Hindostani women in suriname: From coolies to matriarchs

Between 1873 and 1916, more than 34,000 indentured Indian labourers arrived in Suriname of which one-third were women. Despite the shortage of Indian women, the Indian population-labelled as ‘Hindostanis’ in Suriname-increased rapidly. Because the absolute numbers of ‘Hindostanis’ were relatively small, intermarriage not only between the various castes but also between Hindus and Muslims was normal. Moreover, older men married younger women, and almost all widows and so-called destitute women who emigrated to Suriname had (new) relationships and bore children; some even having multiple partners. The shortage of ‘Hindostani’ women resulted in a better bargaining position vis-a-vis the ‘Hindostani’ men, but many were threefold overloaded. Theyworked on the land or had jobs to earnmoney; they took care of their spouse and children and also did the housework. After their labour contract ended, the adult women who settled in Suriname obtained a free from rent, allotment of 1.5-2.0 ha of cultivable land for six years. Furthermore, many acquired so-called wild (not cultivated) land for free when they agreed to cultivate it. Almost all ‘Hindostani’ families became, in due time, small farmers. ‘Hindostani’ women had agency, and many became matriarchs. But interestingly, they promoted the ‘izzat’ (honourability) of their (grand) daughters and were stringent on their behaviour in public

MicroRNA genes preferentially expressed in dendritic cells contain sites for conserved transcription factor binding motifs in their promoters

Contains fulltext : 98097.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a fundamental role in the regulation of gene expression by translational repression or target mRNA degradation. Regulatory elements in miRNA promoters are less well studied, but may reveal a link between their expression and a specific cell type. RESULTS: To explore this link in myeloid cells, miRNA expression profiles were generated from monocytes and dendritic cells (DCs). Differences in miRNA expression among monocytes, DCs and their stimulated progeny were observed. Furthermore, putative promoter regions of miRNAs that are significantly up-regulated in DCs were screened for Transcription Factor Binding Sites (TFBSs) based on TFBS motif matching score, the degree to which those TFBSs are over-represented in the promoters of the up-regulated miRNAs, and the extent of conservation of the TFBSs in mammals. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of evolutionarily conserved TFBSs in DC promoters revealed preferential clustering of sites within 500 bp upstream of the precursor miRNAs and that many mRNAs of cognate TFs of the conserved TFBSs were indeed expressed in the DCs. Taken together, our data provide evidence that selected miRNAs expressed in DCs have evolutionarily conserved TFBSs relevant to DC biology in their promoters

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao consist of five islands that make up the Leeward Islands of the Dutch Antilles off of the northern coast of South America, often referred to as the ABCs. Because of location, the islands share similar characteristics of climate, geology, geomorphology, and history, though each bears a variation of these characteristics. These largely limestone islands are part of the southern Caribbean dry zone. Historically, they were important centers of livestock grazing, aloe vera production, and salt export. All three islands in the twentieth century have been impacted by the growth of oil export in Venezuela. Curaçao, once the tourism leaders among the Dutch Caribbean Islands, is trying to catch up with Aruba in stopover tourists, while Bonaire has smaller but strong “active” tourism for its size. While their climate in the past was considered less than desirable for large-area agricultural pursuits, presently their dry, warm weather largely outside the hurricane belt is an attractive asset to the millions of tourists who visit them annually