Determinants of Sustainability: A Case of Piloting ISARD Models in Oriental Mindoro and Leyte, Philippines

SEARCA, in its 10th five-year plan (10th FYP), implemented the program, Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD). A pilot project was undertaken in a specific rural community following a well-defined scheme for an agroecosystem and through the integration of four inter-related components, technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge management, and linkage and networking. After the completion in 2020, evidences of well-developed agricultural system capable of contributing to the goals of food security and poverty alleviation emerged. In its 11th FYP, SEARCA endeavors to scale out the ARD model project in the Southeast Asian region. But, how will this benefit from adopting FAO\u27s Sustainable Food and Agriculture (SFA)? This central question was addressed by authors in this study. Using an indicator-based assessment approach, the results revealed that the pilot ISARD project, in general, has adopted the SFA principles. It is rated as Good Sustainability, with an overall SFA index of 0.62. To further meet the aspired sustainability through agricultural interventions, the design, delivery, and implementation of ISARD components should include aspects related to facilitating access to productive resources, finance, services for basic infrastructure, protecting water resources, promoting tenure systems to access land, and enhancing nutrition-based programs for the community

Program Pelatihan, Konsultansi, Dan Pendampingan Pengembangan Badan Usaha Milik Desa (Bumdes) Di Desa Pitue, Kecamatan Marang, Kabupaten Pangkajene Kepulauan Sulawesi Selatan

Desa Pitue mempunyai luas wilayah ± 565 Ha, dengan 4 dusun, masing-masing dusun memiliki RW dan RT. Jumlah Penduduk Desa Pitue yaitu: 3.072 jiwa. Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah (RPJM) Desa Pitue ingin mengembangkan desa Pitue menjadi Desa atau Kampung Industri (KAMTRI) dengan programnya Satu Rukun Tetangga (RT) Satu Produk. Program tersebut dapat dicapai, jika BUMDes Pitue dikelola dengan manajemen yang baik dan berjalan sesuai dengan harapan masyarakatnya, namun untuk menunjang program yang sudah dicanangkan tersebut masih perlu pengembangan, partisipasi, dan dukungan segenap masyarakat didalamnya. Unit usaha yang dikelola oleh BUMDes Pitue saat ini masih berkisar pada usaha rumahan (home industry) produk makanan olahan yang berasal dari hasil perikanan. Diharapkan dengan adanya Abdimas dosen UT, program Satu RT Satu Produk dapat lebih mempercepat program tersebut. Selain itu, diharapkan BUMDes Pitue lebih kreatif, inovatif dan memiliki usaha yang variatif bukan hanya bergerak pada produk makanan olahan saja, tetapi akan muncul beragam produk inovatif baik produk barang maupun jasa, yang berasal dari masyarakat khususnya anggota BUMDes, dan pada akhirnya usaha ini memiliki andil dalam pemberdayaan ekonomi di desany

Glutamate provides a key structural contact between reticulon-4 (Nogo-66) and phosphocholine

Human reticulon 4 (RTN-4) has been identified as the neurite outgrowth inhibitor (Nogo). This protein contains a span of 66 amino acids (Nogo-66) flanked by two membrane helices at the C-terminus. We previously determined the NMR structure of Nogo-66 in a native-like environment and defined the regions of Nogo-66 expected to be membrane embedded. We hypothesize that aromatic groups and a negative charge hyperconserved among RTNs (Glu26) drive the remarkably strong association of Nogo-66 with a phosphocholine surface. Glu26 is an isolated charge with no counterion provided by nearby protein groups. We modeled the docking of dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) with Nogo-66 and found that a lipid choline group could form a stable salt bridge with Glu26 and serve as a membrane anchor point. To test the role of the Glu26 anion in binding choline, we mutated this residue to alanine and assessed the structural consequences, the association with lipid and the affinity for the Nogo receptor. In an aqueous environment, Nogo-66 Glu26Ala is more helical than WT and binds the Nogo receptor with higher affinity. Thus, we can conclude that in the absence of a neutralizing positive charge provided by lipid, the glutamate anion is destabilizing to the Nogo-66 fold. Although the Nogo-66 Glu26Ala free energy of transfer from water into lipid is similar to that of WT, NMR data reveal a dramatic loss of tertiary structure for the mutant in DPC micelles. These data show that Glu26 has a key role in defining the structure of Nogo-66 on a phosphocholine surface. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Interfacially Active Peptides and Proteins. Guest Editors: William C. Wimley and Kalina Hristova

Decision making around resuscitation of extremely preterm infants in the Philippines: A consensus guideline

The Philippine Society of Newborn Medicine: Professional guideline statemen

Decision making around resuscitation of extremely preterm infants in the Philippines: A consensus guideline

The Philippine Society of Newborn Medicine: Professional guideline statemen

First PGAA and NAA experimental results from a compact high intensity D-D neutron generator

Various types of neutron generator systems have been designed and tested at the Plasma and Ion Source Technology Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. These generators are based on a D-D fusion reaction. These high power D-D neutron generators can provide neutron fluxes in excess of the current state of the art D-T neutron generators, without the use of pre-loaded targets or radioactive tritium gas. Safe and reliable long-life operations are the typical features of these D-D generators. All of the neutron generators developed in the Plasma and Ion Source Technology Group are utilizing powerful RF-induction discharge to generate the deuterium plasma. One of the advantages of using the RF-induction discharge is it's ability to generate high fraction of atomic ions from molecular gases, and the ability to generate high plasma densities for high extractable ion current from relatively small discharge volume

BBX32, an Arabidopsis B-Box Protein, Functions in Light Signaling by Suppressing HY5-Regulated Gene Expression and Interacting with STH2/BBX21[W][OA]

A B-box zinc finger protein, B-BOX32 (BBX32), was identified as playing a role in determining hypocotyl length during a large-scale functional genomics study in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Further analysis revealed that seedlings overexpressing BBX32 display elongated hypocotyls in red, far-red, and blue light, along with reduced cotyledon expansion in red light. Through comparative analysis of mutant and overexpression line phenotypes, including global expression profiling and growth curve studies, we demonstrate that BBX32 acts antagonistically to ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5). We further show that BBX32 interacts with SALT TOLERANCE HOMOLOG2/BBX21, another B-box protein previously shown to interact with HY5. Based on these data, we propose that BBX32 functions downstream of multiple photoreceptors as a modulator of light responses. As such, BBX32 potentially has a native role in mediating gene repression to maintain dark adaptation