The local economic development processes in low-income countries: the case of the metropolis of Chegutu in Zimbabwe

Local authorities are widely regarded as catalysts accelerating localised processes of economic development in industrialised countries but in low-income countries they are perceived as dysfunctional, inefficient and ineffective in meeting and addressing societal demands. This abstract view is however, not grounded in empirical research. As such, utilising the case of the metropolis of Chegutu a survey was designed to empirically explicate the economic processes militating its economic development. The findings are useful to policy-makers, local government authorities and management scholars. The study's unique contribution lies in its examination of the processes of local economic development in a low-income country

Lung Volume, Breathing Pattern and Ventilation Inhomogeneity in Preterm and Term Infants

BACKGROUND: Morphological changes in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have functional consequences on lung volume, ventilation inhomogeneity and respiratory mechanics. Although some studies have shown lower lung volumes and increased ventilation inhomogeneity in BPD infants, conflicting results exist possibly due to differences in sedation and measurement techniques. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied 127 infants with BPD, 58 preterm infants without BPD and 239 healthy term-born infants, at a matched post-conceptional age of 44 weeks during quiet natural sleep according to ATS/ERS standards. Lung function parameters measured were functional residual capacity (FRC) and ventilation inhomogeneity by multiple breath washout as well as tidal breathing parameters. Preterm infants with BPD had only marginally lower FRC (21.4 mL/kg) than preterm infants without BPD (23.4 mL/kg) and term-born infants (22.6 mL/kg), though there was no trend with disease severity. They also showed higher respiratory rates and lower ratios of time to peak expiratory flow and expiratory time (t(PTEF)/t(E)) than healthy preterm and term controls. These changes were related to disease severity. No differences were found for ventilation inhomogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that preterm infants with BPD have a high capacity to maintain functional lung volume during natural sleep. The alterations in breathing pattern with disease severity may reflect presence of adaptive mechanisms to cope with the disease process

Menopause and colorectal cancer

Post-menopausal women who have never used hormone replacement therapy have a higher risk of colon, but not rectal, cancer than do premenopausal women of the same age, socio-cultural class and dietary habits. Such risk increase seems to last about 10 years and to be restricted to lean women, a group who have lower levels of oestradiol after ovarian function ceases after menopause. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Theory of Multidimensional Solitons

We review a number of topics germane to higher-dimensional solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates. For dark solitons, we discuss dark band and planar solitons; ring dark solitons and spherical shell solitons; solitary waves in restricted geometries; vortex rings and rarefaction pulses; and multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates. For bright solitons, we discuss instability, stability, and metastability; bright soliton engineering, including pulsed atom lasers; solitons in a thermal bath; soliton-soliton interactions; and bright ring solitons and quantum vortices. A thorough reference list is included.Comment: review paper, to appear as Chapter 5a in "Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Theory and Experiment," edited by P. G. Kevrekidis, D. J. Frantzeskakis, and R. Carretero-Gonzalez (Springer-Verlag

Vaginal noise: prevalence, bother and risk factors in a general female population aged 45–85 years

Item does not contain fulltextINTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Vaginal noise (VN) is a symptom of pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction and has been described in a few studies. No other risk factors have been described besides parity and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Underlying mechanisms of VN are unclear. Aims of this study were to describe prevalence, bother and relation between VN and PF (muscle)(dys)function. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed on a general population of 2,921 women (aged 45-85 years). Questionnaires were filled in by 1,397 women, and 800 were selected at random to undergo vaginal examination for POP Quantification and PF muscle function assessment. Chi-square tests, Student's t test and multivariate logistic regression were performed (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Response rate was 62.7%. Prevalence of VN was 12.8%; 72.1% reported only a little bother. Odds ratios for parity and solid stool were high. CONCLUSIONS: VN was strongly related to many symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, but it was only causing a little bother

MicroRNA-146a and AMD3100, two ways to control CXCR4 expression in acute myeloid leukemias

CXCR4 is a negative prognostic marker in acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs). Therefore, it is necessary to develop novel ways to inhibit CXCR4 expression in leukemia. AMD3100 is an inhibitor of CXCR4 currently used to mobilize cancer cells. CXCR4 is a target of microRNA (miR)-146a that may represent a new tool to inhibit CXCR4 expression. We then investigated CXCR4 regulation by miR-146a in primary AMLs and found an inverse correlation between miR-146a and CXCR4 protein expression levels in all AML subtypes. As the lowest miR-146a expression levels were observed in M5 AML, we analyzed the control of CXCR4 expression by miR-146a in normal and leukemic monocytic cells and showed that the regulatory miR-146a/CXCR4 pathway operates during monocytopoiesis, but is deregulated in AMLs. AMD3100 treatment and miR-146a overexpression were used to inhibit CXCR4 in leukemic cells. AMD3100 treatment induces the decrease of CXCR4 protein expression, associated with miR-146a increase, and increases sensitivity of leukemic blast cells to cytotoxic drugs, this effect being further enhanced by miR-146a overexpression. Altogether our data indicate that miR-146a and AMD3100, acting through different mechanism, downmodulate CXCR4 protein levels, impair leukemic cell proliferation and then may be used in combination with anti-leukemia drugs, for development of new therapeutic strategies

A Philosophically Plausible Formal Interpretation of Intuitionistic Logic

This study addresses the mediating role of settlement patterns in the relationship between urbanization and start-up activity. Places do not operate in a vacuum and to understand the effect of 'own' density on start-up patterns, we need to account for the urban spillovers or borrowed size that they may experience from other places nearby. The results can explain the empirical ambiguity in the relationship between urbanization and start-up patterns: the relationship between urbanization and start-up rates becomes more similar between countries when controlling for country-specific settlement patterns by including a spatially lagged urbanization variable and variables measuring the distance to urban centers. Accounting for the relative location of places and relevant sorting effects, we find that 'own' density has a consistently negative effect on start-up activity. Yet, access to other places has a generally positive effect. This implies that nearby regions profit from the advantages offered by urban environments without having to deal with the costs involved

Mindlessness Revisited: Sequential Request Techniques Foster Compliance by Draining Self-control Resources

The present research extends previous findings suggesting that sequential request techniques, such as the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) or Door-in-the-Face (DITF) technique, are primarily effective under conditions conducive of mindlessness. We forward that this mindlessness may be the product of the influence technique itself. More specifically, based on the notion of self-control as a limited resource, we hypothesize that actively responding to the initial request-phase of a FITD-compliance gaining procedure drains the target of his/her self-regulatory resources, thus creating the mindlessness so often observed in social influence settings. This resource depletion opens the door for compliance with the target request. The results were in line with these expectations. More specifically, we observed that active responding to an initial request of a FITD technique reduced the availability of self-regulatory resources. This state of resource depletion mediated the effect of the technique on behavioral compliance. In addition, the results of this study ruled out the alternate explanation that the effects were attributable to mood or a general tendency for acquiescence

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Spillway-Induced Salmon Head Injury Triggers the Generation of Brain αII-Spectrin Breakdown Product Biomarkers Similar to Mammalian Traumatic Brain Injury

Recent advances in biomedical research have resulted in the development of specific biomarkers for diagnostic testing of disease condition or physiological risk. Of specific interest are αII-spectrin breakdown products (SBDPs), which are produced by proteolytic events in traumatic brain injury and have been used as biomarkers to predict the severity of injury in humans and other mammalian brain injury models. This study describes and demonstrates the successful use of antibody-based mammalian SBDP biomarkers to detect head injury in migrating juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) that have been injured during passage through high-energy hydraulic environments present in spillways under different operational configurations. Mortality and injury assessment techniques currently measure only near-term direct mortality and easily observable acute injury. Injury-based biomarkers may serve as a quantitative indicator of subacute physical injury and recovery, and aid hydropower operators in evaluation of safest passage configuration and operation actions for migrating juvenile salmonids. We describe a novel application of SBDP biomarkers for head injury for migrating salmon. To our knowledge, this is the first documented cross-over use of a human molecular biomarker in a wildlife and operational risk management scenario