Neither participation nor revolution: the strategy of the Moroccan Jamiat al-Adl wal-Ihsan

Scholars and students of Islamist movements are divided over the issue of Islamists' commitment to democracy and a number of studies have attempted to discover the true nature of Islamist parties. This paper rejects this approach and argues that the behaviour of Islamist parties can be better understood through an analysis of the constraints and opportunities that their surrounding environment provides. Specifically, the paper aims at explaining the choice of the Moroccan Jamiat al-Adl wal-Ihsan neither to participate in institutional politics nor to undertake violent actions to transform the regime. This is done through an examination of its relations with the other political actors. The paper argues that Jamiat al-Adl wal-Ihsan's behaviour is as much the product of rational thinking as it is of ideology and provides evidence to support this claim. Such findings are important not only in the Moroccan context, but contribute to a growing literature claiming that Islamist movements should be treated as rational political actors operating under 'environmental' constraints and opportunities

Small Angle X-ray Scattering From Lipid-bound Myelin Basic Protein In Solution

The structure of myelin basic protein (MBP), purified from the myelin sheath in both lipid-free (LF-MBP) and lipid-bound (LB-MBP) forms, was investigated in solution by small angle x-ray scattering. The water-soluble LF-MBP, extracted at pH 7.0. Under all conditions, the scattering from the two protein forms was different, indicating different molecular shapes. For the LB-MBP, well-defined scattering curves were obtained, suggesting that the protein had a unique, compact (but not globular) structure. Furthermore, these data were compatible with earlier results from molecular modeling calculations on the MBP structure which have been refined by us. In contrast, the LF-MBP data were in accordance with the expected open-coil conformation. 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Allergenic Lipid Transfer Proteins from Plant-Derived Foods Do Not Immunologically and Clinically Behave Homogeneously: The Kiwifruit LTP as a Model

BACKGROUND: Food allergy is increasingly common worldwide. Tools for allergy diagnosis measuring IgE improved much since allergenic molecules and microarrays started to be used. IgE response toward allergens belonging to the same group of molecules has not been comprehensively explored using such approach yet. OBJECTIVE: Using the model of lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) from plants as allergens, including two new structures, we sought to define how heterogeneous is the behavior of homologous proteins. METHODS: Two new allergenic LTPs, Act d 10 and Act c 10, have been identified in green (Actinidia deliciosa) and gold (Actinidia chinensis) kiwifruit (KF), respectively, using clinically characterized allergic patients, and their biochemical features comparatively evaluated by means of amino acid sequence alignments. Along with other five LTPs from peach, mulberry, hazelnut, peanut, mugwort, KF LTPs, preliminary tested positive for IgE, have been immobilized on a microarray, used for IgE testing 1,003 allergic subjects. Comparative analysis has been carried out. RESULTS: Alignment of Act d 10 primary structure with the other allergenic LTPs shows amino acid identities to be in a narrow range between 40 and 55%, with a number of substitutions making the sequences quite different from each other. Although peach LTP dominates the IgE immune response in terms of prevalence, epitope recognition driven by sequence heterogeneity has been recorded to be distributed in a wide range of behaviors. KF LTPs IgE positive results were obtained in a patient subset IgE positive for the peach LTP. Anyhow, the negative results on homologous molecules allowed us to reintroduce KF in patients' diet. CONCLUSION: The biochemical nature of allergenic molecule belonging to a group of homologous ones should not be taken as proof of immunological recognition as well. The availability of panels of homologous molecules to be tested using microarrays is valuable to address the therapeutic intervention

Historical Contingencies Modulate the Adaptability of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus

The rymv1-2 and rymv1-3 alleles of the RYMV1 resistance to Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), coded by an eIF(iso)4G1 gene, occur in a few cultivars of the Asiatic (Oryza sativa) and African (O. glaberrima) rice species, respectively. The most salient feature of the resistance breaking (RB) process is the converse genetic barrier to rymv1-2 and rymv1-3 resistance breakdown. This specificity is modulated by the amino acid (glutamic acid vs. threonine) at codon 49 of the Viral Protein genome-linked (VPg), a position which is adjacent to the virulence codons 48 and 52. Isolates with a glutamic acid (E) do not overcome rymv1-3 whereas those with a threonine (T) rarely overcome rymv1-2. We found that isolates with T49 had a strong selective advantage over isolates with E49 in O. glaberrima susceptible cultivars. This explains the fixation of the mutation T49 during RYMV evolution and accounts for the diversifying selection estimated at codon 49. Better adapted to O. glaberrima, isolates with T49 are also more prone than isolates with E49 to fix rymv1-3 RB mutations at codon 52 in resistant O. glaberrima cultivars. However, subsequent genetic constraints impaired the ability of isolates with T49 to fix rymv1-2 RB mutations at codons 48 and 52 in resistant O. sativa cultivars. The origin and role of the amino acid at codon 49 of the VPg exemplifies the importance of historical contingencies in the ability of RYMV to overcome RYMV1 resistance

Comparative analysis of canine monocyte- and bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DC) represent a heterogeneous cell family of major importance for innate immune responses against pathogens and antigen presentation during infection, cancer, allergy and autoimmunity. The aim of the present study was to characterize canine DC generated in vitro with respect to their phenotype, responsiveness to toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and T-cell stimulatory capacity. DC were derived from monocytes (MoDC) and from bone marrow hematopoietic cells cultured with either Flt3-ligand (FL-BMDC) or with GM-CSF (GM-BMDC). All three methods generated cells with typical DC morphology that expressed CD1c, CD11c and CD14, similar to macrophages. However, CD40 was only found on DC, CD206 on MΦ and BMDC, but not on monocytes and MoDC. CD1c was not found on monocytes but on all in vitro differentiated cells. FL-BMDC and GM-BMDC were partially positive for CD4 and CD8. CD45RA was expressed on a subset of FL-BMDC but not on MoDC and GM-BMDC. MoDC and FL-DC responded well to TLR ligands including poly-IC (TLR2), Pam3Cys (TLR3), LPS (TLR4) and imiquimod (TLR7) by up-regulating MHC II and CD86. The generated DC and MΦ showed a stimulatory capacity for lymphocytes, which increased upon maturation with LPS. Taken together, our results are the basis for further characterization of canine DC subsets with respect to their role in inflammation and immune responses

The achievement of food and nutrition security in South Asia is deeply gendered

Women form an integral part of the agricultural sector, and in much of South Asia women make up a majority of the agricultural workforce, often compelled to work in order to meet their families’ basic needs. While their contributions are recognised as central to the food and nutrition security of households and communities, their work is not recognized or supported adequately by public policy and social institutions. Women continue to face inequality across key development indicators including health, education, and nutrition; discriminatory laws; and high levels of precarity in terms of income, employment conditions, safety and wellbeing. Social structures that promote gender inequality and inhibit the agency of women contribute to the South Asian enigma – the persistence of undernutrition despite economic growth – and must be addressed to achieve food and nutrition security

The Challenges of Institutionalizing Community-Level Social Accountability Mechanisms for Health and Nutrition: a Qualitative Study in Odisha, India

Background: India has been at the forefront of innovations around social accountability mechanisms in improving the delivery of public services, including health and nutrition. Yet little is known about how such initiatives are faring now that they are incorporated formally into government programmes and implemented at scale. This brings greater impetus to understand their effectiveness. This formative qualitative study focuses on how such mechanisms have sought to strengthen community-level nutrition and health services (the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Rural Health Mission) in the state of Odisha. It fills a gap in the literature on considering how such initiatives are running when institutionalised at scale. The primary research questions were ‘what kinds of community level mechanisms are functioning in randomly selected villages in 3 districts of state of Odisha' and 'how are they perceived to function by their members and frontline workers’