390 research outputs found

    Eight new species of marine dolichopodid flies of <i>Thinophilus</i> Wahlberg, 1844 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from peninsular Thailand

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    Eight new species of marine dolichopodid flies from southern Thailand belonging to the genus Thinophilus Wahlberg, 1844 are described and illustrated: Thinophilus boonrotpongi sp. nov., T. langkawensis sp. nov., T. minutus sp. nov., T. parmatoides sp. nov., T. parvulus sp. nov., T. spinatus sp. nov., T. spinatoides sp. nov. and T. variabilis sp. nov. A key is provided to the species of the Thai-Malay Peninsula

    Ferulic acid-4-O-sulfate rather than ferulic acid relaxes arteries and lowers blood pressure in mice

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    Consumption of foods rich in ferulic acid (FA) such as wholegrain cereals, or FA precursors such as chlorogenic acids in coffee, is inversely correlated with risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. As a result of digestion and phase II metabolism in the gut and liver, FA is converted predominantly into ferulic acid-4-O-sulfate (FA-sul), an abundant plasma metabolite. Although FA-sul may be the main metabolite, very little has been reported regarding its bioactivities. We have therefore compared the ex vivo vasorelaxing effect of FA and FA-sul (10−7 - 3.10−5 M) on isolated mouse arteries mounted in tissue myographs. FA-sul, but not FA, elicited a concentration-dependent vasorelaxation of saphenous and femoral arteries and aortae. The FA-sul mediated vasorelaxation was blunted by 1H- [1, 2, 4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) inhibitor. The role of sGC was confirmed in femoral arteries isolated from sGCα1(−/−) knockout mice. Furthermore, 4-aminopyridine, a specific inhibitor of voltage-dependent potassium channels, significantly decreased FA-sul mediated effects. In anesthetized mice, intravenous injection of FA-sul decreased mean arterial pressure, whereas FA had no effect, confirming the results obtained ex vivo. FA-sul is probably one of the major metabolites accounting for the blood pressure-lowering effects associated with FA consumption

    Power and the durability of poverty: a critical exploration of the links between culture, marginality and chronic poverty

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    Poor Children in Rich Households and Vice Versa: A Blurred Picture or Hidden Realities?

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    An expanding evidence base suggests that children experiencing monetary and multidimensional poverty are not the same. This article breaks new ground by providing a unique mixed methods investigation of drivers of child poverty mismatch in Ethiopia and Vietnam, considering the role of measurement error and individualistic and structural factors. The analysis capitalises on large-scale secondary quantitative panel data and combines this with purposively collected primary qualitative data in both countries. It finds that factors at the household and structural level can mediate the effects of monetary poverty in terms of multidimensional poverty and vice versa, but that the size and sign of these effects are specific to place and time. The policy mix aiming to reduce all forms of child poverty need to be targeted on the basis of a multidimensional assessment of poverty and reflect the complex and contextspecific interactions between determinants of child poverty
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