MICROFINANCE MARKET NICHES AND CLIENT PROFILES IN BOLIVIA

This paper presents and interprets descriptive statistics generated from data obtained in a survey of clients of five microfinance organizations believed to be among the best in Bolivia. These lenders represent different combinations of organizational design, lending technology, and market area of operations. Two are regulated financial intermediaries and three are NGOs. Two operate in rural areas (PRODEM and Sartawi) and three operate in urban areas (BancoSol, FIE, and Caja Los Andes). Two offer individual loans and three grant loans through joint liability groups. The paper discusses household-enterprise profiles of a sample of 622 clients and identifies terms and conditions of loan contracts with these organizations to evaluate the depth and quality of their outreach. The interpretation seeks to establish connections between key characteristics of the clients and features of the lending technologies that lead to the matching of classes of borrowers with particular organizations and that influence the choice of market niches. Data on loan sizes suggest the existence of different but broadly overlapping market niches associated with three tiers of clients. The sharpest distinction is between urban and rural clients. The matching between clients and organizations also reflects a weak but positive correlation between levels of poverty and loan sizes. According to an index of basic needs fulfillment of their clients, these organizations can be ranked as: FIE and Caja Los Andes (first tier), BancoSol (second tier), and PRODEM and Sartawi (third tier). The same ranking is obtained when clients are ordered according to loan size, the ratio of loan size to the value of sales, and the value of monthly sales. The three tiers of clients are associated with different socio-economic features of their household-enterprises: sex, education, household size, access to electricity, water supplies, and sewage facilities, employment-generating capacity of the enterprise, informality and separation of household and enterprise, occupations and the like. The development of lending technologies that do not rely on standard financial statements and collateralizable assets is a formidable innovation that explains the outreach and sustainability of these organizations. Differences in the guarantees required for loans dominate distinctions in lending technology. Trade-offs between loan size, interest rates, and guarantee requirements attract different subsets of the clientele. Joint liability seems to be appropriate for very poor people, but group borrowers eventually outgrow this relationship. Caja Los Andes and FIE have shown that it is possible to supply individual loans to poor people and be profitable. Most clients are satisfied with the services received. The lowest satisfaction concerns loan sizes and loan-size rationing may be widespread. At least in urban areas, increasing competition will force these organizations to improve their services and adjust loan sizes. All of these organizations are expanding the frontier of microfinance by developing lending technologies for a much poorer clientele than is reached by collateral-based lenders. This is a formidable achievement.Financial Economics,

A Network of Physiological Interactions Modulating GI Homeostasis: Probiotics, Inflammasome, mTOR

The gastrointestinal surface is in constant interaction with various exogenous molecules. Exogenous components are discriminated in the GI context, as good, in case of nutrients and fibers, and bad, when they negatively affect host integrity. During this tolerogenic process, they also train the host’s immune system. The immune system is a morpho-physiologic unit driven by immune cells with the assistance of commensal organisms. Several species of commensal microorganisms have been used for centuries as probiotics due to their beneficial effects on human health. Lowering local levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines has a systemic effect, which is one of the fundamental characteristics associated with probiotics. Still, the primary mechanisms wiring those regulatory circuits as a unit remain unclear. Modulation of the innate immune system, via regulation of inflammasome assembly is emerging as a critical driver of this interaction. Stimulation of toll like receptors (TLR) and inner cell sensors like NLRP3 connect probiotics with essential host systems. In this context, the mTOR-regulated circuits, an intricate network modulating a cascade of protein phosphorylations, could be an important channel connecting host metabolism and probiotics crosstalk

The Synergistic Contribution of Lactobacillus and Dietary Phytophenols in Host Health

Phytophenols are found ubiquitously among all plants. They are important in diets rich in fruits and vegetables because these compounds provide health benefits to the host, ultimately decreasing the incidence of chronic diseases. These compounds act as natural antioxidants and provide anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibiotic, and antineoplastic properties. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced under normal physiological functions, and low/moderate levels are required for cellular turnover and signaling. However, when ROS levels become too high, oxidative stress can occur. Phytophenols quench ROS and ultimately avoid the damaging effects ROS elicit on the cell. The highest source of bioavailable phytophenols comes from our diet as a component usually esterified in plant fiber. For phytophenols to be absorbed by the body, they must be released by esterases, or other related enzymes. The highest amount of esterase activity comes from the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota; therefore, the host requires the activity of mutualistic bacteria in the GI tract to release absorbable phytophenols. For this reason, mutualistic bacteria have been investigated for beneficial properties in the host. Our laboratory has begun studying the interaction of Lactobacillus johnsonii N6.2 with the host since it was found to be negatively correlated with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Analyses of this strain have revealed two important characteristics: (1) It has the ability to release phytophenols from dietary fiber through the secretion of two strong cinnamoyl esterases and (2) L. johnsonii also has the ability to generate significant amounts of H2O2, controlling the activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an immunomodulatory enzyme

A Chance-Constrained Linear Model for Beef Policy Analysis

A simple linear model to evaluate different bull beef policies (BBP) by incorporating the stochastic nature of pasture yield from a database with separate chance constraints (ChC) was developed. A 100 ha farm was used, and the model was run with five different BBP and set to different levels of pasture yield risk to maximise production.ha-1.year-1. Summer was the most risky season, and the optimum mix of policies changed at different levels of risk. Chance constraint represents an interesting and simple alternative to include pasture variation into a linear model

Effects of Herbage Allowance upon Animal Performance and Grazing Behavior of Strip-Grazed Heifers

A trial was designed to test the effect of herbage allowance (HA) on live-weight gain (LWG) and grazing behavior of heifers during spring as part of a combined field-modeling research programme. Low HA (L) and high HA (H) of 2.5 and 5.0 kg DM herbage mass 100 kg animal LW-1day-1 were fed respectively. H animals grazed longer and achieved a higher LWG than L (P \u3c 0.05). H animals left a higher residual pasture (P \u3c 0.051) with a significantly (P \u3c 0.05) higher content of green, clover, non-lamina and petiole of a higher digestibility and NSC, with a lower NDF content. The significance of some factors involved in these results on intake and diet selection are discussed in relation to the predictability of animal performance

Drug repurposing: tolfenamic acid inactivates PrbP, a transcriptional accessory protein in liberibacter asiaticus

CLIBASIA_01510, PrbP, is a predicted RNA polymerase binding protein in Liberibacter asiaticus. PrbP was found to regulate expression of a small subset of ribosomal genes through interactions with the β-subunit of the RNA polymerase and a short, specific sequence on the promoter region. Molecular screening assays were performed to identify small molecules that interact with PrbP in vitro. Chemical hits were analyzed for therapeutic efficacy against L. asiaticus via an infected leaf assay, where the transcriptional activity of L. asiaticus was found to decrease significantly after exposure to tolfenamic acid. Similarly, tolfenamic acid was found to inhibit L. asiaticus infection in highly symptomatic citrus seedlings. Our results indicate that PrbP is an important transcriptional regulator for survival of L. asiaticus in planta, and the chemicals identified by molecular screening assays could be used as a therapeutic treatment for huanglongbing disease.Fil: Gardner, Christopher L.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Pagliai, Fernando A.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Pan, Lei. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Bojilova, Lora. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Torino, Maria Ines. University of Florida; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Lorca, Graciela L.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Claudio F.. University of Florida; Estados Unido

‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ Multimeric LotP Mediates Citrus sinensis Defense Response Activation

‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ is known as the most pathogenic organism associated with citrus greening disease. Since its publicized emergence in Florida in 2005, ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ remains unculturable. Currently, a limited number of potential disease effectors have been identified through in silico analysis. Therefore, these potential effectors remain poorly characterized and do not fully explain the complexity of symptoms observed in citrus trees infected with ‘Ca. L. asiaticus.’ LotP has been identified as a potential effector and have been partially characterized. This protein retains structural homology to the substrate binding domain of the Lon protease. LotP interacts with chaperones like GroEL, Hsp40, DnaJ, and ClpX and may exercise its biological role through interactions with different proteins involved in proteostasis networks. Here, we evaluate the interactome of LotP—revealing a new protein–protein interaction target (Lon-serine protease) and its effect on citrus plant tissue integrity. We found that via protein–protein interactions, LotP can enhance Lon protease activity, increasing the degradation rate of its specific targets. Infiltration of purified LotP strained citrus plant tissue causing photoinhibition and chlorosis after several days. Proteomics analysis of LotP tissues recovering after the infiltration revealed a large abundance of plant proteins associated with the stabilization and processing of mRNA transcripts, a subset of important transcription factors; and pathways associated with innate plant defense were highly expressed. Furthermore, interactions and substrate binding module of LotP suggest potential interactions with plant proteins, most likely proteases.Fil: Merli, Marcelo Luciano. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Padgett Pagliai, Kaylie A.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Cuaycal, Alexandra E.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: García, Lucila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Marano, María Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lorca, Graciela L.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Claudio F.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados Unido

Fabrication and arc erosion behavior of Ag-SnO2-ZnO electrical contact materials

This study investigated the synthesis of Ag-SnO2-ZnO by powder metallurgy methods and their subsequent electrical contact behavior. The pieces of Lambda g-SnO2-ZnO were prepared by ball milling and hot pressing. The arc erosion behavior of the material was evaluated using homemade equipment. The microstructure and phase evolution of the materials were investigated through X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that, although the mass loss of the Ag-SnO2-ZnO composite (9.08 mg) during the electrical contact test was higher than that of the commercial Ag-CdO (1.42 mg), its electrical conductivity remained constant (26.9 +/- 1.5% IACS). This fact would be related to the reaction of Zn2SnO4's formation on the material's surface via electric arc. This reaction would play an important role in controlling the surface segregation and subsequent loss of electrical conductivity of this type of composite, thus enabling the development of a new electrical contact material to replace the non-environmentally friendly Ag-CdO composite

PrbP modulates biofilm formation in Liberibacter crescens

In Liberibacter asiaticus, PrbP is a transcriptional regulatory protein involved in survival and persistence during host infection. Tolfenamic acid was previously found to inhibit interactions between PrbP and the promotor region of rplK, resulting in reduced survival of L. asiaticus in the citrus host. In this study, we performed transcriptome analyses to elucidate the PrbP regulon in L. crescens, as it is phylogenetically the closest related species to L. asiaticus that can be grown in laboratory conditions. Chemical inhibition of PrbP with tolfenamic acid revealed that PrbP is involved in the regulation of diverse cellular processes, including stress response, cell motility, cell cycle and biofilm formation. In vitro DNA binding and bacterial two-hybrid assays also suggested that PrbP is a global regulator of multiple transcription factors (RpoH, VisN, PleD, MucR, MocR and CtrA) at both transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional levels. Sub-lethal concentrations of tolfenamic acid significantly reduced the attachment of L. crescens during biofilm formation and decreased long-term persistence in biofilm structures. Overall, our findings show the importance of PrbP in regulating diverse biological processes through direct and indirect interactions with other transcriptional regulators in L. crescens.Fil: Pan, Lei. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Gardner, Christopher L.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Beliakoff, Reagan. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Da Silva, Danilo. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Zuo, Ran. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Pagliai, Fernando A.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Padgett Pagliai, Kaylie A.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Merli, Marcelo Luciano. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Bahadiroglu, Erol. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Claudio F.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados UnidosFil: Lorca, Graciela L.. University of Florida. Department of Microbiology and Cell Science; Estados Unido