829 research outputs found

    India's response to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative: new partners and new formats

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    India has been exploring the response to China’s growing influence and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for long. The contours to find viable alternatives to this challenge are now becoming visible. India is slowly transitioning to increased - and previously unthinkable - cooperation with other states in South Asia. Within its extended neighbourhood, India has developed new formats of cooperation with Japan, the USA and Australia that are directly or indirectly positioned against China. For Germany and Europe, this shift in Indian foreign policy opens new avenues for cooperation. (author's abstract

    New connectivity in the Bay of Bengal: opportunities and perspectives of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

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    Owing to the increased commitment from India, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has experienced a revival since 2016. Firstly, India is hoping to be able to develop better the country’s hard-to-reach northeast by intensifying regional cooperation. Secondly, given the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments in neighbouring countries, it aims to reinforce its claim to leadership in the region. From an international perspective, BIMSTEC is an essential building block in India’s Act East policy in the context of the renewed importance of the Indo-Pacific region. With the support of BIMSTEC, Ger­many and the European Union (EU) can deepen their strategic partnership with India whilst simultaneously increasing their visibility in the Bay of Bengal. (author's abstract

    Synthesis and Inhibitory Activity of Machaeridiol-Based Novel Anti-MRSA and Anti-VRE Compounds and Their Profiling for Cancer-Related Signaling Pathways

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    Three unique 5,6-seco-hexahydrodibenzopyrans (seco-HHDBP) machaeridiols A–C, reported previously from Machaerium Pers., have displayed potent activities against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, and E. faecalis (VRE). In order to enrich the pipeline of natural product-derived antimicrobial compounds, a series of novel machaeridiol-based analogs (1–17) were prepared by coupling stemofuran, pinosylvin, and resveratrol legends with monoterpene units R-(−)-α-phellandrene, (−)-p-mentha-2,8-diene-1-ol, and geraniol, and their inhibitory activities were profiled against MRSA ATCC 1708, VRE ATCC 700221, and cancer signaling pathways. Compounds 5 and 11 showed strong in vitro activities with MIC values of 2.5 μg/mL and 1.25 μg/mL against MRSA, respectively, and 2.50 μg/mL against VRE, while geranyl analog 14 was found to be moderately active (MIC 5 μg/mL). The reduction of the double bonds of the monoterpene unit of compound 5 resulted in 17, which had the same antibacterial potency (MIC 1.25 μg/mL and 2.50 μg/mL) as its parent, 5. Furthermore, a combination study between seco-HHDBP 17 and HHDBP machaeriol C displayed a synergistic effect with a fractional inhibitory concentrations (FIC) value of 0.5 against MRSA, showing a four-fold decrease in the MIC values of both 17 and machaeriol C, while no such effect was observed between vancomycin and 17. Compounds 11 and 17 were further tested in vivo against nosocomial MRSA at a single intranasal dose of 30 mg/kg in a murine model, and both compounds were not efficacious under these conditions. Finally, compounds 1–17 were profiled against a panel of luciferase genes that assessed the activity of complex cancer-related signaling pathways (i.e., transcription factors) using T98G glioblastoma multiforme cells. Among the compounds tested, the geranyl-substituted analog 14 exhibited strong inhibition against several signaling pathways, notably Smad, Myc, and Notch, with IC50 values of 2.17 μM, 1.86 μM, and 2.15 μM, respectively. In contrast, the anti-MRSA actives 5 and 17 were found to be inactive (IC50 \u3e 20 μM) across the panel of these cancer-signaling pathways

    Neue Konnektivität im Golf von Bengalen: Chancen und Perspektiven der "Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation" (BIMSTEC)

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    Dank des Engagements Indiens hat die Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) seit 2016 einen neuen Aufschwung erfahren. Indien hofft zum einen, durch eine Intensivierung der regionalen Koope­ration den schwer zugänglichen Nordosten des eigenen Landes besser entwickeln zu können. Zum anderen will es in Anbetracht der Investitionen der chinesischen Belt and Road Initiative in den Nachbarstaaten seinen Führungsanspruch in der Region untermauern. Aus internationaler Perspektive ist BIMSTEC ein wichtiger Baustein der indischen "Act East"-Politik im Kontext der neuen Bedeutung des Indo-Pazifischen Raums. Mit der Unterstützung von BIMSTEC können Deutschland und die Europäi­sche Union (EU) ihre strategische Partnerschaft mit Indien vertiefen und zugleich ihre Sichtbarkeit im Golf von Bengalen erhöhen. (Autorenreferat

    Indiens Antwort auf die chinesische Seidenstraßeninitiative: neue Partner und neue Formate

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    Die Indische Union sucht seit langem nach einer Antwort auf den wachsenden Einfluss Chinas und seine Seidenstraßeninitiative. Allmählich lassen sich die Konturen einer solchen Antwort erkennen. So geht Indien in seinem unmittelbaren südasiatischen Umfeld verstärkt dazu über, mit anderen Staaten zusammenzuarbeiten, was bislang kaum denkbar war. Im Rahmen seiner erweiterten Nachbarschaft hat Indien etwa mit Japan, den USA und Australien neue Formate entwickelt, die direkt oder indirekt gegen China gerichtet sind. Der Wandel der indischen Außenpolitik eröffnet deutscher und europäischer Politik damit neue Anknüpfungspunkte für eine Zusammenarbeit. (Autorenreferat

    Schottiin, a New Prenylated Isoflavone from Psorothamnus schottii and Antibacterial Synergism Studies between Methicillin and Fremontone against MRSA

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    Presenter: Mallika Kumarihamyhttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters_2021/1001/thumbnail.jp

    Role of Organochlorine Pesticides in Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown Etiology

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    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) contributes to a significant burden on the healthcare system and economy worldwide. In the last two decades, a new form of CKD: chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in which the disease is not attributed to known causes has emerged as a major health issue in different geographical areas over the world mainly from farming community and has become a global concern today. Despite intense and numerous research works dedicated to CKDu, very little is known with certainty regarding its etiology and the pathophysiology behind its development. Recent evidences are emerging in favor of possible role of agrochemicals and pesticides in the pathogenesis of CKDu. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) due to their longer half-life and lipophilic nature persist long in the environment and are known to be biomagnified through food chain. Some study reports by the authors and a few others constitute the important body of evidences depicting the association between chronic exposures to OCPs and occurrence of CKDu through environmental contamination in farming as well as non-farming communities in different geographical areas around the globe
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