Essays on resources and institutions

This thesis consists of four essays covering two sets of issues linking resources to institutions. Chapter 1 provides a summary of the thesis. Chapter 2 provides a general overview of the resource curse literature, emphasising the role of institutions, the nature of the political regimes in resource-rich countries and the link with civil con�flicts. Chapter 3 examines the implications of liberal lending practices of international credit markets to dictators during resource booms. We show that the combination of institutional weaknesses such as unaccountable leadership and unsound lending may give autocrats perverse incentives to loot and destabilise their countries, which impedes economic growth. Chapter 4 investigates what motivates some dictators in resource-rich countries to invest in productivity enhancing public goods while others deliberately choose predatory or repressive policies. We fi�nd that the ruler is more likely invest in public goods when the productivity of the non-resource sector is high, and when he is relatively ineffective in controlling the country's resources. Chapter 5 presents an overview of the literature on intellectual property rights focusing on the problems raised by sequential innovations for the design of patents and the role of legal institutions in resolving disputes. Chapter 6 examines the nature of the North-South divide in the bioscience industries as a hold-up problem caused by the lack of coordination between North and South property rights systems. We develop a model of bargaining in a sequential R&D framework that demonstrates the mechanism by which underinvestment in maintaining biodiversity and ineffi�cient �flow of information occurs. Chapter 7 assumes that the coordination problem is resolved and investigates the number and placement of the property rights to provide incentives for efficient investment in information generation. We show that the existence of a property right in the genetic resources is necessary for the South to share in the rents from the R&D sector. When traditional knowledge is the South's private information, it is not necessary to establish a separate property right in it to appropriate its return

Aménagements hydro-agricoles et santé (vallée du fleuve Sénégal)

Les schistosomiases sont actuellement absentes du périmètre irrigué MO 6bis (moyenne vallée du fleuve Sénégal). Les hôtes intermédiaires (#Biomphalaria et #Bulinus) n'ont pas été, pour l'instant tout au moins, rencontrés dans la zone aménagée. Les analyses coprologiques effectuées sur bovins à proximité du périmètre, ont montré que 40% d'entre eux étaient atteints de strongyloses alors que les trématodoses sont absentes. (Résumé d'auteur

A Report on the 2012–13 Composition and Rhetoric Category of the MLA Job Information List

As part of rhetmap.org’s experiment mapping the Composition and Rhetoric (C/R) category of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Job Information List (JIL), we present the following summary of the 2012–13 job market season. Rhetmap.org scraped the MLA JIL C/R data once a week from September 2012 to July 2013. By the first week of July, 2013 there were approximately 282 listings posted. Of those listings, 205 were posted by December 31, 2012 or in the first four months of the 2012–13 job market. In the next four sections we have broken down the C/R into four categories: geography, type of institution (two-/four- year), rank of position advertised, and job titles. Download the PDF here or view the report below. We welcome your feedback and insights in the comments below or on twitter via the hashtag #rhetmap

Sonic hedgehog carried by microparticles prevents angiotensin II-induced hypertension and endothelial dysfunction in mice

Microparticles (MPs) are small fragments generated from the plasma membrane after cell stimulation. Among the candidate proteins harbored by MPs, we recently showed that morphogen Sonic hedgehog is present in MPs generated from activated/apoptotic human T lymphocytes and corrects endothelial injury through nitric oxide (NO) release (Agouni et al. FASEB J 2007). The present study further investigates whether MPs bearing Shh prevent angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension and endothelial dysfunction in mice. Male Swiss mice (6–8 week old) were subcutaneously implanted with osmotic minipumps delivering Ang II (0.5 mg/kg per day) or NaCl (0.9%, control group). Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were measured daily during 21 consecutive days using tail cuff plethysmography connected to a computerized system (LE 5002 # , BIOSEB). Mice were tained for 7 days. After 7 day of minipump implantation, mice received i.v. injections of MPs (10 μg/mL) or i.p. Sonic Hedgehog receptor antagonist cyclopamine (10 mg/kg per 2 days) during 1 week prior sacrifice. Thoracic aorta was removed, cleaned of connective tissue and cut in rings (3 mm length) and mounted in a myograph to study vascular reactivity. Ang II induced a significant rise in systolic blood pressure without affecting heart rate when compared to control mice. Interestingly, MPs alone did not modify both parameters but reversed Ang II-induced hypertension. Moreover, cyclopamine prevented the effects of MPs on Ang II-induced hypertension, suggesting the involvement of a Sonic Hedgehog-dependent mechanism. In the aorta, MPs alone slightly increased the sensitivity of endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine and completely reversed the impairment of acetylcholine-induced relaxation in aorta from Ang II-infused mice. The improvement of endothelial function induced by MPs was completely prevented by cyclopamine treatment. Moreover, measurement of NO production showed that MPs alone did not modify NO production in aorta, but significantly restored its decrease in Ang II-treated mice. Altogether, these results show that MPs bearing Sonic hedgehog prevent Ang II-induced hypertension and endothelial dysfunction in aorta through a mechanism associated with Sonic hedgehog-induced NO production. These MPs may represent a new therapeutic approach in cardiovascular diseases associated with decreased NO production

Valeur socio-économique de l’arbre en milieu malinké (Khossanto, Sénégal)

Objectif: Déterminer la valeur socio-économique des ligneux dans la vie des populations de la communauté rurale de Khossanto, dans la partie orientale du Sénégal et apprécier les savoirs et savoir-faire locaux vis-à-vis de l’arbre.Méthodologie et résultats: Des enquêtes ethnobotaniques ont été menés auprès des populations de la communauté rurale de Khossanto. Nous avons recensé les savoirs et savoir-faire des Malinkés vis-à-vis de l’arbre dans six catégories d’usages : alimentation, fourrage, construction, artisanat, énergie domestique et phytothérapie, avec des niveaux de consensus assez élevés (partout supérieur à 80%). Six espèces multi usages (impliquées dans presque toutes les catégories) s’avèrent être les plus utiles : Cordyla pinnata, Borassus aethiopum, Vitellaria paradoxa, Ziziphus mauritiana, Pterocarpus erinaceus et Adansonia digitata. Les fruits (31%), les feuilles (29%) et le bois (22%) sont les parties les plus utilisées.Conclusion et application des résultats: L’importance socio-économique de l’arbre en milieu malinké est clairement établie autour de six catégories d’usage : le fourrage, l’alimentation humaine, l’énergie domestique, la phytothérapie, la construction et l’artisanat. Cette importance des ligneux a pour corollaire un prélèvement assez intense de certaines parties, qui devient une menace pour ces espèces. Il apparaît important d’asseoir un modèle de gestion durable de ces parcours communautaires.Mots clés : Ligneux, usages, importance, Sénégal , Kédougou

Responses of potatoes plants inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and litter in greenhouse

A pot experiment was set to examine the impact of the foliar litter (Hardwickia binata and Azadirachta indica) and an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus on the development of two varieties of potato plants (Aida, Atlas). Three litter doses (0, 25 and 50 g) were applied to the pots after bedding plantlets. The plants were inoculated with AM, Glomus aggregatum. Mycorrhizal colonization, shoot dry weight, size and number of minitubers were evaluated after 12 weeks on the potato growth. Results show that shoot dry weight of plants was improved by litter of the H. binata at 25 and 50 g. Thus, A. indica litter increased size of plants Aida at 50 g and the minitubers numbers Atlas at 25 g. On the other hand, root colonization decreased with increase in the dose of litter with both varieties of potato.Key words: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, potato, litter, micropropagation

Saguache County, closed basin biological inventory. Volume I: Natural heritage assessment final report

Prepared for: The Nature Conservancy, San Luis Valley program, Saguache, Colorado.February 1998.Includes bibliographical references

Effect of Deep-Fat Frying on Chemical Properties of Edible Vegetable Oils Used By Senegalese Households

Deep-fat frying performed at high temperatures under atmospheric pressure is a common method of preparing dishes in Senegalese culinary practices. This operation can lead to deterioration of physical, chemical, nutritional and sensory properties of oil, which affects its frying performance. It also results in the production of volatile products such as aldehydes and non volatile fraction which remains in the frying medium. Some of these remaining products have been implicated in producing adverse health effects. Highly oxidized oils may also produce polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which have carcinogenic effect. This work was intended to evaluate the effect of frying on chemical properties of edible vegetable oils. Frying process was applied to meat, fish and potatoes in Senegalese culinary conditions. Ten (10) oil samples, each of three different brands, were purchased from wholesalers and retailers in different neighborhoods of Dakar. The samples were subjected to frying at 220°C for 40 min and then oils were withdrawn in amber bottles samples of which were taken for analysis. Acid value, peroxide value and total polar components were used to evaluate the quality of these oils after initial determination of the iodine value and the moisture and volatile matter content. Acid value increased after 40 min of frying and values ranged from 0.62 to 1.08 mg/kg after frying fish, while those for meat and potatoes ranged from 0.39 to 0.73 and 0.37 to 0.51 mg/kg, respectively. Peroxide value increased slightly for peanut oil (A) and sharply for peanut oil (B) and sunflower oil (C). Frying fish led to high values of total polar components whereas those obtained after frying meat and potatoes during 40 min did not exceed 15.27% except for peanut oil (A). Therefore, frying affects chemical parameter values of edible vegetable oils, which increase at a level depending on the product to be fried. A sharp Total Polar components increase was obtained after frying fish using the three types of oil with values exceeding, sometimes, the maximum level set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. This latter chemical parameter is considered a good indicator of overall quality of frying oil. Thus in Senegalese culinary practices where frying oil is often reused in families with low-income, such a situation may lead to significant sanitary risks. In view of these results, investigations need to be extended to other types of oil marketed in Senegal.Keywords: edible-oils, quality, frying, fish, mea

Whey proteins analysis in aqueous medium and in artificial gastric and intestinal fluids

Whey proteins isolates (WPI) were treated in aqueous medium at various pH values. Zeta potential, turbidity and particle size measurement were determined as a function of pH. FTIR analysis was performed in ATR mode (attenuated total reflectance). Digestibility was assessed by treating whey proteins with artificial gastric and intestinal fluids. Proteolytic enzymes such as pepsin from porcine stomach mucosa was added in the gastric fluid. Pancreatin and trypsin from porcine and bile salts were added in the intestinal fluid. SDS-PAGE revealed hydrolysis of á-lactalbumin and bovine serum albumin by pepsin while â-lactoglobulin was not hydrolyzed by gastric fluid. All the proteins of WPI were easily hydrolyzed in the intestinal fluid. The zeta potential of WPI went from positive values to negative values as the pH was increased. Turbidity values indicated the presence of particles in the solution which were confirmed by the measurement of particle size. FTIR analysis determined the fingerprint of WPI macromolecule