is a non-renewable, essential macronutrient, and P deficiency limits soybean （G1ycine max） yield and quality. To investigate the associations of seed traits in low- and high-P environ- ments, soybean recombinant inbred lines （RILs） from a cross of cultivars Fiskeby III and Mandarin （Ottawa） were grown under contrasting P availability environments. Traits including individual seed weight, seed number, and intact mature pod weight were significantly affected by soil P levels and showed transgressive segregation among the RILs. Surprisingly, P treatments did not affect seed composition or weight, suggesting that soybeanmaintains sufficient P in seeds even in Iow-P soil. Quantitative trait loci （QTLs） were detected for seed weight, intact pods, seed volume, and seed protein, with five significant QTLs identified in Iow-P environments and one significant QTL found in the optimaI-P environment. Broad-sense heritability estimates were 0.78 （individual seed weight）, o.go （seed protein）, 0.34 （seed oil）, and 0.98 （seed number）. The QTLs identified under low P point to genetic regions that may be useful to improve soybean performance under limiting P conditions.