The Impact of Mobile Phone Coverage Expansion on Market Participation: Panel Data Evidence from Uganda

Summary An increased information flow due to mobile phone network expansions is expected to reduce marketing costs of agricultural commodities. We investigate this using panel data of 856 Ugandan households in 94 communities, where the number of communities covered by mobile phone networks increased from 41 to 87 between surveys in 2003 and 2005, respectively. After the expansion of coverage, we find increased sales of banana in remote communities but not of maize. The mobile phone coverage expansion seems to induce the market participation of farmers in remote areas who produce perishable crops.information technology marketing panel data Uganda Africa

Enhanced expression of cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide snakin-1 in Escherichia coli using an aggregation-prone protein coexpression system

Snakin-1 (SN-1) is a cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptide and the first purified member of the snakin family. SN-1 shows potent activity against a wide range of microorganisms, and thus has great biotechnological potential as an antimicrobial agent. Here, we produced recombinant SN-1 in Escherichia coli by a previously developed coexpression method using an aggregation-prone partner protein. Our goal was to increase the productivity of SN-1 via the enhanced formation of insoluble inclusion bodies in E. coli cells. The yield of SN-1 by the coexpression method was better than that by direct expression in E. coli cells. After refolding and purification, we obtained several milligrams of functionally active SN-1, the identity of which was verified by MALDI-TOF MS and NMR studies. The purified recombinant SN-1 showed effective antimicrobial activity against test organisms. Our studies indicate that the coexpression method using an aggregation-prone partner protein can serve as a suitable expression system for the efficient production of functionally active SN-1. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1520–1528, 201

Expression, purification and characterization of the recombinant cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide snakin-1 in Pichia pastoris

Snakin-1 (SN-1) is a small cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptide with broad spectrum antimicrobial activity which was isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum). Here, we carried out the expression of a recombinant SN-1 in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, along with its purification and characterization. A DNA fragment encoding the mature SN-1 was cloned into pPIC9 vector and introduced into P. pastoris. A large amount of pure recombinant SN-1 (approximately 40 mg/1L culture) was obtained from a fed-batch fermentation culture after purification with a cation exchange column followed by RP-HPLC. The identity of the recombinant SN-1 was verified by MALDI-TOF MS, CD and H-1 NMR experiments. All these data strongly indicated that the recombinant SN-1 peptide had a folding with six disulfide bonds that was identical to the native SN-1. Our findings showed that SN-1 exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against test microorganisms and produced very weak hemolysis of mammalian erythrocytes. The mechanism of its antimicrobial action against Escherichia coli was investigated by both outer membrane permeability assay and cytoplasmic membrane depolarization assay. These assays demonstrated that SN-1 is a membrane-active antimicrobial peptide which can disrupt both outer and cytoplasmic membrane integrity. This is the first report on the recombinant expression and purification of a fully active SN-1 in P. pastoris. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo