Rural livelihoods, empowerment and the environment: Going beyond the farm boundary

The 15th International Symposium of the Association for farming Systems Research-Extension (AFSR-E) was held at the University of Pretoria between 29 November and 4 December 1998 with the theme of "Rural livelihoods, empowerment and the environment: Going beyond the farm boundary". The conference was sponsored by twenty organisations involved in farming systems research (a list of sponsors is attached as Appendix 1) and was attended by 560 delegates from more than seventy countries (delegate list attached as Appendix 2). The Symposium addressed five sub-themes: ecological sustainable development and farming systems; short term farmer survival versus long term sustainability; empowerment through capacity building; the institutional environment and farming systems; and methodological issues and challenges

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in vegetable oils combining gel permeation chromatography with solid-phase extraction clean-up

International audienceA semi-automatic method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils using a combined Gel Permeation Chromatography-Solid Phase Extraction (GPC-SPE) clean-up is presented. The method takes advantage of automatic injections using a Gilson ASPEC XL sample handling system equipped with a GPC column (S-X3) and pre-packed silica SPE columns for the subsequent clean-up and finally gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) determination. The method is validated for the determination of PAH in vegetable oils and is able to meet the criteria for the official control of benzo[<i>a</i>]pyrene levels in foods laid down by the Commission of the European Communities. A survey of 69 vegetable oils sampled on the Danish market included olive oil as well as other vegetable oils like rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil and sesame oil. Levels of benzo[<i>a</i>]pyrene in all the oils were low (〈0.2-0.8 μg kg^-1), except for one sample of sunflower oil containing 11 μg kg^-1 benzo[<i>a</i>]pyrene

Cationic Liposomes Containing Mycobacterial Lipids: a New Powerful Th1 Adjuvant System

The immunostimulation provided by the mycobacterial cell wall has been exploited for many decades, e.g., in Freund's complete adjuvant. Recently, the underlying mechanism behind this adjuvant activity, including Toll receptor signaling, has begun to be unraveled, confirming the potential of mycobacterial constituents to act as adjuvants. In this study, the immunostimulatory properties of a Mycobacterium bovis BCG lipid extract were tested for their adjuvant activity. Administration of the lipids in dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium bromide-based cationic liposomes induced a powerful Th1 response characterized by markedly elevated antigen-specific immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) isotype antibodies and substantial production of gamma interferon. The adjuvant formulation (designated mycosomes) elicited high levels of gamma interferon both in C57BL/6 as well as in Th2-prone BALB/c mice. Furthermore, the mycosomes induced immune responses to protein antigens from several sources including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Chlamydia muridarum, and tetanus toxoid. In a tuberculosis challenge model, the mycosomes combined with the Ag85B-ESAT-6 fusion protein were demonstrated to have a unique ability to maintain sustained immunological memory at a level superior to live BCG

Rho-kinase signalling regulates CXC chemokine formation and leukocyte recruitment in colonic ischemia-reperfusion.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leukocyte recruitment is a key feature in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced tissue injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Rho-kinase inhibition on I/R-provoked leukocyte recruitment in the colon. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 30 min of ischemia by clamping of the superior mesenteric artery followed by 120 min of reperfusion. Intraperitoneal pretreatment with the selective Rho-kinase inhibitors fasudil (4-40 mg/kg) and Y-27632 (1-10 mg/kg) was administered prior to induction of colonic I/R. Leukocyte-endothelium interactions were analyzed by intravital fluorescence microscopy. Colonic content of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and the CXC chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (KC) were determined by ELISA. Additionally, colonic activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), a marker of leukocyte infiltration, and malondialdehyde (MDA), were quantified. RESULTS: Fasudil and Y-27632 pretreatment decreased I/R-induced leukocyte rolling and adhesion by 76% and 96%, respectively. Moreover, Rho-kinase interference reduced formation of TNF-alpha, MIP-2 and KC by more than 68% in the reperfused colon. Additionally, the reperfusion-provoked increase in the levels of MPO and MDA in the colon decreased after Rho-kinase inhibition by 69% and 42%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that inhibition of Rho-kinase activity decrease I/R-induced leukocyte rolling, adhesion and recruitment in the colon. Moreover, these findings show that Rho-kinase signalling regulates TNF-alpha and CXC chemokine formation as well as lipid peroxidation in the reperfused colon. Thus, targeting Rho-kinase signalling may be a useful strategy in order to protect against pathological inflammation in the colon

'Is depression a sin or a disease?': A critique of moralising and medicalising models of mental illness

Moralising accounts of depression include the idea that depression is a sin or the result of sin, and/or that it is the result of demonic possession which has occurred because of moral or spiritual failure. Increasingly some Christian communities, understandably concerned about the debilitating effects these views have on people with depression, have adopted secular folk psychiatry’s ‘medicalising’ campaign, emphasising that depression is an illness for which, like (so-called) physical illnesses, experients should not be held responsible. This paper argues that both moralising and medicalising models of depression are intellectually and practically (pastorally and therapeutically) problematic, gesturing towards more promising emphases