R Ex P Raissi v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Court of Appeal, (Civil Division) [2008] All ER (D) 215 (Feb)

GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION?The case of Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian pilot, who was denied compensation under the ex gratia scheme has been reported by many national newspapers. It is likely that we have not heard the last of it, as it is possible for the Secretary of State to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords. The case1 concerned a judicial review appeal application by Mr Raissi. On September 21st 2001, he was arrested in his home following a letter dated September 17th 2001, from the United States Embassy in London addressed to the Metropolitan Police asking them for information about him. The FBI believed that Raissi may have been involved in the September 11th 2001 atrocities. There was also a further request, from the United States Embassy to the United Kingdom government on September 27th 2001, to arrest Raissi for extradition purposes. It was alleged that he had given false information to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when he wanted to renew his licence

The impact of pot lids on household energy use

Over 2 billion of the world’s population depend on biomass for cooking fuel due to financial and geographical reasons. Cooking with biomass leads to several problems such as indoor air pollution, respiratory diseases, greenhouse gas and particulate emissions, and a burden of gathering fuel – usually for women and girls. This problem is especially common in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. For decades, several national and international efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of cooking with biomass in order to reduce these problems. However, the interventions are fraught with challenges and do not always have the desired effects. Currently, the majority of clean cooking interventions focus on improving biomass cookstove efficiency, but there is a need for a more robust methodology. Cooking practices play a large role in fuel consumption and should be taken into consideration. This research project seeks to examine the effect of one of such user interventions – the use of pot lids. Understanding the effect that pot lids have on cooking efficiency and fuel consumption will enable a better understanding of clean cooking as a whole and inform the development of better solutions

The impact of pot lids on household energy use

Over 2 billion of the world’s population depend on biomass for cooking fuel due to financial and geographical reasons. Cooking with biomass leads to several problems such as indoor air pollution, respiratory diseases, greenhouse gas and particulate emissions, and a burden of gathering fuel – usually for women and girls. This problem is especially common in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. For decades, several national and international efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of cooking with biomass in order to reduce these problems. However, the interventions are fraught with challenges and do not always have the desired effects. Currently, the majority of clean cooking interventions focus on improving biomass cookstove efficiency, but there is a need for a more robust methodology. Cooking practices play a large role in fuel consumption and should be taken into consideration. This research project seeks to examine the effect of one of such user interventions – the use of pot lids. Understanding the effect that pot lids have on cooking efficiency and fuel consumption will enable a better understanding of clean cooking as a whole and inform the development of better solutions.</p

R Ex P Raissi v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Court of Appeal, (Civil Division) [2008] All ER (D) 215 (Feb)

GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION?The case of Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian pilot, who was denied compensation under the ex gratia scheme has been reported by many national newspapers. It is likely that we have not heard the last of it, as it is possible for the Secretary of State to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords. The case1 concerned a judicial review appeal application by Mr Raissi. On September 21st 2001, he was arrested in his home following a letter dated September 17th 2001, from the United States Embassy in London addressed to the Metropolitan Police asking them for information about him. The FBI believed that Raissi may have been involved in the September 11th 2001 atrocities. There was also a further request, from the United States Embassy to the United Kingdom government on September 27th 2001, to arrest Raissi for extradition purposes. It was alleged that he had given false information to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when he wanted to renew his licence.</jats:p

A Reproducible Protocol for the Isolation of Malaria-Derived Extracellular Vesicles by Differential Centrifugation

Over the last few decades, malaria-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have gained increasing interest due to their role in disease pathophysiology and parasite biology. Unlike other EV research fields, the isolation of malaria EVs is not standardized, hampering inter-study comparisons. Most malaria EV studies isolate vesicles by the &ldquo;gold-standard&rdquo; technique of differential (ultra)centrifugation (DC). Here, we describe in detail an optimized and reproducible protocol for the isolation of malaria-derived EVs by DC. The protocol begins with a description of cultivating high-parasitemia, synchronous P. falciparum cultures that are the source of EV-containing conditioned culture media. The isolation protocol generates two EV subtypes, and we provide details of characterizing these distinct subtypes by analyzing human and parasite proteins by Western blot analysis. We identify some of these proteins as suitable markers for malaria EV subpopulations and subtypes

Extracellular vesicles in malaria: an agglomeration of two decades of research

AbstractMalaria is a complex parasitic disease, caused by Plasmodium spp. More than a century after the discovery of malaria parasites, this disease continues to pose a global public health problem and the pathogenesis of the severe forms of malaria remains incompletely understood. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, have been increasingly researched in the field of malaria in a bid to fill these knowledge gaps. EVs released from Plasmodium-infected red blood cells and other host cells during malaria infection are now believed to play key roles in disease pathogenesis and are suggested as vital components of the biology of Plasmodium spp. Malaria-derived EVs have been identified as potential disease biomarkers and therapeutic tools. In this review, key findings of malaria EV studies over the last 20 years are summarized and critically analysed. Outstanding areas of research into EV biology are identified. Unexplored EV research foci for the future that will contribute to consolidating the potential for EVs as agents in malaria prevention and control are proposed.</jats:p

Unripe Rind and Pulp of Ananas comosus Accelerate Wound Healing in Diabetic Wistar Rat

Objective: One of the sequelae of diabetes mellitus is chronic foot ulcer. This study investigated wound healing propensity of the pulp and rind of Ananas comosus (a widely cultivated fruit with many health benefits) in diabetic wistar rats.&#x0D; Methods: The excisional wounds of twenty four adult wistar rats with induced diabetes in four groups of six each were dressed with the pulp powder (PPD), pulp extract (PED), rind powder (RPD) and rind extract (RED) of A. comosus daily till healed. Also the mean wound contraction rates were calculated from the wound areas every three days. Granulation tissue was biopsied from an animal per group on day 3, 6 and 9 for histopathological evaluation. Each of these groups had a corresponding equal number control group with similar procedures performed.&#x0D; Results: The mean wound contraction rates of the rind pulp diabetic (RPD) and rind extract diabetic (RED) groups paralleled those of their respective control group (RPC, REC) as they were not significantly different. Also amongst the diabetic groups, the rind of A. comosus demonstrated greater wound healing capability over the respective pulp counterpart (PPD, PED) as evidenced by significantly higher mean wound contraction rates. Histopathologic features of the granulation tissues and scars of the diabetic groups were similar to those of the control groups.&#x0D; Conclusion: Although, both the rind and pulp of unripe A. comosus either in extract or powder formulation were shown in this study to possess excellent healing potentials in diabetic wounds, the rind appeared to be better off and may be a viable alternative to the wound dressing materials currently in use in the management of diabetic wounds / ulcers.</jats:p

Protein Profiling of Malaria-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Reveals Distinct Subtypes

Malaria is caused by obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Red blood cells (RBCs) infected with different stages of Plasmodium spp. release extracellular vesicles (EVs). Extensive studies have recently shown that these EVs are involved in key aspects of the parasite&rsquo;s biology and disease pathogenesis. However, they are yet to be fully characterized. The blood stages of Plasmodium spp., namely the rings, trophozoites and schizonts, are phenotypically distinct, hence, may induce the release of characteristically different EVs from infected RBCs. To gain insights into the biology and biogenesis of malaria EVs, it is important to characterize their biophysical and biochemical properties. By differential centrifugation, we isolated EVs from in vitro cultures of RBCs infected with different stages of Plasmodium falciparum. We performed a preliminary characterization of these EVs and observed that important EV markers were differentially expressed in EVs with different sedimentation properties as well as across EVs released from ring-, trophozoite- or schizont-infected RBCs. Our findings show that RBCs infected with different stages of malaria parasites release EVs with distinct protein expression profiles

Effects of Weed Density and Distance on the Growth and Yield of Two Okra (Abelmoscus esculentus) Varieties

A field experiment was conducted at the botanical garden of the University of Ilorin to determine the effects of weed density and distance on the growth and yield of two varieties of okra (NHAe-40 days and Kirikoi). The experiment was a complete randomized block design with eleven treatments and three replicates. The treatment details include T0 = No weed, T1 = One weed per plant T2= Two weeds per plant, T3 = Three weeds per plant, T4 = Four weeds per plant, T5 = Five weeds per plant, T6 = Six weeds per plant, T7 = Seven weeds per plant, T8 = Eight weeds per plant, T9 = Nine weeds per plant and T10 = Ten weeds per plant.  Data were collected on plant height, number of leaves, stem girth, shoot Fresh and dry weight as well as yield parameters was carried out at the end of the experiment. The result depicts a significant decrease in the vegetative growth and yield parameters with increasing weed density in both varieties. Irrespective of the weed distance, all yield parameters decreased significantly with increasing number of co-habiting weeds except for plant co-habited with one weed at 20 cm and 30 cm weed distance which was significantly the same with the control in both varieties. The result is an indication that absence of weed or early control of weed should be done at the early weeks of growth before the onset of flowering if maximum production is expected.</jats:p

A Review of Waste Heat Sources for District Heating

Full data obtained from all 45 reviewed case studies in review paper on the different sources of waste heat utilized in district heating systems or discussed in literatureTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV