A CHOICE BETWEEN DESPOTISMS: COMPARING WESTERN AND EASTERN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PARADIGMS

This paper claims that the way infrastructure is developed, more than a boring and technical topic, demonstrates a regime’s character. As the 20th century was dominated by Western-led infrastructure efforts including such great achievements as the Panama Canal, the U.S. interstate highway system, and the implementation of the Marshall Plan, the 21st century seems poised to be led, at least in terms of infrastructure development, by Asia and a rising China. Policy papers and foreign affairs discussions talk about China’s infrastructure development and also about delays or the “crumbling infrastructure of the West” but rarely if ever are there deeper philosophical and policy questions being asked. This papers sets out to build upon and enhance this deeper discussion by examining the differences between Western and Eastern infrastructure development paradigms. The paper examines historic case studies related to the building, expansion, and enhancement of the Panama Canal, to provide a constant in a research variable that spans several Western-led projects as well as most recently a Chinese-led infrastructure investment. What was found was that with the growth of democratic standards and more administrative regulations, the Western paradigm has evolved, and only a hundred years ago, the West’s paradigms looked much like the East’s does today. Except for the fact that policy conditions have always been different between the two paradigms. At least from the cases studied, the West has always adhered to some form of liberal enlightenment principles enforced through policy conditions, whereas recently, despite contrary prevailing literature, the Chinese do enforce policy conditions, but on a more singular, grand, and old fashioned scale. Finally, the paper studies what it is about the development of infrastructure itself that has made it the aid-of-choice for Chinese-led efforts? Ultimately the paper makes several ambitious propositions, that need further research and study to prove: the current choice between ways of infrastructure development – East versus West – is a choice between despotisms, the Western democratic soft-despotism prophesized by Alexis de Tocqueville, and the East’s older harder despotism, and finally that “infrastructure statecraft” should be studied as a sub-set of diplomacy and statecraft

AAC Penhold Canada Prairie Spring Red Wheat

AAC Penhold, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, yielded significantly more grain than 5700PR while maturing 2 days earlier, and 7.5 cm shorter stature. The seed size was significantly larger than 5700PR and 5701PR, with a test weight significantly heavier than both checks. AAC Penhold expressed resistance to prevalent races of leaf rust and common bunt, and moderate resistance to fusarium head blight and stem rust. AAC Penhold had higher grain and flour protein than the checks and improved Hagberg Falling Number, amylograph viscosity, and water absorption. AAC Penhold is eligible for grades of the market class, Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat

AAC Congress Durum Wheat

Congress durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) is adapted to the durum production area of the Canadian prairies. Averaged over three years, AAC Congress yielded significantly more grain than Strongfield and AC Navigator. AAC Congress had protein concentration significantly lower than Strongfield but significantly higher than Brigade. AAC Congress is eligible for grades of Canada Western Amber Durum. It has lower grain cadmium concentration and higher yellow pigment concentration than the check cultivars, except AAC Cabri

Oxidative-Nitrative Stress and Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Activation 3 Years after Pregnancy

Background: Oxidative-nitrative stress and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation have been previously observed in healthy and gestational diabetic pregnancies, and they were also linked to the development of metabolic diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine these parameters and their correlation to known metabolic risk factors following healthy and gestational diabetic pregnancies. // Methods: Fasting and 2 h postload plasma total peroxide level, protein tyrosine nitration, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation were measured in circulating leukocytes three years after delivery in women following healthy, “mild” (diet-treated) or “severe” (insulin-treated) gestational diabetic pregnancy during a standard 75 g OGTT. Nulliparous women and men served as control groups. // Results: Fasting plasma total peroxide level was significantly elevated in women with previous pregnancy (B = 0.52 ± 0.13; p < 0 001), with further increase in women with insulin-treated gestational diabetes (B=0 36 ± 0 17; p < 0 05) (R2 = 0 419). Its level was independently related to previous pregnancy (B=0 47 ± 0 14; p < 0 01) and current CRP levels (B=0 06 ± 0 02; p < 0 05) (R2 = 0 306). // Conclusions: Elevated oxidative stress but not nitrative stress or poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation can be measured three years after pregnancy. The increased oxidative stress may reflect the cost of reproduction and possibly play a role in the increased metabolic risk observed in women with a history of severe gestational diabetes mellitus

Oxidative-Nitrative Stress and Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Activation 3 Years after Pregnancy

Background: Oxidative-nitrative stress and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation have been previously observed in healthy and gestational diabetic pregnancies, and they were also linked to the development of metabolic diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine these parameters and their correlation to known metabolic risk factors following healthy and gestational diabetic pregnancies. Methods: Fasting and 2 h postload plasma total peroxide level, protein tyrosine nitration, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation were measured in circulating leukocytes three years after delivery in women following healthy, "mild" (diet-treated) or "severe" (insulin-treated) gestational diabetic pregnancy during a standard 75 g OGTT. Nulliparous women and men served as control groups. Results: Fasting plasma total peroxide level was significantly elevated in women with previous pregnancy (B = 0.52 +/- 0.13; p < 0.001), with further increase in women with insulin-treated gestational diabetes (B = 0.36 +/- 0.17; p < 0.05) (R(2) = 0.419). Its level was independently related to previous pregnancy (B = 0.47 +/- 0.14; p < 0.01) and current CRP levels (B = 0.06 +/- 0.02; p < 0.05) (R(2) = 0.306). Conclusions: Elevated oxidative stress but not nitrative stress or poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation can be measured three years after pregnancy. The increased oxidative stress may reflect the cost of reproduction and possibly play a role in the increased metabolic risk observed in women with a history of severe gestational diabetes mellitus

Extração aquosa do bagaço de uva Merlot resultante de vinificação tinta: obtenção de fibras alimentares e compostos fenólicos.

ISBN: 978-972-8936-28-0. I CLBHort. Editores Paulo César Tavares de Melo, António Calado. 1-4 nov. 2017

Acquisition of the Sda1-encoding bacteriophage does not enhance virulence of the serotype M1 Streptococcus pyogenes strain SF370

The resurgence of invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus [GAS]) in the past 30 years has paralleled the emergence and global dissemination of the highly virulent M1T1 clone. The GAS M1T1 clone has diverged from the ancestral M1 serotype by horizontal acquisition of two unique bacteriophages, encoding the potent DNase Sda1/SdaD2 and the superantigen SpeA, respectively. The phage-encoded DNase promotes escape from neutrophil extracellular traps and is linked to enhanced virulence of the M1T1 clone. In this study, we successfully used in vitro lysogenic conversion to transfer the Sda1-encoding phage from the M1T1 clonal strain 5448 to the nonclonal M1 isolate SF370 and determined the impact of this horizontal gene transfer event on virulence. Although Sda1 was expressed in SF370 lysogens, no capacity of the phage-converted strain to survive human neutrophil killing, switch to a hyperinvasive covRS mutant form, or cause invasive lethal infection in a humanized plasminogen mouse model was observed. This work suggests that the hypervirulence of the M1T1 clone is due to the unique synergic effect of the M1T1 clone bacteriophage-specific virulence factor Sda1 acting in concert with the M1T1 clone-specific genetic scaffold

Highly Frequent Mutations in Negative Regulators of Multiple Virulence Genes in Group A Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome Isolates

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a severe invasive infection characterized by the sudden onset of shock and multiorgan failure; it has a high mortality rate. Although a number of studies have attempted to determine the crucial factors behind the onset of STSS, the responsible genes in group A Streptococcus have not been clarified. We previously reported that mutations of csrS/csrR genes, a two-component negative regulator system for multiple virulence genes of Streptococcus pyogenes, are found among the isolates from STSS patients. In the present study, mutations of another negative regulator, rgg, were also found in clinical isolates of STSS patients. The rgg mutants from STSS clinical isolates enhanced lethality and impaired various organs in the mouse models, similar to the csrS mutants, and precluded their being killed by human neutrophils, mainly due to an overproduction of SLO. When we assessed the mutation frequency of csrS, csrR, and rgg genes among S. pyogenes isolates from STSS (164 isolates) and non-invasive infections (59 isolates), 57.3% of the STSS isolates had mutations of one or more genes among three genes, while isolates from patients with non-invasive disease had significantly fewer mutations in these genes (1.7%). The results of the present study suggest that mutations in the negative regulators csrS/csrR and rgg of S. pyogenes are crucial factors in the pathogenesis of STSS, as they lead to the overproduction of multiple virulence factors