Search results for " Reduction"
showing 10 items of 891 documents
Climate Change and Disasters
2017
Ideas and approaches proven successful within disaster risk reduction (DRR) literature and practice are either bypassed or inadequately considered by contemporary climate change work. This chapter explores the intersections between climate change and hazards, vulnerability, and risk, looking at climate change as both a hazard driver and a hazard inhibitor. The implications of the narrow interpretations of vulnerability employed in climate change work are examined, as well as the ways in which climate change has come to act as a scapegoat for issues, events, and processes caused by hazard-independent factors. The chapter formulates a case for climate change adaptation (CCA) to be seen as a s…
The impact on disaster governance of the intersection of environmental hazards, border conflict and disaster responses in Ladakh, India
2018
Abstract The Indian border region of Ladakh, in Jammu and Kashmir State, has a sensitive Himalayan ecosystem and has experienced natural hazards and disasters of varying scales over the decades. Ladakh is also situated on a fault-line of multiple tensions, including ongoing border disagreements and intermittent conflict with China and Pakistan. The Indian army has thus become a permanent fixture in the region. This paper examines the implications of the intersection of these environmental and security factors for disaster governance in the region. Using Social Domains theory, the paper argues first, that a hazard-centred paradigm of ‘universal’ disaster science emerges from the colonial per…
Connecting theories of cascading disasters and disaster diplomacy
2018
Abstract Disaster diplomacy examines how and why disaster-related activities (disaster risk reduction and post-disaster actions) do and do not influence peace and conflict processes, especially whether or not a causal chain can be established between dealing with disaster risk or a disaster and outcomes in peace or conflict. Cascading disasters might provide a useful theoretical framing for mapping out causal pathways for disaster diplomacy. In conceptually exploring the intersection between disaster diplomacy and cascading disasters, this paper concludes that both disaster diplomacy and cascading disasters have limitations because they try to develop focused causal chains which, when exami…
The role of social perception in disaster risk reduction: Beliefs, perception, and attitudes regarding flood disasters in communities along the Volta…
2017
Abstract People's perceptions of natural, spiritual, and social phenomena are socially constructed. Social perception is important because it helps people to make sense of the physical and social world and therein interact with it. Earlier research specializing in the study of human behaviour has emphasized a linkage between people's perceptions and their behaviour. In this article, the authors employ a similar theory with the intent of proposing a theoretical framework that examines the factors that influence people's perception and attitude (mitigation and response) towards the hazards they face. This discussion is done on the premise of “culture”, “experiences” and “disaster risk reducti…
Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius
2020
Abstract Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant. This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauriti…
β-Lactoglobulin Heptapeptide Reduces Oxidative Stress in Intestinal Epithelial Cells and Angiotensin II-Induced Vasoconstriction on Mouse Mesenteric …
2019
Peptides derived from buffalo dairy products possess multiple healthy properties that cannot be exerted as long as they are encrypted in parent proteins. To evaluate the biological activities of encrypted peptide sequences from buffalo ricotta cheese, we performed a simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion. Chemical and pharmacological characterization of the digest led to the identification of a novel peptide endowed with antioxidant and antihypertensive action. The GI digest was fractionated by Semiprep-HPLC, and fractions were tested against reactive oxygen species (ROS) release in an H2O2-treated intestinal epithelial cell line. UHPLC-PDA-MS/MS analysis revealed the presence of an abun…
Platelet Pathogen Reduction Technologies Alter the MicroRNA Profile of Platelet-Derived Microparticles
2020
Despite improvements in donor screening and increasing efforts to avoid contamination and the spread of pathogens in clinical platelet concentrates (PCs), the risks of transfusion-transmitted infections remain important. Relying on an ultraviolet photo activation system, pathogen reduction technologies (PRTs), such as Intercept and Mirasol, utilize amotosalen, and riboflavin (vitamin B2), respectively, to mediate inactivation of pathogen nucleic acids. Although they are expected to increase the safety and prolong the shelf life of clinical PCs, these PRTs might affect the quality and function of platelets, as recently reported. Upon activation, platelets release microparticles (MPs), which …
Ochrobactrum sp. MPV1 from a dump of roasted pyrites can be exploited as bacterial catalyst for the biogenesis of selenium and tellurium nanoparticles
2017
Bacteria have developed different mechanisms for the transformation of metalloid oxyanions to non-toxic chemical forms. A number of bacterial isolates so far obtained in axenic culture has shown the ability to bioreduce selenite and tellurite to the elemental state in different conditions along with the formation of nanoparticles—both inside and outside the cells—characterized by a variety of morphological features. This reductive process can be considered of major importance for two reasons: firstly, toxic and soluble (i.e. bioavailable) compounds such as selenite and tellurite are converted to a less toxic chemical forms (i.e. zero valent state); secondly, chalcogen nanoparticles have att…
Reaction of zearalenone and α-zearalenol with allyl isothiocyanate, characterization of reaction products, their bioaccessibility and bioavailability…
2017
This study investigates the reduction of zearalenone (ZEA) and α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) on a solution model using allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) and also determines the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of the reaction products isolated and identified by MS-LIT. Mycotoxin reductions were dose-dependent, and ZEA levels decreased more than α-ZOL, ranging from 0.2 to 96.9% and 0 to 89.5% respectively, with no difference (p⩽0.05) between pH 4 and 7. Overall, simulated gastric bioaccessibility was higher than duodenal bioaccessibility for both mycotoxins and mycotoxin-AITC conjugates, with duodenal fractions representing ⩾63.5% of the original concentration. Simulated bioavailability of reaction pro…
Peculiarities of studying the effects of pathogen reduction technologies on platelets.
2016
The transfusion of platelet concentrates (PCs) is mainly used for treatment of thrombocytopenic, trauma or surgery patients. The integrity and safety of these platelet preparations, however, is compromised by the presence of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites. The transfer of allogeneic donor leukocytes contaminating PCs can also potentially cause adverse reactions in recipients. These considerations prompted the development and implementation of pathogen reduction technologies (PRT), which are based on chemically induced cross-linking and inactivation of nucleic acids. While the incumbent PRT may provide some protection against transfusion-transmitted infections, they are i…