The Democratic Republic of Congo – elections 2016. Road to democracy?

It is a crucial time in African politics, as many nations in the continent will be holding elections over the next twelve months. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is also scheduled to hold a presidential election in 2016. However, the question that has left the nation in a political turmoil is whether the current President, Joseph Kabila will pave the way for a smooth democratic transition or, if he refuses to step down, will the country deteriorate into further chaos and instability? This paper looks at the current political situation in the DRC and assesses the challenges that lie on its road to democracy. In the following sections, it also analyses the role of the various actors in the current crisis including the opposition, civil society and the international community. The last section of the paper considers and lays out some possible scenarios, as the country gets ready to hold its presidential elections in November 2016.Afrykańska polityka znajduje się obecnie w punkcie zwrotnym, stojąc u progu wyborów, jakie w ciągu następnych dwunastu miesięcy zostaną przeprowadzone w wielu krajach tego kontynentu. Również w Demokratycznej Republice Konga (DRK) zaplanowano wybory prezydenckie w 2016 roku. Kraj popadł jednak w polityczny zamęt wobec pytania czy obecny prezydent, Joseph Kabila utoruje drogę pokojowej zmianie demokratycznej, czy też kraj stoczy się w pogłębiający się chaos i destabilizację, jeśli odmówi ustąpienia z urzędu. Artykuł przedstawia aktualną sytuację polityczną w DRK i ocenia wyzwania, wobec jakich kraj stoi na drodze do demokracji. Jego dalsza część poświęcona jest analizie ról, jakie w obecnym kryzysie odgrywają rozmaici aktorzy, tacy jak opozycja, społeczeństwo obywatelskie i społeczność międzynarodowa. Ostatnia część artykułu omawia możliwe scenariuszewydarzeń w czasie przygotowań kraju do wyborów prezydenckich w listopadzie 2016 roku

Detection and Phylogenetic Affiliation of Wolbachia Endosymbiont from Drosophila Melanogaster (India)

The cellular endosymbiont Wolbachia causes reproductive alterations in arthropod and nematode species. The presence of Wolbachia in natural populations of arthropods is made possible by their ability to manipulate the physiology of their host. This study evaluated the presence of Wolbachia in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster (India). Using PCR based technology, WSP was amplified from D. melanogaster which yielded a 635bp gene. Here we report a different strain of Wolbachia which is placed in phylogenetic position along with the WMel Popcorn strain and Amergiers strain of India with Wolbachia A super group. Thus by comparing our results, the probable phenotype of the new strain of Wolbachia is identified. The information will be valuable in evolutionary studies of the endosymbiont Wolbachia and strain classification. Abbreviations: WSP: Wolbachia Surface Protein PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysi

Redemptive benefit of atorvastatin in the risk factors of coronary artery disease

Cardiovascular disease, in particular coronary artery disease (CAD), is the principal cause of mortality in developed countries. The classical acute phase protein, C-reactive protein (CRP) is an exquisitely sensitive systemic marker of disease with broad clinical utility for monitoring and differential diagnosis. In recent years, acute phase reactants have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events in individuals with and without established CAD. Atorvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, substantially reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and recently their anti-inflammatory properties have been investigated. The present study was therefore designed to determine the effects of atorvastatin on CRP in patients with CAD. Ninety two patients with or without or at the risk of CAD were recruited for the study, of which 35 belongs to control (untreated) and 57 were test group, in which, 30 of them received daily with 20 mg/day of atorvastatin and the remaining 27 were untreated. The patients were followed for over a period of 6 weeks. For entire study population, CRP along with lipid profile, SGOT, SGPT, urea and creatinine were measured 1st day and at the end of 6th week of the treatment. For patients with or at risk of CAD, the reduced rate of progression of atherosclerosis associated with intensive atorvastatin treatment, as compared with control is significantly related to greater reduction in the levels of both atherogenic lipoproteins and CRP. This may be important with respect to the early benefits of atorvastatin therapy

Wolbachia Association and its Phylogenetic Affiliation of Brugia Malayi Parasites from India

Wolbachia have established a mutualistic association with filarial nematodes and has a phenomenal implication in its normal development, reproduction and survival. Elimination of Wolbachia by tetracycline class of antibiotic compounds have been suggested and successfully implemented for the treatment of lymphatic filarial parasites. Thereby, is necessary to assess the prevalence of the Wolbachia in B. malayi before such new strategies are employed, across the world. In the present communication, the presence of Wolbachia and phylogenetic affiliation in B. malayi collected from Sevagram, Maharashtra, India, has been addressed

Role of glucose in enhancing life and potency of Cirrhinus mrigala spermatozoa during cryopreservation

Cryopreservation of fish gametes is an emerging technology and breeding with cryopreserved gametes is advancement in fish seed production. Success of cryopreservation is evaluated by the post - thaw motility of the spermatozoa, an for which energy is required. Cryopreservation is known to cause changes in the seminal plasma that would alter the energy supply for the motility of the spermatozoa. Therefore, energy supplementation is found to be useful during cryopreservation. Cirrhinus mrigala spermatozoa were cryopreserved along with glucose as a co-cryoprotectant after 1:100 dilutions with 0.85% physiological saline as extender and Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) as cryoprotectant (85:15). The diluents contained glucose at four different concentrations, viz., T1 (0.25%), T2 (0.5%), T3 (0.75%) and T4 (1%). The diluted milt was equilibrated for 10 min at 5? C and loaded into 0.25 ml straws. The loaded straws were then frozen with LN2 vapour for 5 min and immersed in liquid nitrogen. Observations were made once in 7 days for 42 days on motility parameters based on which the duration, score, pattern and percentage were determined. The spermatozoa cryopreserved with glucose at 0.5% concentration showed the highest motility duration of 204±3.6 s whereas Control group showed motility duration of only 83.33± 4.5 s on 42nd day. The difference in motility duration was statistically significant (P>0.025).The present study revealed the benefits of adding glucose a t0.5% during cryopreservation as it could help in maintaining the motility duration and survival of spermatozoa

Stromule extension along microtubules coordinated with actin-mediated anchoring guides perinuclear chloroplast movement during innate immunity.

Dynamic tubular extensions from chloroplasts called stromules have recently been shown to connect with nuclei and function during innate immunity. We demonstrate that stromules extend along microtubules (MTs) and MT organization directly affects stromule dynamics since stabilization of MTs chemically or genetically increases stromule numbers and length. Although actin filaments (AFs) are not required for stromule extension, they provide anchor points for stromules. Interestingly, there is a strong correlation between the direction of stromules from chloroplasts and the direction of chloroplast movement. Stromule-directed chloroplast movement was observed in steady-state conditions without immune induction, suggesting it is a general function of stromules in epidermal cells. Our results show that MTs and AFs may facilitate perinuclear clustering of chloroplasts during an innate immune response. We propose a model in which stromules extend along MTs and connect to AF anchor points surrounding nuclei, facilitating stromule-directed movement of chloroplasts to nuclei during innate immunity

Evaluation of periphyton quantity on different natural substrates in Earthen lined pond

Experiments were conducted in outdoor earthen lined pond to study periphyton quantity on three types of natural substrates such as split bamboo pole, coconut coir and coconut shell, which was placed inside the earthen lined pond filled with seawater for duration of 45 days. Observations were made in every 15th day for growth of periphyton both qualitatively and quantitatively on the three natural substrates and physico-chemical properties of selected pond water such as transparency, water temperature, salinity, pH, Dissolved oxygen, Ammonia (NH3-N), Nitrite (NO2-N), Nitrate (NO3-N), BOD and Chlorophyll ‘a’ were recorded during periphyton samplings. The periphy-ton quantity (34562 ± 671 cells / cm2) observed for coconut coir was higher than the split bamboo pole (33104 ± 810 cells / cm2), and coconut shell (21194 ± 872 cells / cm2) in the final day of the experiment. One way ANOVA of the data collected clearly affirmed that significant differences were observed (P < 0.05) in periphyton quantity among the three substrates tested. A total 16 phyto-periphytic microalgae (Bacillariophyceae – 10 types, Dinophyceae – 4 types and Cyanophyceae – 2 types) and 10 Zoo-periphyton (Copepod- 4 types, Meroplankton – 4 types and Tintin-nidae – 2 types) were recorded from these three substrates. Among the different phyto-periphytic microalgae, Bacil-lariophyceae group were found to be more (Split bamboo pole – 72%, Coconut coir – 73% and Coconut shell – 71%) on three substrates studied. Further, coconut coir was found to be best substrate than split bamboo pole and coconut shell, which can be utilized by fin and shellfishes as natural food