A gendered 1993-94 Social Accounting Matrix for Bangladesh

This working paper documents the construction of a 1993-94 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Bangladesh. The SAM distinguishes 10 agricultural sectors —including two different kinds of rice technology — and 19 manufacturing sectors, out of 43 sectors in total. It also differentiates between twelve socio-economic groups, allowing detailed analysis of household welfare and poverty. The SAM has ten factors of production: one type of capital, one type of land and eight different types of labor which are disaggregated by both level of education and gender. The innovative feature of the SAM is that it separates out female and male labor value-added for each educational level and in eachsector of the economy, providing a base for gender-sensitive analyses of policy changes. The SAM is estimated with a cross-entropy approach, which makes efficient use of all available data in a framework that incorporates prior information and constraints.Mathematical models. ,Households. ,Labor Gender issues. ,Rice Bangladesh. ,TMD ,

Caring for Wellbeing

‘Care’, and the associated idea of ‘social reproduction’,2 are concepts originally developed by feminist scholars and activists to describe a responsibility and a set of activities defined for the present paper as meeting the material and/or developmental, emotional and spiritual needs of one or more other persons with whom one is in a direct personal relationship.3 Until challenged by feminists, care was seen as something that women ‘naturally’ did and thus not identified as an issue requiring a policy response. This is often still the case today. For example, the framing of ‘food security’ excludes unpaid care, ignoring the fact that even when sufficient food is available and accessible, individuals can only eat if someone collects water and fuel and spends the time and skills to transform the raw ingredients into a palatable meal. Care is not just a private matter for individuals. It needs to be thought of at the macro/structural level about how the wellbeing of some may be at the cost of wellbeing or others, often the powerless and vulnerable. It requires examining deeply embedded societal assumptions to recognise that the division of responsibility in caring is informed by ideologies of what it means to be male and female (Edholm, Harris and Young. 1978).4 Many cross-country comparative studies (Budlender 2010) have shown how prevailing gender norms mean that women undertake the bulk of unpaid care work including minding and educating children, looking after older family members, caring for the sick, cooking and collecting water and fuel. Although there has been a shift towards a more equal distribution of responsibilities between the sexes in the past 40 years – particularly in Scandinavia – in most countries the provision of care continues to lie chiefly with women and girls. At the same time increasing numbers of women are taking up paid work. Because they have to juggle their responsibilities, women are frequently employed on a part-time or piecework basis where wages are lower, employment less secure and collective action or negotiation more difficult (Chen 2007). With many women thus employed, the young and the elderly have to take on more care responsibilities to the detriment of their own wellbeing. In some countries these changes have coincided with a decline of state provision and everywhere an increased involvement of the market in care. Women who can afford to do so hire poorer women, often underpaid and overworked (Razavi and Staab 2010) and in many parts of the world subject to racial discrimination. In this context of global change our paper considers the centrality of care for human wellbeing and the damage caused by its sustained neglect in policy and practice. Section 2 looks at care 2 within the prevailing development paradigm. Section 3 makes a case for care based on a relational approach to wellbeing. Section 4 proposes that philanthropic organisations play a leading role in making care visible and in facilitating the debate about the changes required for building more people-centred economies.The Rockerfeller Foundatio

Opportunities and challenges in agriculture and garments

"For the past two decades, Bangladesh has enjoyed steady growth in per capita incomes enabling a significant reduction in poverty. An increase in rice productivity, achieved through a combination of improved seeds, increased fertilizer use, and public and private investments in irrigation, played a major role in the increase in incomes. Among the other major factors were a large expansion in textile exports, made possible by changes in world demand, Bangladesh trade liberalization, and macro-economic stability; and increases in workers remittances. In order to accelerate or even maintain income growth rates and poverty reduction, future policies must be carefully designed to capture the benefits and minimize the risks of international trade and a constantly changing international environment. A proper assessment of the impact of such policies and economic developments on the poor requires a comprehensive framework to analyze interactions between different sectors as well as linkages between macro and micro levels. In this paper we construct a social accounting matrix for 1999/2000 and develop a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) with special treatment of the rice and wheat sectors. We then present simulations of the effects of (i) rice productivity shocks, (ii) a decline in the world rice price, and (iii) a reduction in RMG exports, reflecting an end to preferential access to RMG markets for Bangladesh goods.... Overall, these simulations illustrate the importance of trade policy and links between Bangladesh and the world economy. International trade offers the potential to prevent a decline in real prices of rice if productivity of paddy production increases and to benefit from increased export earnings. It has also permitted a large increase in RMG export earnings. However, changes in international markets could threaten welfare of some Bangladesh households, as well, as illustrated by the simulations of lower import prices of rice that could sharply reduce farmer incomes, and of a decline in textile export earnings that could sharply reduce female urban employment and urban household incomes....[T]hese simulations show that the Bangladesh economy and household incomes are clearly linked with the global economy, particularly through foodgrain trade and the RMG sector. Efforts to alleviate poverty and raise the incomes of the poor should not neglect these linkages, particularly in cases where these poverty alleviation interventions are large enough to have major effects on the real exchange rate and female labor earnings." Author's Abstract.Equilibrium (Economics) Models ,

PROVE DI COLTIVAZIONE BIOLOGICA DELLA PATATA IN AREALI MONTANI

Il mantenimento delle attività agricole nelle aree montane è indispensabile per tutelare la stabilità del paesaggio e dell’assetto idrogeologico, ed è possibile realizzarlo attraverso il rilancio della coltivazione della patata. Il sito di coltivazione montano e le varietà autoctone sono in grado di indurre un significativo miglioramento delle caratteristiche qualitative ed organolettiche del prodotto. Questo può essere ulteriormente valorizzato da elementi quali la tipicità e la coltivazione biologica

Tumour cell-derived small extracellular vesicles modulate macrophage immunosuppressive phenotype associated with PD-L1 expression

Introduction: Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a key role in promoting tumour progression, by exerting an immunosuppressive phenotype associated with M2 polarization and with the expression of CD204 and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). It is well known that tumour-derived extracellular vesicles (TEVs) play a pivotal role in the tumour microenvironment, influencing TAM behaviour. The study was aimed to examine the effect of TEVs derived from colon cancer and multiple myeloma cells on macrophage functions. Methods: Non-polarized macrophages (M0) differentiated from THP-1 cells were co-cultured, for 3 up to 48 hours, with TEVs derived from a colon cancer cell line, SW480, and multiple myeloma cell line, MM1.S. The expression of M2 and TAM markers (respectively CD163 and CD204) as well as of PD-L1 and Interleukin 6 (IL6) were evaluated at mRNA and protein level. The apoptotic rate of CD3+ T cells cocultured with TEV-treated M0 macrophages was analysed by FACS. Results: Our results indicate that TEVs can significantly upregulate the expression of surface markers of M2-like phenotype (CD163) and TAM (CD204) as well as of PD-L1, inducing macrophages to acquire an immunosuppressive phenotype. In parallel, we found that TEVs were also able to induce a significant increase of IL6 expression at both mRNA and protein levels and to activate the STAT3 signalling pathway. Since PD-1/PD-L1 axis is involved in the inhibition of T cells, we assessed the ability of macrophages treated with TEVs to affect T cell viability. We found that CD3+ T cells co-cultured with TEVs-treated M0 showed an increase of their apoptotic rate in comparison to CD3 + T cells grown in the presence of untreated macrophages. Summary/Conclusion: Cumulatively, these preliminary data suggest that TEVs contribute to the immunosuppressive status of TAMs, promoting tumour growth and progression. Funding: Grant from the Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro to Riccardo Alessandro (grant n° 18783)

Hypovitaminosis D is independently associated with metabolic syndrome in obese patients

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) and hypovitaminosis D represent two of the most diffuse condition worldwide, reaching pandemic proportions in industrialized countries, and are both strongly associated with obesity. This study set out to evaluate the presence of an independent association between hypovitaminosis D and MS in an adult population of obese subjects with/without MS. Methods: We recruited 107 consecutive obese subjects, 61 with MS (age(mean +/- SD) 45.3 +/- 13.3 years, BMI(mean +/- SD): 43.1 +/- 8.3 kg/m(2)) and 46 without MS (age: 41.8 +/- 11.5, p = n.s., BMI: 41.6 +/- 6.5 kg/m(2), p = n.s.) comparable for sex, BMI, waist circumference and body fat mass, evaluated by bioimpedentiometry. 25(OH) vitamin D-3 levels were measured by colorimetric method. Insulin resistance was estimated by fasting blood insulin, HOMA-IR and ISI. Results: Serum 25(OH) D3 levels were significantly lower in MS obese patients than in obese subjects without MS (median(range) 13.5(3.3-32) vs 17.4(5.1-37.4), p<0.007). Low 25(OH)D-3 levels correlated with glycaemia (p<0.007), phosphate (p<0.03), PTH (p<0.003) and the MS (p<0.001). Multivariate model confirmed that low 25(OH)D-3 levels were associated with the diagnosis of MS in obese patients independently from gender, age, serum PTH and body fat mass. After stratifying the study population according to 25(OH)D-3 concentrations, patients in the lowest quartile showed a markedly increased prevalence of MS compared to those in the highest quartile (OR = 4.1, CI 1.2-13.7, p = 0.02). Conclusions: A powerful association exists between hypovitaminosis D and MS in obese patients independently from body fat mass and its clinical correlates. This indicates that the association between low 25(OH)D-3 levels and MS is not merely induced by vitamin D deposition in fat tissue and reinforces the hypothesis that hypovitaminosis D represent a crucial independent determinant of MS.Background:Metabolic syndrome (MS) and hypovitaminosis D represent two of the most diffuse condition worldwide, reaching pandemic proportions in industrialized countries, and are both strongly associated with obesity. This study set out to evaluate the presence of an independent association between hypovitaminosis D and MS in an adult population of obese subjects with/without MS.Methods:We recruited 107 consecutive obese subjects, 61 with MS (age(mean±SD) 45.3±13.3 years, BMI(mean±SD): 43.1±8.3 kg/m2) and 46 without MS (age: 41.8±11.5, p = n.s., BMI:41.6±6.5 kg/m2, p = n.s.) comparable for sex, BMI, waist circumference and body fat mass, evaluated by bioimpedentiometry. 25(OH) vitamin D3 levels were measured by colorimetric method. Insulin resistance was estimated by fasting blood insulin, HOMA-IR and ISI.Results:Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were significantly lower in MS obese patients than in obese subjects without MS (median(range) 13.5(3.3-32) vs 17.4(5.1-37.4), p<0.007). Low 25(OH)D3 levels correlated with glycaemia (p<0.007), phosphate (p<0.03), PTH (p<0.003) and the MS (p<0.001). Multivariate model confirmed that low 25(OH)D3 levels were associated with the diagnosis of MS in obese patients independently from gender, age, serum PTH and body fat mass. After stratifying the study population according to 25(OH)D3 concentrations, patients in the lowest quartile showed a markedly increased prevalence of MS compared to those in the highest quartile (OR = 4.1, CI 1.2-13.7, p = 0.02).Conclusions:A powerful association exists between hypovitaminosis D and MS in obese patients independently from body fat mass and its clinical correlates. This indicates that the association between low 25(OH) D3 levels and MS is not merely induced by vitamin D deposition in fat tissue and reinforces the hypothesis that hypovitaminosis D represent a crucial independent determinant of MS. © 2013 Barchetta et al

Citral-Enriched Fraction of Lemon Essential Oil Mitigates LPS-Induced Hepatocyte Injuries

Simple Summary To date, essential oil fractions are emerging as functional compounds of interest for the food and perfume industries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of citral-enriched fractions obtained from lemon essential oil (Cfr-LEO) to counteract, in healthy human hepatocytes, the activity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a trigger of inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In our paper, we report that the pretreatment of hepatocytes with Cfr-LEO counteracts the effects induced by LPS. The data obtained lay the basis for the development of commercial products such as food and drink aimed at preventing or alleviating chronic conditions associated with liver dysfunction.Abstract Lemon essential oil (LEO) is known for its aromatic and healthy properties; however, less consideration is given to the biological properties of the fractions obtained from LEO. This study aims to evaluate the ability of a citral-enriched fraction obtained from LEO (Cfr-LEO) to counteract lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in healthy human hepatocytes. Human immortalized hepatocytes (THLE-2 cell line) were pretreated with Cfr-LEO and subsequently exposed to LPS at various time points. We report that the pretreatment with Cfr-LEO counteracts LPS-mediated effects by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in THLE-2. In particular, we found that pretreatment with Cfr-LEO reduced NF-kappa B activation and the subsequent proinflammatory cytokines release, ROS production, and NRF2 and p53 expression. Furthermore, the pretreatment with Cfr-LEO showed its beneficial effect in counteracting LPS-induced EMT. Taken together, these results support Cfr-LEO application in the nutraceutical research field not only for its organoleptic properties, conferred by citral enrichment, but also for its biological activity. Our study could lay the basis for the development of foods/drinks enriched with Cfr-LEO, aimed at preventing or alleviating chronic conditions associated with liver dysfunction