The Costs of Domestic Political Unrest

Does domestic political unrest deter foreign direct investment (FDI)? And what are the longer term impacts of unrest upon the market? Most theories suggest that investors are deterred by unrest. However, empirical research returns only marginal support. We argue that these mixed results stem from the conflation of the distinct tactics and outcomes of political unrest. Violent forms of unrest increase uncertainty and risk. By comparison, nonviolent forms of unrest are shown to more frequently achieve their goals and increase the prospects for democratic change and market stability. In addition, investors avoid markets where campaigns have ended in failure, defined as the campaign not achieving their stated political aims. Failed campaigns often precipitate a cycle of unrest that create greater uncertainty over the long-term stability of a state. We find strong evidence in favor of our propositions, even after taking political motivation and non-random selection into account. © 2013 International Studies Association

Exploring the association of paid sick leave with healthcare utilization and health outcomes in the United States: a rapid evidence review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

GiardiaDB and TrichDB : integrated genomic resources for the eukaryotic protist pathogens Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas vaginalis

© 2008 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. The definitive version was published in Nucleic Acids Research 37 (2009): D526-D530, doi:10.1093/nar/gkn631.GiardiaDB (http://GiardiaDB.org) and TrichDB (http://TrichDB.org) house the genome databases for Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas vaginalis, respectively, and represent the latest additions to the EuPathDB (http://EuPathDB.org) family of functional genomic databases. GiardiaDB and TrichDB employ the same framework as other EuPathDB sites (CryptoDB, PlasmoDB and ToxoDB), supporting fully integrated and searchable databases. Genomic-scale data available via these resources may be queried based on BLAST searches, annotation keywords and gene ID searches, GO terms, sequence motifs and other protein characteristics. Functional queries may also be formulated, based on transcript and protein expression data from a variety of platforms. Phylogenetic relationships may also be interrogated. The ability to combine the results from independent queries, and to store queries and query results for future use facilitates complex, genome-wide mining of functional genomic data.Federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (HHSN266200400037C). Funding for open access charge: National Institutes of Health (HHSN266200400037C)

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Intestinal Parasitic Infection among Children in an Urban Slum of Karachi

Background:Intestinal parasitic infections are endemic worldwide and have been described as constituting the greatest single worldwide cause of illness and disease. Poverty, illiteracy, poor hygiene, lack of access to potable water and hot and humid tropical climate are the factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections. The study aimed to estimate prevalence and identify factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections among 1 to 5 years old children residing in an urban slum of Karachi Pakistan. Methods And PrincipalFindings:A cross sectional survey was conducted from February to June 2006 in Ghosia Colony Gulshan Town Karachi, Pakistan. A simple random sample of 350 children aged 1-5 years was collected. The study used structured pre-tested questionnaire, anthropometric tools and stool tests to obtain epidemiological and disease data. Data were analyzed using appropriate descriptive, univariate and multivariable logistic regression methods. The mean age of participants was 2.8 years and 53% were male. The proportions of wasted, stunted and underweight children were 10.4%, 58.9% and 32.7% respectively. The prevalence of Intestinal parasitic infections was estimated to be 52.8% (95% CI: 46.1, 59.4). Giardia lamblia was the most common parasite followed by Ascaris lumbricoides, Blastocystis hominis and Hymenolepis nana. About 43% children were infected with single parasite and 10% with multiple parasites. Age {Adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.9}, living in rented households (aOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.0, 3.9) and history of excessive crying (aOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.0, 3.4) were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections.Conclusion:Intestinal parasites are highly prevalent in this setting and poverty was implicated as an important risk factor for infection. Effective poverty reduction programmes and promotion of deworming could reduce intestinal parasite carriage. There is a need for mass scale campaigns to create awareness about health and hygiene

Cell motility: the integrating role of the plasma membrane

The plasma membrane is of central importance in the motility process. It defines the boundary separating the intracellular and extracellular environments, and mediates the interactions between a motile cell and its environment. Furthermore, the membrane serves as a dynamic platform for localization of various components which actively participate in all aspects of the motility process, including force generation, adhesion, signaling, and regulation. Membrane transport between internal membranes and the plasma membrane, and in particular polarized membrane transport, facilitates continuous reorganization of the plasma membrane and is thought to be involved in maintaining polarity and recycling of essential components in some motile cell types. Beyond its biochemical composition, the mechanical characteristics of the plasma membrane and, in particular, membrane tension are of central importance in cell motility; membrane tension affects the rates of all the processes which involve membrane deformation including edge extension, endocytosis, and exocytosis. Most importantly, the mechanical characteristics of the membrane and its biochemical composition are tightly intertwined; membrane tension and local curvature are largely determined by the biochemical composition of the membrane and the biochemical reactions taking place; at the same time, curvature and tension affect the localization of components and reaction rates. This review focuses on this dynamic interplay and the feedbacks between the biochemical and biophysical characteristics of the membrane and their effects on cell movement. New insight on these will be crucial for understanding the motility process

Chromosomal disorders:estimating baseline birth prevalence and pregnancy outcomes worldwide

Chromosomal disorders, of which Down syndrome is the most common, can cause multi-domain disability. In addition, compared to the general population, there is a higher frequency of death before the age of five. In many settings, large gaps in data availability have hampered policy-making, programme priorities and resource allocation for these important conditions. We have developed methods, which overcome this lack of data and allow estimation of the burden of affected pregnancies and their outcomes in different settings worldwide. For example, the methods include a simple equation relating the percentage of mothers 35 and over to Down syndrome birth prevalence. The results obtained provide a starting point for consideration of services that can be implemented for the care and prevention of these disorders

Ethnic and socioeconomic variation in incidence of congenital heart defects

Introduction: Ethnic differences in the birth prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) have been reported; however, studies of the contemporary UK population are lacking. We investigated ethnic variations in incidence of serious CHDs requiring cardiac intervention before 1 year of age. Methods: All infants who had a cardiac intervention in England and Wales between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2010 were identified in the national congenital heart disease surgical audit and matched with paediatric intensive care admission records to create linked individual child records. Agreement in reporting of ethnic group by each audit was evaluated. For infants born 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2009, we calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for CHDs by ethnicity and investigated age at intervention, antenatal diagnosis and area deprivation. Results: We identified 5350 infants (2940 (55.0%) boys). Overall CHD incidence was significantly higher in Asian and Black ethnic groups compared with the White reference population (incidence rate ratios (IRR) (95% CIs): Asian 1.5 (1.4 to 1.7); Black 1.4 (1.3 to 1.6)); incidence of specific CHDs varied by ethnicity. No significant differences in age at intervention or antenatal diagnosis rates were identified but affected children from non-White ethnic groups were more likely to be living in deprived areas than White children. Conclusions: Significant ethnic variations exist in the incidence of CHDs, including for specific defects with high infant mortality. It is essential that healthcare provision mitigates ethnic disparity, including through timely identification of CHDs at screening, supporting parental choice and effective interventions. Future research should explore the factors underlying ethnic variation and impact on longer-term outcomes

Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: the role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor

This paper investigates variation in the design of labor provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) by focusing on the power of trade unions, the role of government partisanship, and the relative strength of skilled labor. We expect strong trade unions and left-leaning governments to be associated with more, and more far-reaching labor provisions in PTAs. We also expect the strength of skilled workers relative to the strength of unskilled workers to negatively correlate with the depth of labor provisions in PTAs. In addition, the effect of trade unions should be conditional on both the presence of left government and democracy. We test these hypotheses relying on an original dataset of labor provisions included in 483 PTAs signed between 1990 and 2016. This dataset covers 140 different labor provisions that relate to six overarching dimensions. The quantitative analysis finds support for the expectations concerning the influence of trade unions and the role of a country’s skill profile

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Stiffness and Adhesion to Collagen I Modified by Vasoactive Agonists

In vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) integrin-mediated adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins play important roles in sustaining vascular tone and resistance. The main goal of this study was to determine whether VSMCs adhesion to type I collagen (COL-I) was altered in parallel with the changes in the VSMCs contractile state induced by vasoconstrictors and vasodilators. VSMCs were isolated from rat cremaster skeletal muscle arterioles and maintained in primary culture without passage. Cell adhesion and cell E-modulus were assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) by repetitive nano-indentation of the AFM probe on the cell surface at 0.1 Hz sampling frequency and 3200 nm Z-piezo travelling distance (approach and retraction). AFM probes were tipped with a 5 μm diameter microbead functionalized with COL-I (1mg\ml). Results showed that the vasoconstrictor angiotensin II (ANG-II; 10−6 ) significantly increased (p<0.05) VSMC E-modulus and adhesion probability to COL-I by approximately 35% and 33%, respectively. In contrast, the vasodilator adenosine (ADO; 10−4 ) significantly decreased (p<0.05) VSMC E-modulus and adhesion probability by approximately −33% and −17%, respectively. Similarly, the NO donor (PANOate, 10−6 M), a potent vasodilator, also significantly decreased (p<0.05) the VSMC E-modulus and COL-I adhesion probability by −38% and −35%, respectively. These observations support the hypothesis that integrin-mediated VSMC adhesion to the ECM protein COL-I is dynamically regulated in parallel with VSMC contractile activation. These data suggest that the signal transduction pathways modulating VSMC contractile activation and relaxation, in addition to ECM adhesion, interact during regulation of contractile state

Actin polymerization stabilizes α4β1 integrin anchors that mediate monocyte adhesion

Leukocytes arrested on inflamed endothelium via integrins are subjected to force imparted by flowing blood. How leukocytes respond to this force and resist detachment is poorly understood. Live-cell imaging with Lifeact-transfected U937 cells revealed that force triggers actin polymerization at upstream α4β1 integrin adhesion sites and the adjacent cortical cytoskeleton. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that this culminates in the formation of structures that anchor monocyte adhesion. Inhibition of actin polymerization resulted in cell deformation, displacement, and detachment. Transfection of dominant-negative constructs and inhibition of function or expression revealed key signaling steps required for upstream actin polymerization and adhesion stabilization. These included activation of Rap1, phosphoinositide 3-kinase γ isoform, and Rac but not Cdc42. Thus, rapid signaling and structural adaptations enable leukocytes to stabilize adhesion and resist detachment forces