The tiger and the dragon: a neoclassical realist perspective of India and China in the oil industry in West Africa

Can and does neoclassical realism explain the difference in how India and China mobilise oil (a key resource) externally to meet their respective goals and objectives. The thesis illustrates how political economy (political economy as employed in the thesis examines the structure of the economic system, not the foreign policy executive) is incorporated as the intervening variable into neoclassical realism to explain the acquisition of oil blocks by Indian and Chinese oil corporations in West Africa. Consequently, the thesis transcends the existing or prevalent theories of neoclassical realism which either elucidate structural outcomes like polarity or balancing, or deviations from neorealism like under balancing or over balancing. The thesis postulates that the independent or the exogenous variable i.e. the difference in the relative power of India and China elucidates the ability of Chinese oil companies to outbid their Indian competitors and/or be preferred as partners by international oil companies (IOCs) and/or have better quality oil blocks as well as China’s widespread outreach in 11 countries in West Africa compared to India’s presence in two counties namely Nigeria and Gabon. The intervening variable or the difference in the political economy of India and China explicates why China is represented by state owned enterprises (SOEs) in the oil industry in West Africa where as India is represented by SOEs and/or private enterprises. For case study analysis, the thesis uses a pattern-matching logic in 11 countries in West Africa and employs Angola, Nigeria and Gabon for in depth case studies. The thesis examines not only the bids that Chinese and Indian oil corporations place for the oil blocks but tries to explicate the reason why they are able to place those bids. It examines the rate of return on capital/investment, rate of interest on loans and the ease of availability of loans or finance, the difference in the level of technology and ability to acquire technology, project management skills, risk aversion, valuation of the asset and the difference in the economic, political and diplomatic support received by the Chinese and Indian oil companies from their respective governments. It also discusses the reasons why the Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) are preferred as partners by African oil companies and IOCs. Thus, the thesis provides a more comprehensive explanation for the ability of the Chinese oil companies to mobilise oil in the oil industry in West Africa relative to their Indian counterparts, and makes an empirical contribution to the existing literature on India and China in the oil industry in West Africa

Fabrication and Characterization of SPR Based Fiber Optic Probe Using e beam Deposition

Abstract: A surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic probe has been fabricated using electron beam deposition. The fabricated probe has been characterized using sucrose solution. It has been observed that the resonance wavelength i.e. SPR wavelength increases with increasing concentration of sucrose solution. The experimental results so obtained have been compared with theoretically simulated model results and are found to be in good agreement qualitatively. This study will found applications in fabrication of biochemical sensors

Recent Advances in Lossy Mode Resonance-Based Fiber Optic Sensors: A Review

Fiber optic sensors (FOSs) based on the lossy mode resonance (LMR) technique have gained substantial attention from the scientific community. The LMR technique displays several important features over the conventional surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon, for planning extremely sensitive FOSs. Unlike SPR, which mainly utilizes the thin film of metals, a wide range of materials such as conducting metal oxides and polymers support LMR. The past several years have witnessed a remarkable development in the field of LMR-based fiber optic sensors; through this review, we have tried to summarize the overall development of LMR-based fiber optic sensors. This review article not only provides the fundamental understanding and detailed explanation of LMR generation but also sheds light on the setup/configuration required to excite the lossy modes. Several geometries explored in the literature so far have also been addressed. In addition, this review includes a survey of the different materials capable of supporting lossy modes and explores new possible LMR supporting materials and their potential applications in sensing

Fabrication and Characterization of SPR Based Fiber Optic Probe Using e beam Deposition

A surface plasmon resonance based fiber optic probe has been fabricated using electron beam deposition. The fabricated probe has been characterized using sucrose solution. It has been observed that the resonance wavelength i.e. SPR wavelength increases with increasing concentration of sucrose solution. The experimental results so obtained have been compared with theoretically simulated model results and are found to be in good agreement qualitatively. This study will found applications in fabrication of biochemical sensors

Using assisted reproductive technologies for the conservation of endangered wild cats

The advent of induced pluripotency has opened alternate avenues to produce ES-like cells from somatic cells, that provide a unique tool to elucidate both pluripotency and lineage assignment. To investigate whether this technology could be applied to endangered species, where the limited availability of gametes makes production of and research on embryonic stem cells difficult, we first investigated the appropriate species transcription factors to use for induction of pluripotency in wild cats. Octamer binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4), also known as POU5F1, is a protein critically involved in stem cell renewal and pluripotency and a key factor involved in reprograming. To identify the suitability of using either mouse or human Oct4 constructs, which pre-existed in the laboratory to derive induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) from endangered cats, the coding sequence of domestic cat Oct4 was compared with that from other known species. Cat Oct4 protein has 94.44% and 83.33% sequences similarity compared with human and mouse Oct4, respectively. (Publication 1- paper submitted). In addition, the coding sequence for Oct4 were successfully amplified and cloned from fibroblasts of the three wild cats and compared in silico. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that although the sequences of coding regions vary slightly between snow leopard, Bengal tiger and jaguar, the predicted theoretical protein consist of 360 amino acids and is identical between these species. By contrast to the exons, introns and 5’ region close to the exon1 are less conserved in the three species. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbour-joining method based on the alignment of the coding sequences of Oct4 gene. As Oct4 is usually expressed in oocytes/early embryos, which are difficult to obtain from endangered species, the verification of the mRNA sequence of the gene posed obvious challenges. In conclusion, this study is the first to describe the molecular cloning and bioinformatics analysis of snow leopard, Bengal tiger and jaguar Oct4 gene (Publication 1- submitted). Information on the specific sequences of Oct4 in these endangered big cats will be useful to understand and manipulate pluripotency in these species. This has an exciting potential to contribute to real-life species preservation, particularly for endangered felids. Therefore we determined to use human sequences for induction of pluripotency in snow leopard (Panthera uncia) fibroblasts by retroviral transfection with Moloney-based retroviral vectors (pMXs) encoding four human factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and cMYC). This resulted in the formation of small colonies of cells, which could not be maintained beyond four passages (P4). We hypothesized the addition of NANOG, another transcription factor critically linked to Oct4 mediated pluripotency, to the transfection cocktail would enhance generation and maintenance of stable iPSC colonies, which formed as early as Day3 (D3). Colonies of cells were selected at D5 and expanded in vitro. The resulting cell line was positive for alkaline phosphatase (AP), OCT4, NANOG, and Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigen-4 (SSEA-4) at P14. Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) also confirmed that endogenous OCT4 and NANOG were expressed by snow leopard iPSC from P4. All five human transgenes were transcribed at P4, but OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG transgenes were silenced as early as P14; signifying reprogramming of the endogenous pluripotent genes had occurred. When injected into severe combined immuno-deficient (SCID) mice, snow leopard iPSC formed teratomas containing tissues representative of the three germ layers. In conclusion, this was the first report on derivation of iPSC from an endangered felid and the first report on induced pluripotency in felid species and it demonstrated the addition of NANOG to the reprogramming cocktail was essential for derivation of stable iPSC lines in this felid (Publication 2- published). Next, to examine whether the importance of Nanog for generation of iPSC was restricted to snow leopard or more generally applicable to wild felids globally, we studied 3 geographically diverse and evolutionarily divergent felids from Asia (Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris), Africa (serval, Leptailurus serval), and the Americas (jaguar, Panthera onca). Dermal fibroblasts were transduced with genes encoding the human transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and cMYC with or without NANOG. Both four- and five-factor induction resulted in colony formation at day 3 in all three species tested; however, we were not able to maintain colonies that were generated without NANOG beyond passage (P) 7. Five-factor induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) colonies from wild cats were expanded in vitro on feeder layers and were positive for alkaline phosphatase and protein expression of OCT-4, NANOG, and stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 at P4 and P14. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed that all five human transgenes were transcribed at P4; however, OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG transgenes were silenced by P14. Endogenous OCT4 and NANOG transcripts were detected at P4 and P14 in all cell lines confirming successful reprogramming. At P14, the iPSC from all three species remained euploid and differentiated in vivo and in vitro into derivatives of the three germ layers. Our study demonstrated unequivocally that iPSC from the three felids examined all required the addition of Nanog to the reprogramming cocktail to ensure derivation of stable iPSC lines. Interestingly iPSC from all three species silenced the reprogramming transgenes (OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG), but not the transgenes implicated in proliferation (KLF4 and cMYC) (Publication 3- published). This thesis investigated induced pluripotency in endangered felids and reports successes in effectively inducing pluripotency in four endangered wild cats from across the globe and importantly identifies Nanog as an essential factor in the reprogramming cocktail. Efficient production of iPSC from endangered felids creates a unique opportunity to preserve these species using these iPSC in future gamete production, nuclear transfer and embryo complementation

iPSC Technology: An Innovative Tool for Developing Clean Meat, Livestock, and Frozen Ark

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology is an emerging technique to reprogram somatic cells into iPSCs that have revolutionary benefits in the fields of drug discovery, cellular therapy, and personalized medicine. However, these applications are just the tip of an iceberg. Recently, iPSC technology has been shown to be useful in not only conserving the endangered species, but also the revival of extinct species. With increasing consumer reliance on animal products, combined with an ever-growing population, there is a necessity to develop alternative approaches to conventional farming practices. One such approach involves the development of domestic farm animal iPSCs. This approach provides several benefits in the form of reduced animal death, pasture degradation, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, it is essentially an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional farming. Additionally, this approach ensures decreased zoonotic outbreaks and a constant food supply. Here, we discuss the iPSC technology in the form of a “Frozen Ark”, along with its potential impact on spreading awareness of factory farming, foodborne disease, and the ecological footprint of the meat industry