Recent advances in understanding regulation of the Arabidopsis circadian clock by local cellular environment [version 1; peer review: 3 approved]

Circadian clocks have evolved to synchronise an organism’s physiology with the environmental rhythms driven by the Earth’s rotation on its axis. Over the past two decades, many of the genetic components of the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian oscillator have been identified. The interactions between these components have been formulized into mathematical models that describe the transcriptional translational feedback loops of the oscillator. More recently, focus has turned to the regulation and functions of the circadian clock. These studies have shown that the system dynamically responds to environmental signals and small molecules. We describe advances that have been made in discovering the cellular mechanisms by which signals regulate the circadian oscillator of Arabidopsis in the context of tissue-specific regulation

Antimalarial Drugs for Pediatrics - Prescribing and Dispensing Practices in a Tanzanian City

Purpose: To assess dispensing and prescribing practices with regard to antimalarial drugs for pediatrics in private pharmacies and public hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study that assessed the knowledge and practice of 200 drug dispensers in the private community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam. Two hundred (200) parents of children seeking malaria treatment were also interviewed at the public hospitals.Results: A majority of drug dispensers had moderate (63.3 %) to low knowledge (36.7 %) regarding antimalarial drug use in pediatrics. Parents had moderate (67 %) to low (33 %) level of understanding of the instructions given to them by the prescribers regarding administration of antimalarial drugs to pediatrics at home. Most children were not weighed, and there were indications of wrong calculations of doses of antimalarials in pediatrics.Conclusion: Overall, there were irrational dispensing and prescribing of antimalarial drugs to pediatrics. Since malaria is a major killer disease in Tanzania, especially in children under five years of age, there is a need to institute measures to ensure rational prescribing, dispensing and use of antimalarial drugs in pediatrics.Keywords: Antimalarials, Dispensing, Knowledge, Pediatrics, Pharmacies, Prescribin

The paradox of water abundance in Mato Grosso, Brazil

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. While much effort has gone into studying the causes and consequences of water scarcity, the concept of water abundance has received considerably less attention in academic literature. Here, we aim to address this gap by providing a case study on the perceptions and political implications of water abundance in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Combining a political ecology perspective on contemporary water governance (empirically based on stakeholder interviews with members of the state's water sector) with an overview of the environmental history of this hydrosocial territory, we argue, first, that water abundance has become a foundational element of Mato Grosso's identity, situated in the wider context of natural resource abundance more generally and second, that water abundance today is a contested concept witnessing discursive struggles around its political implications and meaning. More specifically, there is a clash between the dominant conceptualisation of water abundance as a foundation for rich economic, ecological, social, and cultural values and benefits, often espoused by members of the political and economic elite, e.g., for marketing purposes, and a more critical but less widespread conceptualisation of water abundance as a source of carelessness, lack of awareness, and poor water governance, typically put forth by more informed technical staff of the public sector and civil society activists. By providing a distinct treatment and discussion of the concept of water abundance, our research has relevance for other water-rich regions beyond the immediate regional context.Scottish Government Hydro Nation Scholars Programm

PENGARUH RETURN ON ASSET DAN DEBT TO EQUTY RATIO TERHADAP FINANCIAL DISTRESS PERUSAHAAN TEKSTIL DAN GARMEN DI BEI TAHUN 2014-2018

Untuk mengurangi risiko terjadinya kesulitan keuangan perusahaan dapat dilakukan dengan memperhatikan nilai ROA, DER kaitannya dengan financial distress, hal ini perlu sehingga risiko kesulitan keuangan dapat diperkecil. Populasidan sampel 6 laporan keuangan menggunakan puprosive sampling.Metode dokumentasi digunakan untuk mengambil data. Analisis data dengan analisis regresi linier berganda, uji-t & uji-f. Hasil uji-t dikatakan ada keterkaitan ROA denganfinancial distress dengan nilai (0,000<0,05), dan DER memiliki keterkaitan dengan financial distress dengan nilai (0,008<0,05), sedangkanuji f didapatkannilai (0,001< 0,05)artinya ROA dan DERmempengaruhi financial distress. Manfaat lain yang bisa diambil, untuk bahan  pengambilan keputusan saat akan berinvestasi dengan melihat kondisi keuangan perusahaan

Screening for the P-glycoprotein inhibitory pump activity of plant extracts that are used in Tanzanian traditional medicine

An in vitro screening experiment of 45 methanolic plant extracts was carried out to investigate the inhibition of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in MCF-7R cells. The investigation was carried out using standard functional assay with rhodamine 6G as the fluorescent probe and reserpine, a known inhibitor of P-glycoprotein pump, was used as a reference drug. The results revealed that out of the 45 plant extracts tested, 3 extracts i.e. Bauhinia thoningii, Clerodendrum myricoides and Rhus natalensis exhibited pronounced activity at the concentration of 100 µg/ml. In comparison to the negative control, B. thoningii, C. myricoides and R. natalensis extracts inhibited the pump by a factor of about 2.5, 4 and 4.3, respectively. The remaining 42 extracts did not show any activity. The reference drug reserpine (20 μM) inhibited the pump by a factor of about 11. These preliminary results indicate that the inhibition of P-gp in MCF-7R cells is through a concerted action of compounds present in the extracts and that if isolated might be effective P-gp pump inhibitors in the treatment of cancer. Keywords: plant extract, P-glycoprotein inhibition; rhodamine 6G; MCF-7R cells East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 7 2004: 16-2

Optical cooling and trapping: introduction

The year 2015 is an auspicious year for optical science, as it is being celebrated as the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies. This focus issue of the journals Optics Express and Journal of the Optical Society of America B has been organized by the OSA Technical Group on Optical Cooling and Trapping to mark this occasion, and to highlight the most recent and exciting developments in the topics covered by the group. Together this joint focus issue features 33 papers, including both experimental and theoretical works, which span this wide range of activities

Kedudukan dan Peran Ulama dalam Perspektif Alquran

Kedudukan dan peran ulama sangat perlu dibahas agar kita lebih menghormati kedudukan ulama sebagai pewaris nabi yang menggantikan tugas nabi untuk menyebarkan dan menjaga agama Islam dan mengajak umat Islam agar lebih taat kepada Allah. Ulama menurut Ibnu Kathῑr adalah orang yang ‘arif billah yang benar-benar takut kepada Allah SWT. Sedangkan ulama menurut Sayyid Quṭub adalah mereka yang mengkaji Alquran yang penuh keajaiban, yang mengenal Allah, mengetahui hakikat Allah, sifat Allah, dan kebesaran-Nya, semakin bertambah rasa takut mereka kepada Allah. Kedudukan ulama menurut Ibnu Kathῑr dan Sayyid Quṭub dalam Q.S Ali ‘Imran ayat 18 menjelaskan kedudukan dan martabat ulama sangat istimewa di hadapan Allah dalam hal kesaksian, karena hanya kesaksian Allah, malaikat, dan ulamalah yang adil. Peran ulama menurut penafsiran Ibnu Kathῑr dan Sayyid Quṭub yaitu menyampaikan ajaran sesuai dengan ajaran Alquran menjelaskan kandungan Alquran, dan menyelesaikan permasalahan dan peroblem agama di masyarakat

Intermittent Preventive Therapy and Treatment of Malaria during Pregnancy: A Study of Knowledge among Pregnant Women in Rufiji District, Southern Tanzania

Purpose: To assess the knowledge and awareness of pregnant women regarding the use of sulfadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) for intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) and artemether-lumefantrine (ALu) for treatmentof malaria during pregnancy.Methods: The study was conducted in Rufiji district, southern Tanzania from March 2011 to September 2011. Four hundred and seventy (470) pregnant women in their second and third trimesters were interviewed whenattending antenatal clinics at the selected hospitals, health centers and dispensaries. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also conducted with 46 pregnant women at the health facilities in the district.Results: More than half (54.3 %) of pregnant women did not know if SP it was used for IPT. Most women (76.6 %) did not know the use of SP for IPT in relationship with gestation age. Overall, the results show that most women had very low knowledge about the use of SP for IPT. Forty three (9.1 %) pregnant women reported to have had malaria during their current pregnancies. The antimalarials reported to be used by pregnant women were quinine 18(42.9 %), SP (23.8 %), ALu (21.4%) and sulphamethoxyprazinepyrimethamine (2.4%). Irrespective of the gestation age of pregnancy, almost all (98.3 %) pregnant women perceived ALu as unsafe drug to be used during pregnancy.Conclusion: Most pregnant women had minimum knowledge about the use and benefits of SP for IPT and ALu for treatment of malaria during  pregnancy. Some erroneous beliefs about the safety of ALu during pregnancy were also identified among pregnant women. For effective implementation of IPT policy and treatment of malaria during pregnancy, pregnant women should be sensitized and educated on the use andbenefits of antimalarial drugs.Keywords: Artemether-lumefantrine, Antenatal clinic, Knowledge, Pregnant women, Sulfadoxinepyrimethamin