Power plus: Tony Allan’s contributions to understanding transboundary water arrangements

We trace the development of a theory and analytical frames within international political economy that originated from Tony Allan’s mainstreaming of power as a determining factor in the control of transboundary flows. These include the Framework of HydroHegemony, coexisting conflict and cooperation and Transboundary Water Interaction Analysis, counter-hegemony and virtual water rivers. These contributions are exemplified briefly through cases from around the globe and in particular the Nile. To ensure that this aspect of Tony’s legacy lives on, we propose a research agenda that includes the analysis of power interactions at substate levels between central governments and non-state actors

Power plus: Tony Allan’s contributions to understanding transboundary water arrangements

We trace the development of a theory and analytical frames within international political economy that originated from Tony Allan’s mainstreaming of power as a determining factor in the control of transboundary flows. These include the Framework of HydroHegemony, coexisting conflict and cooperation and Transboundary Water Interaction Analysis, counter-hegemony and virtual water rivers. These contributions are exemplified briefly through cases from around the globe and in particular the Nile. To ensure that this aspect of Tony’s legacy lives on, we propose a research agenda that includes the analysis of power interactions at substate levels between central governments and non-state actors

Robust photoactive nanoadsorbents with antibacterial activity for the removal of dyes

B.V. ZnO nanostructures (NS)/guar gum (GG) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized and tested as sorbents for photodegradation, adsorption and antimicrobial activity for dye removal. The addition of ZnO improves the thermal stability of GG based on the ratio of the oxygen in the OH form and the total oxygen in the samples as indicated via XPS and FTIR analyses. Among all tested composites, the ZnO NPs/GG nanocomposite showed the highest photocatalytic activity and hence used in extended adsorption and degradation studies against the anionic dye reactive red (RR195) and the cationic dye Rhodamine B (RhB). The adsorption mechanism and kinetics were studied in details. The ZnO NPs/GG nanocomposite showed quite high removal efficiency for both dyes reaching about 96 degradation percent of the initial dye concentration as well as a high adsorption capacity reaching 70 mg g−1. The adsorption of both dyes on ZnO NPs/GG was found to obey the Freundlich adsorption model with pseudo-second-order kinetics. The antibacterial assay showed an enhanced antibacterial effect of ZnO/GG against E-Coli/TOP10 (PTA 10989) strain compared to pristine ZnO or pure guar gum. The obtained results were proved to be of high significance based on the statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey\u27s analysis

Involvement of Quebracho tannins in diet alters productive and reproductive efficiency of postpartum buffalo cows

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of 10 weeks supplementation of Quebracho tannins (QT; 0 [control], 100 [QT100] or 200 g/[cow·d] [QT200]) to 30 multiparous postpartum buffalo cows (10 cows per group) on milk yield and composition, blood metabolites and reproductive performance. Supplementation of QT100 had no significant effect on milk yield, whereas QT200 decreased (P < 0.05) this trait. Compared with the control group, both QT levels decreased (P < 0.05) fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield, but no significant effects were found on percentages of milk fat and protein. Contrariwise, yields of milk fat, lactose and milk protein were decreased (P < 0.05) when QT200 was supplemented. The solids nonfat (SNF) percentage and yield were decreased (P < 0.05) with QT100 supplementation. Moreover, QT tended to numerically reduce total number of ovarian follicles, number of small follicles, peripheral progesterone concentration and conception rate. Supplementation of QT200 numerically increased number of large follicles, mean diameter of large follicle, number and diameters of corpora lutea. The inclusion of QT200 shortened days open (DO) and decreased number of services per conception. Contrariwise, QT did not show significant effects on serum total protein, albumin, globulin, glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations. Supplementation of QT100 caused an increase (P < 0.05) of serum urea compared with that in control and QT200 groups. Generally, QT decreased (P < 0.05) serum creatinine concentration. Therefore, the supplementation of a commercial QT to early lactating Egyptian buffalo cows displayed negative consequences on their productive and reproductive performances. Keywords: Buffalo, Tannins, Milk traits, Blood metabolites, Ovarian follicles, Conception rat

Effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α on Estrogen Metabolism and Endometrial Cells: Potential Physiological and Pathological Relevance

Context: Estrogen and its metabolites play a critical role in the pathophysiology of the endometrium. The bioavailability of estrogen and estrogen metabolites in endometrial tissues depends on the expression of enzymes involved in estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism. Substantial evidence indicates that estrogen-dependent endometrial disorders are also associated with proinflammatory milieu. However, the mechanism whereby inflammation contributes to these conditions is not known