Unmasking Central Asia's neoliberal judges

Despite claims of impartiality, judges in Central Asia often incorporate neoliberal economic and moral values into their judgements on illegal settlements

Economic dystopia in Kyrgyzstan

Hailed as a success story for liberal market reforms, Kyrgyzstan in fact provides an example of how the rentier class have become an integral part of the economy, and how democracy has given way to plutocracy

The Effects of Acute Lipopolysaccharide Induced Inflammation on Spinal Cord Excitability

Peripheral inflammation alters the excitability of dorsal horn interneurons and increases flexor reflex strength (Dubner & Ruda, 1992); however, its effect on the spinal stretch reflex is not well understood. The stretch reflex is a muscle contraction in response to muscle stretch. We hypothesize that the acute inflammation caused by an injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) will cause an increase in spinal cord excitability. To test this hypothesis, we measured Hoffman’s (H) reflex, the electric analog of the stretch reflex in adult mice receiving an injection of LPS (.5mg/kg) or saline (200μl). Adult male and female mice (C57Bl/6) were anesthetized; then, the sciatic nerve was exposed and stimulated at current strengths from H-wave threshold (T) to 8T (20 x 0.1 ms pulses at 0.1 Hz). Recording electrodes were placed in the foot. We measured the maximum M wave amplitude (Mmax), maximum H wave amplitude (Hmax) and latencies of both waves. We compared the ratio of the maximal H wave over the maximal M wave (Hmax/Mmax), which reports the percentage of motor neurons activated by electrical stimulation of Group Ia muscle sensory neurons. Increased spinal cord excitability would be reflected in a larger Hmax/Mmax. We found that LPS-induced inflammation does not alter the Hmax/Mmax. While we found no evidence of changes in spinal cord excitability, inflammation could be altering Group Ia muscle spindle afferent responses to stretch. Future studies will test whether stretch reflex strength is altered by inflammation

Unfolding and refolding of cytochrome c driven by the interaction with lipid micelles

Binding of native cyt c to L-PG micelles leads to a partially unfolded conformation of cyt c. This micelle-bound state has no stable tertiary structure, but remains as -helical as native cyt c in solution. In contrast, binding of the acid-unfolded cyt c to L-PG micelles induces folding of the polypeptide, resulting in a similar helical state to that originated from the binding of native cyt c to L-PG micelles. Far-ultraviolet (UV) circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that this common micelle-associated helical state (HL) has a native-like -helix content, but is highly expanded without a tightly packed hydrophobic core, as revealed by tryptophan fluorescence, near-UV, and Soret CD spectroscopy. The kinetics of the interaction of native and acid-unfolded cyt c was investigated by stopped-flow tryptophan fluorescence. Formation of HL from the native state requires the disruption of the tightly packed hydrophobic core in the native protein. This micelle-induced unfolding of cyt c occurs at a rate 0.1 s1, which is remarkably faster in the lipid environment compared with the expected rate of unfolding in solution. Refolding of acid-unfolded cyt c with L-PG micelles involves an early highly helical collapsed state formed during the burst phase (<3 ms), and the observed main kinetic event reports on the opening of this early compact intermediate prior to insertion into the lipid micelle

Electrical properties of aluminosilicate glazes containing niobium doped titanium dioxide

Imperial Users onl

Highly transparent spinel windows by microwave sintering

Transparent magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4) ceramic possesses excellent mechanical and optical properties enabling its potential use in many applications, especially those in harsh environments. We have previously demonstrated fabrication of transparent spinel ceramic with very low absorption loss (6ppm/cm) at 1 mm using the hot pressing method. However, microwave sintering offers several potential advantages over conventional densification methods such as uniform heating, shorter sintering time, finer microstructure of the ceramics, and scalability to large sizes. Previous attempts to microwave sinter spinel powder resulted in only opaque or translucent ceramics. In this talk, we report the fabrication of highly transparent spinel ceramics using microwave sintering and highlight the optical, spectral, morphological and mechanical properties

Homogeneous Cr- and Co-mediated Selective Olefin Oligomerisation Catalysis

This thesis investigates use of Cr/phosphanyl methanimine ligand (PCN, Ph(PR2)C=NAr, R = alkyl group) combinations in selective ethylene tri-/tetra-merisation catalysis. Additionally, the use of the previously-reported linear α-olefin (LAO) dimerisation catalyst precursor Cp*Co(C2H4)P(OMe)3 (4.5) is further explored in 1- butene and 1-hexene dimerisation, in attempts to improve its reported low TON and low selectivity. In Chapter 2 a description of the synthesis of variously-substituted PCN ligands 2.1– 2.17 is given. A study of the coordination chemistry of a selection of these PCN ligands to Cr0 revealed that both mono-(κ1-P) and bi-dentate (κ2-P,N) [Cr(CO)4/5(PCN)] complexes 2.18–2.19 and 2.22-2.25 were obtained, with the ratio of [Cr(CO)5(κ1-P- PCN)]:[Cr(CO)4(κ2-P,N-PCN)] complexes present in the crude reaction mixtures being influenced by the steric bulk of the nitrogen substituent of the PCN ligand and reaction conditions. Cationic CrI-PCN complexes [Cr(CO)4/5(κ1-P or κ2-P,N-PCN)] 2.26–2.30 and 2.32 were obtained via one-electron oxidation reactions of the corresponding Cr0-PCN complexes with Ag[Al{OC(CF3)3}4]. The synthesis of CrIII-PCN complexes [CrCl3(THF)(κ2-P,N-PCN)] 2.34-2.37 was attempted, but proved successful only in two cases, complexes 2.36 and 2.37. Chapter 3 details the ethylene oligomerisation catalysis behaviour of the CrI and CrIII- PCN complexes. In all cases, CrIII/PCN-based ethylene tri-/tetra-merisation systems with high activities and selectivities were obtained, with the 1-octene:1-hexene ratios of these systems being influenced by the electronic properties of the phosphorus donor moiety and imine carbon substituents of the PCN ligands. The CrI-PCN complexes yielded low activity ethylene polymerisation systems; their poor performance is attributed to poisoning from CO liberated during reactions. It was found that using in situ versus preformed CrIII-PCN complexes in ethylene oligomerisation catalysis improved the activities and selectivities towards 1-hexene and 1-octene production. In Chapter 4, the effect of varying different solvents, temperatures, and activation methods in 1-butene/1-hexene dimerisation catalysis mediated by complex 4.5/Brookhart’s acid was assessed. In addition, complexes 4.15 and 4.16 (modified versions of complex 4.5) were synthesised and found to perform worse in 1-butene/1- hexene dimerisation catalysis than complex 4.5 (in terms of activity and selectivity towards desired LAO dimer). Chapters 5 and 6 describe all experimental data and supporting information

Selling debt: interrogating the moral claims of the financial elites in Central Asia

This article critically examines how banks and microfinance companies morally construed and evaluated their lending practices and income in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Banks occupy a powerful position in a monetary economy, because they do not merely create money ‘out of thin air’, but can charge for it, that is, interest. In doing so, they obtain unearned income and extract wealth. The article examines how banks and microfinance companies used myths, ideals, discourses, norms and emotions to justify and de-politicise their unequal power, unearned income and damaging effects. The study draws on the moral economy perspective and the post-Keynesian theory of money to understand financial institutions’ moral justifications and rationalisations of their position and power. This article contributes to a wider literature on neoliberalism and morality in post- socialist economies

How the free market created rentiers and plutocracy in post-Soviet Central Asian countries

In a reversal of the classical ideal of a ‘free market’ (a market free from land rent, monopoly rent and interest), neoliberalism celebrates and promotes rent extraction, sometimes over wealth creation. Neoliberalism has created and expanded the role of rent and unearned income in post-Soviet economies. The article argues that the top 20 richest individuals in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan extract income based on their ownership and control of scarce assets, and thereby obtain unearned income. They also have considerable political power and influence. Neoliberalism has concentrated wealth and power into the hands of a few, and has emerged economic and political elites into the rentier class