The Many Paths of Cotton Sector Reform in Eastern and Southern Africa: Lessons from a Decade of Experience

Crop Production/Industries,

Aristophanes: Acharnians, Knights, and Peace, Translated, and with theatrical commentary

pre-printA thenian "Old Comedy," despite its traditional title, has become accustomed to frequent renewal. Michael Ewans, an experienced scholar and director of ancient drama, offers the latest renovation with his able verse A translations of Aristophanes' Acharnians, Knights, and Peace that are complemented by a theatrical commentary. The very structure of Ewans' book places welcome emphasis on the joint study of Attic drama as both cultural text and performance script

Did the NICE guideline for progesterone treatment of threatened miscarriage get it right?

In November 2021, NICE updated its clinical guideline that covers the management of threatened miscarriage in the first trimester. They recommended offering vaginal micronised progesterone twice daily until 16 completed weeks of pregnancy in those with a previous miscarriage. However, the duration of treatment is not evidence based. In the major clinical trial that informed the guideline, there was no benefit in starting progesterone after 9 weeks and the full effect of progesterone was present at 12 weeks of pregnancy. There are theoretical risks impacting offspring health in later life after maternal pharmaceutical progesterone treatment. As the effect of progesterone seems to be complete by 12 weeks of gestation, we should consider carefully whether to follow the guidance and treat up to 16 weeks of pregnancy. LAY SUMMARY: In November 2021, new guidelines were published about the management of bleeding in early pregnancy. If someone who has had a previous miscarriage starts bleeding, they should now be treated with progesterone as this slightly reduces the chance of miscarriage. The guideline says progesterone should be given if the pregnancy is in the womb, and potentially normal, until 16 weeks of pregnancy. However, in the big studies looking at progesterone’s effect in reducing miscarriage the beneficial effects of progesterone were complete by 12 weeks of pregnancy. At that stage, it is the placenta and not the mother’s ovary that makes the progesterone to support the pregnancy. We do not know the long-term effects of giving extra progesterone during pregnancy on the offspring. Some research has raised the possibility that there might be some adverse effects if progesterone is given for too long. Maybe the guidance should have suggested stopping at 12 weeks rather than 16 weeks of pregnancy

Estimating the health impact of air pollution in Scotland, and the resulting benefits of reducing concentrations in city centres

Air pollution continues to be a key health issue in Scotland, despite recent improvements in concentrations. The Scottish Government published the Cleaner Air For Scotland strategy in 2015, and will introduce Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in the four major cities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) by 2020. However, there is no epidemiological evidence quantifying the current health impact of air pollution in Scotland, which this paper addresses. Additionally, we estimate the health benefits of reducing concentrations in city centres where most LEZs are located. We focus on cardio-respiratory disease and total non-accidental mortality outcomes, linking them to concentrations of both particulate (PM10 and PM2.5) and gaseous (NO2 and NOx) pollutants. Our two main findings are that: (i) all pollutants exhibit significant associations with respiratory disease but not cardiovascular disease; and (ii) reducing concentrations in city centres with low resident populations only provides a small health benefit

Neuroinflammation induces glial aromatase expression in the uninjured songbird brain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Estrogens from peripheral sources as well as central aromatization are neuroprotective in the vertebrate brain. Under normal conditions, aromatase is only expressed in neurons, however following anoxic/ischemic or mechanical brain injury; aromatase is also found in astroglia. This increased glial aromatization and the consequent estrogen synthesis is neuroprotective and may promote neuronal survival and repair. While the effects of estradiol on neuroprotection are well studied, what induces glial aromatase expression remains unknown.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Adult male zebra finches (<it>Taeniopygia guttata</it>) were given a penetrating injury to the entopallium. At several timepoints later, expression of aromatase, IL-1β-like, and IL-6-like were examined using immunohisotchemistry. A second set of zebra birds were exposed to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), an inflammatory agent, directly on the dorsal surface of the telencephalon without creating a penetrating injury. Expression of aromatase, IL-1β-like, and IL-6-like were examined using both quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to examine mRNA expression and immunohistochemistry to determine cellular expression. Statistical significance was determined using t-test or one-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey Kramers post hoc test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following injury in the zebra finch brain, cytokine expression occurs prior to aromatase expression. This temporal pattern suggests that cytokines may induce aromatase expression in the damaged zebra finch brain. Furthermore, evoking a neuroinflammatory response characterized by an increase in cytokine expression in the uninjured brain is sufficient to induce glial aromatase expression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These studies are among the first to examine a neuroinflammatory response in the songbird brain following mechanical brain injury and to describe a novel neuroimmune signal to initiate aromatase expression in glia.</p

Scattering theory for the Schr\"odinger-Debye System

We study the Schr\"odinger-Debye system over $\mathbb{R}^d$ iu_t+\frac 12\Delta u=uv,\quad \mu v_t+v=\lambda |u|^2 and establish the global existence and scattering of small solutions for initial data in several function spaces in dimensions $d=2,3,4$. Moreover, in dimension $d=1$, we prove a Hayashi-Naumkin modified scattering result.Comment: 22 page