685 research outputs found
Concept and strategies of economic independence in African countries
The purpose of this paper is to review the various concepts of
economic independence and to apply them to the African context. The two
classical concepts of economic independence embodied in the capitalist and
socialist systems are considered and contrasted with the notion of economic
independence as expressed in the developing countries. An attempt is
made to lend some precision to the latter concept.
The paper then surveys the historical roots of economic dependence
in the Third World, and relates various aspects of such dependence to the
diverse attempts being made to attain economic independence, The second
part of the paper is concerned with an analysis of the various strategies
for economic independence being pursued in African countries. Although
these cannot be categorised into any neat labels imported from the industrialized
countries, the main thrust of policies being pursued by African
countries to move towards economic independence can be described as predominantly
capitalistic or socialistic. The paper considers the strengths
and weaknesses of these strategies in the African context, given the objectives
of economic independence, rapid and sustained growth, and equitable
distribution of income and wealth
The implications of EEC enlargement for the Asian Commonwealth countries
For over a decade it has been obvious that the entry of Britain into
the EEC would be likely to call for adjustments in the trading patterns of all
her Commonwealth partners, but only comparatively recently have the lines heen
clearly drawn for the period of intense negotiations which will shape the
future trading relations of developing Commonwealth countries with the EEC.
In a Joint Declaration of Intent relating to the independent Commonwealth
countries in Asia, the signatories to the Treaty of Enlargement declared their
readiness, from the date of accession of the new member states to the EEC, to
examine with the above countries in Asia such problems as might arise in the
field of trade, with a view to seeking appropriate solutions.
In this paper, the trends and patterns of trade of the Asian
Commonwealth countries, India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka,
are examined, and then the different treaties and trade agreements which will
determine the implications of the EEC enlargement. The impact of the harmonisation
of British commercial policy with the EEC is discussed in general, and
the specific problems of each country described. Finally some alternative
approaches to the solution of the problems arising from EEC enlargement are
suggested, and the implications for development assistance are described
PMS72 Does oral cholecalciferol supplementation improves pain intensity and disability in patients with chronic low back pain?
Nonlinear dynamics and transport driven by energetic particle instabilities using a gyro-Landau closure model
Energetic particle (EP) destabilized Alfvén eigenmode (AE) instabilities are simulated for a DIII-D experimental case with a pulsed neutral beam using a gyro-Landau moments model which introduces EP phase-mixing effects through closure relations. This provides a computationally efficient reduced model which is applied here in the nonlinear regime over timescales that would be difficult to address with more complete models. The long timescale nonlinear evolution and related collective transport losses are examined including the effects of zonal flow/current generation, nonlinear energy cascades, and EP profile flattening. The model predicts frequencies and mode structures that are consistent with experimental observations. These calculations address issues that have not been considered in previous modelling: The EP critical gradient profile evolution in the presence of zonal flows/currents, and the dynamical nature of the saturated state. A strong level of intermittency is present in the predicted instability-driven transport; this is connected to the zonal flow growth and decay cycles and nonlinear energy transfers. Simulation of intermittent AE-enhanced EP transport will be an important issue for the protection of plasma facing components in the next generation of fusion devices.This material is based upon work supported by the US Department
of Energy, Office of Science using the DIII-D National
Fusion Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility, under
Awards DE-AC05-00OR22725, DE-FC02-04ER54698,
and the US DOE SciDAC ISEP Center. Support is also
acknowledged from project 2019-T1/AMB-13648 founded
by the Comunidad de Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid
(Spain)—multiannual agreement with UC3M Excelencia
para el Profesorado Universitario EPUC3M14 Fifth
regional research plan 2016-2020. This research used
resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing
Center (NERSC), a US Department of Energy Office
of Science User Facility located at Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-
05CH11231. We would like to thank Matt Beidler of Oak
Ridge National Laboratory for helpful suggestions on this
manuscript
Heliorhodopsin Evolution Is Driven by Photosensory Promiscuity in Monoderms
Rhodopsins are light-activated proteins displaying an enormous versatility of function as cation/anion pumps or sensing environmental stimuli and are widely distributed across all domains of life. Even with wide sequence divergence and uncertain evolutionary linkages between microbial (type 1) and animal (type 2) rhodopsins, the membrane orientation of the core structural scaffold of both was presumed universal. This was recently amended through the discovery of heliorhodopsins (HeRs; type 3), that, in contrast to known rhodopsins, display an inverted membrane topology and yet retain similarities in sequence, structure, and the light-activated response. While no ion-pumping activity has been demonstrated for HeRs and multiple crystal structures are available, fundamental questions regarding their cellular and ecological function or even their taxonomic distribution remain unresolved. Here, we investigated HeR function and distribution using genomic/metagenomic data with protein domain fusions, contextual genomic information, and gene coexpression analysis with strand-specific metatranscriptomics. We bring to resolution the debated monoderm/diderm occurrence patterns and show that HeRs are restricted to monoderms. Moreover, we provide compelling evidence that HeRs are a novel type of sensory rhodopsins linked to histidine kinases and other two-component system genes across phyla. In addition, we also describe two novel putative signal-transducing domains fused to some HeRs. We posit that HeRs likely function as generalized light-dependent switches involved in the mitigation of light-induced oxidative stress and metabolic circuitry regulation. Their role as sensory rhodopsins is corroborated by their photocycle dynamics and their presence/function in monoderms is likely connected to the higher sensitivity of these organisms to light-induced damage.
IMPORTANCE Heliorhodopsins are enigmatic, novel rhodopsins with a membrane orientation that is opposite to all known rhodopsins. However, their cellular and ecological functions are unknown, and even their taxonomic distribution remains a subject of debate. We provide evidence that HeRs are a novel type of sensory rhodopsins linked to histidine kinases and other two-component system genes across phyla boundaries. In support of this, we also identify two novel putative signal transducing domains in HeRs that are fused with them. We also observe linkages of HeRs to genes involved in mitigation of light-induced oxidative stress and increased carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Finally, we synthesize these findings into a framework that connects HeRs with the cellular response to light in monoderms, activating light-induced oxidative stress defenses along with carbon/nitrogen metabolic circuitries. These findings are consistent with the evolutionary, taxonomic, structural, and genomic data available so far
Circulating exosomal microRNA expression patterns distinguish cardiac sarcoidosis from myocardial ischemia.
OBJECTIVE: Cardiac sarcoidosis is difficult to diagnose, often requiring expensive and inconvenient advanced imaging techniques. Circulating exosomes contain genetic material, such as microRNA (miRNA), that are derived from diseased tissues and may serve as potential disease-specific biomarkers. We thus sought to determine whether circulating exosome-derived miRNA expression patterns would distinguish cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) from acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
METHODS: Plasma and serum samples conforming to CS, AMI or disease-free controls were procured from the Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center repository and National Jewish Health. Next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on exosome-derived total RNA (n = 10 for each group), and miRNA expression levels were compared after normalization using housekeeping miRNA. Quality assurance measures excluded poor quality RNA samples. Differentially expressed (DE) miRNA patterns, based upon \u3e2-fold change (p \u3c 0.01), were established in CS compared to controls, and in CS compared to AMI. Relative expression of several DE-miRNA were validated by qRT-PCR.
RESULTS: Despite the advanced age of the stored samples (~5-30 years), the quality of the exosome-derived miRNA was intact in ~88% of samples. Comparing plasma exosomal miRNA in CS versus controls, NGS yielded 18 DE transcripts (12 up-regulated, 6 down-regulated), including miRNA previously implicated in mechanisms of myocardial injury (miR-92, miR-21) and immune responses (miR-618, miR-27a). NGS further yielded 52 DE miRNA in serum exosomes from CS versus AMI: 5 up-regulated in CS; 47 up-regulated in AMI, including transcripts previously detected in AMI patients (miR-1-1, miR-133a, miR-208b, miR-423, miR-499). Five miRNAs with increased DE in CS included two isoforms of miR-624 and miR-144, previously reported as markers of cardiomyopathy.
CONCLUSIONS: MiRNA patterns of exosomes derived from CS and AMI patients are distinct, suggesting that circulating exosomal miRNA patterns could serve as disease biomarkers. Further studies are required to establish their specificity relative to other cardiac disorders
Obstetric anal sphincter injury: a systematic review of information available on the internet.
OBJECTIVE: There is no systematic evaluation of online health information pertaining to obstetric anal sphincter injury. Therefore, we evaluated the accuracy, credibility, reliability, and readability of online information concerning obstetric anal sphincter injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multiple search engines were searched. The first 30 webpages were identified for each keyword and considered eligible if they provided information regarding obstetric anal sphincter injury. Eligible webpages were assessed by two independent researchers for accuracy (prioritised criteria based upon the RCOG Third and Fourth Degree Tear guideline); credibility; reliability; and readability. RESULTS: Fifty-eight webpages were included. Seventeen webpages (30%) had obtained Health On the Net certification, or Information Standard approval and performed better than those without such approvals (p = 0.039). The best overall performing website was http://www.pat.nhs.uk (score of 146.7). A single webpage (1%) fulfilled the entire criteria for accuracy with a score of 18: www.tamesidehospital.nhs.uk . Twenty-nine webpages (50%) were assessed as credible (scores ≥7). A single webpage achieved a maximum credibility score of 10: www.meht.nhs.uk . Over a third (21 out of 58) were rated as poor or very poor. The highest scoring webpage was http://www.royalsurrey.nhs.uk (score 62). No webpage met the recommended Flesch Reading Ease Score above 70. The intra-class coefficient between researchers was 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) and 0.94 (95% CI 0.89-0.96) for accuracy and reliability assessments. CONCLUSION: Online information concerning obstetric anal sphincter injury often uses language that is inappropriate for a lay audience and lacks sufficient accuracy, credibility, and reliability
Investigation of Stilbenoids as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Rotavirus Gastroenteritis
Rotavirus (RV) infections cause severe diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. Vaccines are available but cost prohibitive for many countries and only reduce severe symptoms. Vaccinated infants continue to shed infectious particles, and studies show decreased efficacy of the RV vaccines in tropical and subtropical countries where they are needed most. Continuing surveillance for new RV strains, assessment of vaccine efficacy, and development of cost effective antiviral drugs remain an important aspect of RV studies. This study was to determine the efficacy of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory stilbenoids to inhibit RV replication. Peanut (A. hypogaea) hairy root cultures were induced to produce stilbenoids, which were purified by high performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC) and analyzed by HPLC. HT29.f8 cells were infected with RV in the presence stilbenoids. Cell viability counts showed no cytotoxic effects onHT29.f8 cells. Viral infectivity titers were calculated and comparatively assessed to determine the effects of stilbenoid treatments. Two stilbenoids, trans-arachidin-1 and trans-arachidin-3, show a significant decrease in RV infectivity titers.Western blot analyses performed on the infected cell lysates complemented the infectivity titrations and indicated a significant decrease in viral replication. These studies show the therapeutic potential of the stilbenoids against RV replication
Analysis of the ECH effect on the EPM/AEs stability in Heliotron J plasma using a Landau closure model
The aim of the present study is to analyze the effect of the electron
cyclotron heating (ECH) on the linear stability of Alfven Eigenmodes (AE) and
energetic particle modes (EPM) triggered by energetic ions in Heliotron J
plasma. The analysis is performed using the FAR3d code that solves a reduced
MHD model to describe the thermal plasma coupled with a gyrofluid model for the
energetic particles (EP) species. The simulations reproduce the AE/EPM
stability trends observed in the experiments as the electron temperature (Te)
increases, modifying the thermal plasma beta, EP beta and EP slowing down time.
Particularly, the n/m=1/2 EPM and 2/4 Global AE (GAE) are stabilized in the low
bumpiness (LB) configuration due to an enhancement of the continuum, Finite
Larmor radius (FLR) and e-i Landau damping effects as the thermal beta
increases. On the other hand, a larger ECH injection power cannot stabilize the
AE/EPM in Medium (MB) and High bumpiness (HB) configurations because the
damping effects are weaker compared to the LB case, unable to balance the
further destabilization induced by an enhanced EP resonance as the EP slowing
down time and EP beta increases with T
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