148 research outputs found
Reforming Without Resourcing: The Case of the Urban Water Supply in Zambia
No full textI. Introduction Public water supply systems have increasingly been subject to commercialisation or corporatisation in the developing world. This method is sometimes used as a surrogate for privatisation in circumstances where existing systems of provision are unattractive for multinational water companies. By reforming the public sector in the image of independent and self-sufficient private enterprises, the chief aim of commercialisation is to improve the efficiency of operations often associated with the private sector. (...)Reforming Without Resourcing: The Case of the Urban Water Supply in Zambia
Crisis, sustainability of electricity prices and state interventions in Argentina
No full textThis article examines the sustainability of wholesale power prices following the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina. We depart from the contractual disputes between the multinational power generating companies and the state of Argentina, arising from price and investment interventions after the economic crisis. Then, we move on to argue that these sector-specific measures were inevitable once some of the key macroeconomic policies such as the currency board system were discarded. Using an error correction method and estimating a counterfactual price series, we demonstrate that in the absence of changes in the price determination method and direct public investment, the level and the volatility of power prices would have been much higher with further knock on effects on the rest of the economy
Genetic ablation of lymphocytes and cytokine signaling in nonobese diabetic mice prevents diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance
No full textFull author list omitted for brevity. For full list of authors see article.
Co-author Sezin Dagdeviren is a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMass Medical School.Obesity is characterized by a dysregulated immune system, which may causally associate with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Despite widespread use of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, NOD with severe combined immunodeficiency (scid) mutation (SCID) mice, and SCID bearing a null mutation in the IL-2 common gamma chain receptor (NSG) mice as animal models of human diseases including type 1 diabetes, the underlying metabolic effects of a genetically altered immune system are poorly understood. For this, we performed a comprehensive metabolic characterization of these mice fed chow or after 6 wk of a high-fat diet. We found that NOD mice had approximately 50% less fat mass and were 2-fold more insulin sensitive, as measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, than C57BL/6 wild-type mice. SCID mice were also more insulin sensitive with increased muscle glucose metabolism and resistant to diet-induced obesity due to increased energy expenditure ( approximately 10%) and physical activity ( approximately 40%) as measured by metabolic cages. NSG mice were completely protected from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance with significant increases in glucose metabolism in peripheral organs. Our findings demonstrate an important role of genetic background, lymphocytes, and cytokine signaling in diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.Interdisciplinary Graduate Progra
CD40 Deficiency in Mice Exacerbates Obesity-induced Adipose Tissue Inflammation, Hepatic Steatosis and Insulin Resistance
No full textThe pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes in rodents and humans is characterized by low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue and liver. The CD40 receptor and its ligand, CD40L, initiate immune cell signaling promoting inflammation, but conflicting data on CD40L null mice confound its role in obesity-associated insulin resistance. Here we demonstrate that CD40 receptor deficient mice on a high fat diet display the expected decrease in hepatic cytokine levels, but paradoxically exhibit liver steatosis, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance compared to their age-matched wild type controls. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies also demonstrated insulin resistance in glucose utilization by the CD40 null mice compared to wild type mice. In contrast to liver, adipose tissue in CD40 deficient animals harbors elevated cytokine levels and infiltration of inflammatory cells, particularly macrophages and CD8+ effector T-cells. In addition, ex vivo explants of epididymal adipose tissue from CD40(-/-) mice display elevated basal and isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis, suggesting a potential increase of lipid efflux from visceral fat to the liver. These findings reveal that, 1) CD40 null mice represent an unusual model of hepatic steatosis with reduced hepatic inflammation, and 2) CD40 unexpectedly functions in adipose tissue to attenuate its inflammation in obesity, thereby protecting against hepatic steatosis
The impact of structural adjustment program on investment in Turkey
No full textAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN051360 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
Access to Water in the Slums of the Developing World
No full textAccording to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), 924 million people lived in slums in 2001. Population growth in these settlements is much greater than in other urban areas. The estimates suggest that this figure may rise to 1.5 billion by 2020 (Payne, 2005). This rapid increase is expected despite ?slum upgrading? efforts that have been taking place for decades, though inconsistently and with disruptions over time. There is a prolific literature on informal settlement areas, but research on access to essential services such as water and sanitation (WS) in these areas is very limited. Most studies consider issues of access in connection to urban poverty, an approach that often reduces the discussion to the income and expenditure constraints faced by households. Examining access to WS in the slums spurs an appreciation of the multidimensional nature of the problem, including income poverty, infrastructural limitations, asset ownership and housing quality. Moreover, developments in the slums concern every aspect of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper examines the conditions of access to water in the slums of the developing world. It has three goals. The first is to identify the objective and policy-related challenges that hinder progress in the provision of safe, affordable, continuous and easy access to water in countries where there is a sizeable slum population. The second is to explore the existing systems of provision in informal settlements and to discuss the weaknesses and strengths of each. The third is to make policy recommendations. Though the discussion on access to sanitation is limited, this is not to deny the importance of that issue. Besides, water and sanitation services are often intrinsically linked and therefore are provided together by network utilities. The discussion reveals the failure of public policies as well as markets to provide satisfactory solutions to the problems of access to a safe, affordable and continuous water supply. In many countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, access to safe water through household connections declined in the 1990s. Achievements in access rates in many Asian and African economies are the due to widespread use of public water points such as public standpipes and kiosks. These sources are important, but doubtless the quality of access to water with these facilities is unsatisfactory since they involve greater effort by households, involving queuing, carrying water and lacking continuous access. A substantial proportion of urban dwellers in developing countries, especially in unplanned settlements, rely on a wide range of small-scale providers whose services are vital in the absence of alternatives. Their services, however, are often inferior to those provided by the formal network. Invariably, the water charges of alternative sources are higher than those for supply from the public network. Section 2 provides a general discussion of informal settlements and outlines the growth of slum development and trends in access to water supply since 1990. Section 3 examines changing public policies towards squatter settlements and the challenges such settlements pose. Section 4 presents the problems associated with the existing market-based water supply arrangements in countries where a sizeable proportion of the urban population resides in informal settlement areas. We then argue for the need to pursue a more proactive public policy on the basis of a discussion that highlights the limitations of private sector ventures. The paper concludes with a number of policy recommendations.Access to Water in the Slums of the Developing World
The HLDA8 blind panel: findings and conclusions
No full textThere were over 600 antibodies submitted to HLDA8, with many of unknown specificity. Of these, 101 antibodies were selected for a blind panel study that also included 5 negative controls and 27 positive controls of known CD specificity making a total of 133 antibodies in the final panel. Of the 101 unknowns, 31 antibodies were identified during the course of this blind panel study as being specific for known molecules and included some specific for MHC class II antigens, CD45 isoforms and the Dombrock antigen. Several antibody pairs among those in the blind panel were found to have very similar staining patterns and were therefore compared by immunohistochemical and/or Western blot analyses for identity.Bernadette Swart, Mikhail P. Salganik, Matthew P. Wand, Kathryn Tinckam, Edgar L. Milford, Karel Drbal, Pavla Angelisova, Vaclav Horejsi, Peter Macardle, Sheree Bailey, Enoc Hollemweguer, Greg Hodge, Judith Nairn, Debbrah Millard, Attila Dagdeviren, Geoffrey W. Dandie, Heddy Zol
SURFACE EXPRESSION OF TYRO3, AXL AND MER RECEPTORS ON PLATELETS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES
No full textDesign and Fabrication of Dual-Frequency H-Shaped Antenna
No full textIn this study, the parameters that effects the operating frequency of dual frequency H-shaped antenna are examined. These parameters are determined as type of the dielectric constant of substrate, substrate thickness, dimensions of the antenna and dimensions of the slots that are used to obtain shape of H. The produced and simulated results of the proposed antennas are presented and compared with the studies in literature.Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Scienc
Çift Frekansli, H-şekilli Anten Tasarlml ve Üretimi
No full textIn this study, the parameters that effects the operating frequency of dual frequency H-shaped antenna are examined. These parameters are determined as type of the dielectric constant of substrate, substrate thickness, dimensions of the antenna and dimensions of the slots that are used to obtain shape of H. The produced and simulated results of the proposed antennas are presented and compared with the studies in literature. © 2013 IEEE
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