Infrastructure, tax, energy

This issue of the Monitor focuses on the role of the G20 in infrastructure, tax and energy governance. The Monitor opens with a reflection on a conference jointly hosted by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Productivity Commission and the Lowy Institute, titled ‘Financial Flows and Infrastructure Financing’. There is also a note on trade. Key findings Ensuring that the right public infrastructure projects are selected is more important than the question of how they will be financed. As such, the G20 should designate appropriate project selection as the foundation stone of its infrastructure agenda. The MDBs can make a major contribution to reducing the global infrastructure gap, provided their actions begin with the principle of additionality. Private sector involvement is a desirable secondary goal and should be promoted wherever business finance produces a more efficient approach, but it should not supersede the MDBs’ preoccupation with an investment strategy built around value for money. Focusing on infrastructure investment for macroeconomic growth can, but does not automatically, benefit people living in extreme poverty, Australia needs to use its outreach program to talk to LICs about the possible prioritisation of infrastructure investment within the G20 agenda. Australia’s G20 presidency is a rare and time-bound opportunity to influence the process guiding tax reforms around base erosion and profit shifting. Better tax compliance and transparency will help to address poverty and inequality globally and within Asia and the Pacific. The G20 has a number of energy issues on its work program, including energy efficiency, yet it has not adequately addressed the prior need for a revision of the global energy governance framework itself. The G20 should push for an elevation of the International Energy Agency into a truly global forum that brings together all the major energy producers and consumers on equal basis

Remarkable features of ovarian morphology and reproductive hormones in insulin-resistant Zucker fatty (fa/fa) rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Zucker fatty (fa/fa) rats are a well-understood model of obesity and hyperinsulinemia. It is now thought that obesity/hyperinsulinemia is an important cause of endocrinological abnormality, but to date there have been no reports on the changes in ovarian morphology or the ovarian androgen profile in rat models of obesity and insulin resistance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study we investigated the effects of obesity and hyperinsulinemia on ovarian morphology and the hormone profile in insulin-resistant Zucker fatty rats (5, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age, n = 6-7).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ovaries from 5-week-old fatty rats had significantly greater total and atretic follicle numbers, and higher atretic-to-total follicle ratios than those from lean rats. Ovaries from 12- and 16-week-old fatty rats showed interstitial cell hyperplasia and numerous cysts with features of advanced follicular atresia. In addition, serum testosterone and androstenedione levels significantly declined in fatty rats from age 8 to 16 weeks, so that fatty rats showed significantly lower levels of serum testosterone (12 and 16 weeks) and androstenedione (all weeks) than lean rats. This may reflect a reduction of androgen synthesis during follicular atresia. Serum adiponectin levels were high in immature fatty rats, and although the levels declined significantly as they matured, it remained significantly higher in fatty rats than in lean rats. On the other hand, levels of ovarian adiponectin and its receptors were significantly lower in mature fatty rats than in lean mature rats or immature fatty rats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate that ovarian morphology and hormone profiles are significantly altered by the continuous insulin resistance in Zucker fatty rats. Simultaneously, abrupt reductions in serum and ovarian adiponectin also likely contribute to the infertility seen in fatty rats.</p

Collagen adhesion gene is associated with blood stream infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes hospital- and community-acquired infections. It is not clear whether genetic characteristics of the bacteria contribute to disease pathogenesis in MRSA infection. We hypothesized that whole genome analysis of MRSA strains could reveal the key gene loci and/or the gene mutations that affect clinical manifestations of MRSA infection. Methods: Whole genome sequences (WGS) of MRSA of 154 strains were analyzed with respect to clinical manifestations and data. Further, we evaluated the association between clinical manifestations in MRSA infection and genomic information. Results: WGS revealed gene mutations that correlated with clinical manifestations of MRSA infection. Moreover, 12 mutations were selected as important mutations by Random Forest analysis. Cluster analysis revealed strains associated with a high frequency of bloodstream infection (BSI). Twenty seven out of 34 strains in this cluster caused BSI. These strains were all positive for collagen adhesion gene (cna) and have mutations in the locus, those were selected by Random Forest analysis. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that these gene mutations were the predictor for the incidence of BSI. Interestingly, mutant CNA protein showed lower attachment ability to collagen, suggesting that the mutant protein might contribute to the dissemination of bacteria. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the bacterial genotype affects the clinical characteristics of MRSA infection. (c) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases

Functional roles of Aves class-specific cis-regulatory elements on macroevolution of bird-specific features

Unlike microevolutionary processes, little is known about the genetic basis of macroevolutionary processes. One of these magnificent examples is the transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds that has created numerous evolutionary innovations such as self-powered flight and its associated wings with flight feathers. By analysing 48 bird genomes, we identified millions of avian-specific highly conserved elements (ASHCEs) that predominantly (>99%) reside in non-coding regions. Many ASHCEs show differential histone modifications that may participate in regulation of limb development. Comparative embryonic gene expression analyses across tetrapod species suggest ASHCE-associated genes have unique roles in developing avian limbs. In particular, we demonstrate how the ASHCE driven avian-specific expression of gene Sim1 driven by ASHCE may be associated with the evolution and development of flight feathers. Together, these findings demonstrate regulatory roles of ASHCEs in the creation of avian-specific traits, and further highlight the importance of cis-regulatory rewiring during macroevolutionary changes

Contrast matching of an Si substrate with polymer films by anomalous dispersion at the Si

Anomalous dispersion at the Si K absorption edge has been used to control the reflection from the interface between a film and an Si substrate, which otherwise complicates the nanostructure analysis of such a film, particularly for the soft-matter case, in grazing-incidence small-angle scattering. Such a reflectionless condition has been chosen for a triblock copolymer thin film, and two-dimensional grazing-incidence small-angle scattering patterns were obtained without the effect of the reflection. The present approach is useful for analysing nanostructures without introducing complicated corrections arising from the reflection