Social movements,technology and development: A query and an instructive case from the Third World

Conclusion I believe that the KSSP's claim that all technological issues should be evaluated and assessed only in the context of their impact on the people are borne out by the case studies. Apart from the Silent Valley and the Mothi Chemicals controversies, the KSSP had a positive role to play in other technological and environmental controversies, such as those over river pollution from untreated chemical effluent being dumped in several rivers of the State by chemical and paper companies, nuclear power plant siting, and drug policy. The KSSP's position paper on industries indicates that Kerala has a high concentration of chemical industries, and urges the government to issue no more new licenses for chemical companies. Instead they urge the government to bring in more engineering and electonics industries into the State. The State government has been generally responsive to such calls by actively promoting electronics industry in the State. K.K. Subramanian and K.J. Joseph demonstrate how a capital-deficient State like Kerala can stimulate economic growth and employment opportunities in the electronics sector by taking advantage of the considerably well-educated human resources of the State. The KSSP is in the thick of a debate about the advisability of the establishment of a nuclear power plant in the State as a long range plan to alleviate the acute power shortage predicted for the year 2000. The consensus seems to be that since Kerala is a densely populated State, a continuum of villages and towns and cities from one end to the other situated on the coastal belt, there is no proper site on which a nuclear power plant can be built. However, given the fact that the power availability should be increased and diversified and also that the statistical probability of a nuclear accident is remote, a strong minority in the KSSP is picking up support for a nuclear power plant among the media and the people. It appears that KSSP's campaign to reach out to the people to make science and technology instruments of change is quite successful. It is not clear how much their efforts are influencing scientists and technologists at large, who are not associated with the KSSP, to help unleash the potential inherent in science and technology to improve the quality of life of the people. Even though there are no quantitative studies to measure KSSP's contributions to the high literacy rate, low infant mortality rate, and similar indicators of social progress in the State, it is safe to assume that the KSSP's campaign of Science for Social Revolution has made a positive contribution to these achievements.Though the KSSP claims to be a non-political voluntary organization, its objective is to raise the consciousness of the people in order to harness the benefits of technology to socio-economic development. The measure of success they have had in educating and raising the consciousness of the people, who might have otherwise remained ignorant or indifferent to technological issues and controversies, is evident. Given the fact that the KSSP is a totally non-governmental and voluntary organization surviving on its own resources, its success in achieving its set goals are remarkable. It is an encouraging sign that similar people's science and technology (S&T) movements are springing up in several States in India, following the foot-steps of the KSSP. After the killing of thousands of people by the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, the need for many more such people's S&T movements for democratic control of technology has become ever more urgent.

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Sec8p and Sec15p are components of a plasma membrane-associated 19.5S particle that may function downstream of Sec4p to control exocytosis

The SEC8 and SEC15 genes are essential for exocytosis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and exhibit strong genetic interactions with SEC4, a gene of the ras superfamily. The SEC8 gene encodes a hydrophilic protein of 122 kD, while the temperature-sensitive sec8-9 allele encodes a protein prematurely truncated at 82 kD by an opal stop codon. The Sec8p sequence contains a 202 amino acid region that is 25% identical to the leucine rich domain of yeast adenylate cyclase that has been implicated in ras responsiveness. Fractionation, stability, and cross-linking studies indicate that Sec8p is a component of a 19.5S particle that also contains Sec15p. This particle is found both in the cytosol and peripherally associated with the plasma membrane, but it is not associated with secretory vesicles. Gel filtration studies suggest that a portion of Sec4p is in association with the Sec8p/Sec15p particle. We propose that this particle may function as a downstream effector of Sec4p, serving to direct the fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane.     

Oxalotrophic Paracoccus alcaliphilus isolated from Amorphophallus sp. rhizoplane

A new type of oxalate-utilizing Paracoccus sp. was isolated from Amorphophallus rhizoplane. Basic physiological tests and 16S rDNA sequencing was performed to identify the strain. Optimum growth was observed at 37 °C and pH 8.0 in minimal oxalate (0.5% disodium oxalate) with doubling time of 7 h. Its closest phylogenetic neighbours, as deduced by 16S rDNA-based analysis, were Paracoccus alcaliphilus KCT002, P. alcaliphilus JCM 7364 (TK1015) and P. seriniphilus MBT-A4 with 99.85, 98.35 and 97.31% sequence similarity respectively. Oxalate was metabolized via the serine pathway, as evidenced by the presence of oxalyl-coA reductase, l-serine glyoxylate aminotransferase and hydroxypyruvate reductase.     

Cx43-Dependent Skeletal Phenotypes Are Mediated by Interactions between the Hapln1a-ECM and Sema3d during Fin Regeneration

Skeletal development is a tightly regulated process and requires proper communication between the cells for efficient exchange of information. Analysis of fin length mutants has revealed that the gap junction protein Connexin43 (Cx43) coordinates cell proliferation (growth) and joint formation (patterning) during zebrafish caudal fin regeneration. Previous studies have shown that the extra cellular matrix (ECM) protein Hyaluronan and Proteoglycan Link Protein1a (Hapln1a) is molecularly and functionally downstream of Cx43, and that hapln1a knockdown leads to reduction of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan. Here we find that the proteoglycan aggrecan is similarly reduced following Hapln1a knockdown. Notably, we demonstrate that both hyaluronan and aggrecan are required for growth and patterning. Moreover, we provide evidence that the Hapln1a-ECM stabilizes the secreted growth factor Semaphorin3d (Sema3d), which has been independently shown to mediate Cx43 dependent phenotypes during regeneration. Double knockdown of hapln1a and sema3d reveal synergistic interactions. Further, hapln1a knockdown phenotypes were rescued by Sema3d overexpression. Therefore, Hapln1a maintains the composition of specific components of the ECM, which appears to be required for the stabilization of at least one growth factor, Sema3d. We propose that the Hapln1a dependent ECM provides the required conditions for Sema3d stabilization and function. Interactions between the ECM and signaling molecules are complex and our study demonstrates the requirement for components of the Hapln1a-ECM for Sema3d signal transduction.     

Guanosine 3':5'cyclic monophosphate and activators of guanylate cyclase inhibit secretagogue-induced corticotropin release by rat anterior pituitary cells

The secretion of corticotropin by perfused rat anterior pituitary cell columns was studied. Forty-one residue corticotropin releasing factor, vasopressin and high extracellular KC1 all stimulated the secretion of corticotropin. The hormonal response to corticotropin-releasing factor (10(-10) mol/l), vasopressin (10(-9) mol/l) as well as KC1 (48 mmol/l) was reduced by membrane permeant analogs of cGMP, such as 8-BrcGMP and dibutyryl-cGMP. The 8-BrcGMP analog (10(-5) mol/l) inhibited corticotropin release in response to corticotropin-releasing factor by 30%, that to vasopressin by 70%, and that to KCl by 50%. Atriopeptin1-28 (10(-8) and 10(-7) mol/l), a peptide known to activate membrane-bound guanylate cyclase in the anterior pituitary gland, decreased the release of corticotropin induced by vasopressin to about 30% of control. Similarly, activators of soluble guanylate cyclase, such as glyceryltrinitrate and sodium nitroprusside (10(-5) mol/l) inhibited vasopressin-stimulated corticotropin release by 60%. In conclusion, the data show that purported activators of particulate and soluble guanylate cyclase, as well as derivatives of cGMP itself are strong inhibitors of secretagogue-induced corticotropin release by corticotroph cells of the anterior pituitary gland.     

Eucannabinolide and other constituents of Schkuhria virgata

Isolation of eucannabinolide, its 3-isovaleroyl analog and pectolinarigenin from Schkuhria virgata (La Llave et Lex.) DC. is reported. The identity of eucannabinolide, which exhibits in vivo antileukemic activity, with ‘hiyodorilactone A’, ‘20-hydroxychromolaenide’ and ‘schkuhrin I’ is discussed.     

Differential modulation of N‐type calcium channels by µ‐opioid receptors in oxytocinergic versus vasopressinergic neurohypophysial terminals

Opioids modulate the electrical activity of magnocellular neurons (MCN) and inhibit neuropeptide release at their terminals in the neurohypophysis. We have previously shown that µ‐opioid receptor (MOR) activation induces a stronger inhibition of oxytocin (OT) than vasopressin (AVP) release from isolated MCN terminals. This higher sensitivity of OT release is due, at least in part, to the selective targeting of R‐type calcium channels. We now describe the underlying basis for AVP's weaker inhibition by MOR activation and provide a more complete explanation of the complicated effects on neuropeptide release. We found that N‐type calcium channels in AVP terminals are differentially modulated by MOR; enhanced at lower concentrations but increasingly inhibited at higher concentrations of agonists. On the other hand, N‐type calcium channels in OT terminals were always inhibited. The response pattern in co‐labeled terminals was analogous to that observed in AVP‐containing terminals. Changes in intracellular calcium concentration and neuropeptide release corroborated these results as they showed a similar pattern of enhancement and inhibition in AVP terminals contrasting with solely inhibitory responses in OT terminals to MOR agonists. We established that fast translocation of Ca²⁺ channels to the plasma membrane was not mediating current increments and thus, changes in channel kinetic properties are most likely involved. Finally, we reveal a distinct Ca‐channel β‐subunit expression between each type of nerve endings that could explain some of the differences in responses to MOR activation. These results help advance our understanding of the complex modulatory mechanisms utilized by MORs in regulating presynaptic neuropeptide release. J. Cell. Physiol. 225: 276–288, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Partial purification of rat liver glucocorticoid binding proteins by affinity chromatography

Dexamethasone (9-fluoro-16α-methyl-116,17,21-trihydroxy-1,4-pregnadiene-3, 20-dione) binding proteins from rat liver cytosol were purified approximately 6470 fold by the use of an affinity column in which deoxycorticosterone was linked to CH-Sepharose 4B through a disulfide linkage. The receptor proteins were eluted from the column by washing with β-mercaptoethanol. A preliminary Sephadex G-200 filtration step of the cytosol was necessary in order to separate the dexamethasone binding proteins from other glucocorticoid receptors.