Global Competition Versus Regional Interests: FDI and Pharmaceuticals in India

This essay explores the economic dynamics of global competition versus regional interests corresponding to the treatment of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in India and the relative effects of such policies on its domestic pharmaceutical industry. The scope of considerations are formally limited to variables implicative of the transnational flow of capital within the pharmaceuticals industry, most specifically those pertaining to foreign direct investment (FDI).   India, as the second most populated country in the world, has been the focus of much discussion regarding patent violations in its pharmaceutical industry. International pressures and membership covenants of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have succeeded in structuring policy such that process patents are now legitimized. This has brought dilemmas between global and regional conflicts of interest to open discussion, and has become a pressing political agenda among various industry stakeholders. This paper discusses the history of Indian internal protection in the pharmaceutical industry and suggests ways in which India may continue to benefit when regulatory barriers are reduced and global trade covenants are abided. The  essay  first examines trends in global FDI and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). It highlights changes to Indian policy, and subsequently discusses other matters associated with the protection of IPRs including parallel imports, price discrimination, and corruption. Lastly, suggestions are made for viable ways of enabling India to comply with WTO mandates for participation in the global marketplace, while concurrently attending to its domestic needs as well.

Historical Perspectives on Trade and Risk on the Silk Road, Middle East and China

In this paper we examine historical trends in the Silk Road where we discuss historical trade risks, Chinese dynasties and trade. We examine trade risks along the land and sea routes through Central Asia and Middle East. We discuss Chinese balance of payments during different dynasties and the changes in the land and the sea routes. We examine how the trade patterns and routes shifted with the discovery of the New World and when the Dutch and the British formed pooled risk trade associations

Genomic Analysis of Immune Response against Vibrio Cholerae Hemolysin in Caenorhabditis elegans

Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) is among the accessory V. cholerae virulence factors that may contribute to disease pathogenesis in humans. VCC, encoded by hlyA gene, belongs to the most common class of bacterial toxins, known as poreforming toxins (PFTs). V. cholerae infects and kills Caenorhabditis elegans via cholerae toxin independent manner. VCC is required for the lethality, growth retardation and intestinal cell vacuolation during the infection. However, little is known about the host gene expression responses against VCC. To address this question we performed a microarray study in C. elegans exposed to V. cholerae strains with intact and deleted hlyA genes. Many of the VCC regulated genes identified, including C-type lectins, Prion-like (glutamine [Q]/asparagine [N]-rich)-domain containing genes, genes regulated by insulin/ IGF-1-mediated signaling (IIS) pathway, were previously reported as mediators of innate immune response against other bacteria in C. elegans. Protective function of the subset of the genes up-regulated by VCC was confirmed using RNAi. By means of a machine learning algorithm called FastMEDUSA, we identified several putative VCC induced immune regulatory transcriptional factors and transcription factor binding motifs. Our results suggest that VCC is a major virulence factor, which induces a wide variety of immune response- related genes during V. cholerae infection in C. elegans

Amyloid Inspired Self-Assembled Peptide Nanofibers

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Amyloid peptides are important components in many degenerative diseases as well as in maintaining cellular metabolism. Their unique stable structure provides new insights in developing new materials. Designing bioinspired selfassembling peptides is essential to generate new forms of hierarchical nanostructures. Here we present oppositely charged amyloid inspired peptides (AIPs), which rapidly self-assemble into nanofibers at pH 7 upon mixing in water caused by noncovalent interactions. Mechanical properties of the gels formed by selfassembled AIP nanofibers were analyzed with oscillatory rheology. AIP gels exhibited strong mechanical characteristics superior to gels formed by self-assembly of previously reported synthetic short peptides. Rheological studies of gels composed of oppositely charged mixed AIP molecules (AIP-1 + 2) revealed superior mechanical stability compared to individual peptide networks (AIP-1 and AIP-2) formed by neutralization of net charges through pH change. Adhesion and elasticity properties of AIP mixed nanofibers and charge neutralized AIP-1, AIP-2 nanofibers were analyzed by high resolution force− distance mapping using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nanomechanical characterization of self-assembled AIP-1 + 2, AIP-1, and AIP-2 nanofibers also confirmed macroscopic rheology results, and mechanical stability of AIP mixed nanofibers was higher compared to individual AIP-1 and AIP-2 nanofibers self-assembled at acidic and basic pH, respectively. Experimental results were supported with molecular dynamics simulations by considering potential noncovalent interactions between the amino acid residues and possible aggregate forms. In addition, HUVEC cells were cultured on AIP mixed nanofibers at pH 7 and biocompatibility and collagen mimetic scaffold properties of the nanofibrous system were observed. Encapsulation of a zwitterionic dye (rhodamine B) within AIP nanofiber network was accomplished at physiological conditions to demonstrate that this network can be utilized for inclusion of soluble factors as a scaffold for cell culture studies. Copyright © 2012 American Chemical Societ

New records of alien polychaete species for the coasts of Turkey

This paper reports two alien polychaete species (Phyllodoce longifrons and Exogone africana) new to the faunal inventory of Turkey as well as two species (Ceratonereis mirabilis and Onuphis eremita oculata) new to the entire Aegean Sea. It is the first time the phyllodocid species P. longifrons is being classified as an alien species. The re-descriptions of P. longifrons and E. africana are given, and their alien status and establishment success are discussed

First record of Paraprionospio coora Wilson, 1990 (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from the Mediterranean Sea)

The spionid polychaete Paraprionospio pinnata (Ehlers, 1901) has been widely reported from the Mediterranean Sea. We examined some specimens belonging to the genera Paraprionospio that had been collected from the Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara and the Spanish Mediterranean coast, and identified them as Paraprionospio coora Wilson, 1990, which is new to the Mediterranean fauna. This finding indicates that P. coora has a widespread geographical distribution in Australia, Far East and the Mediterranean, and suggests that the previous records of P. pinnata from the Mediterranean are questionable

Body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents : a systematic review of literature published 2004 to 2011

The objectiveThe authors undertook an updated systematic review of the relationship between body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents.MethodThe authors searched Medline, ISI, Cochrane, Scopus, Global Health and CINAHL databases and conducted lateral searches from reference lists for papers published from 2004 to 2011, inclusive. All empirical papers that tested associations between body mass index and dental caries in child and adolescent populations (aged 0 to 18 years) were included.ResultsDental caries is associated with both high and low body mass index.ConclusionA non-linear association between body mass index and dental caries may account for inconsistent findings in previous research. We recommend future research investigate the nature of the association between body mass index and dental caries in samples that include a full range of body mass index scores, and explore how factors such as socioeconomic status mediate the association between body mass index and dental caries.<br /

New records of alien polychaete species for the coasts of Turkey

This paper reports two alien polychaete species (Phyllodoce longifrons and Exogone africana) new to the faunal inventory of Turkey as well as two species (Ceratonereis mirabilis and Onuphis eremita oculata) new to the entire Aegean Sea. It is the first time the phyllodocid species P. longifrons is being classified as an alien species. The re-descriptions of P. longifrons and E. africana are given, and their alien status and establishment success are discussed

The validity of eight neoclassical facial canons in the Turkish adults

The neoclassical canons were used to define the proportions between various areas of the head and face. Therefore, this study was done to establish the neoclassical canons of facial proportions in Turkish adults. A total of 200 healthy adults 20 to 35 years of age were examined. Using anthropometric landmarks, 5 horizontal and 9 vertical direct measurements were made on the faces with a sliding calliper. Results have been compared with 8 neoclassical facial canons. When comparing between sexes, a significant difference has been found in all measurements except the upper facial width, left eye-fissure width, forehead height I and II (p &lt; 0.005). The nasofacial proportion has been found to include the most proportional subjects (33%) followed by the orbito-nasal (30%), the orbital proportion (25%) and the naso-oral proportion (17%) in the female. Considering the male, the orbital proportion has been found to include the most proportional subjects (23%) followed by the orbito-nasal proportion (21%), naso-facial proportion (19%) and the naso-oral proportion (17%). The neoclassical canons have been shown to rarely be applicable to Turkish adults and our results may contribute to determine the concepts of transcultural facial structures

Polycystic ovary syndrome

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-20% of women of reproductive age worldwide. The condition is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) - with excessive androgen production by the ovaries being a key feature of PCOS. Metabolic dysfunction characterized by insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinaemia is evident in the vast majority of affected individuals. PCOS increases the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes and other pregnancy-related complications, venous thromboembolism, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events and endometrial cancer. PCOS is a diagnosis of exclusion, based primarily on the presence of hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and PCOM. Treatment should be tailored to the complaints and needs of the patient and involves targeting metabolic abnormalities through lifestyle changes, medication and potentially surgery for the prevention and management of excess weight, androgen suppression and/or blockade, endometrial protection, reproductive therapy and the detection and treatment of psychological features. This Primer summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the epidemiology, mechanisms and pathophysiology, diagnosis, screening and prevention, management and future investigational directions of the disorder.Robert J Norman, Ruijin Wu and Marcin T Stankiewic