Opening a Developing Economy in the 21st Century: A Look at the Rural Salvadoran Perspective

In recent decades there has been a trend for countries to begin establishing bilateral trade relations with one another, namely, free trade agreements. The result has been open economies that are economically tied to one another. In El Salvador, two policies are highlighted that tie it strongly to the United States: Dollarization and the Dominican Republic Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). This paper analyzes the policy process, utilizing a mix of the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and Neoinsitutionalism; macroeconomic trends that have followed; and the perception of a sample population regarding their quality of life in the past five years. What was discovered was that the government of El Salvador, at the time when the policies were being negotiated, acted in a process that had much to do with a Neoinstitutional approach, while, simultaneously, following along the lines of the MSF. The policies have allowed for El Salvador to have a highly open economy, which has exposed it to being influenced more by the global economy. This exposure has seen increases in food and medicine prices that have affected the rural Salvadoran population. Concentrating on a small, rural sample population, the analysis highlights major worry among participants regarding a deteriorating quality of life

Preliminary Evaluation of Administration Site of TwoManufacturer’s Reproductive Hormones on Induction of Ovulation in Postpartum Dairy Cows

Synchronization of ovulation is a common reproductive management practice in the US dairy cattle industry. The objective of this study was to compare two different sites of hormone administration (intralabial versus intramuscular) and two different manufacturers (Parnell versus Zoetis) of the reproductive hormones gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and prostaglandin F2α (PGF) on the efficacy of ovulation induction. Holstein cows (n=388) were enrolled in a pre-synch/ovsynch protocol during this 14-month study. Ultrasonographic observation of ovaries was made eight days after timed artificial insemination (TAI). Overall, treatment had no effect on the proportion of cows (90.0%) that ovulated in response to treatment. The incidence of double ovulations was 20.6% but was not affected by treatment. Similarly, treatment had no effect on the incidence of ovarian cysts (8.8%). Results revealed that failure to ovulate in response to exogenous hormone treatment caused a 10% reduction in potential pregnancy rate. There was no difference in efficacy of ovulation induction due to manufacturer of products, indicating that producers have a choice of products they can use. Intralabial administration of reproductive hormones was equally effective as intramuscular injection for the induction of ovulation, and intralabial injection should be considered a viable administration site because it can eliminate injection site abscesses in carcasses at the time of meat harvest

Center, periphery: practice

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parametric Forcing of Waves with Non-Monotonic Dispersion Relation: Domain Structures in Ferrofluids?

Surface waves on ferrofluids exposed to a dc-magnetic field exhibit a non-monotonic dispersion relation. The effect of a parametric driving on such waves is studied within suitable coupled Ginzburg-Landau equations. Due to the non-monotonicity the neutral curve for the excitation of standing waves can have up to three minima. The stability of the waves with respect to long-wave perturbations is determined $via$ a phase-diffusion equation. It shows that the band of stable wave numbers can split up into two or three sub-bands. The resulting competition between the wave numbers corresponding to the respective sub-bands leads quite naturally to patterns consisting of multiple domains of standing waves which differ in their wave number. The coarsening dynamics of such domain structures is addressed.Comment: 23 pages, 6 postscript figures, composed using RevTeX. Submitted to PR

Ligand-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Docking of Benzimidazoles as Potential Inhibitors of Triosephosphate Isomerase Identified New Trypanocidal Agents

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is a parasite that affects humans and other mammals. T. cruzi depends on glycolysis as a source of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) supply, and triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) plays a key role in this metabolic pathway. This enzyme is an attractive target for the design of new trypanocidal drugs. In this study, a ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) from the ZINC15 database using benzimidazole as a scaffold was accomplished. Later, a molecular docking on the interface of T. cruzi TIM (TcTIM) was performed and the compounds were grouped by interaction profiles. Subsequently, a selection of compounds was made based on cost and availability for in vitro evaluation against blood trypomastigotes. Finally, the compounds were analyzed by molecular dynamics simulation, and physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were determined using SwissADME software. A total of 1604 molecules were obtained as potential TcTIM inhibitors. BP2 and BP5 showed trypanocidal activity with half-maximal lytic concentration (LC50) values of 155.86 and 226.30 µM, respectively. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analyzes showed a favorable docking score of BP5 compound on TcTIM. Additionally, BP5 showed a low docking score (−5.9 Kcal/mol) on human TIM compared to the control ligand (−7.2 Kcal/mol). Both compounds BP2 and BP5 showed good physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties as new anti-T. cruzi agents. View Full-Tex

Identification of novel antiacetylated vimentin antibodies in patients with early inflammatory arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate serum antibody reactivity against a panel of post-translationally modified vimentin peptides (PTMPs) in patients with early inflammatory arthritis. METHODS: A panel of PTMPs was developed. Microtitre plates were coated with peptides derived from vimentin that were identical in length and composition except at one amino acid that was changed to introduce one of three post-translational modifications (PTMs)—either a citrullinated, carbamylated or acetylated residue. Sera of 268 treatment-naive patients with early inflammatory arthritis and symptoms ≤3 months' duration were tested. Patients were assigned to one of three outcome categories at 18-month follow-up (rheumatoid arthritis (RA), persistent non-RA arthritis and resolving arthritis). RESULTS: Antibodies against citrullinated, carbamylated and acetylated vimentin peptides were detected in the sera of patients with early inflammatory arthritis. The proportion of patients seropositive for all antibody types was significantly higher in the RA group than in the other groups. Anti cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP)-positive patients with RA had higher numbers of peptides recognised and higher levels of antibodies against those peptides, representing a distinct profile compared with the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: We show for the first time that antibodies against acetylated vimentin are present in the sera of patients with early RA and confirm and extend previous observations regarding anticitrullinated and anticarbamylated antibodies

Diabetes Status is Associated With Plantar Soft Tissue Stiffness Measured Using Ultrasound Reverberant Shear Wave Elastography Approach

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the mechanical properties of plantar soft tissue and diabetes status. Method: 51 (M/F-21/30) participants with pre-diabetes onset (Fasting Blood Sugar Level-FBS>100 mg/dL), age>18 years, and no lower limb amputation were recruited after ethical approval was granted from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru ethical review board. Ultrasound reverberant shear wave elastography was used to assess the soft tissue stiffness at the 1st MTH, 3rd MTH and the heel at both feet. Results: Spearman’s rank-order correlation (rho) test indicated a significant (P < .05) positive correlations between FBS level and the plantar soft tissue shear wave speed at the 1st MTH: rho = 0.402 (@400 Hz), rho = 0.373 (@450 Hz), rho = 0.474 (@500 Hz), rho= 0.395 (@550 Hz), and rho = 0.326 (@600 Hz) in the left foot and rho = 0.364 (@450 Hz) in the right foot. Mann-Whitney U test indicated a significantly (P < .05) higher shear wave speed in the plantar soft tissue with the following effect sizes (r) at the 1st MTH of the left foot at all tested frequencies: r = 0.297 (@450 Hz), r = 0.345 (@500 Hz), r = 0.322 (@550 Hz), and r = 0.275 (@600 Hz), and at the 1st MTH of right foot r = 0.286 (@400 Hz) in diabetes as compared with the age and body mass index matched prediabetes group. Conclusion: An association between fasting blood sugar level and the stiffness of the plantar soft tissue with higher values of shear wave speed in diabetes vs prediabetes group was observed. This indicated that the proposed approach can improve the assessment of the severity of diabetic foot complications with potential implications in patient stratification

Diabetes Status is Associated With Plantar Soft Tissue Stiffness Measured Using Ultrasound Reverberant Shear Wave Elastography Approach

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the mechanical properties of plantar soft tissue and diabetes status. Method: 51 (M/F-21/30) participants with pre-diabetes onset (Fasting Blood Sugar Level-FBS>100 mg/dL), age>18 years, and no lower limb amputation were recruited after ethical approval was granted from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru ethical review board. Ultrasound reverberant shear wave elastography was used to assess the soft tissue stiffness at the 1st MTH, 3rd MTH and the heel at both feet. Results: Spearman’s rank-order correlation (rho) test indicated a significant (P < .05) positive correlations between FBS level and the plantar soft tissue shear wave speed at the 1st MTH: rho = 0.402 (@400 Hz), rho = 0.373 (@450 Hz), rho = 0.474 (@500 Hz), rho= 0.395 (@550 Hz), and rho = 0.326 (@600 Hz) in the left foot and rho = 0.364 (@450 Hz) in the right foot. Mann-Whitney U test indicated a significantly (P < .05) higher shear wave speed in the plantar soft tissue with the following effect sizes (r) at the 1st MTH of the left foot at all tested frequencies: r = 0.297 (@450 Hz), r = 0.345 (@500 Hz), r = 0.322 (@550 Hz), and r = 0.275 (@600 Hz), and at the 1st MTH of right foot r = 0.286 (@400 Hz) in diabetes as compared with the age and body mass index matched prediabetes group. Conclusion: An association between fasting blood sugar level and the stiffness of the plantar soft tissue with higher values of shear wave speed in diabetes vs prediabetes group was observed. This indicated that the proposed approach can improve the assessment of the severity of diabetic foot complications with potential implications in patient stratification

An Agent-Based Model to study the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of Influenza viruses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Influenza A viruses exhibit complex epidemiological patterns in a number of mammalian and avian hosts. Understanding transmission of these viruses necessitates taking into account their evolution, which represents a challenge for developing mathematical models. This is because the phrasing of multi-strain systems in terms of traditional compartmental ODE models either requires simplifying assumptions to be made that overlook important evolutionary processes, or leads to complex dynamical systems that are too cumbersome to analyse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we develop an Individual-Based Model (IBM) in order to address simultaneously the ecology, epidemiology and evolution of strain-polymorphic pathogens, using Influenza A viruses as an illustrative example.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We carry out careful validation of our IBM against comparable mathematical models to demonstrate the robustness of our algorithm and the sound basis for this novel framework. We discuss how this new approach can give critical insights in the study of influenza evolution.</p