124 research outputs found
World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and Subregional Development Banks in Latin America: Dynamics of a System of Multilateral Development Banks
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are an innovative institutional model to channel financing and knowledge to developing countries. In Latin America, the balance of forces between competition and collaboration among MDBs and other sources of development finance have formed a system that is decentralized and client-oriented. We analyze three types of relationships between MDBs to show areas of strength in their operations and future potential. For this, we use a great amount of quantitative data from the annual reports and financial databases of MDBs that the FORO Nacional Internacional research program has been tracking periodically. The three types of dynamics between these institutions are (i) division of labor between MDBs and comparative advantages; (ii) finding a balance between financial strength, internal costs, and development effectiveness; and (iii) deciding on the distribution of net income to create capacities to provide services to member countries
Measuring Technology Achievement of Nations and the Capacity to Participate in the Network Age
human development, democracy
Mettre la science et la technologie Ă contribution
Version anglaise disponible dans la BibliothÚque numérique du CRDI: Science and technology serving developmen
Tissue-Specific Transcriptomes Reveal Gene Expression Trajectories in Two Maturing Skin Epithelial Layers in Zebrafish Embryos.
Epithelial cells are the building blocks of many organs, including skin. The vertebrate skin initially consists of two epithelial layers, the outer periderm and inner basal cell layers, which have distinct properties, functions, and fates. The embryonic periderm ultimately disappears during development, whereas basal cells proliferate to form the mature, stratified epidermis. Although much is known about mechanisms of homeostasis in mature skin, relatively little is known about the two cell types in pre-stratification skin. To define the similarities and distinctions between periderm and basal skin epithelial cells, we purified them from zebrafish at early development stages and deeply profiled their gene expression. These analyses identified groups of genes whose tissue enrichment changed at each stage, defining gene flow dynamics of maturing vertebrate epithelia. At each of 52 and 72 hr post-fertilization (hpf), more than 60% of genes enriched in skin cells were similarly expressed in both layers, indicating that they were common epithelial genes, but many others were enriched in one layer or the other. Both expected and novel genes were enriched in periderm and basal cell layers. Genes encoding extracellular matrix, junctional, cytoskeletal, and signaling proteins were prominent among those distinguishing the two epithelial cell types. In situ hybridization and BAC transgenes confirmed our expression data and provided new tools to study zebrafish skin. Collectively, these data provide a resource for studying common and distinguishing features of maturing epithelia
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A conserved morphogenetic mechanism for epidermal ensheathment of nociceptive sensory neurites.
Interactions between epithelial cells and neurons influence a range of sensory modalities including taste, touch, and smell. Vertebrate and invertebrate epidermal cells ensheath peripheral arbors of somatosensory neurons, including nociceptors, yet the developmental origins and functional roles of this ensheathment are largely unknown. Here, we describe an evolutionarily conserved morphogenetic mechanism for epidermal ensheathment of somatosensory neurites. We found that somatosensory neurons in Drosophila and zebrafish induce formation of epidermal sheaths, which wrap neurites of different types of neurons to different extents. Neurites induce formation of plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate microdomains at nascent sheaths, followed by a filamentous actin network, and recruitment of junctional proteins that likely form autotypic junctions to seal sheaths. Finally, blocking epidermal sheath formation destabilized dendrite branches and reduced nociceptive sensitivity in Drosophila. Epidermal somatosensory neurite ensheathment is thus a deeply conserved cellular process that contributes to the morphogenesis and function of nociceptive sensory neurons
Is international agricultural research a global public good? : The case of rice biofortification
The status of international agricultural research as a global public good (GPG) has been widely accepted since the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. While the term was not used at the time of its creation, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system that evolved at that time has been described as a 'prime example of the promise, performance and perils of an international approach to providing GPGs'. Contemporary literature on international agricultural research as a GPG tends to support this view and focuses on how to operationalize the concept. This paper adopts a different starting point and questions this conceptualization of the CGIAR and its outputs. It questions the appropriateness of such a 'neutral' concept to a system born of the imperatives of Cold War geopolitics, and shaped by a history of attempts to secure its relevance in a changing world. This paper draws on a multi-sited, ethnographic study of a research effort highlighted by the CGIAR as an exemplar of GPG-oriented research. Behind the ubiquitous language of GPGs, 'partnership' and 'consensus', however, new forms of exclusion and restriction are emerging within everyday practice, reproducing North-South inequalities and undermining the ability of these programmes to respond to the needs of projected beneficiaries
Hydrogen Peroxide Promotes Injury-Induced Peripheral Sensory Axon Regeneration in the Zebrafish Skin
Production of H2O2 by injured zebrafish skin cells promotes the regeneration of nearby somatosensory axon terminals, thus coordinating wound healing of the skin with sensory reinnervation
Integrative assessment of in situ combined bioremediation strategies applied to remediate soils spilled with sewage sludges
Landfills and waste disposal sites in the Basque Country are summarized in the inventory of soils that either currently support or have supported potentially polluting activities or facilities (Law 4/2015). Notably, âLandfill 17,â located in Gernika-Lumo, has been receiving, for decades, sewage sludges from the local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as agricultural amendment. In order to decontaminate and recover soil functionality, a combination of bioremediation (which involved bioagumentation and phyto- and vermitechnologies) and complementary bioremediation strategy (i.e., promotion and maintenance of the native vegetation) was implemented in situ. Physicochemical and ecotoxicological characterization were achieved. Furthermore, an ecotoxicological assessment of the soils upon flora and fauna was carried out through the application of different bioassays and biomarkers. Additionally, an integrative biomarker response (IBR/n) index was calculated to provide a holistic view of the soil general status. Critical pollutants [Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, benzo(a)pyrene, and dieldrin] were observed in most of the treated sites. Microbial parameters did not present remarkable differences among sites. However, plant indicators pointed the non-treated site (MN8) as the unhealthiest. This was also observed in earthwormsâ immune system, where cytotoxicity appears when exposed to non-treated soils. In conclusion, this field study showed that the combination of bioaugmentation, phytoremediation with native species, and vermiremediation is highly useful in eliminating mixed contamination, improving soil health, and ultimately restoring ecosystem functionality and biodiversity
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