Engineering vascularised tissues in vitro

Tissue engineering aims at replacing or regenerating tissues lost due to diseases or traumas (Langer and Vacanti, 1993). However, mimicking in vitro the physiological complexity of vascularized tissue is a major obstacle, which possibly contributes to impaired healing in vivo. In higher organisms, native features including the vascular network, the lymphatic networks and interstitial flow promote both mass transport and organ development. Attempts to mimic those features in engineered tissues will lead to more clinically relevant cell-based therapies. Aside from current strategies promoting angiogenesis from the host, an alternative concept termed prevascularization is emerging. It aims at creating a biological vasculature inside an engineered tissue prior to implantation. This vasculature can rapidly anastamose with the host and enhances tissue survival and differentiation. Interestingly, growing evidence supports a role of the vasculature in regulating pattern formation and tissue differentiation. Thus, prevascularized tissues also benefit from an intrinsic contribution of their vascular system to their development. From those early attempts are emerging a body of principles and strategies to grow and maintain, in vitro, those self-assembled biological vascular networks. This could lead to the generation of engineered tissues of more physiologically relevant complexity and improved regenerative potential

GENDER IMPACTS OF SMALL FARMERS’ COMMERCIALIZATION OF GINGER (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) ENTERPRISE IN NIGERIA

This study addressed the issue of gender and agricultural commercialization among smallholders in Nigeria with ginger as a case study. It focused on the relative or absolute roles, gains and losses by men and women farmers as a result of commercializing small ginger farm. Ginger is a crop grown mainly for cash in Nigeria. Nigerian ginger is known to produce very high quality essential oils mainly oleoresin and gingerol used in confectionery and pharmaceutical industries. Men take decision mostly on ginger production while ginger marketing is more of the women’s job. Women income is devoted to food and children care while men take care of education of the children. There is increased income and improved health facilities to members of the household. There are, however, increases in workload and responsibility for men for major decisions while women play major role in decision during maintenance of ginger field.Nigerian Ginger, Commercialization, Gender impacts, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics,

On the Outside, Looking in : Understanding Transparency at the Frontline

This doctoral dissertation examines the effects of transparency on the daily work of street-level bureaucrats and their interactions with citizens. By studying food and product safety inspectors, this dissertation shows that transparency helps street-level bureaucrats do their job. By studying citizens’ perceptions of multiple enforcing street-level bureaucrats (e.g. parking wardens), this dissertation reveals that citizens are biased about the street-level bureaucrats they meet, but this does not mean they will make what street-level bureaucrats do transparent to others

Dambo Farming In Zimbabwe: Water Management, Cropping and Soil Potentials for Smallholder Farming in the Wetlands

A conference paper on water management in Africa.Rising population pressures in Africa have caused the agricultural use of wetlands to become increasingly important. Developing large surface irrigation infrastructures, as Asia did during the sixties and seventies, often proves to be too costly for Africa. This makes wetlands, with their relatively good water availability and high soil fertility, an interesting alternative for increasing food production. Wetland use offers economic advantages as well. Farming on wetlands is a labor-intensive process, while surface irrigation is capital- intensive

Electron reflectivity measurements of Ag adatom concentrations on W(110)

The density of two-dimensional Ag adatom gases on W(110) is determined by monitoring local electron reflectivity using low energy electron microscopy (LEEM). This method of adatom concentration measurement can detect changes in adatom density at least as small as 10$^{-3}$ ML for a $\mu$m size region of the surface. Using this technique at high temperatures, we measure the sublimation rates of Ag adatoms on W(110). At lower temperatures, where Ag adatoms condense into monolayer islands, we determine the temperature dependence of the density of adatoms coexisting with this condensed phase and compare it with previous estimates.Comment: Presented at the ECOSS 23 Conference (Berlin 2005

The (un)intended effects of street-level bureaucrats' enforcement style: Do citizens shame or obey bureaucrats?

This study studies the intended and unintended effects of street-level bureaucrats' enforcement style. More specifically, it answers to what extent street-level bureaucrats' enforcement style affects citizens' obedience (i.e. intended effect) during face-to-face encounters and willingness to publicly shame bureaucrats (i.e. unintended effect). Building on insights from street-level enforcement and the theory of social interactionist theory of coercive actions, a trade-off is theorized between the effect of enforcement style on citizens' on-the-spot obedience and on public shaming. Results of an experiment (n = 318) and replication (n = 311) in The Netherlands reveal that (1) neither the legal nor facilitation dimension has an effect on on-the-spot obedience; (2) the legal dimension does not affect public shaming but; (3) the facilitation decreases it. These findings are robust across both the experiment and replication