Promoting global watershed management towards rural communities: the May Zeg-zeg initiativeLength: pp.192-195

Watershed managementRural development

Veganism

Narrowly understood, veganism is the practice of excluding all animal products from one’s diet, with the exception of human milk. More broadly, veganism is not only a food ethics, but it encompasses all other areas of life. As defined by the Vegan Society when it became an established charity in the UK in 1979, veganism is best understood as “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment”. There are two main moral justifications for veganism, both of which rely on a common assumption: that sentience, i.e., the capacity to feel pleasure and pain, is the necessary and sufficient trait to be morally considerable. In what follows, I present these two justifications and a third one which, although less popular, captures some core intuitions among vegans. I then present a challenge faced by veganism and two arguments that reject it as discriminatory, and briefly conclude

Nonfatal reinfarction as an independent riskfactor for subsequent mortality in post-myocardial infarction patients

Pericas, Enric;Ordóñez, Estrell

Vanadium (β-(Dimethylamino)ethyl)cyclopentadienyl Complexes with Diphenylacetylene Ligands

Reduction of the V(III) (β-(dimethylamino)ethyl)cyclopentadienyl dichloride complex [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]VCl2(PMe3) with 1 equiv of Na/Hg yielded the V(II) dimer {[η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]V(µ-Cl)}2 (2). This compound reacted with diphenylacetylene in THF to give the V(II) alkyne adduct [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]VCl(η2-PhC≡CPh). Further reduction of 2 with Mg in the presence of diphenylacetylene resulted in oxidative coupling of two diphenylacetylene groups to yield the diamagnetic, formally V(V), bent metallacyclopentatriene complex [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]V(C4Ph4).

Versatile Coordination of Cyclopentadienyl-Arene Ligands and Its Role in Titanium-Catalyzed Ethylene Trimerization

Cationic titanium(IV) complexes with ansa-(η5-cyclopentadienyl,η6-arene) ligands were synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The strength of the metal-arene interaction in these systems was studied by variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy. Complexes with a C1 bridge between the cyclopentadienyl and arene moieties feature hemilabile coordination behavior of the ligand and consequently are active ethylene trimerization catalysts. Reaction of the titanium(IV) dimethyl cations with CO results in conversion to the analogous cationic titanium(II) dicarbonyl species. Metal-to-ligand backdonation in these formally low-valent complexes gives rise to a strongly bonded, partially reduced arene moiety. In contrast to the η6-arene coordination mode observed for titanium, the more electron-rich vanadium(V) cations [cyclopentadienyl-arene]V(NiPr2)(NC6H4-4-Me)+ feature η1-arene binding, as determined by a crystallographic study. The three different metal-arene coordination modes that we experimentally observed model intermediates in the cycle for titanium-catalyzed ethylene trimerization. The nature of the metal-arene interaction in these systems was studied by DFT calculations.

Alginate microspheres containing temperature sensitive liposomes (TSL) for MR-guided embolization and triggered release of doxorubicin

Objective The objective of this study was to develop and characterize alginate microspheres suitable for embolization with on-demand triggered doxorubicin (DOX) release and whereby the microspheres as well as the drug releasing process can be visualized in vivo using MRI. Methods and Findings For this purpose, barium crosslinked alginate microspheres were loaded with temperature sensitive liposomes (TSL/TSL-Ba-ms), which release their payload upon mild hyperthermia. These TSL contained DOX and [Gd(HPDO3A)(H2O)], a T1 MRI contrast agent, for real time visualization of the release. Empty alginate microspheres crosslinked with holmium ions (T2* MRI contrast agent, Ho-ms) were mixed with TSL-Ba-ms to allow microsphere visualization. TSL-Ba-ms and Ho-ms were prepared with a homemade spray device and sized by sieving. Encapsulation of TSL in barium crosslinked microspheres changed the triggered release properties only slightly: 95% of the loaded DOX was released from free TSL vs. 86% release for TSL-Ba-ms within 30 seconds in 50% FBS at 42°C. TSL-Ba-ms (76 ± 41 μm) and Ho-ms (64 ± 29 μm) had a comparable size, which most likely will result in a similar in vivo tissue distribution after an i.v. co-injection and therefore Ho-ms can be used as tracer for the TSL-Ba-ms. MR imaging of a TSL-Ba-ms and Ho-ms mixture (ratio 95:5) before and after hyperthermia allowed in vitro and in vivo visualization of microsphere deposition (T2*-weighted images) as well as temperature-triggered release (T1-weighted images). The [Gd(HPDO3A)(H2O)] release and clusters of microspheres containing holmium ions were visualized in a VX2 tumor model in a rabbit using MRI. Conclusions In conclusion, these TSL-Ba-ms and Ho-ms are promising systems for real-time, MR-guided embolization and triggered release of drugs in vivo

Dynamic fluorescence microscopy of cellular uptake of intercalating model drugs by ultrasound-activated microbubbles

The combination of ultrasound and microbubbles can facilitate cellular uptake of (model) drugs via transient permeabilization of the cell membrane. By using fluorescent molecules, this process can be studied conveniently with confocal fluorescence microscopy. This study aimed to investigate the relation between cellular uptake and fluorescence intensity increase of intercalating model drugs. SYTOX Green, an intercalating fluorescent dye that displays > 500-fold fluorescence enhancement upon binding to nucleic acids, was used as a model drug for ultrasound-induced cellular uptake. SYTOX Green uptake was monitored in high spatiotemporal resolution to qualitatively assess the relation between uptake and fluorescence intensity in individual cells. In addition, the kinetics of fluorescence enhancement were studied as a function of experimental parameters, in particular, laser duty cycle (DC), SYTOX Green concentration and cell line. Ultrasound-induced intracellular SYTOX Green uptake resulted in local fluorescence enhancement, spreading throughout the cell and ultimately accumulating in the nucleus during the 9-min acquisition. The temporal evolution of SYTOX Green fluorescence was substantially influenced by laser duty cycle: continuous laser (100 % DC) induced a 6.4-fold higher photobleaching compared to pulsed laser (3.3 % DC), thus overestimating the fluorescence kinetics. A positive correlation of fluorescence kinetics and SYTOX Green concentration was found, increasing from 0.6 x 10(-3) to 2.2 x 10(-3) s(-1) for 1 and 20 mu M, respectively. Finally, C6 cells displayed a 2.4-fold higher fluorescence rate constant than FaDu cells. These data show that the temporal behavior of intracellular SYTOX Green fluorescence enhancement depends substantially on nuclear accumulation and not just on cellular uptake. In addition, it is strongly influenced by the experimental conditions, such as the laser duty cycle, SYTOX Green concentration, and cell line

Nominal or Real? The Impact of Regional Price Levels on Satisfaction with Life

According to economic theory, real income, i.e., nominal income adjusted for purchasing power, should be the relevant source of life satisfaction. Previous work, however, has only studied the impact of inflation adjusted nominal income and not taken into account regional differences in purchasing power. Therefore, we use a novel data set to study how regional price levels affect satisfaction with life. The data set comprises about 7 million data points that are used to construct a price level for each of the 428 administrative districts in Germany. We estimate pooled OLS and ordered probit models that include a comprehensive set of individual level, time-varying and time-invariant control variables as well as control variables that capture district heterogeneity other than the price level. Our results show that higher price levels significantly reduce life satisfaction. Furthermore, we find that a higher price level tends to induce a larger loss in life satisfaction than a corresponding decrease in nominal income. A formal test of neutrality of money, however, does not reject neutrality of money. Our results provide an argument in favor of regional indexation of government transfer payments such as social welfare benefits