Agreement between the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

Agreement between CAAS and CIMMYT signed in Beijing, China on September 25, 1997. Agreement establishes cooperation for the promotion and acceleration in research and training for the scientific improvement of wheat and maize for China and other countries set forth in nine articles

Provincial centres water supply - The Gambia

Provincial centres water supply - The Gambi

The intellectual frameworks and theoretical limits of Arab feminist thought

This is a critical assessment of the intellectual and theoretical underpinnings of Feminism in the Arab world across the different phases in its evolution. The paper notes what has been achieved in respect of some specific issues but takes the view that overall the movement has failed to transform the views, consciousness and situation of most Arab women. Attempts to incorporate and/ or redefine women’s aspirations and roles in Islamic terms are seen as having taken over from earlier feminist voices. Where these voices do remain they are confined to a narrow intellectual elite and have failed to galvanize or inform women across the socio-economic spectrum. The article concludes that the contemporary feminist movement is repeating the same errors as in the past by adopting intellectual perspectives that do not suit the intellectual, ideological and value foundations of Arab culture. There is a need, therefore, to revise the intellectual foundations of the movement and make a rapprochement between this current and the reality of Arab societiesContemporary Arab Affairs thanks IB Tauris for its permission to publish this paper ahead of its inclusion in a collective volume entitled Arab Feminisms: Gender and Equality in the Middle East edited by Jean Said Makdisi, Noha Bayoumi and Rafif Rida Sidawi (forthcoming)

Effects of Microparticle Size and Fc Density on Macrophage Phagocytosis

<div><p>Controlled induction of phagocytosis in macrophages offers the ability to therapeutically regulate the immune system as well as improve delivery of chemicals or biologicals for immune processing. Maximizing particle uptake by macrophages through Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis could lead to new delivery mechanisms in drug or vaccine development. Fc ligand density and particle size were examined independently and in combination in order to optimize and tune the phagocytosis of opsonized microparticles. We show the internalization efficiency of small polystyrene particles (0.5 µm to 2 µm) is significantly affected by changes in Fc ligand density, while particles greater than 2 µm show little correlation between internalization and Fc density. We found that while macrophages can efficiently phagocytose a large number of smaller particles, the total volume of phagocytosed particles is maximized through the non-specific uptake of larger microparticles. Therefore, larger microparticles may be more efficient at delivering a greater therapeutic payload to macrophages, but smaller opsonized microparticles can deliver bio-active substances to a greater percentage of the macrophage population. This study is the first to treat as independent variables the physical and biological properties of Fc density and microparticle size that initiate macrophage phagocytosis. Defining the physical and biological parameters that affect phagocytosis efficiency will lead to improved methods of microparticle delivery to macrophages.</p></div

Lista-presença-Automotiva-Simulação-MCI-AVL-BOOST

Lista-presença-Automotiva-Simulação-MCI-AVL-BOOS

Average total volume and surface area of internalized microparticles.

<p>Average calculated volume and surface area of microparticles internalized for the maximum Fc condition of 1∶1 for each particle size. (N = 4) The results for each particle size are significantly different from each other (p<0.01).</p

Effects of Fc density and particle size on the macrophage population.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Percentage of phagocytic cells at each Fc density condition for each particle size with a dashed line to illustrate trends. (N = 4) (<b>B</b>) Representative histograms of the FITC intensity for macrophages incubated with particles functionalized with the maximum Fc density of 1∶1 and the minimum Fc density of 1∶50. These histograms illustrate two groups: macrophages that have internalized at least one particle (phagocytic cells) and macrophages that did not internalize a particle (non-phagocytic cells).</p

Average number of microparticles internalized per cell for each particle size and Fc density condition.

<p>(A) Average number of microparticles per cell for each particle size for the various Fc density conditions. (†- Significantly different (SD) from 1∶1, ‡- SD from 1∶2, ♦- SD from BSA Only, with p<0.05). These values were also illustrated through fluorescent microscopy by comparing images taken of RAW264.7 macrophages incubated with Fc functionalized particles. (B) Representative images for each size with the maximum Fc density ratio of 1∶1. (C) Representative images for each size with the minimum Fc density ratio of 1∶50. Scale bar represents 20 µm. (N = 4).</p

Normalized mean fluorescence intensity of microparticles labeled with fluorescently conjugated secondary antibodies.

<p>Decreasing normalized MFI corresponds to decreased Fc density for fluorescent particles.</p