Sustainable Consumption in the face of Global Challenges: Opportunities and Obstacles; Findings of the DEval Opinion Monitor for Development Policy 2022

Sustainable consumption contributes to sustainable global development. Due to the interdependencies between consumption behaviour in industrialised countries and people's living conditions in countries of the Global South, the issue is also highly relevant to development policy. Up to now, however, there is hardly any evidence with regard to the extent that citizens perceive their own consumption as having a global impact. The DEval Opinion Monitor for Development Policy 2022 looked into this question. This Policy Brief summarises the findings of the study

Attitudes towards Development Policy in the Context of the War against Ukraine

Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. Global prices for energy and foodstuffs rose in part dramatically. Against this backdrop, the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval) has explored three questions based on a representative survey conducted by the Development Engagement Lab (DEL) in October 2022: 1. How does public perception of the state of the German economy correlate with approval for DC? 2. What attitudes do people have towards various development policy measures in response to the war against Ukraine? 3. How does agreement to such measures differ according to individuals' political orientation and assessment of the general state of the economy, and their own, personal economic situation and income

Plasma-assisted deposition of microcapsule containing Aloe vera extract for cosmeto-textiles

There is a growing interest in the application of cosmeto-textiles to incorporate durable fragrances and skin softeners to textile.[1] Microencapsulation technology is a growing area in textile industry.[2, 3] The main disadvantage of using film-forming binders in the application of MCs onto textiles is hindrance of the active substances to be release. To overcome this issue MCs can be covalently linked onto textile substrate by using chemical or physical methods.[4] In recent years plasma technology has assumed a great importance.[5] It is a dry, environmentally- and worker-friendly method to achieve surface alteration without modifies the bulk properties of different materials.[6] It improves the fibre-matrix adhesion by introducing chemically active groups and changing the surface roughness.[7] The dielectric double barrier discharge (DBD) is one of the most effective non-thermal atmospheric plasma to improve the adsorption and adhesion of MCs in textiles [8-10]. The main objective of this study is to investigate the adhesion of MCs containing Aloe vera extract applied by padding and printing methods in a cotton/polyester (50/50) fabric (Co/PES) pre-treated with a DBD plasma discharge in air. Fabrics were analysed by contact angle, SEM and FTIR analysis. The printing and padding methods was compared in term of MCs coating efficiency, plasma dose and washing fastness.This work is supported by CSF - CAPES - Brazil (Bex 18.645-12-7) and FEDER funding on the COMPETE program and by national funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entwicklungspolitische Einstellungen im Kontext des Krieges gegen die Ukraine

Im Februar 2022 begann Russland seinen Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine. In der Folge sind die Weltmarktpreise für Energie und Lebensmittel teils drastisch gestiegen. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das Deutsche Evaluierungsinstitut der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (DEval) auf der Basis einer repräsentativen Umfrage des Development Engagement Labs (DEL) aus dem Oktober 2022 drei Fragen untersucht: 1. Wie hängen die Wahrnehmung der wirtschaftlichen Lage Deutschlands und die Zustimmung zur Entwicklungszusammenarbeit zusammen? 2. Welche Einstellungen hat die Bevölkerung zu verschiedenen entwicklungspolitischen Maßnahmen in Reaktion auf den Krieg gegen die Ukraine? 3. Wie unterscheidet sich die Zustimmung zu den Maßnahmen in Abhängigkeit von politischer Orientierung, Einschätzung der allgemeinen und persönlichen wirtschaftlichen Lage und Einkommen

Nachhaltiger Konsum angesichts globaler Herausforderungen: Chancen und Hindernisse; Ergebnisse des DEval-Meinungsmonitors Entwicklungspolitik 2022

Nachhaltiger Konsum leistet einen Beitrag zu einer nachhaltigen globalen Entwicklung. Aufgrund der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Konsumverhalten in Industriestaaten und menschlichen Lebensbedingungen in Ländern des globalen Südens hat das Thema auch eine hohe entwicklungspolitische Relevanz. Bisher liegen jedoch kaum Erkenntnisse darüber vor, inwieweit die Bürger*innen wahrnehmen, dass ihr eigener Konsum globale Auswirkungen hat. Der DEval-Meinungsmonitor Entwicklungspolitik 2022 ist dieser Frage nachgegangen. Dieser Policy Brief fasst die Ergebnisse der Studie zusammen

Potential effects of commonly applied drugs on neural stem cell proliferation and viability : a hypothesis-generating systematic review and meta-analysis

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is an emerging and promising approach to combat neurodegenerative diseases. While NSCs can differentiate into neural cell types, many therapeutic effects are mediated by paracrine, “drug-like” mechanisms. Neurodegenerative diseases are predominantly a burden of the elderly who commonly suffer from comorbidities and thus are subject to pharmacotherapies. There is substantial knowledge about drug-drug interactions but almost nothing is known about a potential impact of pharmacotherapy on NSCs. Such knowledge is decisive for designing tailored treatment programs for individual patients. Previous studies revealed preliminary evidence that the anti-depressants fluoxetine and imipramine may affect NSC viability and proliferation. Here, we derive a hypothesis on how commonly applied drugs, statins and antihypertensives, may affect NSC viability, proliferation, and differentiation. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis looking at potential effects of commonly prescribed antihypertensive and antihyperlipidemic medication on NSC function. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched on according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Publications were assessed against a priori established selection criteria for relevancy. A meta-analysis was then performed on data extracted from publications eligible for full text review to estimate drug effects on NSC functions. Our systematic review identified 1,017 potential studies, 55 of which were eligible for full text review. Out of those, 21 were included in the qualitative synthesis. The meta-analysis was performed on 13 publications; the remainder were excluded as they met exclusion criteria or lacked sufficient data to perform a meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists, an anti-hypertensive drug class [p < 0.05, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = –1.54; –0.35], and various statins [p < 0.05, 95% CI = –3.17; –0.0694] had an inhibiting effect on NSC proliferation. Moreover, we present preliminary evidence that L-type calcium channel blockers and statins, particularly lovastatin, may reduce NSC viability. Although the data available in the literature is limited, there are clear indications for an impact of commonly applied drugs, in particular statins, on NSC function. Considering the modes of action of the respective drugs, we reveal plausible mechanisms by which this impact may be mediated, creating a testable hypothesis, and providing insights into how future confirmative research on this topic may be conducted

Comparative study of the synthesis and characterization of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) using an eco friendly reducing agent

In this work, the reducing action of four reducing agents—ascorbic acid, inorganic salt, sodium hydrosulfte and polysaccharide—was investigated. Some reducing agents, in addition to being environmentally friendly, are good substitutes for dangerous chemicals used industrially. Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by the modifed Hummers method and was reduced with ascorbic acid (RGO-AA), inorganic salt (RGO-SI), sodium hydrosulfte (RGO-HS) and polysaccharide (RGO-PS). The microstructural, morphological, optical, electrochemical and thermal properties of GO, RGO-AA, RGOSI, RGO-HS and RGO-PS were characterized by x-ray difraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy/attenuated total refectance (FTIR-ATR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM)/energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), feld-emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), UV–Vis, zeta potential, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and diferential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The conclusive results showed that the four agents demonstrated reducing capability. It was observed that the reducing agent derived from inverted sugar (polysaccharide) was the most efcient because it presented a reduction in GO with fewer microstructural defects, a lower number of sheets, and electrochemical and thermal properties superior to the properties obtained from conventional reducing agents. Therefore, with these impressive results obtained with polysaccharide, it was concluded that an efective GO reducing agent was obtained using this green and ecological product, resulting in a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with few sheets and fewer defects and, consequently, with greater supercapacitor application potential.CNPq -Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(45034/2020-3

Recent progress in translational research on neurovascular and neurodegenerative disorders

The already established and widely used intravenous application of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator as a re-opening strategy for acute vessel occlusion in ischemic stroke was recently added by mechanical thrombectomy, representing a fundamental progress in evidence-based medicine to improve the patient’s outcome. This has been paralleled by a swift increase in our understanding of pathomechanisms underlying many neurovascular diseases and most prevalent forms of dementia. Taken together, these current advances offer the potential to overcome almost two decades of marginally successful translational research on stroke and dementia, thereby spurring the entire field of translational neuroscience. Moreover, they may also pave the way for the renaissance of classical neuroprotective paradigms. This review reports and summarizes some of the most interesting and promising recent achievements in neurovascular and dementia research. It highlights sessions from the 9th International Symposium on Neuroprotection and Neurorepair that have been discussed from April 19th to 22nd in Leipzig, Germany. To acknowledge the emerging culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and research, special emphasis is given on translational stories ranging from fundamental research on neurode- and -regeneration to late stage translational or early stage clinical investigations

The catalytic role of uranyl in formation of polycatechol complexes

To better understand the association of contaminant uranium with natural organic matter (NOM) and the fate of uranium in ground water, spectroscopic studies of uranium complexation with catechol were conducted. Catechol provides a model for ubiquitous functional groups present in NOM. Liquid samples were analyzed using Raman, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Catechol was found to polymerize in presence of uranyl ions. Polymerization in presence of uranyl was compared to reactions in the presence of molybdate, another oxyion, and self polymerization of catechol at high pH. The effect of time and dissolved oxygen were also studied. It was found that oxygen was required for self-polymerization at elevated pH. The potential formation of phenoxy radicals as well as quinones was monitored. The benzene ring was found to be intact after polymerization. No evidence for formation of ether bonds was found, suggesting polymerization was due to formation of C-C bonds between catechol ligands. Uranyl was found to form outer sphere complexes with catechol at initial stages but over time (six months) polycatechol complexes were formed and precipitated from solution (forming humic-like material) while uranyl ions remained in solution. Our studies show that uranyl acts as a catalyst in catechol-polymerization