The role of chiefs in peacebuilding in Port Vila

In contrast to the democratic system of government established at independence, the chiefly system in Vanuatu has claimed and now possesses widespread support for its work at the community level. Chiefs are regarded as the key to community harmony and, although Vanuatu is currently experiencing a period of relative stability, underlying social tensions contribute to the high level of importance placed on strong community leadership. Chiefs in Vanuatu have demonstrated their willingness and ability to adapt to changing environments - since colonisation, chiefship has evolved and new chiefly structures have been developed. In the capital of Port Vila especially, chiefs have shown themselves to be resilient to the forces of urbanisation and globalisation. However as the holders of custom, they face a number of unique challenges for which their own systems of governance may not provide ready solutions. Through a discussion on the response of chiefs to the riots that occurred in Port Vila in 1998 and 2007, this paper explores some of the issues currently facing chiefs in Vanuatu’s capita city, Port Vila. Extending the notion that chiefs are responsible for community harmony and well-being, the paper discusses the role of chiefs within the broader framework of development.AusAI

Novel non-aqueous amine solvents for reversible CO2 capture

Abstract This study describes the chemical capture of CO2 by AMP and some AMP–alkanolamine blends, namely IPMEA, TBMEA and MDEA, in non-aqueous solvents. The solvents used are a mixture of ethylene glycol and 1-propanol or single diethylene glycol monomethyl ether. A gas mixture containing 15% of CO2 in air was used for the experiments. We designed two different experimental procedures: 1) batch experiments of CO2 absorption and desorption aimed at investigating the absorption and desorption properties of the different absorbents; 2) continuous cycles of CO2 absorption (20 °C) and desorption (90-95 °C) in packed columns in order to investigate the CO2 absorption efficiency. The CO2 removal efficiency at equilibrium was in the range 87-95% depending on the operational conditions. The identification and the quantification of the species in solution were obtained from 13C NMR spectroscopic analysis

Processi di desolforazione mediante l'utilizzo di adsorbenti e catalizzatori solidi

The sulfur content in fuels is an environmental concern because upon combustion sulfur is converted to SOx, which not only contributes to acid rain, with have a negative effect on human health and in the environment, but also poisons catalytic converters for the treatment of exhaust emissions, which are very expensive due to are based on noble metals Adsorption of organo-sulfur compounds present in liquid fuels on metal–organic framework (MOF) compounds is an efficient alternative to the conventional hydrodesulfurization process. Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are hybrid organic/inorganic crystalline porous materials with unique characteristics with respect to other porous materials (i.e. carbons, silica and zeolites), such as the possibility of tuning the structure during the synthesis, very large surface areas, porosity and a fully accessible internal volume. The void space within these stable network structures can be available to fix guest molecules, being the number of possible MOF/guest combinations practically infinite. A huge variety of applications as “materials for energy” are currently being explored for different types of MOFs. Among these, some MOFs have shown attractive properties as adsorbent materials for organosulfur compounds present in liquid fuels. In this work, it is presented some results on the 4,6-DMDBT adsorption capacity exhibited by the Copper (II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate MOF (Cu-BTC) obtained through a ball-milling synthesis. Two different methods, called Neat Grinding (NG) and Liquid Assisted Grinding (LAG), were used to prepare NG-MOF and LAG-MOF-compounds, respectively. The chemical–physical features of both samples were analysed by X-ray powder diffraction, thermal analyses and N2 adsorption at 77K. Preliminary results on 4,6-DMDBT liquid-phase adsorption at ambient temperature have shown a higher adsorption capacity, for our ball-milled MOFs in comparison to other previously tested adsorbents. In particular, the LAG-MOF exhibits an adsorbing capacity of the S-compound about two times higher with respect to the analog commercial Basolite-C300 by BASF. It is also presented a study on Ni-Mo and Co-Mo sulphides supported on siliceous materials for the catalytic HDS reaction using thiophene as a model compound is presented here. Pure SBA-15 and silicas, as well as Al-modified SBA-15 and MAS-5, were used as supports, due to the well known structural and textural stability of such mesoporous materials under the HDS reaction conditions. Transition metal oxides were added by wetness impregnation method and alternative impregnation by two solvents techinques, using ammonium molybdate, cobalt nitrate, and nickel nitrate as precursors

What is the absolute risk of developing diabetes mellitus in patients with glucocorticoid-treated polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis? a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are treated with glucocorticoids (GCs) but long-term GC use is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). The absolute incidence of this serious complication in this patient group remains unclear. Objectives: To quantify the absolute risk of GC-induced DM in PMR and GCA in published literature. Methods: We identified literature from inception to February 2016 reporting diabetes following exposure to oral GC in patients with PMR and/or GCA without preexisting diabetes. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to summarise the literature. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Results: 21 eligible publications were identified. In studies of patients with GCA, mean cumulative GC dose was almost two times higher than in studies of PMR (8.9g vs 5.0g), with slightly longer treatment duration but much longer duration of follow-up (8.8years vs 4.4years). The incidence proportion (cumulative incidence) of patients who developed new-onset DM was 6% (95% CI: 3–9%) for PMR and 12% (95% CI: 8–17%) for GCA. Heterogeneity between studies was high (I2=78.2%), as there were differences in study designs, patient population, geographical locations and treatment strategies. Based on UK data on incidence rate of DM in the general population1, the expected background incidence rate of DM over 4.4 years in PMR patients and 8.8 years in GCA patients (the duration of follow-up) would be 4.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Very little information on predictors of DM in PMR or GCA patients was found. The overall risk of bias was high for many of the observational studies, especially relating to definition and recording of outcome and prognostic variables. Conclusions: Physicians should screen patients treated for PMR/GCA for DM but it remains unclear what is the time-period of greatest risk and the influence of risk factors. Our meta-analysis produced plausible estimates of DM incidence in patients with PMR and GCA but there is insufficient published data to allow precise quantification of the DM risk or, crucially, which patients are at greatest ris

Effectiveness of antenatal corticosteroids at term:Can we trust the data that 'inform' us?

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a cornerstone for the assessment of the effectiveness of interventions. Appropriate randomization, design, sample size, statistical analyses, and conduct that reduces the risk of bias, enhance the chance they will deliver true research findings. The credibility of RCTs is difficult to assess without objective evidence of compliance with Good Clinical Practice standards. Remarkably, no mechanisms are in place both in the initial peer review process and during meta-analysis to assess these, and little guidance on how to assess data where research integrity cannot be confirmed (e.g. where data originated from a setting without established infrastructure or an era preceding current standards). We describe the case of the use of antenatal steroids. When these drugs are used in early preterm birth, their benefits outweigh the harms. However, later in pregnancy, and specifically at term, this balance is less clear. We describe that the four randomised clinical trials that inform clinical practice through the Cochrane meta-analysis, for various reasons, lack clear governance which makes it difficult to verify provenance and reliability of the data. We conclude that transparency and assessment of data credibility need to be inbuilt both at the time of publication and at the time of meta-analysis. This will drive up standards and encourage appropriate interpretation of results and the context from which they were derived.Ben W.Mol, Wentao Li, Shimona Lai, Sarah Stoc

Weyl-Kondo Semimetal: Towards Control of Weyl Nodes

Heavy fermion semimetals represent a promising setting to explore topological metals driven by strong correlations. In this paper, we i) summarize the theoretical results in a Weyl-Kondo semimetal phase for a strongly correlated model with inversion-symmetry-breaking and time-reversal invariance, and the concurrent work that has experimentally discovered this phase in the non-magnetic non-centrosymmetric heavy fermion system Ce$_3$Bi$_4$Pd$_3$; and ii) describe what is expected theoretically when the time-reversal symmetry is also broken.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; published version, and with updated reference

Transcriptional landscape of epithelial and immune cell populations revealed through FACS-seq of healthy human skin.

Human skin consists of multiple cell types, including epithelial, immune, and stromal cells. Transcriptomic analyses have previously been performed from bulk skin samples or from epithelial and immune cells expanded in cell culture. However, transcriptomic analysis of bulk skin tends to drown out expression signals from relatively rare cells while cell culture methods may significantly alter cellular phenotypes and gene expression profiles. To identify distinct transcriptomic profiles of multiple cell populations without substantially altering cell phenotypes, we employed a fluorescence activated cell sorting method to isolate keratinocytes, dendritic cells, CD4+ T effector cells, and CD8+ T effector cells from healthy skin samples, followed by RNA-seq of each cell population. Principal components analysis revealed distinct clustering of cell types across samples, while differential expression and coexpression network analyses revealed transcriptional profiles of individual cell populations distinct from bulk skin, most strikingly in the least abundant CD8+ T effector population. Our work provides a high resolution view of cutaneous cellular gene expression and suggests that transcriptomic profiling of bulk skin may inadequately capture the contribution of less abundant cell types

Rationale of internationalization of China's national oil companies: seeking natural resources, strategic assets or sectoral specialization?

The bulk of the existing literature emphasized that China's companies sought strategic assets (technology, brands and access to markets) through internationalization in order to overcome latecomers' comparative disadvantage, while some studies suggested that these firms went after natural resources to address China's rising oil imports. The third argument (which we coin the ‘sectoral strength’ hypothesis) suggested that the upstream firms in extractive business would seek natural resources, whereas downstream ones would seek strategic assets. In this study, we examine the rationale of main overseas investment deals (‘going out’) of China's two largest national oil companies during 2002–2010 which were also China's top two non-financial firms with the largest outward investment stocks during 2004–2010. We conclude that these deals can be best explained by the ‘sectoral specialisation’ hypothesis supplemented with a consideration for strategic assets

Attenuation of typical sex differences in 800 adults with autism vs. 3,900 controls.

Sex differences have been reported in autistic traits and systemizing (male advantage), and empathizing (female advantage) among typically developing individuals. In individuals with autism, these cognitive-behavioural profiles correspond to predictions from the "extreme male brain" (EMB) theory of autism (extreme scores on autistic traits and systemizing, below average on empathizing). Sex differences within autism, however, have been under-investigated. Here we show in 811 adults (454 females) with autism and 3,906 age-matched typical control adults (2,562 females) who completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R), and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), that typical females on average scored higher on the EQ, typical males scored higher on the SQ-R and AQ, and both males and females with autism showed a shift toward the extreme of the "male profile" on these measures and in the distribution of "brain types" (the discrepancy between standardized EQ and SQ-R scores). Further, normative sex differences are attenuated but not abolished in adults with autism. The findings provide strong support for the EMB theory of autism, and highlight differences between males and females with autism.This study received funding from the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Autism Research Trust. Meng-Chuan Lai was supported by the William Binks Autism Neuroscience Fellowship, the European Autism Interventions - A Multicentre Study for Developing New Medications (EU-AIMS), and Wolfson College, Cambridge.This is the final published version. It's also available from PLOS at http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0102251

Amyloid-like aggregates of neuronal tau induced by formaldehyde promote apoptosis of neuronal cells

BACKGROUND: The microtubule associated protein tau is the principle component of neurofibrillar tangles, which are a characteristic marker in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease; similar lesions are also observed after chronic alcohol abuse. Formaldehyde is a common environmental contaminant and also a metabolite of methanol. Although many studies have been done on methanol and formaldehyde intoxication, none of these address the contribution of protein misfolding to the pathological mechanism, in particular the effect of formaldehyde on protein conformation and polymerization. RESULTS: We found that unlike the typical globular protein BSA, the natively-unfolded structure of human neuronal tau was induced to misfold and aggregate in the presence of ~0.01% formaldehyde, leading to formation of amyloid-like deposits that appeared as densely staining granules by electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, and bound the amyloid-specific dyes thioflavin T and Congo Red. The amyloid-like aggregates of tau were found to induce apoptosis in the neurotypic cell line SH-SY5Y and in rat hippocampal cells, as observed by Hoechst 33258 staining, assay of caspase-3 activity, and flow cytometry using Annexin V and Propidium Iodide staining. Further experiments showed that Congo Red specifically attenuated the caspase-3 activity induced by amyloid-like deposits of tau. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that low concentrations of formaldehyde can induce human tau protein to form neurotoxic aggregates, which could play a role in the induction of tauopathies