Cytometric analysis, genetic manipulation and antibiotic selection of the snail embryonic cell line Bge from Biomphalaria glabrata, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni.

The invertebrate cell line, Bge, from embryos of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, remains to date the only established cell line from any species of the Phylum Mollusca. Since its establishment in 1976 by Eder Hansen, few studies have focused on profiling its cytometrics, growth characteristics or sensitivity to xenobiotics. Bge cells are reputed to be challenging to propagate and maintain. Therefore, even though this cell line is a noteworthy resource, it has not been studied widely. With growing interest in functional genomics, including genetic transformation, to elucidate molecular aspects of the snail intermediate hosts responsible for transmission of schistosomiasis, and aiming to enhance the convenience of maintenance of this molluscan cell line, we deployed the xCELLigene real time approach to study Bge cells. Doubling times for three isolates of Bge, termed CB, SL and UK, were longer than for mammalian cell lines - longer than 40 h in complete Bge medium supplemented with 7% fetal bovine serum at 25 °C, ranging from ∼42 h to ∼157 h when 40,000 cells were seeded. To assess the potential of the cells for genetic transformation, antibiotic selection was explored. Bge cells were sensitive to the aminonucleoside antibiotic puromycin (from Streptomyces alboniger) from 5 μg/ml to 200 ng/ml, displaying a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ∼1.91 μg/ml. Sensitivity to puromycin, and a relatively quick kill time (<48 h in 5 μg/ml) facilitated use of this antibiotic, together with the cognate resistance gene (puromycin N-acetyl-transferase) for selection of Bge cells transformed with the PAC gene (puroR). Bge cells transfected with a plasmid encoding puroR were partially rescued when cultured in the presence of 5 μg/ml of puromycin. These findings pave the way for the development of functional genomic tools applied to the host-parasite interaction during schistosomiasis and neglected tropical trematodiases at large

The Terrestrialization of Amphibious Life in a Danube Delta \u27Town on Water\u27

Visitors to the Danube Delta town of Vylkove, known as the “Ukrainian Venice,” are often disappointed by the condition its 40 kilometers of canals, which frequently resemble over-grown ditches that are often impassible by boat. Consequently, a development organization and town administrators have begun lobbying for funding for a large-scale canal restoration project and for the town’s designation as a heritage site to help in mobilizing funds. However, these tourism-development narratives also assume that all residents can and want to practice an amphibious way of life that prevailed for centuries. Combining analytical frameworks of amphibious anthropology and recent social science literature on water infrastructure helps reveal a) how Vylkovchany’s dwelling practices did not categorically privilege wet over dry (and vice versa) in spite of Enlightenment-inflected narratives of settlement that enact such separations and b) the specific ways in which socialist modernization and postsocialist deindustrialization have modified Vylkovchany’s relations with the Danube’s Kiliia branch and intensified their siltation. This paper makes the case for including ethnographic analyses of terrestrialization as part of an amphibious anthropology and demonstrates the value of amphibious anthropology in pinpointing dynamics of landscape change that should be addressed in designing a restoration project

Creating Sustainable Future of a Degraded Urban Canal: Mae Kha, in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is the largest and the most significant city in the Northern region of Thailand. It was established in 1296 as the capital of Lanna Kingdom. Since then, the city is famous for its exquisite authentic Northern culture, essential trading routes, an abundance of natural places, and agriculture derived along the Ping River as well as a functional canal system in the city. In the past few decade, uncontrolled and unplanned urban development, deforestation, and the lack of public awareness have caused landscape degradation in the city. Consequently, Chiang Mai has faced several serious environmental problems such as congestion, pollution, inadequate green spaces, and the haunting memory of the inundating catastrophe in 2010. Mae Kha Canal is one of the most important features in Chiang Mai\u27s water system that nourishes local agriculture, irrigation, and transportation. Fresh pure water originates from the mountain adjacent to the West of Chiang Mai city flowing through the city to the Ping River in the South. Unfortunately, since the unregulated growth of urbanization, the canal has suffered with massive amounts of pollution. As the result, the city has turned its back on the canal, making it a dumping site. Moreover, the problem has existed for a long time, resulting in extensive sewerage and garbage piling up in the canal. About two thousand households nearby have added the severity. Some of them have taken over the canal banks, shrunken the canal and piled it up with sediment and garbage. Recently, after the significant flood in Chiang Mai, 2010, people had started to promote the essential role of Mae Kha Canal by establishing a campaign to bring back the precious abundance of the Ping River. However, the process takes time, budget, and well-distributed responsibilities from communities, and organizations to achieve the revitalization of Mae Kah Canal. What will be the future of the canal? How do we bring Mae Kha Canal back to life? This thesis studied ecological and sustainable approaches to revitalize the water system using intensive site analysis and site planning for effective design strategies

Accelerating progress toward reducing child malnutrition in India: A concept for action

"1. The facts: Child malnutrition in India India is home to 40 percent of the world's malnourished children and 35 percent of the developing world's low-birth-weight infants; every year 2.5 million children die in India, accounting for one in five deaths in the world. More than half of these deaths could be prevented if children were well nourished. India's progress in reducing child malnutrition has been slow. The prevalence of child malnutrition in India deviates further from the expected level at the country's per capita income than in any other large developing country. 2. The challenge: Accelerating progress in reducing child malnutrition in India India has many nutrition and social safety net programs, some of which (such as Integrated Child Development Services [ICDS] and the Public Distribution System [PDS]) have had success in several states in addressing the needs of poor households. All of these programs have potential, but they do not form a comprehensive nutrition strategy, and they have not addressed the nutrition problem effectively so far. 3. Strategic choices for improved child nutrition India lacks a comprehensive nutrition strategy. Various choices for nutrition strategies can be considered. A review of some of the more successful country experiences suggests that all of them implemented complex, multisectoral actions with more or less emphasis on service-oriented nutrition policies (as in Indonesia), incentive-oriented nutrition policies linked to community or household participation and performance (as in Mexico), or mobilization-oriented nutrition policies (as in Thailand). These choices are not mutually exclusive. India now has the opportunity to “leapfrog” toward innovative nutritional improvement based on the experiences of other countries and on experiences within India itself. 4. Cooperation for policy actions To accelerate progress in reducing child malnutrition, India should focus on the following four cross-cutting strategic approaches: a. ensuring that economic growth and poverty reduction policies reach the poor; b. redesigning nutrition and health policies and programs by drawing on science and technology for nutritional improvement, strengthening their implementation, and increasing their coverage; c. increasing investments and actions in nutrition services for communities with the highest concentration of poor; and d. focusing programs on girls' and women's health and nutrition. IFPRI, in collaboration with Indian experts and international networks, could bring much-needed experience with programs and policies around the world to bear on this effort. An evidence-based, research-intensive approach with “learning while implementing”—which has shown success in other countries—is recommended. There is no time or reason to wait for taking action." from TextMalnutrition in children, Policies, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Public Distribution System (PDS), Nutrition, stakeholders, Global Hunger Index, Gross national income per capita, Hunger, Child mortality,

The relevance of contemporary bronze casting in Ubon, Thailand for understanding the archaeological record of the Bronze Age in Peninsular Southeast Asia

A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture

Wetlands governance in the Mekong Region: country reports on the legal-institutional framework and economic valuation of aquatic resources

Wetlands are central to the livelihoods of rural communities through out the Mekong Region, providing vital functions and services that support the rural economy, ensure food security for the most vulnerable membrs of society, and underpin the prospects for national development. Proper appreciation of the importance of wetlands has been hampered by inadequate information and awareness of their uses, particularly among development planners, as well as legal and institutional frameworks that are often fragmented and poorly enforced. Wetlands are consistently undervalued and overlooked as a result, and ultimately, it is the rural poor who lose out.Wetlands-Economic aspects, Wetlands-Law and legislation, Socioeconomic aspects, Aquatic resources, WorldFish Center Contrib. No. 1754, Mekong Delta, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao PDR,

Rockefeller Foundation 2010 Annual Report

Contains president's letter; 2010 program highlights, including support for Africa's green revolution, sustainable and equitable transportation policy, and healthy communities; grants list; financial report; and lists of trustees and staff

National Culture\u27s Impact on B2B Technology Adoption in Thailand

Although Information Technology (IT) transfer from western countries to developing countries in Asia has been studied extensively in IS research, there has been little research investigating the fit between culture and B2B technology adoption. This study began to explore the fit between Thai’s culture and B2B technology and its implications on the utilization of the technology. The evidence via survey questionnaire with quantitative analysis on the impact of Thai’s culture for companies adopting B2B technology was provided. This study found that Thai culture does shape the appropriateness of B2B technology adoption and it seems to misfit for the way in which Thai businesses are operated. The cultural dimensions identified in this research are personal relationships, long term relationships, interorgnaisaitonal trust, ability to communicate in English language and materialism

Introducing Cultural Fit Factors to Investigate the Appropriateness of B2B Technology Adoption to Thailand

This study develops an integrative model and conceptually-based scales for evaluating the extent to which national culture impact the B2B technology adoption in Thailand. It is the first paper that introduces a method to measure the fit between Thai culture and B2B technology adoption1, which the researcher refers to ‘cultural fit’. The discussion on the current research gap in national cultural theories in relation to IT adoption research, theories of fit and current research on Thai’s culture were presented. Based on this literature as well as qualitative data collection, pre-test and pilot test surveys, questionnaire items were developed and analyzed. The resulting dimensionality of cultural fit, used for investigating the appropriateness of B2B technology adoption in Thailand, includes personal relationship, long term relationship, interorganisational trust, ability to communicate in English language and materialism